Realized you could write songs in your pc. Few riffs off of my guitar, low end from that borrowed bass guitar of a friend and drums you could program. Hell playing drum is a skill and can be learnt which i am doing. Problem is with my vocals. I cannot sing at all. I dont even hit the right notes. And my singing voice is funny. Some people told me if you cant sing you just cant. Youve got to have it. Any thoughts on this?
Can't sing at all.
- Thread starter sohail
- Start date
Steenamaroo
...
It's a hot enough topic.
Some people say any one can be taught to sing, as long as they have a voice.
I reckon it's not quite that simple and there are people who genuinely can't differentiate pitch, not unlike colour-blindness.
Well...I mean...I guess they can differentiate pitch if they can tell the difference between "You like football!" and "You like football", but in a musical context is just has no meaning to them.
If you can play an instrument and know when you're wrong, it's probably a safe enough bet that you can sing or learn to sing.
I guess you're a bit shy about it but would you consider posting a clip for outside opinions?
A lot of people are very down on themselves because what they hear on a recording isn't what they expected to hear.
Of course, it never will be because when you sing for real you hear it filtered through your head and body - you don't hear what everyone else hears, so the recording sounds foreign.
Some people say any one can be taught to sing, as long as they have a voice.
I reckon it's not quite that simple and there are people who genuinely can't differentiate pitch, not unlike colour-blindness.
Well...I mean...I guess they can differentiate pitch if they can tell the difference between "You like football!" and "You like football", but in a musical context is just has no meaning to them.
If you can play an instrument and know when you're wrong, it's probably a safe enough bet that you can sing or learn to sing.
I guess you're a bit shy about it but would you consider posting a clip for outside opinions?
A lot of people are very down on themselves because what they hear on a recording isn't what they expected to hear.
Of course, it never will be because when you sing for real you hear it filtered through your head and body - you don't hear what everyone else hears, so the recording sounds foreign.
Chances are, you can improve. You're probably a better guitarist than singer. You improved on guitar by playing and practicing countless hours. If you want to improve your singing, you'll need to put in comparable effort. Believe me, my vocal limitations are painfully evident to myself and all around. I've been playing music for four decades and never considered myself a vocalist, not even remotely. But in the past couple of years I've been writing a lot more songs. I decided to work at my vocals, if only to be able to record presentable demos. Fortunately I'm back to working with a good singer, but that would not have happened had I not got to a point where I was able to put out demos that caught the attention of others. Here is what worked for me:
1. Sing every day if possible. Record the results. If you are recording the vocal for a song, try breaking the song into sections. Work on them one at a time. You can start in the beginning, at end, or anywhere in the middle. Pick a section, record (and keep--don't overwrite) eight or ten vocal takes. Then move on. At the end of the day, you can comp together the best bits from your various takes to create a better recording.
2. Figure out which musical keys work and don't work with your voice. Write in, or transpose to, those keys. If your vocal range is quite limited, as most are, it's usually better to pick a key where you are stretching for the occasional high note, rather than one where you are scraping the bottom of your range. Find the range of pitches where your voice conveys the most energy, then choose a key where most of the melody in that range.
3. Don't be ashamed to use a program like Melodyne. If you are using it to improve the final product, with practice you can learn to apply it subtly so that it is all but inaudible. However its most valuable use, I have found, is for practicing vocals. After you record a performance, run it through Melodyne for analysis. The program will give you a graphic view of what you are doing right and wrong. Much better than you can hear on your own. You will find out where you have a tendency to sing flat and where sharp. You'll notice problems like excessive vibrato. Somebody on this forum (was it Chili?) pointed out that identifying these problems and fixing them artificially in Melodyne will improve your ability to sing the song without the aid of Melodyne. I have found that to be so true. Just hearing the corrected version of your vocal will give you, over time, a mental reference that aids your singing. Don't forget, you don't or need to correct every imperfection. Technical imperfection may or may not be musical imperfections. Let your ears judge.
4. Put your work out there for critique. The MP3 Clinic one of the best resources on this site. Don't forget to listen to the songs others have posted and offer comments of your own. In doing so, you are helping to sustain the community while also training your ears to spot problems. Over time, just listening and articulating what you hear will improve your own work.
Hope this helps!
1. Sing every day if possible. Record the results. If you are recording the vocal for a song, try breaking the song into sections. Work on them one at a time. You can start in the beginning, at end, or anywhere in the middle. Pick a section, record (and keep--don't overwrite) eight or ten vocal takes. Then move on. At the end of the day, you can comp together the best bits from your various takes to create a better recording.
