Any bizarre tips for vocal training

oldskooldave

oldskooldave

Your Mother
Any really cheap quick and easy tips that would improve a voice without paying a lot of money.

I think Tom Jones said he just chews menthol throat lozanges 24/7
 
Tony Bennett had great advice - drink lots of water.

I buy sugar free Life Savers and always have them at gigs - they make your mouth salivate.

If your mouth dries out it's pretty much over.
 
Shout at Geordies. :D

Practice. Loud, quiet, high and low. Take in breaths and hold for 24 seconds then take 12, 16, 20 (etc) seconds to expel the breath through the mouth and the aim is to get all breath out by the time your count is over but not a second before.
Shout at more Geordies.
 
I think most people have better vocal control when singing fairly loud, unless they're singing in the lower part of their range. So I'd do a lot of that.:D ...Get used to breathing only between phrases in the song. Record yourself in short takes and listen back, noticing what's good or not and trying things that make it better re breath control, articulation clarity, mic technique, physical singing process (you know, the head vs chest vs belly, etc. stuff) Good way to be your own teacher.

Quick hit for rich vocal sound quality - sing right up against a dynamic cardioid mic for the proximity effect. Eat the mic. And use a good compressor.
 
Get physically healthy. Work on your air volume, go to a track and do wind sprints. Learn how to breathe correctly with your diaphragm and not your chest. Practice scales, practice, practice, practice... Sing and match notes with a guitar or piano. Warm up before you let it all go.
 
Best advice on singing, hands down, for me was from Seth Riggs. He has some videos on YouTube and he has books and CD's.

His method of "speech level singing" was the best thing that ever happened to me singing wise... changed everything for me and made things calm way, way down.
 
I like XLR's idea of recording snippets of yourself and listening back. Tells you what you sound like because no one can hear themselves in their head. Breathing technique is important for pitch control. Singing is something that you can improve through practice, so make sure all your practices are goal-oriented. And just practice practice practice.
 
One of the best vocal trainers out there Bret Manning says that singing is just an extension of speaking. If you sing loudly and with lotsa wind, you'll just go hoarse faster.
Try singing at speaking levels. No straining. No excessive breathing.
He does sell an entire program for a couple hundred dollars. Really worth it.
 
oldskooldave said:
Any really cheap quick and easy tips that would improve a voice without paying a lot of money.

I think Tom Jones said he just chews menthol throat lozanges 24/7
Click to expand...

Don't bother trying to somehow improve your voice by diet or whatever tricks, just get vocal lessons!

As a sport I do gymnastics and weighttraining/bodybuilding which requires me to eat a big meal every 3 hours, I also drink around a gallon of milk a day, even when singing. My vocal coach has never ever spotted a difference in my voice regarding my diet, and I never felt like I couldn't sing a certain way. And I practice 3 hours every day whilest drinking milk! Just get a good coach and practice a lot!
 
It helps me to keep in good physical shape, I know there are famous examples of great voices who were not exactly the fittest, but I don't think that can work for everyone. A shot of Espresso also when you're recording, if you don't feel the energy. I do that and jumping up and down just to get the blood flowing.
 
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