Vocal Lessons

[oneguy]

Today I tried out vocal lessons for the first time. I did an hour session. We spent most of the time discussing things like breathing, keeping mouth open, singing from the diapghram...

I am very torn on whether to continue.

I'm really not too interested on expanding on my vocal range, I really just want to sing on key well.

I think most of this technique stuff, although important, i will be able to find on youtube or articles.

I think in terms of practicing singing on key I just need to practice and listen to the results. I should hopefully be able to tell when I am off key.

Any thoughts?

I just don't really feel comfortable at voice lessons. I hate singing in front of people and would prefer to just record and share. I also find all the exercises to be, to put it PC, not very straight. I just can't imagine Bob Dylan ever doing vocal exercises like the ones you find on youtube...

Is there any service on the internet that you can sing and it registers what notes you're hitting?

 

[stevieb]

A simple chromatic guitar tuner will do that, and it's cheaper than an iPhone, more portable than even a mini-computer!

I don't see a reason why you would not continue voice lessons, from what you report you worked on, but perhaps your instructor mentioned it several times?

Allow me to relate a personal story to you. The last time I was in psychotherapy, I felt like my therapist was spending an awful lot of time on family of origin stuff, and I told her so. Her reply was, FOO work forms the basis of the process, because so much of our issues have their origins there, and that I needed to put some trust in the process to see some success. Turns out she was right. That lesson- trust the process, could well apply to your situation. Certainly, it is fine, even best, to communicate your goals to your instructor, but if he or she gives you exercises to expand your range, chances are they are worth doing, even if you have no interest in the expressed purpose. It is intirely possible (but I do not know for sure- I don't teach voice) that expanding one's range can also help one stay in tune in the middle or "natural" portion of that range. "Wax on, wax off..."

Voice lessons are rarely, if ever, designed to help you be more comfortable performing in front of an audience. That's more theatre than voice... And really, when you think about it, almost anything anyone does to improve one's technique, regardless of the process being honed, is gonna seem gay, goofy-looking, wierd, repetative, etc. etc. Remind yourself, it's not a performance- it's technique-building. The only two people who will see or hear it are you, and your instructor.

Good luck on your quest.

 

[JB's Studio]

There are things you can't hear yourself. It is very easy to form bad habits. Youtube videos cannot see or hear when you're doing something improperly. Flame suit on: FWIW, Dylan actually could sing. He faked his messed up voice for street cred. Half the time you can't even understand what he's mumbling, and they're well written songs too. And actually to sound as bad as he did you have to know what you're doing. Singing that badly doesn't come naturally. You perform night after night with bad vocal technique can trash a voice in a hurry.

The first few months you'll be learning technique. You'll be singing songs that you probably don't care to sing, but what those songs are about is working particular parts of your voice. Why would you not want to expand your range? Expanding your range gives you more tools. What this is all about is learning to play an instrument, except this time your voice is the instrument, not a piano or guitar or whatever. It isn't cheap, and that's the downside.

What gets me is that vocal lessons seem to have less value to people than say piano or guitar lessons. Perhaps it is that with the piano or guitar you feel like you're actually doing something?

I can't understand why some guys feel that learning a vocal technique is going to make them homosexual. Perhaps this is what brought about the cookie monster. There's more to singing than just singing on pitch. There is tone, resonance, intonation, inflection, breath, sound placement, mastering the register break. So unless you just want to sing the same octave in every song, my advice is to continue with the lessons.

My own experience with videos and DVDs is that one tends to stagnate unless one is really dedicated.