How can I improve my singing?

axisus

As well as having a terrible basic sounding voice, I am also somewhat tone-deaf and struggle to start on the right note unless I play it on the piano first. Having said that, singing is kind of fun and I'd like to try and improve. Anyway, here's the thing, I'm spending 1.5 to 2 hours driving in the dark at this time of year, so I wondered if there is any way to utilise that time to improve - courses on CD or something like that. Anyone tried anything?

octatonic

Have some lessons- half a dozen will get you started where you can start to work on control.

guitarfishbay

Get lessons, in person.  Much as skype/youtube based learning etc is good you'll need a lot of guidance when first starting out and it'll be more useful if you're in the same room as the person.

Bidley

Yeah, you won't get any better than a few one-on-one lessons. You ideally need somebody to tell you where you may be going wrong.

Failing that, just singing more will improve your range and confidence. But if you're tone-deaf, lessons are more than likely the way forward.

snakemanStoo

Echo the above.

Lessons helped me so much technically and gave me confidence too.

paganskins

axisus said:

As well as having a terrible basic sounding voice, I am also somewhat tone-deaf and struggle to start on the right note unless I play it on the piano first. Having said that, singing is kind of fun and I'd like to try and improve. Anyway, here's the thing, I'm spending 1.5 to 2 hours driving in the dark at this time of year, so I wondered if there is any way to utilise that time to improve - courses on CD or something like that. Anyone tried anything?

These are the best ones I've found on CD, prohibitively expensive on CD but reasonable as MP3 downloads from amazon. I worked through the 4 main CDs and now use the fourth one to keep my singing voice in some kind of useable state.

I hadn't seen the repair one before so I might try that and get the kids' one for our 5yo.

Jimbro66

Yes, definitely one-to-one lessons but also your car time will be really useful. Sing along to songs you know on the car's sound system and do it with conviction (except perhaps in traffic jams ). If you pick recordings that are within your natural vocal range singing along will help you to stay in key. My lovely other half has a good singing voice but she changes key within songs, which is a common difficulty for untrained singers. Singing along with recordings helps key discipline.

Sambostar

Jimbro66 said:

Yes, definitely one-to-one lessons but also your car time will be really useful. Sing along to songs you know on the car's sound system and do it with conviction (except perhaps in traffic jams ).

This.  In the Transit over the roar of the 2.5Di I can really open up and 'Sing'.  Where as at home I close up.

I'd wager you can hold a tone but freeze up going up or down.  If you can find the notes on an instrument you can sing, you just have to learn the instrument.  Get lessons, I should have gotten lessons years ago.

The thing for me is that I never felt singing was important, so I never really listened to the words or vocal melody or phrasing.  Hardest thing for me at first was distinguishing timbre and range.  You can have a bass voice but a crappy shallow timbre or a high baritone voice but a rich timbre. The two are totally separate.  What made it harder for me is my breathing is crap and I don't talk much. Get lessons but also open up your ears to all sorts of singers and find someone who has a similar timbre and a song that fits in with range.

What's the highest and lowest notes you can sing BTW?  When I try and sing high in head voice my voice gets really thin and horrible, when I sing low it gets croaky, I think it's all about normal for a low baritone average bloke.

Axe_meister

To me the biggest thing preventing me from singing is confidence Even if I'm alone the the house I feel very scared of singing

Sambostar

If you find a range that you feel happy with it improves your confidence, doesn't improve anything else though.  A lot of it is support and breathing, I'm crap at swimming for the same reasons.

Jimbro66

Singing within your range is essential. We've all heard people who try to sing in the same key as a recording and end up jumping up or down an octave mid-song because some notes are too high or two low for them. There's no point in trying to emulate Robert Plant if you have a voice like Johnny Cash But range will increase a bit over time.

Correct breathing is also important as @Sambostar says but that sort of thing is covered in one-to-one tuition.

capo4th

Try grabbing your cock as you sing and make eyes at a lady in the audience.

Sambostar

I actually found out that I can do a mean Johnny Cash, although surprisingly, like Crash Test Dummies, it's kind of the highest end of my chest range but it blows everyone else out of the water, also found a lot of deeper voices in country music too, see if that helps you?  It's funny to see people with higher ranges try and sing and talk deeper voices of country music, I didn't think I had a deep voice, but there is only one bloke down the pub with a voice deeper when singing, but I have met plenty of people with deeper and booming voices who can sing like Morton Harket.

Warren Zevon has a rich timbre but he is a mid baritone.  It's all about the quality of the timbre I reckon, not the range and the grass is always greener.

