How do I learn to sing good?

[JASIII]

Wanna hear something lame but true? When I was a kid I had to go to church every Sunday, and I hated it as much as any kid does, but we went to a Lutheran church, which short of maybe Southern Baptists, has one of the most musical church services, lots of singing. most of it was based of off Bach stuff, etc. But I learned how to sing. I'd be bored to tears and try to pick out who was singing out of key, try to sing weird harmonies to the rest of the people, etc. But it developed my ear for singing. put a piano in front of me and I'm an idiot, can't play a thing. Tune a guitar by ear? not likely. But I can reproduce most vocal things I hear, control my breath, use my diapragm and vocal cords and all of the rest of the stuff that good singers do "instinctively". Church is good for something other than breeding right wing nut jobs.

[Moon Unit]

A voice is either something you got or ya' don't got.


We're all born with gifts and talents. Some of us were born with the gift of a good voice ... others weren't.

If you're one of the latter, then I wouldn't even bother. Seriously, find something else you're good at and develop that.

[jeddypoo]

I think it's a combination of things. I used to sound like Kermit on my old recordings. Now people tell me I sing like an angel or something. It was just a matter of doing it and liking it, and yes, imitating other people enough to get a synthesis that was more personal. And hey- now I can be in a Bowie tribute band if I want.

Anyway, I'd ignore the post before this one. I don't think that you should look at any craft in such a manner. There's something to be said for "talent", but there's also something to be said for "skill".

[bad_dude_69]

tabs

[Cappy*tan]

I became a much better singer just by writing my own stuff and picking the melody out on guitar/piano/mandolin, whatever I was playing. Made drastic improvements. To hear recordings of me singing ten years ago to now...not even comparable.

[hammertime]

I don't know of anybody offhand in the Bay Area (?). You might want to try www.craigslist.com, and maybe post there asking anybody for recommendations. You're most likely going to find really skilled singers outside of the rock arena. Even though it's really corny, some of the most awesome singing I've ever heard has been barbershop quartets, and because they're mostly gay, you can probably find a bunch in San Francisco.

I really want to learn how to sound really good- not just ok. Does anyone know a good teacher in Northern California?

[MD]

A voice is either something you got or ya' don't got.

Bullshit.

No one can make you sound like Otis Redding or Jeff Buckley, but a few lessons and a lot of practice (or maybe just a lot of practice) can make you passable. At least enough so that people will hear your songs rather than think, "Jesus, he sounds horrible."

You can get better, and will if you practice. Guaranteed.

[phait]

I stated I was kidding about the grammar.

[bobbydj]

A voice is either something you got or ya' don't got.

Bullshit.

No one can make you sound like Otis Redding or Jeff Buckley, but a few lessons and a lot of practice (or maybe just a lot of practice) can make you passable. At least enough so that people will hear your songs rather than think, "Jesus, he sounds horrible."

You can get better, and will if you practice. Guaranteed.

There were some great points on this - follow the link I posted on page one.

[Noah]

i think i'll quote david berman here when he sang "all my favorite singers couldn't sing" (like leonard cohen, etc.)

berman himself is not a good singer by normal standards but i love his voice anyway.

just sing, you dont have to be "good", just find your own style and be yourself when you do it. i think that is a large part of the battle.

[Andrew707]

as opposed to other singers who are maybe a little ragged but are fascinating because you're getting a glimpse of something real.

Case in point; Tom Petty.

He probably has one of the worst voices ever. He even stated so himself. But...the man can use his voice.

I learned to sing from Tom Petty and Otis Redding, aswell as others. I spent many hours with them commuting to and from work Just listening, singing along and doing my best to immitate what I was hearing. I suppose it's just like a guitarist learning to riff by listening, then trying to play and immitate Jimmy Page, or someone. If you stick to it eventually you pick it up...the eventually depending on aptitude, I suppose.

Anyway, I enjoy the way I do it, but you'll probably progress much faster if you take lessons.

[rolandk]

Try finding a book. I use this one to warm up before a gig: http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?i ... 34042971-0
No doubt in my mind some people are born singers but the rest of us really have to work at it. I had a borderline speech impediment and could strain the shit out of my voice just talking on the phone 5 minutes. I bought a couple books and learned what I was doing wrong and built up some strength the right way and its helped 100%.

Also, I have a PS2 karaoke game and its a blast.

[Moon Unit]

If you have a poor sense of pitch ... and no natural inclination towards a pleasing vocal tone or timbre, then why in the hell would you even want to take up singing?

Jeezus; there's just too many other things you could be doing that may actually bear some fruit down the road. Maybe you've got some decent hand/eye coordination and reflexes or something ... so perhaps there's a recreational sport in which you might be more inclined or positioned for success. Dancing can be a fun and artistic mode of expression. Maybe try your hand at a musical instrument.

You might even volunteer some of your time and do something good for the planet, or mankind ... rather than hurting their ears or offending their artistic sensibilities with incoherent, off-pitch whalings.

[trianglelines]

I did vocal lessons for about 2 yrs one lesson a week. Best money I ever spent in terms of moving from 'decent amateur with 'singing issues'' to a confident singer that understood his own voice.

My teacher was as weird as heck, but he had a playful style and was a good listener. I sang to piano scales and he would listen and recommend exercises 'on the fly' so if I was having pitch issues, we'd work on a different register. My controlled range expanded by 1 and a half octaves, and I can go quite low and high before going to cartoon voices and can navigate the 'passage' from normal to falsetto with strength.

He was also pretty cheap at $25 a lesson, but he drove a lot of more "anal" students (and parents) nuts with his intuitive approach (and, coincidently, poor grammar).

Also Karaoke at bars without drinking too much is a great way to build skill and confidence. Like anything we talk about here, it is about commitment, time investment and listening.

Best of luck in your search.

-TimT

[snatchman]

And the thing that the bar band schmuck has is self-confidence, which can go a long way towards entertaining people, which I would contend is 99% of the battle. Your average listener is not there to critique tonality or listen to perfectly rounded vowels and could care less really about technical expertise, they want to hear some emotion and someone telling the truth like they know it. Some singers, even though everything is right in place, are just boring, as opposed to other singers who are maybe a little ragged but are fascinating because you're getting a glimpse of something real.

Yes, I definately agree ! This young lady sang at my church one Sunday,very well trained, pronounced her lyrics just right, and confident. This older lady sang next, no formal training, sang from her soul,didn't pronounce all her words just right, and there wasn't a dry eye in the church! I still get chills thinking about that old lady and her"realness". Well put Joel