How to sing - Can anyone sing?

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MisterBigglesworth

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Hi everyone,

Im an amateur acoustic guitar player, and I find that when playing certain songs....I just cant bring myself to sing along. I think my voice pretty much sucks. I remember at school, I was playing the bass and our music teacher basically said that ANYONE can sing....you just need to be trained and practice.

Is there any truth in that? Im not looking to sing with an amazing voice...just so that when I practice on my guitar and sing along...and dont sound so frickin kark. People have asked me sometimes to play a tune...then they ask why I dont sing along...so ja...I just wont allow myself to.

So can anyone shed some light on this, is singing only for people that have that talent and are born with that talent (ie. not everyone can sing well), or can anyone sing well with the right training? :confused:
 
CrazyFig said:
Hi everyone,

Im an amateur acoustic guitar player, and I find that when playing certain songs....I just cant bring myself to sing along. I think my voice pretty much sucks. I remember at school, I was playing the bass and our music teacher basically said that ANYONE can sing....you just need to be trained and practice.

Is there any truth in that? Im not looking to sing with an amazing voice...just so that when I practice on my guitar and sing along...and dont sound so frickin kark. People have asked me sometimes to play a tune...then they ask why I dont sing along...so ja...I just wont allow myself to.

So can anyone shed some light on this, is singing only for people that have that talent and are born with that talent (ie. not everyone can sing well), or can anyone sing well with the right training? :confused:
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Well, the good news is that you are not tone deaf because if you were, I doubt you'd be able to tell that you sucked.

It's a matter of practice and warming up I'd imagine. Play a couple of scales on the guitar and sing along to those. Find out what your range is and work within that.

I try sing as well sometimes and warming up is very important.

Practice makes perfect, or at least makes better than a skinned cat. :p
 
You definitely can train and practice to sing better ie - become technically better at it - its just like anything else. But ya, not everyone has a great voice to start with so there are limitations.
 
your music teacher obviously listened to a lot of bob dylan and kate bush.
there's a lot of successful artists out at the moment who don't have classic sounding voices. take for example wild beasts, passion pit and MIA.
for me, different vocal styles also generally suit different styles of music - ska, metal, instrumental, pop, rock, funk...
perhaps the best approach would be to find the style of music that your voice and personality suits.

don't despair - i'm sure keith flint, bjork and dolores o'roirdan were asked to shut up a lot in the early days :)
 
APoc84 said:
BS - And Idols proves it each and every year.

PS! I can't sing either.
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:p Yep, I often wonder how some one those contestants even think they have a shot....completely tone deaf!

copacetic said:
Well, the good news is that you are not tone deaf because if you were, I doubt you'd be able to tell that you sucked.

It's a matter of practice and warming up I'd imagine. Play a couple of scales on the guitar and sing along to those. Find out what your range is and work within that.

I try sing as well sometimes and warming up is very important.

Practice makes perfect, or at least makes better than a skinned cat. :p
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I think I should at least give it a bash...and try "improve" my voice. Im not looking to sound amazing...just ok would at least do :p

PDonut said:
You definitely can train and practice to sing better ie - become technically better at it - its just like anything else. But ya, not everyone has a great voice to start with so there are limitations.
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Ok...so at least I know I have limitations. So thats good to start with I guess.

murraybiscuit said:
your music teacher obviously listened to a lot of bob dylan and kate bush.
there's a lot of successful artists out at the moment who don't have classic sounding voices. take for example wild beasts, passion pit and MIA.
for me, different vocal styles also generally suit different styles of music - ska, metal, instrumental, pop, rock, funk...
perhaps the best approach would be to find the style of music that your voice and personality suits.

don't despair - i'm sure keith flint, bjork and dolores o'roirdan were asked to shut up a lot in the early days :)
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He was an old guy into his old 50's - 70's music and also classical stuff. Never liked most of the stuff he wanted us to play. Sure I like oldies music...but his oldies music taste was not the same as mine...thats for sure...

Not a bad idea on the style to find. Think I will take a look into that. ;)

Hosehead said:
[video=youtube;9SmIxb3DkUQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SmIxb3DkUQ[/video]. No need to vocalize anything.
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Damn...wish my fingers were that nimble....got a long way to go

Thanks for the replies so far ;)
 
I had a terrible singing voice when I was younger. In the last 8 years I have been singing a LOT and it improved tremendously (not to boast, i'm still no Pavarotti). But yes practice is the key. Learn to sing from your stomach, not your throat. Practice with scales. Learn to sing with boldness, don't be shy of your own voice. A quiet singing voice is always bad.
 
APoc84 said:
How exactly does one do that?
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An untrained singer will push air out using his throat muscles - leaving him short of breath and producing a nasally forced sound. Your stomach's diaphragm should be the place where you control the flow of air when you sing.
 
cerebus said:
An untrained singer will push air out using his throat muscles - leaving him short of breath and producing a nasally forced sound. Your stomach's diaphragm should be the place where you control the flow of air when you sing.
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Any D.I.Y tips on improving this?
 
APoc84 said:
Any D.I.Y tips on improving this?
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Stand straight up when you sing, don't crouch. Be conscious of the flow of air. If you have seen music instructors teaching students by holding their stomachs and straightening their backs - that's what they're doing. The stomach produces a much richer sound than the throat. And hold your head back somewhat. If you don't have an instructor then just focus on using your stomach; if you feel your throat becoming sore or constricted it's a sign youre dong it wrongly.

http://www.vocalist.org.uk/breathing_exercises.html
 
APoc84 said:
How exactly does one do that?
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Was gonna ask the same question ;)

cerebus said:
Stand straight up when you sing, don't crouch. Be conscious of the flow of air. If you have seen music instructors teaching students by holding their stomachs and straightening their backs - that's what they're doing. The stomach produces a much richer sound than the throat. And hold your head back somewhat. If you don't have an instructor then just focus on using your stomach; if you feel your throat becoming sore or constricted it's a sign youre dong it wrongly.

http://www.vocalist.org.uk/breathing_exercises.html
Click to expand...

Well that already tells me a lot....after a couple mins singing, my throat hurts. I recon learning to sing properly is really not an easy task, gotta at least try though. Thanks for the tips ;)
 
lol :D well honestly if I learned how to sing there is hope. So long as you aren't tone deaf.
 
Nah. I'm not tone deaf. But if I continue singing for prolonged periods I think people around me will become deaf. :o
 
It helps if you can hear yourself. You can buy swimming earplugs or use press-stick and block one ear. Then you can hear yourself in your own ear. You can also block one ear with your hand or finger but playing guitar like that might be a challenge. Once you can hear yourself you'll stay in key much easier.

(.... unless of course you have a mic and amp that you are singing through.)
 
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