Newjack questions

Hi all,

I'm new here and have many questions. I'm sure they've been asked before but my searches here and elsewhere have had limited results. Man! Guitar and harmonica (blues) was so much easier to get info on.

Like I said I'm new to all of this and at 55 years old might just now be realizing I can sing. I mean I always thought I could and have been singing (to myself) since I was a kid. I sang in the school choir and have been asked to sing in grammar school because they thought I could...but...

I have been told here and there through the years I have a good voice but somehow I was never really convinced. I suppose that is common (?). Although deep down I was sure I could sing well...but at the same time, when in front of people I was suddenly unsure.

About 6 years ago I sang karaoke for the first time and it went well. I didn't sing in front of anyone again until a few months ago. At that time I was told I sang good. I entered another karaoke and received many compliments. Then no more singing (only to myself of course) until last week. This time I got a great deal of compliments and someone actually called me over and said I had a lot of soul in my voice! That was great because it's something I strive for. (blues). But I am raw and I know it. I have read Roger Loves "Set Your Voice Free" and do his exercises all the time. I am very familiar with diaphragmatic breathing from years (since childhood) of Martial arts. But to be honest...all I do is sing, sing and sing some more. In the last week as I've gained more interest in doing this for real...at some level...I discovered it is complicated.

I have a mic. A Shure SM58 but no amp. Finding something to play through (and not expensive) just for home practice, seems daunting. Any ideas? Amps? anything? I thought I could sing at home and also try practicing by doing some karaoke. I figured making my own CD's would give me some comfort in "knowing what I'm dealing with" (I have found, in my limited exposure to karaoke, that their tracks are sometimes in odd keys) but it seems it is complicated making CD+G's. Well for a computer illiterate anyway.

Ok....this is getting too long. Any suggestions on home equipment (on the cheap) practice ideas/tips, resources, magazines etc. would be helpful.

I sing a lot of Clapton. I also like to sing the Allman Brothers (Greg Allman) as well as old style blues/harp blues. But I pretty much do anything I can (or try). From Whiter Shade of Pale to Elton John as well as Motown. I like to sing Joe Cocker also and recently did "With a Little Help From my Friends." Which went over good. If I think I can hit the notes I sing it. Ok...sometimes it gets loud to get the note, but....

Thanks for listening (if you're still here).

Tommy

Either a recordable Karaoke machine, or buy a DAW and recording interface. Depends on budget, and how much time you want to spend learning a new technology.