My voice: please be honest!

[Misha]

Not too bad or really bad or terrible ??? 🤪

 

(I know I need to work on my high range a lot...

 

 

 

[Misha]

Not sure enough of me! Will repost when I think I'm better!

[Misha]

Update: got one singing lesson... 

The teacher told me I had a little bit more than two octaves of range...

Well, the song I had made was this one: 

Another with an Ipod

I don’t know when I‘ll be able to take more lessons since we are all confined in our places because of the Covid-19. I can’t go to work... (But I get paid, fortunately.) 

[Idunno]

Not bad at all, Misha. I think I hear all the right pitches where they need to be and the inflections are very listenable. I do hear some holding back. Don't do that. Get it out of your diaphragm. That's why we sing. We release what's down there needing to come out. Holding back is usually because we fear losing control if we just belt it out. I'm not speaking about volume. I speaking about power over the notes and for that to become second nature you have to stop constricting your capacity for vocalizing. Nice job and keep singing.

[Misha]

Hi Idunno!
Thank you very much for the constructive comments!

You are right about constricting my voice and being afraid to go out of tune. 

The teacher said to keep my body relaxed and I don’t stay relaxed all the way through the song.

I know there is a technique called belting but I don’t know how to do it! (At least not for now!)

Also, I think I will take my medication to control my asthma more regularly. ( I got use to not taking it except when I want to do an outdoor activity because once, a doctor told me I needed more medication, I didn’t had enough and he gave me something so strong that it sent me to the hospital with my heart going crazy. I threw my medication to the garbages when I got home... But now, with that Covid-19 thing... and all, it might be a good thing to breathe better!

 

Edit:

It might take a while before I get another singing lesson (or piano or guitar). They announced today that everything non essential has to close until the pandemic is over in Quebec. 
 

 

[Idunno]

Everything will go under lockdown until the hysteria has passed. Don't worry about it. You, being asthmatic, need to heed the warnings so don't get impatient.

The so-called "belting out" simply means letting go of your inhibitions (fears) and learning where your limitations are. If you don't find them then you can't develop past them. If your asthma is a factor then you will need to work within its bounds, and testing beyond them. You have a nice voice so sing.

[Misha]

Thank you very much for your feedback Idunno.

I remember that you have a very nice timbre of voice yourself when you post in the Vom1t. 

Thank’s for the precision about belting out! In a couple of weeks or months, the music school should reopen! (It’s sad for them because they won’t earn money meanwhile...)

I’m learning how to read music and started piano lessons. I really want to be able to sight read. This is something I should already know, in my opinion. I have enough of playing by ear, a little bit, learning songs by heart by copying someone else's moves. I’m just a beginner at sight reading but I would like to be able to play classical pieces, starting by the easiest ones, at first. I will definitely take more singing lessons too. My teacher teaches both piano and singing. 

Being stuck at home is nothing funny. At least, I like music...

I was thinking about getting a ukulele but I’m not sure. Everytime I tried one, I thought guitar was better and ukulele sounded toyish. Maybe it is just because I don’t know how to play the ukulele at all though... The good things with a ukulele would be great portability (Since they already called me back to work, I need something to change my mind during my breaks), easy way to get reference notes/chords to practice my voice and maybe an easiest way to start to read music on a fretted instrument... I would have to order one online because the music shops are all closed!

 

 

[Idunno]

Reading music is certainly a musician's duty to learn. Both of my sons sight read (piano, guitar and violin) and my youngest has perfect pitch. I've yet to fail him tuning his guitar by ear alone. He tunes it, I check it with a tuner, and it's spot on. We keep the house musical. My own sight reading isn't too shabby but after >>>>>>>>> years with a guitar in my hands I don't need to read a melody to know how to play it. But, I'm on the back slide of my musical journey and you're beginning so get with the pros and let them accelerate your skills. You'll only be better for it. And, thanks for the compliment on my pipes.

[Misha]

If I had children I would like them to play music too!
I saw a video where the guy said that young musicians are more prone to « develop » perfect pitch! Then I also regularly read that it is not something you acquired but innate !? In any case, your children are lucky to have you to make and keep them interested in music! 

