Do I have a good voice for singing?

[GalacticMind]

http://vocaroo.com/i/s1vj1c0Cb1Is I am considering auditioning for singing at my school and I don't know whether my voice is up to par with people there. My voice is not melismatic nor light, it's thick and low and I feel its really bland compared to the high riffing tenors that are going to sing there. Would appreciate some feedback on the tone of my voice.

[1001gear]

Depends what you want to sing. What kind of school is it?

[WRGKMC]

I did a quick listen. To tell you the truth I was unable to make out your gender by what I heard. Young voices often sound close to one another so please don't get upset if you're a male when I say you have the style of many female vocalists in the way you trail your words down at the end of each line. This is how many female country vocalists sing, but its also how many urban rock singers sing too so its a tough call on me to make. If you are a male then you have the makings of something that can be profitable there, at least till your voice completely changes.

 

Your voice male or female has excellent diction and you know how to formulate the words very well. What I do hear is you need pitch training which consists of spending a couple of hours a day working on scales and intervals. There is no short cuts to getting a good voice. Its like being an athlete, the coach is going to drill you doing allot of boring exercises. Its also like the Karate Kid being made to do the Wax on Wax off stuff by the old Japanese guy. He has to build the control of the muscles up before you can train them to do wonderful things.

 

Its the same thing with vocals. You need to do the old doe a deer and do ray me fa so la tea do routine backwards and forwards, every other note in a scale, every other note in a scale till you can make a big leaps of up to an octave or so and hit the notes square, confidently, and on pitch.

 

Once you get that down then you have to put real emotions into the words. That can take allot longer of course because it requires working with a band or at least a group of singers to learn how and when to apply that.

 

I noticed a bit of bashfulness there, likely because you were recording and overly focused on what you were hearing from the speaker (I could hear the feedback) Getting used to hearing your voice amplified and ignoring it takes many years. Not something to worry about now. I been singing over 50 years and I don't even hear myself sing. The voice in my minds eye is louder and stronger then want I actually hear and its also what guides you to keep your voice in pitch. You seem to have a strong inner voice.

 

What you have to do is get some one on one mentoring. They used to have chorus classes in school when I was growing up. Otherwise find a vocal teacher and go get a few lessons. I guarantee those lessons will save you literally "Years" of wasted time trying to find the right path singing on your own. I was lucky enough to have family members who were heavily into the arts. I have one sister that even toured doing musicals which is even more difficult because you have to sing and act. I learned many different techniques beginning from the time I was in grade school. didn't do much good because I don't have a good natural voice. I have to use all the tricks and techniques in the book to sound good. I do know how to train others. My last cover band has someone with vocals at about your level. Took about 5 years working with them on a weekly basis to get them to semi pro. within 8 years they were touring with a band for a living.

 

None of those techniques and training can't be taught over the internet however. You have to work with other people one on one. There's allot more to it then just hitting the notes and learning to breathe properly. You have to constantly challenger a singer to improve themselves by giving them goals which are obtainable, Praising them when they make it and chastising them when they goof off. That's were a good mentor comes in. Friends and relatives aren't good teachers because it gets too personal.

 

A mentor can tell you what you need to do and its strictly business. This is where you are. This is where I want you to be. The question then simply becomes whether you got what it takes because it takes more blind faith then most people can imagine. It can take years of grueling work on that journey before you can look back and see just how far you've come and there's no guarantee you'll ever make a dime after putting all that hard work into it.

[Eanwen]

Hello!

 

I listen your little track.

Personnaly what I think is very simple: if you want/need to sing, then you have a voice to sing.

Now, To have a good voice, you need training, patience, exercising etc. From what I have listen I feel you really love to sing. You need to improve, but we all do

I can't give you advice as good as WRGKMW, I am limited by the english, but I encourage you to continue. I hope you will sing at your school, it's a good way to improve and it helps to sing with others

 

 

 

 

 

[GalacticMind]

Hi WRGKMC,

 

I have indeed undergone puberty and I am a male. But isn't it pretty obvious my voice is thick and baritone-like? Its just weird cause my voice sounds husky most of the time.

[WRGKMC]

Hi WRGKMC,

 

I have indeed undergone puberty and I am a male. But isn't it pretty obvious my voice is thick and baritone-like? Its just weird cause my voice sounds husky most of the time.

 

Glad you cleared that up. Its hard to give advice based on a clip only. I've worked with a dozen good female vocalists over the years and the range and tone on that clip is in the medium/lower ranges of many female singers.

 

You don't sound anywhere near being a baritone however. You'd have to be an octave lower and have the deeper resonance which your voice doesn't seem to have. A persons weight and physical size often determines how low you can go. There are exceptions of course but someone 6+' with large chest is more likely to have long vocal cords and hit the baritone region. You defiantly sound like a tenor and possibly an alto singing at a lower range.

 

I suggest you get to a piano, find the lowest, and the highest note you can sing. The center between those points is probably going to be your optimal range. It can change a little over time but not that much usually. Most of the voice range development comes when you're a child. Once you hit your teens, your range is pretty much set. It can often times produce richer tones within your range as you get older and put on weight but not much is going to change on the high and low ends. If anything your range may narrow a bit because you're more experienced and less likely to push your range where it becomes more painful.

[GalacticMind]

Hey WRGKMC,

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

I did a check on my vocal range and its really reminiscent of a typical baritone voice.

E2 (D#2) - F4 (F#4) [Chest Voice] - Not fry notes

E4 to F5 [Head Voice] - I rarely use this because I can't transition really well and the timbre is drastically different (Light and hollow) compared to chest.

D4 - D6 [Falsetto] - Also rarely used.