This is me. I used to play trumpet/coronet, french horn, bass/tuba, and could fake it on a trombone. When I was out of pitch, I could tell instantly and could fix it.
I love to sing, but suck at it. I can tell I’m out of pitch, but have no idea how to fix it . Although my daughter tells me when I can manage to sing (and stay in) lower range tenor, open my throat, and breathe properly, I’m passable - not good, but not so bad that people immediately wince. Unfortunately, all of those things happening at once is accidental, not deliberate.
A few years ago, I had a revelation - I can hear my own voice much better with one ear plugged. Suddenly I can hear my own voice distinctly as compared with anything I might be playing. And I speak as someone who has been leading singing for about forty years. Mostly with more enthusiasm than skill, I will say. I think I do much better now.
That’s me too, although with none of your other musical skill.
For the untrained among us, I suspect that the pitch range where we have relatively some control is maybe 1/2 octave. Beyond that narrow range, we have more like little to no control rather than some.
The problem is that other than the One Note Samba, there’s essentially no music written for a half-octave vocal range. And even One Note Samba is going to be out of range for many of us. To add insult to injury, the darn song actually uses two notes. So twice as too hard for us.
I don’t know if I can get that close. If I try to sing I have no idea what sound comes out. My best bet is to stay monotonal and try to get the timing right. I can whistle well enough for the changes in pitch and tunes to be recognized, but with very little control of the pitch, basically it becomes just a low-medium-high distinction. My larynx, tongue, and the rest of my mouth can’t create any particular note at will by singing. I have played musical instruments mechanically, but not very well. I have very little musical ability at all, those components necessary to produce music in any form are mainly missing in me.
It all comes down to practice and where you invest your time. I’m originally a keyboardist that couldn’t sing to save my life, then I started practicing and I got better. Then I got a voice teacher and I got better. Then I started singing in church and college choirs and got even better.
Today I am proud to say after all that hard work I’m officially a passable singer. I bet with a bit more practice I might even be an “ok singer.”