[Ledwalletjim]

Yes you are right, perfect pitch is not something that is learned. Rather you have it or you don't. You still need to learn what the pitches are but the best explanation I heard as to what it is like is comparing it to colours. The average person sees red and knows that it's red. Obviously they had to learn that that's red but it's the same for perfect pitch. People that have it can hear and 'A' and they know it's an 'A' without using a instrument or anything to figure it out. Also nice singing! For having one lesson you sound great! Keep at it and you can only get better. If it brings you joy then who cares what other people think too! 

[Misha]

On 4/2/2020 at 9:44 AM, Ledwalletjim said:

Yes you are right, perfect pitch is not something that is learned. Rather you have it or you don't. You still need to learn what the pitches are but the best explanation I heard as to what it is like is comparing it to colours. The average person sees red and knows that it's red. Obviously they had to learn that that's red but it's the same for perfect pitch. People that have it can hear and 'A' and they know it's an 'A' without using a instrument or anything to figure it out. Also nice singing! For having one lesson you sound great! Keep at it and you can only get better. If it brings you joy then who cares what other people think too! 

Hi! I would like to be able to recognize the notes and have perfect pitch but I also read about some people who would prefer not to have it though they do! I guess we always think the grass is greener elsewhere! 

Thank's for your comment. Too bad everything is closed, right now. The music school has had to close. Order from the government! At least, we still have music at home!!

I hope you are safe and healthy! Have a good evening!

[kickingtone]

"Absolute pitch" is not a single well-defined ability.

It involves pitch retention and recall -- allowing you to compare or repeat tones even if they were from the past.

There may also be the ability to break down combinations of notes -- allowing you to identify all the separate tones in a chord, for example. But someone with relative pitch may be able to do that, as well, if a reference tone is fresh in their mind.

Having one ability does not necessarily imply having the other.

It is also not clear how much of the ability relies on familiarity with man made standards (e.g tuning A4 to 440 Hz).

Using man-made standards is definitely something that would have to be learned.

Would someone who could identify separate notes in a chord still be able to do so if A4 were tuned to 420 Hz instead? Or would they get "lost"?

i.e have they only learned "familiarity" with certain tones and chords, or are they truly isolating the tones?

If you throw in a couple of unusual or "out of tune" notes into your chord, would they be able to read back the standard notes and tell you if the rest were "flat/sharp"? Or would the entire thing sound unfamiliar or messed up to them?

Producing a reference note is easy as pie, so having absolute pitch for that is not a big deal.

Then there are people who claim that each absolute note has a character of its own, and the slightest shift of key changes the whole feeling of the music (poor things, lol). There is a story of someone who couldn't listen to a piano 2Hz out of tune without his teeth being set on edge. Whether or not this is a good thing, I cannot tell!

It would be interesting to see so-called "absolute pitch" researched more generically (i.e independently of standards, like A4 = 440 Hz). Standards do not reflect musicality. They are restrictions introduced for practical reasons.

 

 

[Ledwalletjim]

Yes perfect pitch can be a blessing and a curse. It can make people unable to listen to music that is not 'perfect' because it's just unenjoyable. But it can also be incredibly useful for someone who is say a composer, etc as they can work incredibly fast

[davie]

On 4/3/2020 at 9:45 PM, Misha said:

Hi! I would like to be able to recognize the notes and have perfect pitch but I also read about some people who would prefer not to have it though they do! I guess we always think the grass is greener elsewhere! 

Thank's for your comment. Too bad everything is closed, right now. The music school has had to close. Order from the government! At least, we still have music at home!!

I hope you are safe and healthy! Have a good evening!

Hi Misha,

I had a few listens to your recording. I think your pitch is fine. Perfect pitch is a really rare trait and its not essential for becoming a good singer. Relative pitch is more important for singing. You may sometimes feel like your pitch wavers a bit, but that's mainly due to the result of "loose breath". Meaning the breath isn't flowing out evenly enough. In order to sustain a tone and keep its pitch the breath support needs to be more steady. It could be an issue with singing posture or simply the muscles for engaging breath support haven't been fully realized. I think you can bring out more from your voice if you focus on this concept. If in-person lessons are unavailable at the moment due to these circumstances and you need guidance to continue your progress then I suggest you explore options to take voice lessons online. I hope this helps. Stay safe and be well.

