Any singers here?

[kettles]

Anyone into singing or learning to sing at the moment? I'm trying to learn. Finally got round to taking a few lessons with a good teacher after a few years of wanting to and have made small progress but still sound pretty awful! Would love to hear any tips for practicing and getting better. It's an odd feeling after playing drums and guitar competently for 12 years, but now being a complete beginner at another musical journey :)

[Bo Eder]

Sort of. It's odd because I just started doing it back in the day. And I suppose it's like anything else: you just keep working on it and over time you should get better. I did get with a teacher and sang in choir in school, so that's where I learned technique so I wouldn't mess up my voice. But now as I head closer to 50, I would say my singing voice is not what it used to be. I certainly don't have the endurance to sing a casual where you're going for four hours which is what I used to do in my 30s.

[inneedofgrace]

I started out singing a few backing vocals, then progressed to lead vocals. Now I sing about 8 songs per gig. I use a headset mic, since I am not comfortable trying to play and keep my head in the same position using a boom mic. My voice is pitched higher than the rest of the band, so I sing some Skynyrd, CCR, Neil Young, Talking Heads, Cream, Steppenwolf, etc. Occassionally I try and sing harmony, but I am not trained for this type of singing, so I sometimes mess those up. I'm best sticking with the melody.

I have also been singing karaoke for a few years now, which really helps honing your voice and getting used to singing in front of others. I even bought a karaoke system for my house that we use during parties, and it is a real blast.

[JesusMySavior]

I sing. I used to play acoustic guitars in pubs and venues, get paid $100 a night or more, and play covers for 3 or 4 hours with a couple 10 minute breaks in between. I also write music and have a few albums on Amazon.com and iTunes.

Best advice I can give you is that it's just like any other instrument you practice, I sing with music in my car...if you're self conscious you'll keep the windows up, but if you really want to feel free you'll roll them down and belt it out on a country road or a crowded intersection. I remember one day I was sitting in my car singing to a Soundgarden song and when I got out of the car there was this guy that had been listening and looked at me, nodded respectfully, and said "dude your voice is awesome". I told him I wasn't aware that anyone was listening, he said "keep it up".

I still play weddings and stuff from time to time, and I sing and lead worship for the youth group in church. Just keep practicing and do like you do with drums.

Lessons are good, I've never had them, but I've heard they help tremendously.

I used to sing Classically. I'm not going to give you specific advice on technique (because I am most certainly, not qualified) other than to say never, ever strain your voice. If you begin to feel that material is going to 'tire' your voice and you are singing it with force try to get a teacher to assess your technique and vocal range. With training you can improve your range (both up AND down) but simply straining will not help you.

Curiously my singing voice has developed a much higher top-end. It broke when I was eleven and I'm twenty-three now. If you'd had told me four years ago that I could hit a top tenor 'E' you would have me laughing. With practice and warmup I can now. Range is certainly not the be-all, however. Control and listening are more important and that's where I can sometimes struggle.

[Thaard]

I like to sing ironically, does that count? (Listen to Vacuum Cleaner blues on the myspace link in my sig.)

[aydee]

Originally Posted by Thaard

I like to sing ironically, does that count? (Listen to Vacuum Cleaner blues on the myspace link in my sig.)

Thaardy, has anyone told you you sound like Mick Jagger?? I'm not kidding. Listen to your song again and think Stones? Its uncanny.

...

Originally Posted by aydee

Thaardy, has anyone told you you sound like Mick Jagger?? I'm not kidding. Listen to your song again and think Stones? Its uncanny.

...

I would consider that a great insult. :)

[Thaard]

Originally Posted by aydee

Thaardy, has anyone told you you sound like Mick Jagger?? I'm not kidding. Listen to your song again and think Stones? Its uncanny.

...

Too bad I wasn't born in the seventies then ;)

[inneedofgrace]

Originally Posted by JesusMySavior

I sing. I used to play acoustic guitars in pubs and venues, get paid $100 a night or more, and play covers for 3 or 4 hours with a couple 10 minute breaks in between. I also write music and have a few albums on Amazon.com and iTunes.

Best advice I can give you is that it's just like any other instrument you practice, I sing with music in my car...if you're self conscious you'll keep the windows up, but if you really want to feel free you'll roll them down and belt it out on a country road or a crowded intersection. I remember one day I was sitting in my car singing to a Soundgarden song and when I got out of the car there was this guy that had been listening and looked at me, nodded respectfully, and said "dude your voice is awesome". I told him I wasn't aware that anyone was listening, he said "keep it up".

I still play weddings and stuff from time to time, and I sing and lead worship for the youth group in church. Just keep practicing and do like you do with drums.

Lessons are good, I've never had them, but I've heard they help tremendously.

I sing in my car to my iPod all the time. The only time it doesn't sound good is early in the morning on the way to work. I just can't hit the high notes at that time of the day. I also sing to my iPod when I'm working out at the gym after work. Luckily, the gym is empty most of the time. Although sometimes it is hard to keep the proper breathing while singing and running on the treadmill!

[drum loops]

Singing is hard. You need to practice a lot but the more time you put into it the better you will become.