Singing Advice Thread

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I'm always amazed at how tiring singing is, especially singing at the limits of your vocal range.

If I don't nail a recording within about three takes, I'm probably going to have wait until the next day to try again because my voice is going to be wrecked until then. I have no idea how professional singers manage.
 
It depends. For karaoke, I just say have fun and go all out, that's what I usually did when singing. Try not to strain yourself either
 
I have an unconventional method. Try hugging someone who is a good singer and as they sing, you rest your head on their shoulder, chest to chest! You can HEAR better and feel better and get a better sense of their breathing pattern too!

I know it sounds silly but it worked with my little brother, I sang to him as a baby and boom this kid was singing way early and had great pitch he could even pick out the songs I sang to him after a while it was great.
 
pp6t49 said:
I have an unconventional method. Try hugging someone who is a good singer and as they sing, you rest your head on their shoulder, chest to chest! You can HEAR better and feel better and get a better sense of their breathing pattern too!

I know it sounds silly but it worked with my little brother, I sang to him as a baby and boom this kid was singing way early and had great pitch he could even pick out the songs I sang to him after a while it was great.
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Interesting. Usually, I just touch my throat while I practice, trying to get a sense of what’s vibrating and how I can manipulate it for the tone I want.
 
A few easy tips:

1. Learn your range.
Get one of those apps where you can play the "piano".
Press each and try to sing the same tone with your voice.
Remember that the low tones come more from your mouth and the high tones come more from the nose so you need to change the percentage of those as you go through the scales.

2. Learn to hold a note.
Once you know what is your range and can hit every note comfortably, learn to hold each note.
Aim for 5 seconds first, then once you can do that, go for 10.
You will probably not need more than 10 seconds.

3. Learn to switch between various notes.
A lot of the time, this is the main reason why people suck at singing.
They can't go from one note to another properly, they miss the proper note and go for the wrong one.
You need to get accustomed to switching notes and hit the right ones every time.
That will take the most practice, especially when you reach the edges of your range.

I think that's good for starters.
 
I followed some guy on Youtube's video series "Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy". For whatever reason Reddit hates the guy (he is kinda a tool I'll admit, and he recently got caught miming in a live performance) but I think a lot of the hate he gets is just Reddit bandwagoning, it was a really well laid out program with lots of exercises to follow and solid information, like singing from the diaphragm etc. Helped me immensely. He charges a bunch of money for it on his website so I don't recommend buying it. It's free on rutracker
 
Recognize diphthongs both in word, sound, and tongue placement, and practice them in speech and song because you'll need to be clear and precise in song. I feel like the biggest reason why a lot of modern artists sound mushmouthed and mumble more than sing is because ebonics they just don't realize this, or don't care to. This is especially important because your soft palette rises when you vocalize, and you'll be sounding out phonics every note. This isn't just for professional singers, this advice is also for your weekly church-goer.

Think another problem modern singers also have is that they feel they have to have melisma (single syllable running through multiple notes) in their songs or they're not "true" vocalists. Forcing this on yourself when you're having a hard time with pitch or breaths is just going to give you a bad time, and you will not get better if you can't find your bearings. "Angels We Have Heard on High" is a beautiful song and is fun to do, but inexperienced singers bungle and stumble through it.

If you want to sing and be good at it, you just have to practice as much as you can. Preferably every day for one or two songs, but every other day or so will be fine, too. Best to do it in places with acoustics like your bathroom (shower vocalist master race) so you can hear it bounce off the walls. Go out to some open area with few or no people and sing (I'm a weirdo who used to sing on the swings as a child, and I go on walks and sing because it works for me). Sometimes record yourself so you can get a good feel of how you sound outside of your head, especially once you discover your head voice.

Also pinch your nose off-and-on while singing. If you don't sound nasally at all, you're on the right track.

Idiotron said:
You will probably not need more than 10 seconds.
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I'm pretty sure I can hold for 15 seconds lol I remember being proud of myself that I could actually sing the end note of "The Bells of Notre Dame" and not pass out. I really should time myself, though, I tend to count "holding" from when I take a breath regardless of how many syllables are in that breath.
 
pay for a couple lessons bro. you dont have to go for a year, just do like 5 weeks, anyone should be able to afford that. ask your teacher to teach you the absolute basics which i will now try to summarize for you because i also began taking lessons recently and the results are immediate
  • use your "head voice," get your skull resonating to produce the sound, achieve volume not by pushing with your throat (that fucks up your vocal cords and tires you out quickly) but by filling your sinuses with sound
  • to achieve the above, use your facial muscles. even if youre into sad downbeat music, dont give in to the temptation to just let your jaw droop and your face stay frozen
    • if you smile while singing youre immediately going to sound better because smiling activates many of the same muscles you need to produce a better sound. you dont need to smile but you will notice when watching pros sing that singing involves making a lot of faces. thats not for show
    • example: if you scrunch up your nose it will help you hit high notes (im not kidding) because it opens up your sinuses
    • you want to physically feel the resonance in the roof of your mouth and all around your nose and inside your face
      • this doesnt mean a nasally voice, thats in the back of your nose
    • if youre a mouthbreather or just tend to forget about your jaw when singing, support your chin on some surface like your palm while you sing and dont try to open your mouth too much, its not necessary
    • watch yourself singing in the mirror and try to notice habits that stand out because often they can be bad habits that cause you to lose focus and start using your throat voice again, like jutting your head out whenever you start singing or cocking your head back
  • breathe into your belly and use your diaphragm (the muscle between your gut and your tits) to push the air directly into your upper skull without consciously pushing from your throat
    • concentrate on the sound thats leaving your mouth, not the sound coming out of your throat
  • your entire upper body is involved in producing sound. practice good posture, relax, if the muscles in your neck are stiff and fucked up it may throw you off
    • a common trick is called "grounding yourself" like when youre sitting in a chair, sit upright and grab the seat beneath you with your hands as a sort of anchor. this helps focus on singing
  • learn notes. theres only 12 of them, its not that fucking hard
  • singing correctly can be pretty physically exhausting so take plenty of breaks and drink water
this applies to every single genre
 
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AndSothisIsChristmas said:
Is there any possible way for me to post a voice recording of me singing for feedback that wouldn’t be a powerlevel?
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If you have any musical presence online aka teaching or making any kind of media online people would be able to match a voice to the person so it's just a bad idea if you care about your anonymity.
 
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