Karaoke Forums

Some of us have been involved in music a LONG time.  We just never spent time learning the rudiments of singing, because we never considered ourselves as "singers"..

How does a person start to sing ?  I don't mean just "opening your mouth and making a discernible sound" either.  Posture,  establishing your range, and what should we keep in mind ?  Some of us NEVER had ANY instruction on using our voice as an instrument.  We just never felt we could sing, or that our voice was an instrument capable of sounding decent.

What are the important basics ?  I can't believe EVERYBODY can just stand there, and pick this up on there own.  Assuming that to be the case, there's something VERY wrong with me,  That hasn't worked. I've made noises that some might consider "backup" vocals, but I don't know how to sing.  (I don't even know what range I'd sing in, assuming I found a glee club desparate enough to take me.)

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I am far from the best singer here, but here are a couple of quick tips:

Stand up. You breathe more effortlessly that way.

Sing from your gut, not your throat. You will pick up on what this means with just a bit of practice.

Open your mouth. Think opera singer, not rock singer.

Sing the vowels, not the consonants. The consonants separate the vowels and turn them into words.

There is a difference between the amount of air coming out of your lungs/mouth, and the amount of volume. This was a tough one for me to learn.

You might consider a continuing ed class to learn some basics, learn how to sing in front of others (AARGH!), and determine if investing in a good teacher is something you want to do. Start with a teacher, then move on to a coach. There is a difference, I understand.

We love you, Kappy. I would love to hear you sing.

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[glow=darkorchid]Musica delenit bestiam feram[/glow]

Pay attention to diction! Unless the style is more "free and loose" the idea is to get the words across, not to get them lost...as mentioned by our friend above, concentrate on the vowel sounds, think of them as AAAAA---EEEEE-AAAHH-OOOO-EWWW (well, pretty much like how they sound except for that "U" deal).  

I myself would LOVE to hear Steve PLAY something for us one day (PS to Steve: I found a studio recording of "Kitten on the Keys" I had made some years ago on the piano and submitted and everyone seemed to like it, so go ahead, take a chance buster).

Thank you Gigi, and Michael,


I have to process BOTH of these concepts.



I've never heard this before, so I need to focus on it. Try to absorb it.

Thanks !

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Incidentally, there IS a "Dummies" book for singing--have a copy myself. It is EXTREMELY helpful and even though I take lessons, this book has helped me in many ways and answered a lot of questions.  It also covers singing from TOP to BOTTOM and of course like that entire series, easy to follow.

In my case, I need a book called "Dummies for Dummies", but that's another story...

Thanks Michael,

  If the info is accurate, and well presented.  I will purchase it.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

The tips already mentioned are great but I didnt learn them until well into my venture of singing. The first thing I did to learn to sing is listen. I listened to songs that I liked over and over again listened to how they sang  particular words and then I sang WITH them over and over again. I then got confident enough to do it on my own. ( I still do it this way when i learn a new song too )It all has to do with singing what you like too. I like slower songs and can handle them quite well but I have to work harder on the more upbeat faster songs.
 I have noticed that I like to sing standing up rather than sitting I get more air and my volume tends to be much better and can "feel" what Im singing in my gut more than in my throat. Which sounds much better.
 Also timing is important if your out of synch with the music its gonna sound yukky too. Relax and find "your style" it will make it easier than trying to "sound like" someone else. My . Hope it helps.

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Kelley
Star Sounds Karaoke & Mobile Recording Studio


[shadow=black][scroll]You have to respect your audience. Without them, you're essentially standing alone, singing to yourself....KD Lang[/scroll][/shadow]

An exercise I find fun is to first learn to mimic the voices of your favorite singers, and then use those same voices doing songs by other artists.  How would it sound if Sting sang, I don't know, "Summer Wind?"  It's kind of fun.

The purpose of it is supposed to be to learn to identify what sounds like *you* as opposed to you imitating somebody else.  I don't know how well it works, but I like doing it just for entertainment purposes.

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Reward: nine yen in drawer.

Tom.

THAT is exactly what I try to do, and it's the reason I become so discouraged.  That's a gift assuming you can come very close to the timbre of a favorite singer. I WISH I could do that.  I'm starting to wonder if there's a particular reason that *I* have such a difficult time hearing myself as I might sound to others. There's two possiblilites.  I hate the sound of my voice either because it really does stink, or there's a whole different psychological phenomenon going on.  Or,  perhaps I'm doing the singing thing ENTIRELY wrong.  But if I could sing anywhere NEAR a few of these top rock vocalists, or had a knack for impersonation, I'd be thrilled !

