Resources for singing

Question

Most of what i know (including my guitar playing) has been learnt without a teacher...i guess i just suck for that kind of learning. I want to learn to sing, but cannot find a viable way that does not involve a teacher. I know feedback may be important in this case, but if you know of something that can be done or used to achieve this it would be helpful. I don't want to become a great singer (i will still put most of my effort in improving my guitar playing) but i want to improve enough to sound decent.

Answer 1

The unfortunate thing about singing is that you can do your voice and yourself damage if your technique is wrong or you over exert yourself. It's for this reason that I would say getting personal feedback is a top priority; however this doesn't mean you need to shell out hundreds on a face to face teacher. you can:

Join some singing forums

Sign up to some singing forums, and see what advice people can give there. The advantage to that is that you can post some videos and get real feedback on your progress. While you're there try to find some people willing to have personal chats. Maybe you can pick up a few friends in your area while you're there!

• Harmony Central
• The Modern Vocalist
• Ultimate guitar vocal community

Join a Meetup group

There might be some singing meetups in your area where you can go and learn from entire groups of singers over a coffee(or room temperature water). I can say for me they've been fantastic in learning to write, and always fun, but as for a group in your area you'll have to research yourself a bit!

• Meetup website

Sign up to an on-line course

The advantage to paying for a course is that everyone involved is financially invested in their learning. just the act of paying for something makes you more likely to put the effort in, so if real improvement is your goal then a paid course is a good way to motivate yourself into it. Berklee will be the most expensive, but keep an eye out on Coursera for free courses coming up!

• Berklee singing courses
• Coursera

Lessons on Youtube

Now we're getting into areas where you really need to be careful. I have never received any singing lessons nor safety lessons, but I could upload a clever sounding viral lesson to YouTube tonight and get thousands of people watching. Always always always look for videos about vocal safety before you start learning how to go enter shikari on your vocal cords.

Ask Questions on Here!

I think singing questions are one of the weaker areas of the site at the moment, and we're all looking to help with singing problems. Any gaps you find in your knowledge can be filled with the search, and ask question buttons!

I hope that gives you a few places to start!

Answer 2

There are already some good answers on how to learn technique, and just getting out there and singing. I wanted to give some ideas as to how to listen to yourself outside your head.

One method to listen to yourself is to use an audio recorder. The average phone will be adequate, although if you have higher quality equipment, it might be better. But speed trumps quality here. The main thing is to record, then listen immediately, while you still remember exactly what it felt like when you were singing the notes.

Another method, using a little more equipment, would be to sing into a microphone, and listen to the sound either through speakers or headphones. This is more immediate feedback, but you're listening to both your voice as it sounds inside your head, and how it sounds to others.

I'll often sing for a few seconds or half a minute, then listen to the recording to better hear what I've done. At the end of the practice session, I delete everything, unless there was something particularly good I want to save as marking progress.

I'd also say that the danger of injuring yourself is overrated, as long as you pay attention to how you feel and don't try to go from no singing at all to singing several hours a day. If you notice that you are getting a sore throat from singing, ease back and try to troubleshoot the problem, don't just push through the pain.

Answer 3

My suggestion would be to work on singing from your center - using your diaphragm. While it will be nice to hone the edge of the tool (fine-tuning the pitch of your voice), you must first shape the tool into its form. Once you are able to effectively sing from your center, I think you will find that your range will be defined by how you sing when you are not pushing yourself.

Here are some tips to get you started working on your diaphragm:

• Watch yourself in the mirror. If you see your shoulders go up while you breathe, then you’re not utilizing your diaphragm.
• Breathe deep into the body, and continue that sensation of a downward push while you’re singing in order to regulate the flow of air.
• When in doubt, you can lie on the ground and place a book on your stomach to ensure that it’s expanding while you breathe. Also, you can use the same sensation you get while going to the bathroom as mentioned earlier.
• Finally, if you’re feeling pressure in your throat underneath your cords before you start singing, then you’re breathing in too much air.

These suggestions were taken from the following site: http://www.askavocalcoach.com/how-do-i-sing-from-my-diaphragm-not-my-throat-641/

Answer 4

I've been researching for years. I've been trying different teachers, books, forums, etc...

The only real help I got came from Brett Manning's cd lessons.

I am not affilated at all and I can say that he allowed my voice to do things impossible for me before.

Just one last thing: without a (great) teacher you're taking more than twice the time you need to get to your goal.

Have fun and try the course: you'll thank me (and Brett) :)

Answer 5

The easiest and fastest way to make your singing voice sounded better is to avoid pushing your voice too hard. You will have the problems of voice cracking, off-key, strained voice if you doing so.

You have to learn how to sing from your diaphragm, so that you will be strained to not push your sound too hard. Your voice will sounded more natural and nicer if you release your voice from your diaphragm while singing.

Source: http://www.becomesingers.com/techniques/how-to-sing-from-diaphragm