TimmyO

axisus said:

As well as having a terrible basic sounding voice, I am also somewhat tone-deaf and struggle to start on the right note unless I play it on the piano first. Having said that, singing is kind of fun and I'd like to try and improve. Anyway, here's the thing, I'm spending 1.5 to 2 hours driving in the dark at this time of year, so I wondered if there is any way to utilise that time to improve - courses on CD or something like that. Anyone tried anything?

2 things:

1. Yes, a good set of exercises used in the car works really well - I did it for ages, as well as 'rehearsing' and leaning lyrics on the commute. I tried a couple and I can recommend this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Vocal-Workout-Step-Step/dp/1844920038 ;

2. Your car practice will be FAR more effective if backed-up by some lessons - there is no substitute for a teacher watching you closely when you start out - I booked a course of 10 lessons with a local teacher who was recommended and I got SO much out of it - I'd thoroughly recommend it.

TimmyO

Jimbro66 said:

 We've all heard people who try to sing in the same key as a recording and end up jumping up or down an octave mid-song because some notes are too high or two low for them. 

Sometimes it's not so much because of the absolute range, but moving through the natural break between chest/mixed/head voice is hard to control (passagio  do they call it?) 

axisus

Everyone recommends lessons, no surprise really. For me though that absolutely wouldn't happen, I'm way to inhibited for that! Thanks for the other links people, I will check stuff out.

Skipped

Now that you have ruled out lessons.....

The singers who are/were the worlds greatest communicators were not trying to sound like someone else. Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen were not trying to sound like someone else. And their technical ability was of no importance. So focus on your personality.
When Bupa tell you - regularly - that you are "amazing", what they are saying is that you are absolutely unique.
You have to take advantage of that.

What would be a good indication that you don't currently sound like you when you sing?
An American accent. (Assuming that you are not American)
You don't need that. (See: David Bowie)

ElectroDan

I bought the first part of Ken Tamplin's course (see Youtube). I found it really useful, although you could probably source quite a bit of information from the Net without going to that expense.
Part of your problem is going to be the fear of letting the sound out. I'm sure this is something you could discuss with a singing teacher without committing to singing lessons. It's probably something they would've come across before and may even be able to help you overcome.
Practicing in your car is fine and perhaps a good use of otherwise dead time. It is better to practice whilst standing though according to Mr Tamplin.

Sambostar

Skipped said:

Now that you have ruled out lessons.....

The singers who are/were the worlds greatest communicators were not trying to sound like someone else. Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen were not trying to sound like someone else. And their technical ability was of no importance. So focus on your personality.
When Bupa tell you - regularly - that you are "amazing", what they are saying is that you are absolutely unique.
You have to take advantage of that.

octatonic

Skipped said:

Now that you have ruled out lessons.....

The singers who are/were the worlds greatest communicators were not trying to sound like someone else. Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen were not trying to sound like someone else. And their technical ability was of no importance. So focus on your personality.
When Bupa tell you - regularly - that you are "amazing", what they are saying is that you are absolutely unique.
You have to take advantage of that.

What would be a good indication that you don't currently sound like you when you sing?
An American accent. (Assuming that you are not American)
You don't need that. (See: David Bowie)

This misunderstands what having lessons does- which is to get you to harness what you have and do it safely.
Singing is hard on the body- most singers I've worked with have had problems with their voice- the self taught ones seem to have more trouble than those who learn a bit of technique.

Sambostar

Confidence.

Get pissed and practice doing a Yeeee -Hoo or Haw as loud as you can, at the top of your lungs.

  I feel yer.  I had problems with speech as a kid and no one could understand me so I went to therapy.  Then my voice took 4 years to break, maybe 5.  When it finally did break, it was so deep no one could hear me.  My adams apple is the size of a tennis ball.  When everyone else at rock concerts were screaming at the top of their lungs I didn't know what to do as no way I could hit those screamed male pitches and when I tried a pathetic noise came out that was completely random, which caused me to turn around as everyone looked like I was having a fit or taking the piss or something. I felt like a Rhino in a chicken coup.  Add to that my Dad got kicked out of the choir in Oz as a kid so he has major phobias and hang ups about singing and I was never allowed to talk in the house much at all, let alone sing.  I don't have hang ups about singing in public down the pub, I just wish I could reliably sing higher and a reliably decent timbre, but it must take practice to master.

So yeah, it is all about confidence and pushing air.  Practice your Yahh-ooos as a first base. 

You don't want an average voice anyway.