How does my voice sound?

[SadSea8]

Hi,

 

I started taking singing lessons a few weeks ago (have had two sessions so far), with my prior experience being just humming along or singing along to random songs that I was listening to. So far in my lessons we have focused on doing some scale type stuff (pitch matching too), and breathing.

 

I'm not sure if my voice sounds any good, that's the main reason I am posting. Is my voice pleasant to listen to? I know I have chosen quite a hard song to sing, and it is off rhythm etc... but I wanted to quickly record something which I knew the lyrics to, so I could gauge if my tone or timbre (I don't know what to call it) sounds good. As in, if I put in the practise will my voice sound good.

 

Can't Change Me - Chris Cornell

https://instaud.io/2xtd

 

Thanks!

 

Also I am not really sure what type of songs I should sing, does anyone have any recommendations, I would rather sing songs that I like, the main artists I listen to (male) are (Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Chris Cornell), Rise Against, Ghost, etc...

[kickingtone]

The first "song" I ever posted for review was a couple of lines from "Pop goes the weasel". -- yep. the kiddie's song [iT'S LONG BEEN DELETED, SO NOBODY GO LOOKING FOR IT ]. That was because the first thing I wanted to know was the fundamental question of whether or not I could match a melody. Well, a couple of kindly souls replied and confirmed that I was on pitch except for the "pop" which was "flat". They even told me what range of notes I was singing. (C3 to C4). I was a real n00b, and didn't even know note nomenclature.

 

So, I went away to fix the "pop", and I learned about range and "singing vowels", and how some "singing vowels" can be more difficult than others in some situations. Also, I quickly learned that I would need "breath support" to extend my range and be able to sing that "pop" correctly.

 

The point is, that from one very modest review request, I had plenty to be going with.

 

OK, so we all have different methods and approaches, but never underestimate the amount of effort required.

 

Preamble over...on to your questions...

 

First off, in my opinion, a "good/pleasant sounding voice" is a meaningless term. What is good/pleasant is a subjective interaction between a singer and a listener. There may be some loose generalities, but they depend on genre, culture, psychology etc. In fact there can be big differences in what men and women find attractive in a voice, so even a poll of your voice will be skewed by the fact that most commentators tend to be men.

 

Secondly, unless your voice is damaged (and in some cases, despite damage) you will be able to sing well with the correct attitude and practice. "Will my voice sound good?" is more a question for a doctor, if you really think that is necessary!

 

Thirdly, my advice would be to think like an artist, because singing is art. You, the artist, will be the first to hear your inner sound -- the potential in your voice. You will hear it long, long before anybody else. What you need is the technique and confidence to make it into an "outer" voice. That is the biggest challenge, to give your audience YOUR sound, not to ask the audience for their sound. So, you have to be able to translate advice (the listener's vision) into tips on how to make YOUR inner sound into OUTER sound. Being "yes-sir-no-sir-three-bags-full-sir" is just as counterproductive as being stubborn and closed-minded. There is a balance required.

 

All the best!

 

[bTW There are a couple of trolls following me around on this forum. If they turn up on this thread, just smile and wave. ]

[Jackolson]

I second the response from “kickingtone” in that your voice sounding good/pleasant is subjective. For this, the response I give you only applies to the way I hear your voice and what I consider good/pleasant. To me... Your voice sounds like it has raw talent. I wouldn't say you sound great right now but you do sound like you have potential for a really nice sounding voice. The thing is, if I were to describe your voice at its current state it would mainly be as undeveloped. You sound like you have a nice timbre to start with (especially for the type of music you’re trying to sing) but you simply haven’t worked on it long enough to make the most out of the voice you have.

 

 

It sounds to me like you’re holding back and that’s affecting your singing quite a bit because you’re not being able to project. More so, I can tell you’ve mainly practiced by singing ALONG as opposed to singing songs alone because it shows that you get a bit lost without that singing line giving you feedback that you’re indeed hitting the right pitches as you sing the song. I’m pointing this out because the sooner you get comfortable with your own voice and you trust what you intend to sing… the better you’ll start singing and the faster your true singing voice will come out.

 

 

Keep in mind that where you’re at it’s totally understandable considering you’ve only had 2 voice lessons. At this point, you and your coach are still getting familiar with each other so this is a process that takes time and patience. That being said, since you mentioned you like music from the likes of Soundgarden, I’d suggest you take a look at The Four Pillars of Singing as it was developed by Robert Lunte, a direct pupil of maestro David Kyle. In case you don’t know, David Kyle instructed Chris Cornell, Layne Staley of Alice in Chains, Geoff Tate of Queensryche, among others so if you want to sing that style of music, it would definitely be worth your time.

 

 

I think you should sing the type of music you enjoy. You have the voice to sing the style of music you mention and if that’s what you like, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t sing it.

 

 

Good luck with your singing and hopefully this helped you out a bit.