Please tell me if I can sing I want the honest answers!

[COOKI]

I've been singing since I was little, and everyone in my life has had opinions about it. Try vocal lessons. Sing lower. Sing higher. Even my parents have gently suggested I could use some work. The message was pretty clear: I wasn't good.

Recently I started playing karaoke games online, mostly as a joke. I figured strangers would give me honest feedback without any bias since they don't actually know me. And weirdly enough, people liked it. I got high votes and compliments, which made me laugh because the contrast was insane. Strangers think I can sing, but my own family acts like I'm torturing them.

That's when I started wondering if it's actually my phone mic making me sound better than I am. I've always noticed my voice sounds different when recorded, but I didn't know if that affected my singing too. So now I'm trying to figure out the truth, though I'll admit people on those karaoke apps tend to be pretty nice anyway. Is the feedback real, or am I just getting played by my own phone? (warning: my voice is a bit different tho)

AHHH I'm so nervous :O

 

[RFR]

Listen to your parents. Yes your singing could use some work.
That’s not a bad thing.

I would find a singing coach or tutor, get some lessons and then practice.

No one ever got good at something without practice.

 

[TalismanRich]

I'll be honest. You have some serious issues with your pitch. I don't know the song you were singing, and it was actually hard for me to tell what notes you were trying to hit. When you go for a note, you slur up to a different one. You also need to work on your enunciation. Clearly forming words is `of paramount importance.

If you really want to learn to sing (and yes, you can learn how to do it properly), find someone who can give lessons. They don't need to be a paid vocal coach. The choir leader at your church or school can tell you what you need to work on, and give you pointers.

When I was young (as in 2nd and 3rd grade and this was MANY years ago), our teacher would have us start with basic DO RE MI FA SO LA TI DO exercises. She would play a pitch pipe and we would have to hit that note. It taught us to hear the notes and to then hear our voices trying to hit those notes. I'm sure some of us sounded like cats being abused, but we learned.. .slowly.

As for your voice being different, I recommend you check out Jim Nabors, AKA Gomer Pyle USMC on the TV show. His voice was pure country hick with a nasal speaking voice and an accent right out of Alabama. When he sang, it's totally different sound. He sang Back Home Again in Indiana at the Indianapolis 500 Race for 40 years!

 

[COOKI]

I'll be honest. You have some serious issues with your pitch. I don't know the song you were singing, and it was actually hard for me to tell what notes you were trying to hit. When you go for a note, you slur up to a different one. You also need to work on your enunciation. Clearly forming words is `of paramount importance.

If you really want to learn to sing (and yes, you can learn how to do it properly), find someone who can give lessons. They don't need to be a paid vocal coach. The choir leader at your church or school can tell you what you need to work on, and give you pointers.

When I was young (as in 2nd and 3rd grade and this was MANY years ago), our teacher would have us start with basic DO RE MI FA SO LA TI DO exercises. She would play a pitch pipe and we would have to hit that note. It taught us to hear the notes and to then hear our voices trying to hit those notes. I'm sure some of us sounded like cats being abused, but we learned.. .slowly.

As for your voice being different, I recommend you check out Jim Nabors, AKA Gomer Pyle USMC on the TV show. His voice was pure country hick with a nasal speaking voice and an accent right out of Alabama. When he sang, it's totally different sound. He sang Back Home Again in Indiana at the Indianapolis 500 Race for 40 years!

Thank you so much for answering honestly. I have a friend who is a vocal instructor. - COOKI

 

[COOKI]

Listen to your parents. Yes your singing could use some work.
That’s not a bad thing.

I would find a singing coach or tutor, get some lessons and then practice.

No one ever got good at something without practice.

Thank you for responding, I will see if I can contact my friends who's a instructor.

 

[rob aylestone]

If you look at singers as a whole, being able to sing well means so many things. Bob Dylan is a great example. Huge numbers of fans yet his singing style would probably fail judged on the usual criteria. A great singer who can’t sing. Sure, your pitching is a bit off, but for me the killer is I could not understand what you were saying. You tend to slide from not to note, increasing volume and also sliding each syllable into the next, sort of like a mountain range of volume, tone and pitch. It’s unique, I think. If you want to get advice from a coach, they will really struggle, because you have invented a new style, which if they fix the ‘faults’ won’t be your style any more? From the gaps, can we assume you were singing to a track? If so post the whole thing so we can assess if it fits the music, that is the key thing. If you were to extract Bob Dylan’s voice from a track, it would sound to me as terrible, but in the context of his songs, they work. Maybe that is also you?

 

[Papanate]

You can’t sing well at this point - you need to work on enunciation - pitch control - and tone - you need to sing for professionals - @TalismanRich
has the right idea - Church Choir - Any Choir really - and @rob aylestone is on to something - you have a style and you don’t want to lose it.

 

[TalismanRich]

If you look at singers as a whole, being able to sing well means so many things. Bob Dylan is a great example. Huge numbers of fans yet his singing style would probably fail judged on the usual criteria. A great singer who can’t sing. Sure, your pitching is a bit off, but for me the killer is I could not understand what you were saying. You tend to slide from not to note, increasing volume and also sliding each syllable into the next, sort of like a mountain range of volume, tone and pitch. It’s unique, I think. If you want to get advice from a coach, they will really struggle, because you have invented a new style, which if they fix the ‘faults’ won’t be your style any more? From the gaps, can we assume you were singing to a track? If so post the whole thing so we can assess if it fits the music, that is the key thing. If you were to extract Bob Dylan’s voice from a track, it would sound to me as terrible, but in the context of his songs, they work. Maybe that is also you?

While people like Dylan, Paul Williams, Neil Young, Lou Reed, JJ Cale and others have what many consider poor singing voices, their strength lies in the fact that they are prolific songwriters. I doubt that Bob Dylan would be anywhere near as successful if he was simply a recording artist doing other people's songs.

Occasionally someone will become famous simply on their "unique" voice or delivery, but more often than not, its a short lived novelty. William Hung was so bad he became famous. Tiny Tim is another who was famous for his hokey falsetto singing.

 

[RFR]

Can’t forget the vocal style of David Lee Roth.

Man couldn’t sing for crap, but boy was he ever a showman.

But all in all, somehow it worked for Van Halen.

 

[TAE]

I doubt that Bob Dylan would be anywhere near as successful if he was simply a recording artist doing other people's songs.

Bob who?

 

[Slouching Raymond]

It has pretty much all been said, but I gave it a listen.
I think it helps to have some notes or chords as a guide to sing with.
Piano or guitar maybe. Sing against an instrument. That will help you nail the notes.