Questions tagged [voice]
Questions related to the use of the human voice as an instrument (singing).
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Why do I yawn while singing?
Singing almost always make me yawn. I've heard this is due to not breathing correctly, but I'm not sure what that means. What's the correct way to breathe while singing so I don't yawn?
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Can anyone learn to sing higher?
So, I sing to myself a lot, and one thing that really frustrates me is that I cannot even reliably hit a middle C. (I'm male.) This is basically unacceptable to me even for ordinary shower-singing. ...
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How can I safely extend my vocal range?
What type of vocal exercises should I be looking for?
Are there any temporary influences to the vocal range, like having had a drink?
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How do I know when I'm singing in key?
I absolutely love to sing and do so on a daily basis, usually in the shower or while practicing guitar.
When I sing it sounds fine to me and I don't think I'm off but I have this fear that I'm ...
user12539
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How can I be sure that I am singing effortlessly in my natural voice?
I have years of vocalization practice, but I still start straining while singing—especially if I am not vigilant. It happens imperceptibly and is a hard habit to break.
Is there a reliable technique ...
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Why can I easily sing or whistle a tune I've just heard, but not as easily reproduce it on an instrument?
People with perfect pitch can easily reproduce a tune they've just heard on their instrument of choice.
Most trained musicians without perfect pitch can also do this, but they would have to ...
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I want to learn how to sing. Where do I start?
According to a couple of websites, the best way to learn how to sing is with a vocal teacher, a recorder, and practice. But let's say I don't have the means to get a vocal teacher right now. What ...
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Is there a sound theoretical reason why a capella choirs "drift off" of the starting pitches in a piece?
Is the "comma pump" an empirical problem, or merely theoretical?
It's a standard music theory exercise to show that certain chord progressions don't actually quite work. For example, in the I-IV-ii-V-...
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Can anyone learn to sing?
It may seem as a kinda dumb question, and I'm totally aware of this. But, what I'm going to ask may be specific enough to not get closed:
I've been playing guitar and also a few other instruments for ...
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How to extend and strengthen low end of vocal range? (I need about a whole tone extra.)
There are a bunch of songs that I'd like to sing that sit just under my vocal range (the low E of the guitar range, or the D under it). I can reach these notes with some effort, but it feels forced ...
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What is the difference between male head voice and falsetto?
What is the fundamental difference between head voice and falsetto in male singers? I think I know the answer, but I cannot be sure in its credibility, since all my self-researched knowledge comes ...
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Teaching a student to match pitch
I'm a piano teacher and I currently have a student that is taking voice lessons from another teacher. Our lessons involve me accompanying her and discussing interpretation and style. She has some ...
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Two voices for a solo singer written in a sheet music
I was reading the score for Mozart’s insertion aria for his own opera Idomeneo “Non Temer Amato Bene”, K. 490. In it, Idomeneo’s son Idamante (scored for soprano; trouser role) expresses his undying ...
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Falsetto voice in women
Can women have a falsetto voice?
If not, why not?
If yes, do they just have a deep enough voice or does it depend on something else?
Are there men that don't have a falsetto voice?
Edited to add a ...
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What are Head voice and Chest voice
Head voice and Chest voice were discussed in this question about natural voice, but despite singing in choirs for nearly 9 years I have never heard of them.
Can someone provide a good description of ...
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Why can't I whistle and hum different notes at the same time?
I can whistle and hum at the same time, by making the breath from my humming go out through lips formed into a whistling pucker. I've found that no matter how hard I try to do otherwise, whatever note ...
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Techniques for remembering a pitch without reference
I'm wondering what ways there are to remember a note. For example, as a guitarist it'd come in handy if one can hum an E note so you can tune your E string according to it.
Are there common ...
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Do capable harmony singers sing in just intonation or tempered tuning?
I understand that the mathematical frequency ratios between certain intervals will correlate with the overtones that are present when a note sounds in a fundamental frequency. Certain predictable ...
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Criteria for selecting a voice teacher [closed]
I have been singing in a (classical) choir for several years, including the occasional solo line, and am now seriously considering voice lessons. However, finding a good teacher seems like a daunting ...
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Why can't I sing high notes as a young female?
I am 14 years old and want to become a singer.
I have seen that most female singers can usually hit these amazing high notes with no problem whatsoever. Like, for example, Hasley can do somewhat high ...
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Improving breath support
What are some exercises or tips to help singers improve their breath support?
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Is cold water bad for the throat?
Will cold water affect our throat / voice if we drink it before singing?
Also, in the long run (say if you drink cold water everyday), will cold water cause the throat / voice to be "lousy"?
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Vocal range of a crowd
I am planning to sing a song and which has a vocal range of D3-D4.
I want the crowd to join in too. Should I raise or lower the tune of this song to better fit the crowd's range?
Which key or vocal ...
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When singing, how to avoid being distracted by vocal harmony or other vocal lines?
I'm not a professional singer but I love singing. I find it very difficult to focus on my own vocal line when I hear other vocal lines. For example,
When I was in the college choir, I sang bass, and ...
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What is the best way to learn to sing harmony?
I am quite capable of singing the lead vocal but have a difficult time finding the 3rd or 5th harmony in order to harmonize with someone else. Is there a method of learning to hear or find the ...