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

You don't have to actually end up sounding like another singer, just practice how they pronounce certain words, how they hold notes at the end of a phrase, stuff like that. Play with their techniques instead of tryiing to imitate their voices.

I was originally going to tell you to never try to imitate anyone, but to develop your own style instead, but after reading Kelly and Tom's comments I have changed my mind. And I realized that my style (such as it is) has developed based on listening to how others sing.  :oops:

Michael, I just may go buy the Dummies book. I know more about what I need to improve than I do about what I am doing well. So thanks for the recommendation from me, too!

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[glow=darkorchid]Musica delenit bestiam feram[/glow]

Me too Michael. I would really love to understand how my mind works and how to use it to its full potential. There is one very imprortant thing you need to get used to doing Steven Kaplin, you must learn to like singing. This includes liking how your voice feels when singing.

You can't just reap the rewards of your accomplishment alone. Singers anjoy singing. They don't just do it because they have to in order to pay the bills.

Before you learn any more about singing, I highly recommend, no, I demand that you pick up an old album or CD that you haven't heard in a long time. It must be one that you sang to while listening. Dust it off and listen to it. Sing with it.

The choice is yours Steven Kaplin. Sing because you want to or sing because it's another instrument you have yet to master. I recommend the former.

If you learn to enjoy it, more of your mind will be involved in learning it.

The reason I spent up to 16 hours a day practicing with my voice was because I loved to sing. When I am doing it right it feels a little like flying.

Actually, I'm quite fond of the whole "Dummies" series--they've been quite valuable as stepping stones to more advanced learnings--I'm almost certain I saw one at the store about home audio recording--I'll have to keep a beady eye out for that one!

Why have I not looked for that. I never think of that series and there are times when it would really be beneficial.

I have known people to read a "Dummies" book and wind up being offended that it starts out with the basics. It has to start somewhere. Some people need to cover the basics again anyway.

I'm fortunate. My pride does not stand in the way of learning anything.

Thank you Gigi, Some people have quite a knack for impersonation.  I don't.  It makes alot more sense to try to study how they pronounce words, inflection, etc.  Is there a particular reason a person should or shouldn't try to sound like somebody else ?  Or is the problem, at the beginnin it's just another thing to throw you off, and it's inaccurate ?

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Not a problem at all. I suppose it is really a personal preference in the long run. But IMHO you can better imitate others (if you so choose) once you have mastered your instrument--voice included. You don't want to be a one-trick pony.

One frequent compliment I get is that I sound "just like" Melanie, Judy Garland, Liza Minelli, Barbra Streisand and Stevie Nicks. One at a time, that is. I have myself convinced that the reason I sould just like all of them is that I actually sound like ME. That is my goal, at least.

After all that...I suppose imitation could be used as a good learning tool, too. Hmmm...

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[glow=darkorchid]Musica delenit bestiam feram[/glow]

OK, makes sense,  I suppose I'd need to have a clue what I'm doing, and get grounded just being able to sing first.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

This discussion taken another way, I studied so long with the same piano teacher that I play very much like this teacher today, but things were added along the way, so in a sense, I think in learning to perform and develop your "style", you DO borrow or learn a lot from others and create variations from it.  Frank Sinatra studied singers like Bob Eberly and Billie Holiday, Dean Martin emulated (no, not Bing Crosby, who many say sounded a bit similar) but Harry Mills of the Mills Brothers, and so on.

I myself have adopted the singing style of Jimmy Durante as anyone who has heard me can tell....

Aha! I knew it.

Oh! You HAVE!!! But it is definitely your own style, and in case I haven't said it before, you are outstanding. When Chuck is playing your stuff, I come into the office, mouth agape, and ask him if it is you.

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[glow=darkorchid]Musica delenit bestiam feram[/glow]

why people get so technical i can never understand ...yes of course technicalities come in when you find your voice and begin to establish yourself....

but my advice is choose a song that brings passion out in you something you feel stand up close your eyes imagine your in the shower or imagine your singing this song to someone you know needs to hear or understand the sentiment and sing...record it...play it back...if your a musician who knows music and plays you will hear any pitch and breathing problems....then work from there....

i believe passion and emotion is the key to a good singer...the technical ideas come later.