Singing help & questions!

[RealenAge]

Hi everyone,
I'm a guy new to singing (I'm covering song tracks from tv shows /cartoons etc just for fun).

But when I'm singing a girl's song or even a guy's song who hit louder & a little higher notes my voice always messes up and I'm forcing my self to try to sing the words. * My voice isn't deep by the way, I just can't sing high at all XD*

Songs with not that far of a vocal range & just basic singing with a nice tune are perfectly fine & easy for me such as "Emotionless - Good charlotte"

However a song with higher range such as "Yura Yura - hearts grow"
I'd find myself exerting a lot of effort just to meet the notes. Even if I lower the notes to my range, I can't sing loud enough at all to make the voice sound powerful. It just sounds like I'm dieing XD.

So

1) I should lower notes/octave to meet my voice when singing songs right?
2) How can I sing more "powerful", even in general with a note I'm comfortable with I can't sing powerfully. My voice dies out and it can't go that loud :/.


Also some off topic questions. Do youtube vocal warm ups help? Such as "Singing lessons from EricArceneaux"
Thanks for helping! ( I would've added the urls, but I need 10 posts to do that XD)

[RJMJ87]

Breath control exercises will help with having more power and hitting notes easier, plus when you sing high think you're singing low. When you raise your chin and larynx you're working against yourself. So imagine going low as you're singing higher and practice proper breathing. I've heard it said everyone has a "golden range" in which your voice shines the best, so you may need to experiment with the keys to find that, as well. If you're new to singing, just know you're dealing w/a muscle and like with any muscle, it'll get stronger and more flexible the more you use it. Youtube has some great resources, but having a live vocal coach is better because they're actually hearing you and can give you true feedback. Record and listen to yourself often, and don't try to force a voice that isn't yourself (Eric advises to use your natural speaking voice). Most importantly, have fun! Good luck.

[RealenAge]

Breath control exercises will help with having more power and hitting notes easier, plus when you sing high think you're singing low. When you raise your chin and larynx you're working against yourself. So imagine going low as you're singing higher and practice proper breathing. I've heard it said everyone has a "golden range" in which your voice shines the best, so you may need to experiment with the keys to find that, as well. If you're new to singing, just know you're dealing w/a muscle and like with any muscle, it'll get stronger and more flexible the more you use it. Youtube has some great resources, but having a live vocal coach is better because they're actually hearing you and can give you true feedback. Record and listen to yourself often, and don't try to force a voice that isn't yourself (Eric advises to use your natural speaking voice). Most importantly, have fun! Good luck.

Thanks! I'll definitely give this a shot

[RealenAge]

Just wondering, will singing a couple of songs every day (trying to stay on tune and in my range) do any harm to my voice? As long as I breathe correctly etc. Of course I'll make sure I don't try to "strain" my voice or hit notes too difficult.

(I hardly ever sing) so I feel like, if I sing every day for just a few minutes etc, maybe throughout the day while I'm listening to my ipod I can only improve. But I don't want to do anything that would actually make me worse.


Also before, I was trying to imitate the other artist too much, even if it was the opposite gender I'd try to match the sound. I realize that it sounds much better if I sing the song in my own voice my own way, even it's a cover.

[RJMJ87]

No, quite the opposite: you need to sing as much as possible. Of course, as you mentioned, if your throat starts to hurt or bother you in any way, then you should stop and start again the day after, but the more you sing the better you can train your voice. It's like any other muscle; you don't use it much, it's not going to be as strong or flexible. So sing as often as you can, and the songs don't have to involve crazy vocal acrobatics either (high keys, crazy riffs, shouting, etc.). Especially since you hardly sing to begin with, start out with the songs you feel are the easiest and then graduate onto more challenging songs as you improve. Honestly, things like vocal acrobatics aren't the most important anyway; it's the emotion you're portraying. So be most concerned about giving a sincere performance.
It's also very common to try to imitate your favorite singers or whoever sings the song you're working on (for me it's Michael Jackson, LUVVVVVV him, LOL). Sometimes that's good because you can learn a lot and incorporate their style into your own and make your voice better. Just continue the good work of singing in your natural voice so you don't cause yourself unnecessary strain. I also think one of the reasons we tend to try to match the other singer's voice (besides not learning to accept and appreciate our own voice, which takes a lot of time, believe me!) is that it's a subconscious way of thinking we're singing on key by how well we blend with the singer. A good idea might be for you to practice singing scales so it's just your voice and the piano. You'll quickly see how you're faring on pitch and it's a great way to improve.
Check out Cari Cole on Youtube. I like a lot of her voice coaching vids and thought her breathing exercise in particular really helpful.
Anyways, glad to hear you're still working on it, and don't be afraid to sing! You're not going to hurt your voice; it usually takes a lot of abuse to do any damage. Hope my advice helps. Keep us informed on your progress!

[RealenAge]

Thanks for the reply again all is going well so far.

Also! If i took a week or let's say a month break from singing, would that mean I'd lose all progress if i was practicing for 3+ months? Or would i still be much better than I was before when i never practiced. I feel like it'd suck to lose all the practice just by taking a month break. But i think that all the practice wouldnt just magically dissappear, and itd be easy to pick up where i left off before taking break. (Im not planning to take a break but i just want to make sure)

[Nagela]

Thanks for the reply again all is going well so far.

Also! If i took a week or let's say a month break from singing, would that mean I'd lose all progress if i was practicing for 3+ months? Or would i still be much better than I was before when i never practiced. I feel like it'd suck to lose all the practice just by taking a month break. But i think that all the practice wouldnt just magically dissappear, and itd be easy to pick up where i left off before taking break. (Im not planning to take a break but i just want to make sure)

I thought the same thing when I was sick for a month & couldn't sing since sore throat. Once I started singing again it was a little harder since I hadn't practiced in a while, but after 2-4 days I was able to pick off where i left off. So don't worry about taking a break!

[KeriShaw]

Eric Arceneaux makes really great videos and you'll definitely benefit from using his techniques, but I'd visit Singing Success's channel as well. I find that it's a MUCH better channel when you're starting out. I've been singing since primary school and if there's one piece of very important information to keep in mind, it's that, it shouldn't feel like you're straining or exerting a lot of effort to hit the notes, you need to build up gradually and strengthen your cords like any other muscle... you would walk into gym and lift the heaviest weights on the first time :P Practice as often as you can, but if you feel pain, your technique needs to be adjusted

Good luck!

[joeym]

Yes, go with Eric Arxennaux, start off by checking out his Vocal Warm-up videos on youtube. If you do those regularly for a couple of weeks, you'll notice an improvement. And then check out his site, his video tuition courses are priceworthy and good.

[ManInMotion711]

Yes, go with Eric Arxennaux, start off by checking out his Vocal Warm-up videos on youtube. If you do those regularly for a couple of weeks, you'll notice an improvement. And then check out his site, his video tuition courses are priceworthy and good.

This i agree with, i also went through this guy, but only his free tutorials on youtube and i saw a major improvement. Whats always worked for me other then his videos though, is drink some sort of tea maybe a half hour before you plan to start singing, then warmth will relax your throat, while singing drink water to keep your throat lubricated, and just practice, try not to force the notes out, let them com naturally, power comes from practice and breathing control, it all just takes time.