any tips to improve my singing

jaywilliams

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As above ive always enjoyed singing im not great at it tho i dont know how to tell if im singing in tune or anything thats a bit involved for me i cant tune my uke by ear let alone tell if im in tune singing , i was just wondering if anybody had any useful tips of ways to improve my singing if anybody had experience trying stuff that helped alot with sibging they wouldnt mind sharing ,id appreciate it ive been singing along with songs for years im always singing it hasnt helped much , i do feel singing along with my uke is helping abit but i still defantly need to improve any advise? Thanks from jay
 
Thanks mate to be fair pitting ur finger in ur ear helps hear aswell but still not sure its helping me improve , il try the warm ups thanks
 
A few shots always makes me sound better but it gets expensive buying house rounds :)

(Sorry for the bad joke, but I wanted this quoted so I can follow the posts as well)

Good luck!
 
The best way to improve is sing. The one thing you seem to need most is training your ear. Some people have a hard time with pitch, for others, it's easy. I am one of the latter. I started singing in close harmonies before the age of five. I am fifty-five. I have been singing and performing in public since age five. It takes practice more than anything.

Training the ear is easiest when someone is a toddler. So, you missed that window of opportunity. It means, you have to unlearn a bit... the martial artist Bruce Lee once said that you have to empty your cup before you can fill it again. So, start fresh with listening to music with headphones at low to moderate volume. Try to pick out the individual vocal parts you are hearing. Then, listen to their relative pitches. When you break down the music into bass, baritone, and tenor voices (or alto and soprano in female voices) you will begin to hear the blend of vocals that create a harmony.

When you sing with others and perform a perfect chord, the respective voices produce harmonic overtones when they blend perfectly. We strive for that. When you make that perfect harmony, there is nothing in the world that can beat it.
 
Two word... Voice Lessons.

Seriously, like any instrument, your voice needs technique and training if you really want to sing well, find a good local voice teacher and take regular lessons and practice... You'll see progress in no time at all...
 
+1 for voice lessons. Finding a good voice teacher is really the way to go.
 
Thanks il try have a few lessons i dont have any interest in being amazing at singing tho, i would just like to sound a bit better whilst singing with my uke i think ive improved a little tho recently i think i may have a few lessons tho to help its hard to know who would be best to learn from tho
 
Sing along with recordings and try to sound EXACTLY like them- cup your hands over your mouth to direct the sounds back towards your ears. I did that way back in junior high and at first so no one else in thehouse would HEAR me, as I tried to emulate Simon and Garfunkle, and couldn't sing AT ALL.

But keep at it- I did through the years- singing along to my recordings has always been a pleasure- and I got fairly acceptable and learned a lot of things-

pay especial attention to the breathing- if you are following along with someone on CD, you'll see where they are taking their breaths- Joihn Denver and Karen Carpenter were especially good at this in my own time, and it was like a challenge to hold the notes for as long as they did- I was a bike racer, so I figured I could.
When they take a big breath, you have to too, and then not expend it any faster than they to hold the sustain on the note or phrase until they take another breath. Try not to breathe anymore than the singer you are singing along to. Karen's sing-song style is really nice to develope some range and breath. I'm playing her and singing as I write this.

DON"T REACH for it too much- this is the classic frequent mistake of most people, once they start getting over the shyness and uptightedness at the beginning.
Most people think they have to belt it out there for people to hear- when the vocalists themselves are often miked super-well and NOT really trying to extend their voice unnaturally- it takes all the warmth out of a performance and throws you off key if you try to sing too loudly.

here I am, doing that very thing-
I hadn't tried to sing over the keyboard much before, and wanted my voice heard by the camera ten feet away-
So I'm "reaching" and trying to sing too loudly so it throws me off key- I didn't care- I didn't make too many mistakes playing. I don't like going over and over things too much, so once I get something- often not perfect- I just post and move on- SORRY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctdJz4NjuXg
and that's another factor- playing an instrument while singing adds another degree of difficulty-

if I sit down and sing this song softly into a nearby mike- I can sound much much better than here. And you'll see that too, if you focus on it- don't try to sing like youre on a big stage- that's a special talent and it takes a very healthy physique-
Sing like your'e singing into a sensitive mike.

Also pay attention to the resonance- vibrato- of the voice- it's what really separates the pros from the rest of us. You may hear yourself matching the notes and pitch, while your own voice is still one dimensional- while theirs has a "warble" to it- and adding that warble only makes it more difficult to match their breathing.
 
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To hear yourself better, go stand in a corner. Your voice will reflect off the walls and back toward your ears. Wearing a dunce cap is strictly optional!

For pitch matching try an electronic tuner (with a mic like a Korg CA-20) and a keyboard (if you don't have a real keyboard use a virtual keyboard like this one: http://www.bgfl.org/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/music/piano/). Play a note, then sing it into the tuner and see if the tuner agrees with you about what note you're singing. Tuners are far pickier than audiences, so don't worry about keeping your pitch spot-on... but if you're trying to sing a D don't let it wander to D-sharp or D-flat.

Another +1 for a voice teacher. A few lessons can work wonders. If you can't find a voice teacher, maybe you know someone who sings and is willing to give you some honest critique and suggestions. Anyone in a church choir should be able to show you some basic vocal warm-ups at least.

Also +1 for singing quietly and listening to yourself. Recording yourself is the best way to really determine how you sound, although it can be disheartening at first. Don't let it discourage you. You know the way to Carnegie Hall, right?
 
Another option is checking in your area and see if there is a barbershop chorus that meets. Where I live, we have one that competes in international competition. They have lots of great instruction available.
 
Voice Lessons... but sing for fun :) you will getting better with time.
 
STAND UP WHEN YOU SING!

Don't drink lactose products before you sing.
Cupping your ear allows you to pick up the key or get back on-key when your singing. It doesn't make you better. It makes you sound better.
Learn to sing with a microphone. You don't need to sing with a mike but you need to know how.
Learn to play your songs in the key(s) you sing best in.
Encourage the audience to sing a long. You will sound better when they do. (different reasons for this).
If you are a bass or baritone sing the melody line as your harmony, Unless you really know what your doing.
Do it your way. (Sorry Hucklelele, I disagree with you on this one).
When you lose it playing and singing a song, stop playing or stop singing. You can pick it up again next verse, maybe.
When you lose it completely stop. Start over again if it happens early in the song. If appropriate start a new song.
If you get Butterflies in the Belly, that is adrenaline. It is a gift you can use.
Become comfortable with making a fool of yourself.
Don't get discouraged when you crash and burn. You don't have to like it but it happens to all of us. (see previous suggestion).

Don't be afraid to GO FOR IT. We learn from our mistakes but when it works ... nuff said!
 
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