Help me become a better singer!
August 20, 2013 1:28 PM Subscribe
I am a trained multi-instrumentalist, and I know music theory, have good ears for intonation and rhythm, etc. I've been writing songs and singing backup in my band, and would like to improve my singing. I have a mezzo soprano kind of range.
I really like the voices of zooey deschanel, abigail washburn, and hannah hart-- that sort of low, a little bit breathy, rich, folksy voice. When I sing and record myself to listen back, I can get the breathy part down, but then the tone is not great (as in, the voice sounds thin, lacks body and complexity... like a really cheap violin as opposed to a good one). When I sing with a more "solid" kind of voice, then I sound super nasal-y. How do I get a fuller-bodied voice that's still has that kind of breathy quality?
I don't have much in terms of long capacity. I also grew up in a family that ridiculed me when I sang as a kid, or got corrected by my classical musician mother, so I did not grow up singing in the shower, and have always been kind of self-conscious about my voice.
Lastly, when I talk my voice sounds nasal. I also have an accent when I speak or sing in English, so I don't know if that influences the singing.
I don't have much in terms of long capacity. I also grew up in a family that ridiculed me when I sang as a kid, or got corrected by my classical musician mother, so I did not grow up singing in the shower, and have always been kind of self-conscious about my voice.
Lastly, when I talk my voice sounds nasal. I also have an accent when I speak or sing in English, so I don't know if that influences the singing.
Best answer: I am a classical singer who would like to be much better at more poppy/non-vibratoey stuff. I confess I haven't actually used it, but I ordered this book which is specifically designed for non-classical singers... from a singer who teaches at Berklee.
One thing I'll say is that singing beautifully (or powerfully, or in any way that is desired and controllable) doesn't come without a lot of weird, crappy singing that makes you feel oogy. The last time I took lessons, I was trying to get better control over my passaggio and chest voice -- those Bs, Cs and Ds right below the staff. My teacher had me making a lot of very duck-like noises: sort of sustained quacking, if you will. That freed up the resonance while helping me get used to the physical feeling of that kind of vibration.
Here's another tip from my singer/piano teacher mom: when you sing, do you feel like you're using your "playground voice"? Think about when you were a kid and you used whatever kinds of sounds you wanted to use... but when you went inside to music class, you were nervous. Maybe you didn't want people to comment on the way you sounded, whether it was bad OR good. We have to relearn the power of our own voices, you know?
So find ways to practice your singing where you can make squawky, wacky, cringe-inducing sounds... and then work with those sounds to figure out what you're capable of and how to consistently work around your weaker spots.
Re: lung capacity, you may have much more than you think you do. Think about long lines (regardless of how long the notes or phrases are), and maybe even how it might sound on different instruments, like a cello. (Okay, I used to be a cellist, so it's easy for ME...). Don't shy away from bringing your body and physicality into your practice: keep good posture, wave your hand around to get a feel for whatever you're singing (whether it's some balletic line or a Christina Aguilera air-elevator-button-pushing, who cares).
Singing from your diaphragm will help with breathing, line, all that.
KathrynT and I (I'll volunteer her because I'm like that) are both singers who loooove to help. If you record yourself singing some things you like, maybe one of us can take a listen and share some ideas.
posted by Madamina at 2:29 PM on August 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
One thing I'll say is that singing beautifully (or powerfully, or in any way that is desired and controllable) doesn't come without a lot of weird, crappy singing that makes you feel oogy. The last time I took lessons, I was trying to get better control over my passaggio and chest voice -- those Bs, Cs and Ds right below the staff. My teacher had me making a lot of very duck-like noises: sort of sustained quacking, if you will. That freed up the resonance while helping me get used to the physical feeling of that kind of vibration.
Here's another tip from my singer/piano teacher mom: when you sing, do you feel like you're using your "playground voice"? Think about when you were a kid and you used whatever kinds of sounds you wanted to use... but when you went inside to music class, you were nervous. Maybe you didn't want people to comment on the way you sounded, whether it was bad OR good. We have to relearn the power of our own voices, you know?
So find ways to practice your singing where you can make squawky, wacky, cringe-inducing sounds... and then work with those sounds to figure out what you're capable of and how to consistently work around your weaker spots.
Re: lung capacity, you may have much more than you think you do. Think about long lines (regardless of how long the notes or phrases are), and maybe even how it might sound on different instruments, like a cello. (Okay, I used to be a cellist, so it's easy for ME...). Don't shy away from bringing your body and physicality into your practice: keep good posture, wave your hand around to get a feel for whatever you're singing (whether it's some balletic line or a Christina Aguilera air-elevator-button-pushing, who cares).
Singing from your diaphragm will help with breathing, line, all that.
KathrynT and I (I'll volunteer her because I'm like that) are both singers who loooove to help. If you record yourself singing some things you like, maybe one of us can take a listen and share some ideas.
posted by Madamina at 2:29 PM on August 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
Also, your mom can bite me :D
posted by Madamina at 2:33 PM on August 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Madamina at 2:33 PM on August 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Your mom can bite me too! But yeah, Madamina is right, you're going to have to really commit to doing a lot of bad singing before you start doing some good singing. You're going to have to sing badly with gusto, with verve, with joy, because if you hold back, you'll never engage the processes that will lead to good singing.