[Misha]

46 minutes ago, davie said:

Hi Misha,

I had a few listens to your recording. I think your pitch is fine. Perfect pitch is a really rare trait and its not essential for becoming a good singer. Relative pitch is more important for singing. You may sometimes feel like your pitch wavers a bit, but that's mainly due to the result of "loose breath". Meaning the breath isn't flowing out evenly enough. In order to sustain a tone and keep its pitch the breath support needs to be more steady. It could be an issue with singing posture or simply the muscles for engaging breath support haven't been fully realized. I think you can bring out more from your voice if you focus on this concept. If in-person lessons are unavailable at the moment due to these circumstances and you need guidance to continue your progress then I suggest you explore options to take voice lessons online. I hope this helps. Stay safe and be well.

Hi Davie,

Thank you for taking the time to listen to my recording. I remember that I felt dizzy after the lesson. I don't know if it's common to people trying to control their breath during (or right after) singing lessons !?!

[davie]

13 hours ago, Misha said:

Hi Davie,

Thank you for taking the time to listen to my recording. I remember that I felt dizzy after the lesson. I don't know if it's common to people trying to control their breath during (or right after) singing lessons !?!

Dizziness or lightheadedness isn't unheard of it for beginning singers. It either means you could have been singing with too much tension in the neck or it is an issue with breathing. In your case, it is probably the latter. The issue is called the stacking of breath pressure, it happens when a singer hasn't expelled all the leftover breath from the previous phrase and the singer gradually builds up too much old unused air in the lungs, causing the feeling of breathlessness. Focus on taking a slow and relaxed breath. Once you achieve the feeling of low and deep breath into the body then it should be easier to manage.

[Leon1242]

Hey there Misha

I don't think your voice is bad at all. Kinda reminds me of Alanis Morissette in a way. Your voice sounds very strong but in your recording I sense you may be holding back somewhat. You have a very good soft voice but I was hoping you would let loose somewhere in your recording and really take a bite into these vocals but what you have here is still awesome. Yes you definitely have a promising voice so please keep practicing! 

[Misha]

On 4/18/2020 at 3:16 PM, davie said:

Dizziness or lightheadedness isn't unheard of it for beginning singers. It either means you could have been singing with too much tension in the neck or it is an issue with breathing. In your case, it is probably the latter. The issue is called the stacking of breath pressure, it happens when a singer hasn't expelled all the leftover breath from the previous phrase and the singer gradually builds up too much old unused air in the lungs, causing the feeling of breathlessness. Focus on taking a slow and relaxed breath. Once you achieve the feeling of low and deep breath into the body then it should be easier to manage.

Ha! Good to know about that! I was wondering! Thank you very much again!! It's very appreciated!!

[Misha]

7 hours ago, Leon1242 said:

Hey there Misha

I don't think your voice is bad at all. Kinda reminds me of Alanis Morissette in a way. Your voice sounds very strong but in your recording I sense you may be holding back somewhat. You have a very good soft voice but I was hoping you would let loose somewhere in your recording and really take a bite into these vocals but what you have here is still awesome. Yes you definitely have a promising voice so please keep practicing! 

Hi! Thank's for listening! 

I'm afraid to go out of tune so I restrain myself. Also, I live in an apartment and I sing at low volume because I'm always afraid to disturb the neighbors. I need to fix that! 

My teacher told me that high notes will be easier if  I don't restrain myself. (I send her a clip because I still can't take lessons right now...)

[Leon1242]

17 minutes ago, Misha said:

Hi! Thank's for listening! 

I'm afraid to go out of tune so I restrain myself. Also, I live in an apartment and I sing at low volume because I'm always afraid to disturb the neighbors. I need to fix that! 

My teacher told me that high notes will be easier if  I don't restrain myself. (I send her a clip because I still can't take lessons right now...)

I know the feeling I live in an apartment too so it can be hard to let loose vocally depending on the time of day. Just practice as much as you can during the day or when nobody is around. High notes can be much easier if you can losen your chest area up and get that air flowing through you. If you're worried about going out of tune when letting loose just practice singing to a series of higher notes with a keyboard or guitar if you have anything of that sort around. It could take time but always remember that practice makes perfect!