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Learning to sing. Advice?


Derek5272

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I want to learn how to sing, so that I can provide backing vocals for my band and also hopefully sing some of my own songs. Does anybody have some advice for new singers on how to develop better vocal control? I have a lot of difficulty hitting a pitch, and even with a tuner in front of me I have difficulty shifting up or down slightly to try to bring my voice in tune. I also have difficulty keeping my voice steady, and there's a kind of warbling sound when I try to sustain a note.

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Any warm ups or strengthening exercises you'd recommend, or a site with some? I've been trying the "sing until it sounds good" bit, but it's rather depressing at this stage
:(

And hello, fellow Edmontonian
:thu:

 

http://www.singingvoicelessons.com/courses.html

I use the warm up CD before I gig or record. Nice cause it has male and female warm ups separately. Also has some strengthening exercises.

 

With regards to just singing, I think you need to figure out what you can sing without straining - songs in your comfort zone... You can progress to higher ranges with exercise over time. It's important to hear yourself and realize when you are off pitch and practice those parts. You need self-realization as to your abilities, plus rewards for achieving milestones (and to stroke your ego). And mostly don't smoke...lol...

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Thanks, I'll check out that link. I really don't know where my comfort zone is. I try singing along to the stuff I listen to, but I can't seem to hit a pitch anywhere without straining. I know it'll come with practice, but right now, it's just damn frustrating :p

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All of the above .... PLUS ....

 

Learn to breathe properly -- this is the most important thing you can do

 

breathe.jpg

 

The worst thing you can do is expand and contract your chest while singing. It inhibits control and it can cause damage to your vocal cords. Do not tense your throat.

 

Breathing with your diaphragm is the natural way to breathe. Look at a newborn baby or a pet (dog, cat, gerbil) and you will see them doing it correctly.

 

Practice a lot. Sing long tones, scales and arpeggios with different syllables like la, na, da and ma.

 

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

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Since you're in a band I will assume that you have adequate pitch perception.

 

 

Record yourself singing a song. Note what sounds good and what doesn't (this is not only a matter of being in key or not - articulation, resonance placement and vowel usage matter more than you'd think).

 

Make a list of these shortcomings.

 

Attack and fix one point on your list at a time. If you need help with this step and don't know what to do, get a vocal coach or ask here on the forum.

 

 

Don't lose heart!

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I think you need a vocal workout CD and maybe a vocal teacher (if you can afford it).

 

I'm a big fan of Anne's Peckham's "The Contemporary Singer".

The CD is worth the price of the book alone.

 

It has a complete vocal workout on the CD. In just 2 weeks, my voice

completely changed. I'm going to assume that you have good pitch perception

since you're in a band.

 

IMHO, what separates the workout from others is that it feels more like vocal

gymnastics. The exercises uses different sounds and work different parts of the throat/vocal cords/whatever.

Also, the CDs contain the workout WITHOUT time-wasting descriptions and lectures.

 

I've been doing it for 2-3 months now and my voice/throat feels so relaxed and agile.

Over time, I can feel my range expanding.

 

There are basically 2 workouts you can do:

Warmup + Level 1 Workout (Low Voice) + Advanced Workout (Low Voice)

Warmup + Level 1 Workout (High Voice) + Advanced Workout (High Voice)

 

Warmup = 8 minutes

Level 1 = 13 minutes

Advanced = 10 minutes

 

31 minutes total.

 

It's nice because you don't have to put any thought into planning your workouts.

Just pop in the CD (or rip it to an ipod), do the exercises and you're done.

Really easy.

 

I do the high workout on Mon,Wed,Fri and the low workout on Tue,Thu,Sat.

On Sunday, I rest.

 

After the workout, I do scales for 15 minutes and

then I either practice songs or work on drills/exercises from other vocal method books.

 

Anne Peckham also has another book (Vocal Workouts for the Contemporary Singer).

It's basically another set of exercises you can do in place of the other workout.

 

Also, here are some other vocal method authors:

 

Roger Kain

Brett Manning

Dena Murray

Seth Riggs

Elisabeth Howard

Jaime Vendera

Elisabeth Sabine (Jaime Vendera learned a lot from Elisabeth Sabine)

 

The Roger Kain book (The Complete Vocal Workout) and Jaime Vendera's "Raise Your Voice" are rock-oriented

(especially Kain's book which emphasizes singing/screaming hard and loud). So you maybe want to look at them.