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Do hard rock singers use distortion effects on their vocals?
I've been wondering how hard rock/metal singers (e.g. Layne Staley, James Hetfield, Dave Grohl) manage to achieve such a 'gritty' sound with their vocals. Do professional rock singers ever use ...
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What is the difference between portamento and glissando?
What is the difference between portamento and glissando while singing?
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How do I practice harmonizing in singing?
I'm not good at singing harmonies. In my mind to harmonize, you can just sing an alternate melody and that usually sounds good with the main melody. I don't think to myself that I have to sing a 5th (...
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Ways to warm up vocal cords?
What are some safe ways to get my vocal cords without over using them before a practice or performance?
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How can you tell if the singer is in pitch?
Just found this site. I'm an adult piano beginner. I just started studying music for the first time in my life about a year ago and am loving it. It's fascinating. I've been taking piano lessons.
...
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Does weight and/or body frame have anything to do with singing?
Does a small body frame (meaning small bones and possibly small organs) or low weight affect the "power" of a singing voice?? Does a higher weight creates some sort of "pressure" or something that ...
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Why can I sing in key?
I've been playing around with pitchlab on my phone. And trying to figure out my voice. How high can I go, how accurate can I be, how well I can hold a tone, etc.
One thing I noticed is that if i ...
user12539
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Are women's voices one octave higher than men's voices?
I heard this somewhere and was wondering if it's true that women's voices are one octave higher than men's?
user34288
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In musical terms, what properties are varied by the human voice to produce different words / syllables?
Why, for example, does the word "hello" sound completely different to the word "goodbye", or the letter "a" from the letter "b"?
I know it can't be pitch, because all of these words and syllables can ...
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When should falsetto be used for a male voice?
I'm really confused about the concept of a falsetto voice. As I understand it, past a point when I'm singing / talking, something in my vocal chords changes, I lose the "basey" sound of my voice, and ...
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Why is my choir director telling a bunch of rednecks to drop their Rs as though they were Londoners?
I currently live in the American South, where every English speaker within a hundred miles speaks with a rhotic accent. Recently, I spent an afternoon with a local choir in practice, and was somewhat ...
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How do I develop a bass voice?
I am an 'adult male human' and can sing from A2 to G4 comfortably. It would be great if I can sing up to a whole octave below this. I am in no hurry and am willing to expend time and effort. I just ...
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What is the difference between singing and speaking?
I can both sing and speak C#3 . There would be a difference between using the note for singing and speaking.
What is the difference between singing and speaking?
If it depends on what kind of vocal ...
user20754
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Do out of tune singers hear that they're off?
Is it the song "in your head" that is out of tune or is it your vocalisation of that ideal song that is off, and if so why/how?
I guess what I'm asking is how is it possible to sing consistently out ...
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Can smoking allow a singer to sing in a way a non smoker couldn't?
A lot is said about how singers shouldn't smoke because smoking ruins their voices.
However, there are certain singers known for being smokers who also have a typical hoarse smoky voice. When I listen ...
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How do rock singers avoid ruining their voice?
Take Dave Grohl for instance... it seems like he's really putting his voice out there in terms of singing volume, and on a lot of songs is on the edge of screaming. I don't think I could manage for a ...
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Singing: How to pre-visualize harmonies
When singing, I have a good singing voice for harmony--once I've identified the note. However, finding the note is exactly my problem; I tend towards singing the note the lead singer is using if I'm ...
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Singing hit the pitch, but it still sounds terrible. What is my problem? How I can solve it?
I have always wanted to learn to sing. I have been playing the guitar for six months, and I started doing exercises to sing in tune. The problem, for example using Yousician:
I can hit the pitch (the ...
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How much can transposing a song by a half step or a whole step help a vocalist?
It is not uncommon for a singer to ask for a piece to be transposed up or down a half step or a whole step. This minute change might be a big change for instrumentalist, like horn players, who have to ...
Dom♦
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human singing voice shows impulse-like high frequency component in spectrogram
I have recording of singing voice recorded in studio with high quality devices.
When I open it as spectrogram (using ocenaudio), the periodic impulse like
high frequency components are shown as in ...
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Is singing a matter of talent or practice?
This is something I have always wondered.
Is singing a matter of talent, that is, only people born with the 'proper instrument' can sing properly, or is it a matter of practice?
I know that practice ...
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How to correctly position your larynx when singing?
I'm a beginner singer who wants to get it correctly. I've seen quite a lot of videos explaining how keeping the larynx neutral while singing is crucial, but not a lot of the techniques they teach work....
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Statistical Average range for a Male singer
I understand that there are different ranges of singers, ie Bass, Baritone, Tenor etc etc, but what is the average pitch range of a male's singing chest voice?
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How can I do rough vocals without hurting my voice?
I recently wrote a song where the vocals are supposed to sound rough, but not quite growling/screaming. What's the best way to get that sort of sound from my voice without any long-term or short-term ...
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Maximizing Practice Time
I play both guitar and sing(I'm a much better guitarist than singer) and have been devoting around 4 hours a day to both instruments. I'm noticing that I'm having trouble covering all the things I ...
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