2. Figure out which musical keys work and don't work with your voice. Write in, or transpose to, those keys. If your vocal range is quite limited, as most are, it's usually better to pick a key where you are stretching for the occasional high note, rather than one where you are scraping the bottom of your range. Find the range of pitches where your voice conveys the most energy, then choose a key where most of the melody in that range.
3. Don't be ashamed to use a program like Melodyne. If you are using it to improve the final product, with practice you can learn to apply it subtly so that it is all but inaudible. However its most valuable use, I have found, is for practicing vocals. After you record a performance, run it through Melodyne for analysis. The program will give you a graphic view of what you are doing right and wrong. Much better than you can hear on your own. You will find out where you have a tendency to sing flat and where sharp. You'll notice problems like excessive vibrato. Somebody on this forum (was it Chili?) pointed out that identifying these problems and fixing them artificially in Melodyne will improve your ability to sing the song without the aid of Melodyne. I have found that to be so true. Just hearing the corrected version of your vocal will give you, over time, a mental reference that aids your singing. Don't forget, you don't or need to correct every imperfection. Technical imperfection may or may not be musical imperfections. Let your ears judge.
4. Put your work out there for critique. The MP3 Clinic one of the best resources on this site. Don't forget to listen to the songs others have posted and offer comments of your own. In doing so, you are helping to sustain the community while also training your ears to spot problems. Over time, just listening and articulating what you hear will improve your own work.
Hope this helps!
Chili
Site Moderator
I'm in the camp that anybody can sing. I take myself as an example. I was pathetic at first and now I'm less pathetic. I used to use Melodyne to control my pitch problems, but don't use it very often now. I am not perfect, but okay and satisfied with my results.
- Practice.
- Record yourself and focus on the errors and how to correct them. Repeat.
- Play the melody line on an instrument and sing to it.
- The hardest notes to control are the passing notes or transitional notes. They are the ones between the long notes or the ones not represented in a chord. To do them, learn to sing a scale. Yup, the Do Re Mi crap.
- Use a tuner app on your smart phone.
- Watch YouTube clips about breathing control.
- and Practice.
- Practice.
- Record yourself and focus on the errors and how to correct them. Repeat.
- Play the melody line on an instrument and sing to it.
- The hardest notes to control are the passing notes or transitional notes. They are the ones between the long notes or the ones not represented in a chord. To do them, learn to sing a scale. Yup, the Do Re Mi crap.
- Use a tuner app on your smart phone.
- Watch YouTube clips about breathing control.
- and Practice.
Nola
Well-known member
You can sing. It's just a matter if when you reach your max potential if people want to hear you.
But I'm confident that with a little practice you'll sing better than you do now, and if you have a really unique voice then work it instead of hiding from it. Another great tip is using pitch tuning, not to tune vocal takes, but to see where you go off tune, and then re-sing those parts during your practice sessions.
But I'm confident that with a little practice you'll sing better than you do now, and if you have a really unique voice then work it instead of hiding from it. Another great tip is using pitch tuning, not to tune vocal takes, but to see where you go off tune, and then re-sing those parts during your practice sessions.
musicgeekandlvr
Member
I also think everybody can sing. We might not all have the voice of Freddie Mercury but we can sing and improve. If you don't like the sound of your voice on one of your songs, you can recruit a singer to sing over it. But if you wanna improve yourself, you'll improve overtime. One of the most important things about singing is to do it with confidence. Even if you hit a few wrong notes, if you sing like you mean it then others with respond to that and you will realize you are a better singer than you thought you were.
I'm very very shy with my voice. It's funny. I tried recording myself and than listening back to it.
very helpful man. Thanks
JDOD
therecordingrebels.com
When you first listen to yourself recorded it will sound shit, always does, for everyone.
When you first try to work a part out don't even bother with words, just ahhhs and oooos will do. Just try and hold notes to a melody you have in your head. No have a look at what you got with an autotune, see how close you were to various notes.
Use your autotune to manually tune to what you think is a melody you'd like then try and sing along, see how close you've got. Then try again, and again and again. Just practice! It will help you get more control over your voice.
There's loads of tips on YouTube for specific techniques but I find that what I've written above is a good way of practicing.
When you first try to work a part out don't even bother with words, just ahhhs and oooos will do. Just try and hold notes to a melody you have in your head. No have a look at what you got with an autotune, see how close you were to various notes.
Use your autotune to manually tune to what you think is a melody you'd like then try and sing along, see how close you've got. Then try again, and again and again. Just practice! It will help you get more control over your voice.
There's loads of tips on YouTube for specific techniques but I find that what I've written above is a good way of practicing.