I’m a decent musician (celtic harp) who recently has started to sing, too. I’ve been taking lessons for two years now, but to be honest, I find them very hard to get on with. It feels like I’m having to do random things with random feedback. Especially the latter I find really frustrating. I feel I’m patient and understand the need to practice, but the teacher will tell me I’m doing it right or wrong without me really feeling or understanding why, so it seems I’m just stabbing in the dark. I’d even blame the teacher, but I tried two different ones (plus one or two substitutes) and I keep having the same issue, so I think it’s me who fundamentally doesn’t get what it’s about and so I’m taking a break now, but it’s a pity as I really would like to sing well.
Any suggestions? Yet another teacher? Are there any books or videos out there which are good? Or should I just try on my own, record myself and try to improve that way?
I’m not really looking for a polished pop or classical voice sound, as I’m mainly a folk musician, but would like to have more control in the more difficult songs and be more steady with intonation.
Hmm. I was kind of blessed with a voice that others like (even though, I hate the sound of my recorded voice like everyone else does). I can apparently sing, but I’ve had no real formal training. So, my experience might not be useful, but we’ll see.
Just sing a lot. Sing every song you can think of, even if you can’t really sing it. You sound great in the shower? Practice in there, and any time you can without bothering others. Listen while you’re doing it, and if you have the money for a handheld recorder, get one and record yourself. If not, if you have a smartphone, record it on there. Listen to your recordings, and you’ll probably be able to hear where you’re doing it “right” and “wrong”. While you’re doing it, you might figure out what your voice sounds like and what your range is, and go from there.
Yeah, it’s terrible advice, but it somehow worked for me.
Did you give this feedback to either teacher? If so, how did they respond? How long did you stick with each of them?
Regardless of your answers to the above, finding the “right” voice teacher can take some time and trial-and-error: someone who is able to explain things in a way that makes sense to you, who you feel understands your goals, etc. Please don’t give up on using a future teacher/coach just because of those experiences.
I stuck with each about a year. Should probably have been a bit more assertive about my problems, though I did tell them when I didn’t understand.
I might try someone else in the future. I do notice the difference when people have worked on their voices, so obviously something is working for someone!
It helps if the teacher can mimic what you are doing wrong and then do it right so you can tell the difference. Also the teacher should be able to talk to you about shape of mouth and placement of lips and teeth and tongue to get the proper sound for each vowel, and placement of the voice, and so on. Then they should be able to say something like “It sounds like your tongue is too far forward, try it further back” or something. If neither of your teachers could or would do that, it may actually be on them more than on you. Trying to teach (or learn) without effective feedback seems like it would be very frustrating. Have these teachers been freelance or connected to some kind of school?
It’s been a long time (30+ years) since I took voice lessons, but there are the helpful things that I remember. It helped that I had a pretty good ear for imitation of sounds.
Vocal Exercises will help if you commit to doing them daily. I do several from Dr Dans course on YouTube. Exercises focus on tongue placement and correct vowels.
Practice singing a song you’re learning every day. Focus on learning the melody.
Find someone who’s a pretty good singer and a real good sport who’s willing to sing duets with you, or sing while you accompany them. Getting instant feedback from someone who’s singing what you’re singing rather than just trying to nail down what you’re doing wrong is probably going to get you better feedback. Also, trying to sing they way they are singing right now rather than trying to match a recording you just listened to might make it easier for you to pick up.
My singing is better received when I’m locked in a distant closet. And that’s the best location for a new instrument’s first few years. Otherwise it’s practice, practice, practice, as usual. I dread hearing recordings of myself - that’s not me! Not unless I cup hands behind ears.
An idea: If you despair of finding singing coaches, try a community choir.
Too late, singing a few songs in of people tomorrow.
I’m not that bad, though, and it’s a matinee for a social club for elderly people who, I figured, will like a few Irish song thrown in even if I’m not perfect, just to liven things up a bit.
And I do believe sometimes you have to go for it and learn as go. It depends on the occasion, though, and yes, practice is good.
This is my input as well. Good breathing technique (and capacity) remedies all sorts of singing problems. Fortunately, the practice, practice, practice that people are recommending will help with this.
My high school choral instructor told me I didn’t breathe right - too shallow. 50+ years later my physical therapist says I don’t exhale right. Inhaling deeply isn’t enough. Exhale firmly, squeezing my lungs dry. Whoosh! Whoosh! Oops, more exercises to do today. I’ve been slacking. :eek:
Also long ago, I briefly trained on clarinet and gained a bit of diaphragm control. I should revisit that.
Side note: Some anti-slick singers (folkies, punks, etc) resist vocal training because they don’t want to sound opera-ish. But no - training is the result, not the cause, of a strong voice. Leading singers haven’t such voices because they trained; they train because they have such voices to maintain. But you already knew this.
While I completely agree that training won’t make you sound “slick” automatically, a big part if the reason I fired my first teacher is that I felt she was pushing me towards this The Voice/Talent Show/RnB style aesthetic which is so not what I want. Many schools here do that, as it what most people want nowadays.
Otherwise it’s practice, practice, practice, as usual. I dread hearing recordings of myself - that’s not me! Not unless I cup hands behind ears.
