Advice on making music/singing

Shantha

Shantha

I've Got It
Ok, so first of all, I'm not sure if this is in the right section of the forums, so I apologize if it isn't!

Second, my question was... how to improve my... singing voice, mostly.
I know most people will probably say general things like 'get a vocals instructor' or 'exercises to train your pitch' or... something similar.

I was wondering if there was anything that anyone's done that has helped them, over time, show a significant difference in their singing voice.

I'm thinking, maybe, instead of just singing to myself all the time to actually making a video of a different song every day which would... force me to try new songs and maybe styles of music. That way the practice I'd get would not only be just practice, but I'd be pushing myself to record something as many times as it took to be 'good enough' to upload.
I'm not sure if this would actually work though, I mean today I uploaded something of me singing and after about 37 times of recording it I still wasn't happy with the finished product but it was 3am and I was tired, so I left it at that. I uploaded one of the more final recordings of it, but apart from little mistakes in the recordings they all sounded, well... pretty much the same.

I'm wondering if I do that every day with a different song, would I actually start to improve over time? Or if I just have a bad singing voice is that just that.

Will practice at making my voice sound better through listening to recordings help me fix my 'mistakes' and improve as a singer to force myself to produce content that's of quality, or does it all come down to natural talent in the end?
 
Shantha said:
Ok, so first of all, I'm not sure if this is in the right section of the forums, so I apologize if it isn't!

Second, my question was... how to improve my... singing voice, mostly.
I know most people will probably say general things like 'get a vocals instructor' or 'exercises to train your pitch' or... something similar.

I was wondering if there was anything that anyone's done that has helped them, over time, show a significant difference in their singing voice.

I'm thinking, maybe, instead of just singing to myself all the time to actually making a video of a different song every day which would... force me to try new songs and maybe styles of music. That way the practice I'd get would not only be just practice, but I'd be pushing myself to record something as many times as it took to be 'good enough' to upload.
I'm not sure if this would actually work though, I mean today I uploaded something of me singing and after about 37 times of recording it I still wasn't happy with the finished product but it was 3am and I was tired, so I left it at that. I uploaded one of the more final recordings of it, but apart from little mistakes in the recordings they all sounded, well... pretty much the same.

I'm wondering if I do that every day with a different song, would I actually start to improve over time? Or if I just have a bad singing voice is that just that.

Will practice at making my voice sound better through listening to recordings help me fix my 'mistakes' and improve as a singer to force myself to produce content that's of quality, or does it all come down to natural talent in the end?
Click to expand...

It's in a good place so no worries there :)

A good thing to improve your vocal chords is to avoid minty stuff and spicy stuff. Both can wreak havoc on your voicebox. I sing a bit (not pro, but I've won a few talent shows and been in a couple bands etc) and these were two tips I was given that proved to be quite true!

Warm drinks before you sing, avoid cold drinks these can harm your vocal chords.

Plenty of vocal rest :p

Warm up before you do any big stretches of singing.

That's all I can suggest really!
 
Frankie Turner said:
It's in a good place so no worries there :)

A good thing to improve your vocal chords is to avoid minty stuff and spicy stuff. Both can wreak havoc on your voicebox. I sing a bit (not pro, but I've won a few talent shows and been in a couple bands etc) and these were two tips I was given that proved to be quite true!

Warm drinks before you sing, avoid cold drinks these can harm your vocal chords.

Plenty of vocal rest :p

Warm up before you do any big stretches of singing.

That's all I can suggest really!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice and for replying! ^_^ I've heard that about warm drinks but I've never paid much attention to it and drink cold water all the time inbetween singing =x I guess I need to change that :)

And about the rest... practice makes perfect right? With most things! But it's hard to judge with singing, since after singing for about 30 minutes I feel like I'm pushing myself to do any more, sometimes even after 5-10 minutes. Do you mean rest as in, after singing a lot take a break for a day or two? or rest as in 5-10 minute breaks inbetween? I feel like singing probably needs both but sometimes I'm not sure if it's better to practice more or if that will just wear out my voice.
 
Shantha said:
Thanks for the advice and for replying! ^_^ I've heard that about warm drinks but I've never paid much attention to it and drink cold water all the time inbetween singing =x I guess I need to change that :)

And about the rest... practice makes perfect right? With most things! But it's hard to judge with singing, since after singing for about 30 minutes I feel like I'm pushing myself to do any more, sometimes even after 5-10 minutes. Do you mean rest as in, after singing a lot take a break for a day or two? or rest as in 5-10 minute breaks inbetween? I feel like singing probably needs both but sometimes I'm not sure if it's better to practice more or if that will just wear out my voice.
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Aye in regards to the warm drinks thing, it's like muscles: they need warming or they could get injured. Vocal chords are quite fragile so this is especially important :D not milk though if you can help it; it's quite thick and causes mucus (sorry, gross lmao)

I would say if you're going to sing for say a couple hours a day, take a couple days off a week, but if you're singing say 5 hours a day, you'll need a week off here and there! So many singers suffer problems cos they try and push through their chords being tired.
 
i heared you should "warm up" your voice by singing a combination of high and low tones. i dont know if you know about this do re mi fa so, but thats one way of starting. also listen to the numbers you want to sing a lot of times, just when you are traveling using your phone/ipod/MP3 player, whatever you have to listen to the songs. the tones will get stuck and sooner or later you will know exacly how high or low you should go. also try to sing a lot of diffrend styles, as you mentioned, it will be a good practice to learn how to quickly swich from high to low and also improve the amount of words you can say within a certain period of time (like rappers can).

good luck ;)
 
