Thread: Tell me about singing and how to become good at it

You can take vocals classes that teach you proper technique. Also, I hear stretching your vocal chords before you sing is a good warmup (to stretch, do like a yawn, just without actually yawning - though it might make you yawn hehe).

Proper lessons!

Just sayin'

I like to practice singing to my steering wheel It's the only thing that will tolerate my singing voice... lol

I love to sing but my family doesn't like it when I do. I hit James Labrie's high notes fine but for some reason they always yell at me to shut up

The thing I'm curious about is how people that talk about singing properly never mention what seems to be the very foundation: keeping an unwavering tone of voice.

I mean, isn't that the "secret" behind it?
When someone sings "badly", it seems to be because he/she allows his/her voice to waver up and down, without keeping it on the right tone when stretching a note. Or is there more to it than meets the eye?

And I may be off in saying this but it seems to me that linking to book covers and gesturing to taking lessons in a topic that asks for specific information/discussion rather ruins the point of this forum section.

One important thing is breathing. You must be aware of it at all times, not just when singing. A good exercise is when you are walking down the street or whatever, breathe in for 4 steps, hold for 4 steps, and then breathe out for 4 steps. Repeat like that.

Also if you plan on singing in front of people, practice in front of a mirror most of the time. This allows you to see what you look like so you are not paranoid when you get up on stage.

Another tip that is important for all music (singing and instruments) is to records yourself with and without backing tracks to hear what you actually sound like and find any faults.

Another important thing is to relax and flow with it. Music is a form of expression adn you can't express yourself if you are standing rigid afraid to move.

And of course the most important tip of all is to practice, practice, practice.
(or as Paul Gilbert would say "practice at least 50, 75, or 100 hours a day")

And of course have fun with it.

3 words: Practice, Practice, Practice. I used to be in a choir, but now I just sing every now and then just for the heck of it. And I'm pretty good at that.

Breathe at the right time. You can't sustain a note if you breathe in right in the middle of it. It'll sound all choppy.
ex. In the song Don't Stop Believin' (one of the best songs to sing imo) you have to have enough breath to sing "somewhere in the Niiiiiiiight" without breathing in the middle.

Sing from the diaphragm. You can use less air to sing. And it doesn't make your voice sound all breathy.

Have fun with it. Sing along to your favorite songs (for me it's Sweet Child O' Mine) You'll be practicing and having fun!

taking lessons and practing every day. That's how you become good.

It also has to do with what you are singing, very few people can sing a Josh Groban song and make it sound good, very few people can make Blowin' in the Wind sound bad.

The thing I hate about American Idol is that they overemphasize the voice, that's not what makes a good musician. If [Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Lewis Armstrong, Rod Stewart, Barry Manilow, Harry Chapin] had been to that show when they were 25 the world would be without some of the greatest music ever produced.

My point is singing isn't as important as it's made out to be, good songs do. The voice is just icing on the cake.

That said: practicing scales helps you hit the right notes and keep them. Get ahold of some tuning forks and practice holding notes, if you hear a cyclical fluctuation then you aren't right on. If you can hit each note individually then work on doing rolling octaves.

First of all, you have to be past puberty. Little kids can't sing for shit. It does no good when your a teen and your voice cracks at random.
Second of all, I don't have a second point!

Originally Posted by Kushna Mufeed

First of all, you have to be past puberty. Little kids can't sing for shit. It does no good when your a teen and your voice cracks at random.
Second of all, I don't have a second point!

I think little kids can't do alot of things well, but I don't think that you should hold them back from doing them. I teach tennis to little kids in the summer and they are absolutely horrible, barely able to hit it back and forth from very close to the net. They have fun doing it though . Most high school kids with any amount of athletic ability are instantly able to be decent at tennis though.

Maybe all this doesn't apply to singing though since little kids singing is the most irritating thing ever especially since their parents send them to TV shows that are looking for the next big stars. Also I think working on singing and your voice is good at any point as long as you do it right. Once you get past puberty your voice will just get better.

At least I don't have to hear them playing tennis. So, I approve of little kids playing tennis, no matter how horrible they are at it. I still stand firm on my view of kids singing, though.

Originally Posted by Kushna Mufeed

At least I don't have to hear them playing tennis.

What kind of sounds do little kids make playing tennis?

Exactly. There's nothing to hear, so I don't care if they play.

I sang for like 2 years awhile back then just quit, one day I just decided that I wanted to improve, I had one of the crappiest singing voices in the whole class, it only seemed to take me a few weeks to get quite a bit better it seemed, I loved to see myself improve though even joined the after school chorus group, in the end I just gave up cause I convinced myself I'd never be a singer, I loved to sing though still but was busy with other hobbies at the time, and after that I pretty much forgot about it.

My advise would be to just sing to cds you have laying around your room, all I did was pop in a cd any cd and try to keep up, this also inabled me to sing without the help of lyrics after a few trys, and I didn't need a lyrics folder in chorus class.

And the past puberty singing thing, well ofcourse it's better to start singing at younger ages, then when you pass puberty it starts at a better voice level, why do you think the most famous singers started when they were very young.

Originally Posted by Grod

What kind of sounds do little kids make playing tennis?

O let's see, little kids running around screaming, swinging pieces of metal at little fuzzy balls. It gets pretty loud sometimes. At least when singing they are trying to sound good whereas the rest of the time they randomly scream and yell. What's worse though is when they keep hitting balls onto your court

Well, in Tennis, it's the adults that tend to make the noises.

http://www.expertvillage.com/videos/...ocal-coach.htm

there you go hun...video instruction on how to sing beautifully.

Try singing to your shower head too.

Originally Posted by Replicon

Well, in Tennis, it's the adults that tend to make the noises.

lol theres theres this one local guy who makes really hilarious grunting noises as hes trying to get to tough balls. It's so hard not to laugh as you play him.

This brings me to another singing tip, exercising and other things that strengthen your respiratory system will help you sing.

Since I started playing guitar I've been teaching myself how to sing. It's almost my third year of guitar and my singing has by far improved since I started. I used to not hit the right pitch, my voice would crack, I couldn't go high and I couldn't go low. Now I can do rolls, go high and go low, my voice is clear, and my pitch is usually good to go. I haven't had one lesson.

You really just have to strengthen your vocal chords, and that comes from practice practice practice.

Originally Posted by CoLd BlooDed

Since I started playing guitar I've been teaching myself how to sing. It's almost my third year of guitar and my singing has by far improved since I started. I used to not hit the right pitch, my voice would crack, I couldn't go high and I couldn't go low. Now I can do rolls, go high and go low, my voice is clear, and my pitch is usually good to go. I haven't had one lesson.

Lol that reminds me of the one track on the cd for Troy Stetina's amazing book "Speed Mechanic for Lead Guitar" where he has you sing scales while you play.

Hes like:
"Now I know alot of you are thinking 'I can't sing so I'm not even gonna try this', but I'll tell you, I can't sing either, SO SHUT UP AND QUIT MAKING EXCUSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Originally Posted by Sandform

http://www.expertvillage.com/videos/...ocal-coach.htm

there you go hun...video instruction on how to sing beautifully.

Try singing to your shower head too.

seriously, watch the video's tells you everthing you need to know...

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I've already started using the info, you were all very helpful!