Can a bad voice be improved?

Vladim

Vladim

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I mean a really bad voice which, unfortunately, I have by birth.

Every time I listen to Aldrine's sweet singing I'm so full of jealousy (a nice one, of course) that sometimes a wild thought pops up in my mind: maybe my voice isn't hopeless and can be trained by attending vocal lessons or something like that? How bad should be a voice that you still had a chance to become a good singer after some training?
 
Back in the '80s, a local musician I had a couple of records by was offering voice lessons. So I went for a lesson. He had me do about 45 minutes of warm-up exercises, which he recorded on a cassette tape. He gave me the tape, and told me to do those exercises before singing. I've now converted that tape to digital, but I still use those exercises when I'm going to sing. They help to improve my tone, and my range. But even so, once in a while someone on YouTube will make a very insulting comment about my voice because my voice isn't as smooth as the people they hear on the radio.

Lessons can improve your voice. But for all of us, there will still be a limit to how good we can sound.
 
Two years ago I couldn't hold a tune reliably. But I couldn't play the uke and not sing, so I had to sing to myself. The improvement, just through singing lots, was quite marked.

What helps is recording yourself, playing it back,and then thinking about how to sing it better. Work on the weak bits.

I'll never be a proper singer, but at least I can sing in public without being booed off.

 
I genuinely think there is no such thing as a bad voice, only bad technique, knowledge and application.

A good vocal coach can work wonders with breathing, projection, mouth shape and finding your best range. Re the last point, many make the mistake of singing out of their natural range and it sounding off. Everyone has a natural range.
 
Lessons can only help you!
 
Q: Can a bad voice be improved?

A: No, it cannot. I know. I have one.
 
I have trouble carrying a tune, and I have a very narrow range. I have discovered that I sometimes have to transpose a song to several different keys until I find the key that best fits my voice and allows me to somewhat comfortably sing along as I play. Still, it isn't pretty, and I have not yet subjected my friends or family members to a performance, except for my husband (who is stuck with me) and my parents (who think everything I do is wonderful).

If I decided to get serious about playing in front of others, I would take a few voice lessons just to see.
 
I think anybody can sing, just think of Bob Dylan. His voice is not the greatest yet he managed to come up with a style that suits it perfectly. In my opinion voice lessons could definitely help you gain control of your voice and find your range. You will learn simple exercises/scales to enhance any natural ability you may have, and placement is a big thing you will learn, where and how to breath, and to sing in the mask of your face.
Where there's a will, there's a way, I say go for it.
 
Funny you should ask. I figure if Kris Kristoferson could make a living singing with his voice, then you can learn to sing well enough to sing and play uke. :)
Did you see there are forums below the uke forms dedicated to singing?
 
Sean from my favorite band Andrew Jackson Jihad doesn't have a classically "good" voice. However, his voice is true to his lyrics and his message. He's not faking it, and it's the "realness" factor that makes me love his vox.

As long as you are being true and aren't simply imitating another style, I think you'll be fine. :)
 
minniethemoocher said:
I think anybody can sing, just think of Bob Dylan. His voice is not the greatest yet he managed to come up with a style that suits it perfectly.
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He's a perfect example. Honestly, unless you are completely tone deaf, you can sing.

Not all of us are born with a great singing voice, but with some effort we can become better singers. Your vocal cords are like muscles that can be strengthened with training and regular workouts.

Personally, I'd rather listen to someone with a "so-so" voice that sings sincerely and from the heart than someone with a great set of pipes belting out vocal histrionics. Whitney Houston comes to mind in the latter category. She sure can sing, but I simply can't stand listening to her.
 
I agree with the other comments about 'range'. I know that my voice is not suited to high soprano type songs (love somewhere over the rainbow but by god I could murder that song if I tried to sing it). With that in mind I choose songs that are in my range such as Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and bluesy sort of stuff. My advice, find your range and then choose songs that you can do justice to. I also think that training can most definitely help. You see those guys on 'idol' and they are raw but with some training they definitely improve over the course of the show.
 
I'm no singer, not by any means. My natural range is maybe five notes? Something like that. When I was a kid, I liked being in plays and choirs and all of that stuff, but hated that I had no natural ability for it. So, I took voice lessons from maybe age 10 to 17 or so. I was very, very serious about it and practiced constantly. By junior high I was singing solos in all the school concerts. So, yes, this can be learned.

At 17, I stopped, for a very long list of reasons I won't go into. Guess what? I'm back to the five-note natural range. Just putting that out there to say that while it can be learned, it can also be unlearned.
 
janeray1940 said:
At 17, I stopped, for a very long list of reasons I won't go into. Guess what? I'm back to the five-note natural range. Just putting that out there to say that while it can be learned, it can also be unlearned.
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Actually, it's more a case of losing the losing the flexibility in the vocal chords and I suspect you would get it back rather quickly if you started singing regularly again. I'm no great vocalist by any means, but I find that I am passable when I've been singing regularly. I discovered this when I kind of got "tricked" into fronting a gospel trio several years ago and we had to push everything up to C or G for the harp player. Initially I was way out of my comfort range but after a few rehearsals I found that not only had I managed to push my range up there, I sounded better up there. Go for a few months without singing a few hours a week, though, and I pretty much lose my tenor range completely and am back to a rather limited baritone.
 
OldePhart said:
Actually, it's more a case of losing the losing the flexibility in the vocal chords and I suspect you would get it back rather quickly if you started singing regularly again.
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You're probably right about that - when I first started playing uke I was willing to sing a bit more than I am now, and I did see improvement pretty quickly. Then I started learning to play classical on the uke and that was that - no need to sing :)
 
Have you heard some of the pop singers of today? Their pitch is lousy and they can't hold it for more than a beat or two. Instead of a single solid note, their voice wanders all over the place. Okay, I admit that I'm an old guy who likes the old singers some of whom can still carry a tune (i.e. Tony Bennett, age 85?). Karen Carpenter will always be one of my favorites. Thankfully, a singer who's actually good pops up once in awhile. So, don't be too hard on yourself. If you're really concerned, you could take a few voice lessons and get some pointers from a pro. FWIW
 
There is a LOT of amazing advice herein, and I offer this.
I saw Iris Dement a few weeks ago, and she really wanted the croud to sing with her. If you are familiar- her voice is about as unique as they come. In any event, she prefaced her request with:
"Who cares how you sound when you are singing? You ought to just sing for the sake of doing it- it is silly to care what other people sink"
I think she nailed the entire point of why those of us who are not naturally gifted here want to do so, and I immediately stopped caring
 
Lot's of people sing in the shower, me included. They don't really think about it beforehand; They just do it because there's a song inside that just has to come out. Just sing!
 
"Say it loud and sing it proud today!"

I know my voice has definitely improved from singing louder and more often, typically in my car on the way to/from work. I pop in one of my favorite CDs and hit what I can, stretch for what's just barely out of reach (and half the time I can get there), and switch to falsetto for the high notes. Just don't look around to see who's watching. :p.
 
MS2k said:
"Say it loud and sing it proud today!"

I know my voice has definitely improved from singing louder and more often, typically in my car on the way to/from work. I pop in one of my favorite CDs and hit what I can, stretch for what's just barely out of reach (and half the time I can get there), and switch to falsetto for the high notes. Just don't look around to see who's watching. :p.
Click to expand...

Heh, heh. I used to do that a lot but I don't have a commute any more so usually if I'm in the car someone is in there with me. My wife is vey supportive but the only way I can reach some of the leads on old rock music is to belt it out rather loudly... :)

John
 
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