Voice Range

Down Up Dick

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I bought "Singing Exercises for Dummies," and I've been reading it and doing some of the exercises.

It's been a good experience. My bottom note was a low G, and I could hit a weak F. Now my low F is strong. My top note was an okay C, and, now I'm up to pretty good D. So I'm mostly satisfied, and there's lots of other stuff I want to learn in the book.

Let there be singing! :eek:ld:
 
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great to hear of your success with the book. How much of the book have you been through and did you use the cd? How long have you used the book for?

I just picked out three or four chapters to read right away. Mostly the ones about range. I'll read more now and again.

I've had the book a coupla weeks I guess, but I'm doing other things too. And yes I have used the CD and found it useful. As with everything else I do, I'm self taught, and I needed help to improve my singing voice.

I prefer singing with my Ukes to fingerpicking, but I'm doing both. :eek:ld:
 
My voice has really improved over this last year just from singing a lot. I do most of the singing with my practice partner as she is not too comfortable singing and sometimes I just play songs and sing for her as she claims to like my voice. Anyway I sang a phrase the other day through an amp and I was surprised at how good it sounded. At that moment my friend said, I had no idea you could sing so well. I didn't let on that it was a bit of a fluke. I think I'd benefit greatly from some voice lessons.
 
Hi, Icelander, a male singer from a nearby college told me that just singing a lot might increase my range. I haven't been singing much lately though. I'm working on Clawhammer and still trying to get really comfortable with tabs. When I play songs, I usually whistle.

Learning new stuff in our golden years is really a battle, but it's supposed to be good for us. :eek:ld:
 
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Yeah, I find it tough also. Fortunately I was heavily into music most of my life as a listener. I would sing the songs and the lyrics and tune would stay stuck in my head over the years. But I have a hell of a time with memorization at this stage so I've learned to read fast off the page. Mostly just strum and sing. Not much of a picker at this point but I have a ton of songs I can play fairly smoothly off the page and I always sing. I like to sing. In fact sometimes I think I took up the uke so I could have a good excuse to sing.
 
Yeah, I find it tough also. Fortunately I was heavily into music most of my life as a listener. I would sing the songs and the lyrics and tune would stay stuck in my head over the years. But I have a hell of a time with memorization at this stage so I've learned to read fast off the page. Mostly just strum and sing. Not much of a picker at this point but I have a ton of songs I can play fairly smoothly off the page and I always sing. I like to sing. In fact sometimes I think I took up the uke so I could have a good excuse to sing.

I actually did that, Icelander, I already had a Uke hanging on the wall as an ornament. Then, one day, I decided that I missed singing so I took it down and had at it. I've told the full story elsewhere on the forum, so I won't repeat it now.

Since I'm an English Major and like poetry a lot, singing fits right into my music hobby. :eek:ld:
 
Hey! English major here also. I've always loved music. Played various band instruments (not well). For me, also, the uke was a perfect excuse to sing songs that I have enjoyed throughout the many decades of my life and continue exploring new music. I don't sing well, but I think I'm a little above God-awful and I certainly enjoy it. I don't think I'll ever be a real picker, though I am working on a simple chord/melody version of "Europa" by Santana. If I'm always just a strummer though, that will be fine. It gives me a perfectly good excuse to sing my fool head off.
 
Well, whenever I'm working on songs, I'm usually working on range. I can get a pretty good C in the staff, but D and above isn't at all dependable. I like to sing in the key of C, and I had one of my Ukes tuned to Bb. I have one book of cowboy songs that's written in keys for low voices, but I usually have to transpose a lot.

I love to sing something like "Ol' Man River" in the morning when my voice is really low. :eek:ld:
 
Hey! English major here also. I've always loved music. Played various band instruments (not well). For me, also, the uke was a perfect excuse to sing songs that I have enjoyed throughout the many decades of my life and continue exploring new music. I don't sing well, but I think I'm a little above God-awful and I certainly enjoy it. I don't think I'll ever be a real picker, though I am working on a simple chord/melody version of "Europa" by Santana. If I'm always just a strummer though, that will be fine. It gives me a perfectly good excuse to sing my fool head off.

would you mind sharing your version of "Europa"? I would love to learn that one. Like you I'm a strummer mostly but I'd love to learn that .
 
