Any tips for being a better singer?

Maybe not the perfect place for this but it kinda fits with the general music themes. 2 questions:

1) Does everyone have the ability to be a good singer with practice or is there just something that you are born with? Not talking about singing like an opera singer but just to hit the right keys, notes, whatever.

and

2) What can I do to improve? I have no rigor to my method. I just do it. Sometimes it is ok. Sometimes it sounds horrible.

try an dsing from the pit of your stomach rather than the back of your throat. and pronounce the words you're singing well. "oh" sound are better than "ee" sounds.

put some passion into what you are singing, and warm up. also...PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!

Not saying your advice is bad, but take golf for example -- if you have a shitty swing, you can practice 24/7 and it's not gonna get any better. You are gonna get really good at making the same mistakes. Maybe it's just something that can't be taught with words? But I know there are things like vocal coaches. What do they usually tell people?

Like anything, god given talent is certainly a factor. Your vocal chords are your vocal chords, and it's hard to make them sound much better than they sound naturally. For this reason it is even harder to drastically improve your singing with practice than it is ability on a musical instrument. I am, at best, a below average singer, but that does not stop me from enjoying singing. I love singing my favorite songs as I learn to play them on guitar. I've found a few things to be helpful:

1) Most importantly, don't half-ass it. Sing all-out, all the time, like no one is listening.

2) Listen to yourself, you can train your ear and improve you pitch over time.

3) Close your eyes (unless you are driving, which is a great time to sing). I don't know why, but I have always found this to be helpful.

4) Having an in-tune instrument next to you will help for pitch reference, even if you don't play and sing at the same time.

thebiglebowski wrote:

Maybe not the perfect place for this but it kinda fits with the general music themes. 2 questions:

1) Does everyone have the ability to be a good singer with practice or is there just something that you are born with? Not talking about singing like an opera singer but just to hit the right keys, notes, whatever.

and

2) What can I do to improve? I have no rigor to my method. I just do it. Sometimes it is ok. Sometimes it sounds horrible.

Good questions. I'm in the same boat and wondering the same things so thanks for asking it!

fatbench wrote:

Like anything, god given talent is certainly a factor. Your vocal chords are your vocal chords, and it's hard to make them sound much better than they sound naturally. For this reason it is even harder to drastically improve your singing with practice than it is ability on a musical instrument. I am, at best, a below average singer, but that does not stop me from enjoying singing. I love singing my favorite songs as I learn to play them on guitar. I've found a few things to be helpful:

1) Most importantly, don't half-ass it. Sing all-out, all the time, like no one is listening.

2) Listen to yourself, you can train your ear and improve you pitch over time.

3) Close your eyes (unless you are driving, which is a great time to sing). I don't know why, but I have always found this to be helpful.

4) Having an in-tune instrument next to you will help for pitch reference, even if you don't play and sing at the same time.

This is all great advice. I wouldn't even call myself a decent singer, but I've definitely improved over the past few years just with practice. Recording yourself, as painful as it may be to listen back to, is really helpful. It lets you hone in on what you're having trouble with.

#1 is key here. Look at Brian - his acoustic performances used to be very lackluster and it's because he was timid all the time. He was afraid to go all out without the comfort of the band behind him. Fuck that. Rock out and sing with passion. It's working for him.

Labhras wrote:

try an dsing from the pit of your stomach rather than the back of your throat. and pronounce the words you're singing well. "oh" sound are better than "ee" sounds.

this sounds like i think i know waht i'm talking about. it's stuff i picked up from when i was acting. there are warm ups and exercises you can do to improve your voice that i should think would improve your singing too. i think barbara houseman is a good voice practitioner. check her out.

thebiglebowski wrote:

Maybe not the perfect place for this but it kinda fits with the general music themes. 2 questions:

1) Does everyone have the ability to be a good singer with practice or is there just something that you are born with? Not talking about singing like an opera singer but just to hit the right keys, notes, whatever.

and

2) What can I do to improve? I have no rigor to my method. I just do it. Sometimes it is ok. Sometimes it sounds horrible.

1) I really believe that practise can make you a lot better if you class yourself as an average or poor singer. I used to be pretty awful at singing but I would just go into my room shut my door and keep trying. But these days I tend to get quite a lot of compliments on my singing. I think part of my early problem was singing songs that were out of my range and thinking why can't I sing those notes, if you cant hear the note in your head then sing it comfortably it isn't in your range.

2) There are many things you can do to improve. To get some consistency breathing is really important. Vocal coaches will tell you that posture is important and when you breath suck the air down by lowering your diaphragm, the air should expand your stomach and the sides of your stomach not your chest. And your shoulders shouldn't rise. Even the corniest youtube videos can help with exercises for this.

Recording yourself is definitely a good idea, there is a lot of singers I know that don't even do this. It helps you get an idea of how you sound and whats going wrong.

I cant imagine singing without my guitar so any harmonic instrument is a must I think, even you just know a few chords.

Warm ups are good, start with notes that you are comfortable singing and gradually try a few harder notes. For this people usually sing scales or an easy song or a random selection of vowel sounds.

Everything is said I think but really, chosing a song in your range (not sure if i'm using the right word) can change everything!

I took Bronkaid today (for a different reason. Trying to lose weight -- "the EC stack").

Anyways, I think I had the best basement guitar / singing experience I've ever had. Performance enhancing drugs for singing I guess?

HolyBreakOfDay wrote:

Everything is said I think but really, chosing a song in your range (not sure if i'm using the right word) can change everything!

I agree, if you play guitar and sing, use a capo for certain songs you want to sing more comfortably. Like for some reason, Behold the Hurricane sounds much better when I change the key and play it in D.

I'd also say don't hold back. I think confidence is a lot to do with it. When you don't think you're a good singer, you might be afraid to fully sing. You just have to go for it though.