I'm guessing you need to engage your chest voice more to "warm" the sound up -- when I have a problem sounding bright and pinchy, I can often accomplish this by raising my soft palate higher and making sure I'm not thrusting my head and jaw forwards. However, the BEST thing you can do is take a handful of lessons, because your voice sounds so different inside your head that having the external feedback is critically helpful. You don't need to sound like an opera singer or take lessons forever, but even six lessons will make a huge difference.
posted by KathrynT at 3:02 PM on August 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
I'm guessing you need to engage your chest voice more to "warm" the sound up -- when I have a problem sounding bright and pinchy, I can often accomplish this by raising my soft palate higher and making sure I'm not thrusting my head and jaw forwards. However, the BEST thing you can do is take a handful of lessons, because your voice sounds so different inside your head that having the external feedback is critically helpful. You don't need to sound like an opera singer or take lessons forever, but even six lessons will make a huge difference.
posted by KathrynT at 3:02 PM on August 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
Also! Remember that singing is IN NO WAY about just the notes you happen to be singing right now. If that were the case, you would have a range of, like, five notes. You need to streeeeeeetch, s-t-r-e-t-c-h yourself, carefully, to see where your range goes and what you can do here and there. When you warm up, start small and go a little higher, a little lower, a littler higher than that, a little lower than that, and so on. You wouldn't sing "Take On Me" as your first song at karaoke, right? You'd start with some Sinatra or something.
By exploring your range in that way, you can build flexibility and confidence that gives you a stronger middle range.
P.S. in case you think I'm being harsh about your mom... my mom can bite me too.
posted by Madamina at 3:11 PM on August 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
By exploring your range in that way, you can build flexibility and confidence that gives you a stronger middle range.
P.S. in case you think I'm being harsh about your mom... my mom can bite me too.
posted by Madamina at 3:11 PM on August 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
You know the Marvin the Martian voice? When you try to mimic it, your voice goes way down in your throat, and you can feel yourself trying to open up your windpipe much lower than you normally would for speaking. Practice that opening up, pushing the voice down your throat feeling while trying to sing. If you've never done it before, it's hard to get it right away.
(It's the same thing as singing from your diaphragm, just a different way to visualize it.)
posted by gjc at 4:36 PM on August 20, 2013
(It's the same thing as singing from your diaphragm, just a different way to visualize it.)
posted by gjc at 4:36 PM on August 20, 2013
Best answer: oh good lord, moms, aren't they the best. Mine managed to crush any and all motivation in me to do anything in the visual arts. So yea, your mom can bite me too :P
Anyway, Madamina and KathrynT are exactly right w/r/t the technical stuff. I will chime in to say that the vocal chords are muscles, and gain strength and agility just like any other muscle will - via progressive use and exercise. The same applies to overuse injuries - you can burn out your voice by trying to do too much, too hard, too soon, and/or with improper technique. Just like you wouldn't randomly go out and try to run a 10K or do 20 heavily weighted squats in the gym, you really shouldn't force your voice through challenging practice or performances until you've got your technique down. If you don't already have a good voice teacher, I'd highly recommend shopping around for a well regarded one.
Others have touched on this too, but I want to reinforce this idea as I've experienced it. One of the things I was told over and over again by my voice teacher whilst learning to sing is that anything worth doing well is worth sucking at in practice until you get good. Breath control, which is where you get that depth and breathy quality you're looking for, isn't easy, and it takes a good bit of practice and conditioning to "get right". A good voice coach / teacher is a GOD. SEND. I had one both in my father (who still has a lovely voice to this day, in his 70s, after a lifetime heavy smoking habit, because he stays in practice) and in the excellent voice teacher he found me that I trained with for over ten years throughout school.
Oh and if you don't use it, you lose it. I can still carry a tune on pitch these days, but I never practice and I rarely sing, even around the house (performance anxiety is a disaster for this) and my tone and range is terrible now. I can tell it would take months of hard work to regain anything near what it was 25 years ago.
posted by lonefrontranger at 10:56 AM on August 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Anyway, Madamina and KathrynT are exactly right w/r/t the technical stuff. I will chime in to say that the vocal chords are muscles, and gain strength and agility just like any other muscle will - via progressive use and exercise. The same applies to overuse injuries - you can burn out your voice by trying to do too much, too hard, too soon, and/or with improper technique. Just like you wouldn't randomly go out and try to run a 10K or do 20 heavily weighted squats in the gym, you really shouldn't force your voice through challenging practice or performances until you've got your technique down. If you don't already have a good voice teacher, I'd highly recommend shopping around for a well regarded one.
Others have touched on this too, but I want to reinforce this idea as I've experienced it. One of the things I was told over and over again by my voice teacher whilst learning to sing is that anything worth doing well is worth sucking at in practice until you get good. Breath control, which is where you get that depth and breathy quality you're looking for, isn't easy, and it takes a good bit of practice and conditioning to "get right". A good voice coach / teacher is a GOD. SEND. I had one both in my father (who still has a lovely voice to this day, in his 70s, after a lifetime heavy smoking habit, because he stays in practice) and in the excellent voice teacher he found me that I trained with for over ten years throughout school.
Oh and if you don't use it, you lose it. I can still carry a tune on pitch these days, but I never practice and I rarely sing, even around the house (performance anxiety is a disaster for this) and my tone and range is terrible now. I can tell it would take months of hard work to regain anything near what it was 25 years ago.
posted by lonefrontranger at 10:56 AM on August 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: thanks Madmamia and KathrynT- might just take you up on the PM offer some time soon!
These are really incredible tips!
posted by atetrachordofthree at 11:27 AM on August 21, 2013
These are really incredible tips!
posted by atetrachordofthree at 11:27 AM on August 21, 2013
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posted by burnmp3s at 1:43 PM on August 20, 2013