 

Another book you might want to look at is Jaime Vendera's "The Ultimate Breathing Workout.

You'll learn to breath properly and be able to hold notes for over 60 seconds (the author can).

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Depending on your learning style books could be good, but i feel ever since i joined choir and other voice classes I have improved alot more. I had singing success for years but I really didnt know what was going on. The best way to learn is from being taught by a another person in real life!

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Hey, Derek, great that you want to learn to sing!

 

A great way to improve your tuning is to record yourself singing, then really micro-analyze every note. Notice which notes are bang-on and which ones are under or too high. You'll probably surprise yourself, as this can one of the quickest way to improve!

 

Good luck

 

Andrew

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It's a good idea to make sure you are looking after your voice whilst learning to sing. Over the years, you will hear it time and time again; drink lots of water! Well, fluids in general. You really need to keep your vocal chords continuously lubricated and avoid dry-air singing. The last thing you want is a sore throat and damaging your voice irreversably. Warm teas with lemon and honey are one of my faves before singing but you will ALWAYS find bottles of water in my bag. My car footwells are like a water bottle graveyard! Haha!

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Surround yourself with music and singers. Get the books, but spend more time singing songs than on excercises.


The key is always sing awfully lot! When I started out, I spent about 4-6 hours a day singing, it really paid off!

 

 

For me, it's the complete opposite.

 

When I stop singing songs all day, and started faithfully doing vocal exercises everyday for 30 minutes (and then scales for 15-20 minutes), my voice change completely (for the better). I didn't even need 4-6 hours of singing to get better.

1 hour a day was enough.

 

Vocal exercises are not meant to be musical or pleasant sounding. They're

made to address specific areas of singing.

 

I guess the best analogy I can make is that football players don't get those muscles from playing football all day.

They do weight training and workout the muscles that are most important to them. The physical training

will naturally make them better at meeting the physical demands of their sport.

 

In the same way, vocal exercises help you to meet the physical demands of singing.

 

Modern songs require a ton of different skills and they're not really made as

a practice tool for those said skills. Rather, they're made for someone who has mastered the required skills and can walk in and do it 1-2-3 (unless you write the songs yourself, in which case you can tailor your songs to your own needs).

 

I'd recommended finding some vocal training exercises to do everyday and keep at it.

 

I've been using the same vocal exercises for 3 months (Anne Peckham "The Contemporary Singer) and every week I'm feeling new areas of my throat. I can now feel the air moving from my lower belly all the way to my mouth. And recently, I've been hearing/feeling a buzzing/ringing sensation all throughout my body when I sing.

 

Something else I've also learned is to separate "vocal exercises" from "pitch training". To me, "vocal exercises" are singing exercises that are meant to give different areas of your throat a workout. Being in key/tune isn't so important. It's simply physical exercise for your vocal muscles. Working out your vocal cords/throat/etc will make them stronger, more flexible, and agile.

 

When I say "pitch training", I mean doing scales on the piano. It's for training your sense of pitch, but doesn't necessarily work all the parts of your throat like vocal exercises do.

 

So everyday I do vocal exercises (30 mins, to warmup/workout the muscles in my mouth/throat/etc). Then I do pitch training (15-20 mins, to improve my sense of pitch). And THEN I do songs (i.e. after my voice and sense of pitch are intact).

 

Anyway, I'm sure it can be different for everyone, but that's what has worked for me.

Songs alone don't give me a good workout. Vocal exercises and pitch training are what changed my voice.

 

The only real benefit (and it's a big one) from singing songs is that they give you

a ton of motivation. They're a measuring stick for progress. When people compliment you on your singing,you can give yourself a pat on your back.

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For me, it's the complete opposite....


I guess the best analogy I can make is that football players don't get those muscles from playing football all day.

They do weight training and workout the muscles that are most important to them. The physical training

will naturally make them better at meeting the physical demands of their sport.

You'll find that any professional, including fotball players spend most time doing their sport. Actually, I will take it as far as saying that for most people it is wasted time doing excercises vs "doing".