Frankie Turner said:
Aye in regards to the warm drinks thing, it's like muscles: they need warming or they could get injured. Vocal chords are quite fragile so this is especially important :D not milk though if you can help it; it's quite thick and causes mucus (sorry, gross lmao)

I would say if you're going to sing for say a couple hours a day, take a couple days off a week, but if you're singing say 5 hours a day, you'll need a week off here and there! So many singers suffer problems cos they try and push through their chords being tired.
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That's fair enough ^_^ I'm glad I asked on these forums :D you have some really good advice :)

rofl mucus ^_^ and thank you again for taking the time to respond! :)
 
jochem said:
i heared you should "warm up" your voice by singing a combination of high and low tones. i dont know if you know about this do re mi fa so, but thats one way of starting. also listen to the numbers you want to sing a lot of times, just when you are traveling using your phone/ipod/MP3 player, whatever you have to listen to the songs. the tones will get stuck and sooner or later you will know exacly how high or low you should go. also try to sing a lot of diffrend styles, as you mentioned, it will be a good practice to learn how to quickly swich from high to low and also improve the amount of words you can say within a certain period of time (like rappers can).

good luck ;)
Click to expand...

Thank you! This sounds like good advice...

I find myself doing that if I really like a song and want to play it, I'll listen to it everywhere and there's always a point where I end up being able to replay every little detail, vocals and instrument in the song in my head. That's the best part about music.

Rofl I should practice rapping! I actually used to when I was younger... I loved being able to 'sing' things that took some time to get right but when you're done and you can sing along perfectly with the song that's an amazing feeling :) Apart from that feeling good, my voice is terrible for rapping XD
 
Shantha said:
Ok, so first of all, I'm not sure if this is in the right section of the forums, so I apologize if it isn't!

Second, my question was... how to improve my... singing voice, mostly.
I know most people will probably say general things like 'get a vocals instructor' or 'exercises to train your pitch' or... something similar.

I was wondering if there was anything that anyone's done that has helped them, over time, show a significant difference in their singing voice.

I'm thinking, maybe, instead of just singing to myself all the time to actually making a video of a different song every day which would... force me to try new songs and maybe styles of music. That way the practice I'd get would not only be just practice, but I'd be pushing myself to record something as many times as it took to be 'good enough' to upload.
I'm not sure if this would actually work though, I mean today I uploaded something of me singing and after about 37 times of recording it I still wasn't happy with the finished product but it was 3am and I was tired, so I left it at that. I uploaded one of the more final recordings of it, but apart from little mistakes in the recordings they all sounded, well... pretty much the same.

I'm wondering if I do that every day with a different song, would I actually start to improve over time? Or if I just have a bad singing voice is that just that.

Will practice at making my voice sound better through listening to recordings help me fix my 'mistakes' and improve as a singer to force myself to produce content that's of quality, or does it all come down to natural talent in the end?
Click to expand...

Okay, I'm studying Performance and majoring in voice. I'm just going to (In no logical order) give a whole heap of tips.

1# Hydration!!! People have their own remedies on what to drink and sure what ever makes your feel comfortable
and not feel strained by the end of the sing session. Mainly drink water. Before this course i never use to drink a lot and
I have noticed that when i started things got easier, I was more versatile, I could sing for a longer duration with out hurting my voice. One way
to know if your hydrated is the colour of your Urine. It needs to be clear, not yellow! I usually drink around 2 Litres a day but more if your have exercised!

2# Warm ups!!! This is UBER important. For a singer to not warm up is like a professional athlete to not stretch before they run a marathon!
The two best warm ups that are world renowned would be Bubbling (Liptrills) and Sirening. Sirening is holding onto an "NG" sound and slowly going from your low
register to high register. Starting at a comfortable range, possible you talking range, and then going higher and lower as you go. Bubbling is hard to explain, like a horse will make that flapping air sound you have to make that with your mouth then make a sound. Doing the same as the Sirening, staring in a comfortable range then going higher and lower.

You should also do some slight neck stretches just to loosen your neck up because its a part of your instrument.

3# Dont push your self!!! I see and hear so many singers sing out of their range and it can be so devastating. There is nothing wrong with asking an accompanist or a band to play a song in a lower or higher key. Also if a singer pushes them self too much you borderline of destroying your vocal folds and nobody wants that. Classic example is Adele. She also smokes which added to it but she does not and will never sound the same as she did before she got nodule surgery... (Sorry if that all scares you, but its better to know then to not know)

4# Fine your style!! Find the Genre that you like to sing the most. Jazz, Soul, Punk, Folk whatever and go with it. Yes its good to be versatile, but every singer need to be different in a way otherwise people wont like you.

5# Dont smoke!!! I'm not going to go into it because we would be here all day.

6# Practice! Practice your songs, Record it, show it to other people (Show it to me if you like and i will give you constructive feed back ^_^) then practice more. I have a 1 hour practice sheet that was given to me by my singing teacher. If you like i could write it up and give it to you


That is all i can think of right now
 
warming up :D Without that u can harm your voice and maybe never be able to sing again D: Liprolls are very effective ^^ YT them once ;) U will look absolutely retarded when doing that execise but its rlly rlly effective :D U wont regret the result ^^
 
Big Red said:
Okay, I'm studying Performance and majoring in voice. I'm just going to (In no logical order) give a whole heap of tips.
...
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for all the advice! Now I have somewhere to start from ^_^

I doubt I'm ever going to smoke :) It's not something that I ever see myself doing for quite a number of reasons XD

I don't know if I have a style! But I'll try :)

Warming up is my problem v.v it's always so easy to just go straight into singing and I never really even think about warming up, I guess I need to do that since it is always something that people suggest :)
 
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