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Hey! English major here also. I've always loved music. Played various band instruments (not well). For me, also, the uke was a perfect excuse to sing songs that I have enjoyed throughout the many decades of my life and continue exploring new music. I don't sing well, but I think I'm a little above God-awful and I certainly enjoy it. I don't think I'll ever be a real picker, though I am working on a simple chord/melody version of "Europa" by Santana. If I'm always just a strummer though, that will be fine. It gives me a perfectly good excuse to sing my fool head off.

Old man singing Old Man River. Pretty classy. :rolleyes:

DUD when you make it to the top of California go just a few more miles north and stop in for a jam session. (I'm just a few miles over the Oregon Border) This is a serious invitation old man. :cheers:
 
Old man singing Old Man River. Pretty classy. :rolleyes:

DUD when you make it to the top of California go just a few more miles north and stop in for a jam session. (I'm just a few miles over the Oregon Border) This is a serious invitation old man. :cheers:

My wife and I rode our Tandem Bicycle all over that area. We rode around Crater Lake and loved Jackson. It was very, very hot!! It was a nice trip. We did the California Redwoods too--lots of vicious climbs, but when a tandem gets goin' down hill it FLYS!

I think I told you about our trip before. We enjoyed all our trips. We're tryin' to get started again, but . . . :eek:ld:
 
That's when baris and a capo come in handy. You play the same chord shapes, it just comes out in key friendlier to your range. I sometimes do this in the morning, when my voice is typically a step or three lower than usual. (I have baris in both linear and reentrant modes, resolving that little issue.) When I feel lazy, or when I only want to cart around one uke, I'll capo a bari at the 5th fret and use is as a tenor substitute. I no longer mind playing with a capo since getting a low-profile adjustable one (Planet Waves NS).

I have a baritone and a nice, rarely used capo. I'll have to put 'em together and give 'em a try. Thanks! :eek:ld:
 
Well, I've lowered my singing range one note to F, and raised the top end to a sometimes shakey E. I've also gotten into falsetto a bit. I've been using "Singing for Dummies" from the Library, but it doesn't have the CD.

I like the above book pretty much. I might buy one. I already have the exercise one. :eek:ld:
 
would you mind sharing your version of "Europa"? I would love to learn that one. Like you I'm a strummer mostly but I'd love to learn that .

I'm guessing you have found it by now, but just read your post and don't remember if I sent it to you, but it's on live 'ukulele site by Brad Bordessa. There are a bunch of good ones on his site including beginner pieces.
 
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I was told that the best way to improve one's range is to sing a lot. I sometimes try to push my voice with a song that's a bit higher than normal. I was working on my falsetto too, but not with much success.

You see? It's much more interesting to learn stuff than it is to actually sing. It is for me anyway. :eek:ld:
 
I was told that the best way to improve one's range is to sing a lot. I sometimes try to push my voice with a song that's a bit higher than normal. I was working on my falsetto too, but not with much success.

You see? It's much more interesting to learn stuff than it is to actually sing. It is for me anyway. :eek:ld:

I'm not the greatest singer...but I think my singing skills are stronger than my uke skills. When I was a kid, I was in the Indianapolis Children's Choir. Although I no longer sing in the same style, I still apply a lot of the techniques they taught us. Breathing is the biggest thing. Controlling the breath and knowing where to put it. It even helped me in band, playing trombone. "Suck that air in with your diaphragm, through your belly and into your back pants pocket." The use your diaphragm to control it as you sing. I know this all probably sounds silly. It's just info that has remained with me through the years.
 
Another English major reporting in :)




Need to check out that book!
 
I took some voice lessons, and it was worth it in many ways. I didn't have to take that many either. Just three or four, half hour sessions.
 
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