New Singer, I need constructive tips and suggestions... besides stop singing hahaha

M

MonkeyP

New member
This is my first recording ever, I am aware there are a lot of flat notes, I'm hoping someone with a trained ear can tell me what I can do to improve. I'm pretty poor so I can't afford a voice coach, any and all suggestions are appreciated, except for the aforementioned "stop singing suggestions"

Thanks
 

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I know I'm kinda bad and the first and worst flat note is right in the beginning of the song, but if anybody managed to get through it, I would really like some constructive criticism, if your not sure where to begin pick your favorite issue with my singing :p
 
howdy.... tune the vocals please... oh... also work more on the vocal melodies.. they are very basic and uninteresting...

cheers
 
Thanks a lot for the response, it means a lot, I'll definitely work on my melodies. When you mean tune the vocals do you mean with auto-tune? Sorry I'm really new to recording and I don't know the techniques that are acceptable or in this case required hahaha
 
he means the vocals are out of tune ..... something you already know.
You don't need someone to tell you what you already know.
As far as what to do ..... practice practice practice ..... that's really it.

you already can tell you're flat .... that's great. LOTS of people can't tell when they're off so you're in good shape right there.
So practice NOT singing flat.
 
Practice scales with a perfect pitch instrument, like a sine wave synthesizer (nothing with vibrato or distracting aural elements). That way when you get off tune, you'll hear that slow and grating oscillation that comes from the dissonance.

Also, practice having good air support. When you take strain off of the larynx and have the diaphragm do most of the work, pitch becomes easier. "The New Voice" by Alan Greene is a great old book to help. It's very practical and clear as a book about singing can be.
 
Cheers, thanks a lot for the detailed tips, I will definitely practice more, and I will look into buying the book.
 
Yeah, don't stop singing. If you can address the pitch, I think you could be quite good. The sound of your voice itself is great for this kind of tune. I like it. Kind of reminds me of the guy from Built to Spill a little. Cool tune too. Personally, I really liked the melodies.

I heard the first few notes and thought, "wait, he doesn't sound flat?" but shortly after, it became apparent what the issue was, and you already noted you're aware, so that helps at least.

One thing that has helped me to some extent is tracking the vocals with the backing music lower than I'd normally like so I can hear my voice really clearly above all else. I also mute a lot of instruments that might get in the way of me hearing my own pitch...like the bass. Obviously you need at least something in there as guide, but try to keep in minimal while you monitor during vocal tracking. Sometimes I think one hears the bass or a guitar filling in the correct pitch and it fools you into thinking you're hitting it as well. Just some thoughts...
 
heatmiser said:
One thing that has helped me to some extent is tracking the vocals with the backing music lower than I'd normally like so I can hear my voice really clearly above all else.
Click to expand...

This actually happens a lot, I forgot about this. Definitely make sure you can hear yourself very well when tracking. I've heard singers I thought were great live produce horribly flat tracks in the studio because I didn't have their voice up high enough. They got into it and didn't notice, but because they couldn't hear very well they got off.
 
your tone sounds ok, and yes you are flat on a lot of notes, first question I would ask is do you hear that you are flat? if so then you can get better, but if you cannot hear the flat notes then you should stop trying.
how often do you sing? to start with you should sing everyday, and utilize all the scales low to high the high to low.
pick a few songs and sing them until you are sick of them, you will get better.

goodluck!
 
gnelson1948 said:
First question I would ask is do you hear that you are flat? if so then you can get better, but if you cannot hear the flat notes then you should stop trying.
Click to expand...

If you read the first sentences of post 1 and 2, you'll see that this has already been answered.
 
If you have an autotune program, you can sing the song, autotune it, then play that back in your head phones while you sing it again. Try to stay on pitch with what's in your ear. You might have to do the second recording with the headphone only covering one ear.
 
I concur, I think you've got promise if you can sort out the pitch. I'm guessing you're just singing to a backing track here. The song itself is vaguely familiar and from what I can recall, quite faithful to the original - which makes the comment about singing being basic/uninteresting a little unfair.

I agree with a lot of what's been said - tracking with the mix at much lower volume than you would like, with only one ear in the headphones on so that you can hear yourself and I remove the bass line when doing vocals too, as that often sends me flat.

If you're still getting tuning issues, then you just got to practice more - scales to get used to staying in key and listening back to what you've recorded. You've said yourself that you can hear where you're flat, so practice those parts until you're vocal cords can remember them.
 
Something that my choir teacher from highschool taught was to think of yourself as a puppet and someone is always tugging up on the string attached to your head. You would be surprised at what a simple excercise like this will do to bring up your pitch. Also, raise your eyebrows while you sing. You might look funny, but it can really help a lot if you struggle with going flat.
 
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