 

BUT:

 

As you, I also had a time where I spent lots of time doing excercises, and it expanded the palette of techniques I could choose from. But at a point I realized I had to put it into action, I kinda hit a wall where the technique training didn't do much for my actual singing skills. So I started singing songs. Lots of them.

 

I think that a good way to improve is to use the songs as excercises. Record yourself and find out what you do wrong. And of course buy books and DVD's on singing and use thme as a guide.

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I also agree that the best and most effective and ENJOYABLE way to learn and improve is by actually singing SONGS you like and want to actually sing.

 

Exercises I think are best to target particular problem areas you have identified in your voice, and strengthen them.

 

What's the point of spending hours of your time doing exercises but not actually singing a song!?

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One word of warning, if you are not breathing correctly (see my previous post) you can ruin your voice by singing a lot. You can develop nodules on your vocal cords. http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/nodulespolyps.htm

 

The great Broadway vocalist/actress Julie Andrews got nodules, and underwent the risky operation to remove them. The net result was that after the operation she could no longer sing.

 

The most important part of singing is to breathe with your diaphragm and not with your chest.

 

A few words to the wise - take it or leave it.

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I also agree that the best and most effective and ENJOYABLE way to learn and improve is by actually singing SONGS you like and want to actually sing.


Exercises I think are best to target particular problem areas you have identified in your voice, and strengthen them.


What's the point of spending hours of your time doing exercises but not actually singing a song!?

 

 

To be fair, the vocal exercise workout I use is only 30 minutes.

8 minutes warmup. 22 minutes workout.

 

You sing along with the CD and there is no filler.

The exercises work different tempos, rhythms, and sounds.

It's a great all-around workout.

 

Just pop in the CD, do the 30 minutes and boom, you're done for the day.

Reap the rewards of a better voice with increased range as time goes by.

 

Every week (for the last few months), i've been feeling new things

inside my body because of the exercises.

 

Of course, it's good to sing songs that you like (because it's very good

for motivation and gives you set goals).

 

But if you have hours and hours to sing, 30 minutes of exercises is a small price to pay.

 

At this point, for me, it's almost automatic. I just do them without much thought.

I'm done in no time (doesn't even feel like 30 minutes) and they work really well.

 

Afterwards, I'm able to sing songs many times better than without the workout.

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chamcham wrote:

 

I also agree that the best and most effective and ENJOYABLE way to learn and improve is by actually singing SONGS you like and want to actually sing. Exercises I think are best to target particular problem areas you have identified in your voice, and strengthen them. What's the point of spending hours of your time doing exercises but not actually singing a song!?

 

To be fair, the vocal exercise workout I use is only 30 minutes. 8 minutes warmup. 22 minutes workout. You sing along with the CD and there is no filler. The exercises work different tempos, rhythms, and sounds. It's a great all-around workout. Just pop in the CD, do the 30 minutes and boom, you're done for the day. Reap the rewards of a better voice with increased range as time goes by. Every week (for the last few months), i've been feeling new things inside my body because of the exercises. Of course, it's good to sing songs that you like (because it's very good for motivation and gives you set goals). But if you have hours and hours to sing, 30 minutes of exercises is a small price to pay. At this point, for me, it's almost automatic. I just do them without much thought. I'm done in no time (doesn't even feel like 30 minutes) and they work really well. Afterwards, I'm able to sing songs many times better than without the workout.

Yes, Chamcham: 30 minutes isn't much, Hell I often do 1 hour excercises when I can and more. And THEN hours of songs.

 

My point is that after a few months you get very good at singing excercises but it doesn't automatically transfer to actual songs: That's when you want to work at excercising the songs by singing them correct applying the correct technique. This is about building a muscle memory so you will perform the song well.

 

And I again compare with athletes: You can spend hours in the gym and get very fit and strong. But if you do trail running, the threadmill will only help you so much: You need to spend most time in the woods and mountains running, it's very different. If you are a football player you need more time playing football than in the gym.

 

Just like a guitar player: If you have 1 hour a day to practice for a performance it's not wise to spend 50 minutes working on technique and then 10 minutes on songs: You do it the opposite!

 

That's why I have made 10 minute, 30 minute and 1 hour technique playlists on my phone depending on the time I got for the actual day. And then different playlists of songs which I set on repeat and sing along to as much as I can for the rest of the time. Or I can repeat one or few songs for hours if I need to work on that.

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