help me sing less like elvis costello.

January 12, 2007 11:58 PM

i sing. i have never been trained. it has been noted by a number of people that i sing very loudly. i have a question about proper singing.

there are a whole bunch of notes i can hit when i sing with more volume that i can't really wrap my voice around when i'm singing quietly. i can feel my throat forming the note, but nothing really comes out unless i put some more air behind it.

is this normal? or better still, what does this suggest that i'm doing badly?

posted by radiosilents to media & arts (19 comments total)

Yeah, it's normal. I wouldn't call it bad, exactly, but it is harder to sing high and soft than high and loud. It has to do with controlling your tone (or not being able to control it, as the case may be). Even professional singers have trouble with this.
posted by Violet Hour at 12:21 AM on January 13, 2007

And the way to fix it is with regular vocal exercise, so keep singing!
posted by flabdablet at 12:47 AM on January 13, 2007

Ok, so there's different places you can be singing from. You can be singing from your throat or from your diaphram, using your breath to power your notes. Try this... take a big deep breath, and then as you sing a note breathe out as much air as possible. Just practice that a bit. Then take a deep breath and ration the air to see what you can accomplish in one breath. Experiment. The main thing is that a lot of people forget to breathe and so they have no power backing them up to hit the notes. To sing properly and with strength you need to really be using your lungs.

If you're singing and really using your breath then not only is there more power and control, you're not going to blow out your vocal cords. I'm a jazz singer and when I'm doing a gig, I have to be able to sing for four hours straight. People who don't sing with breath control can't do that, but my voice needs to sound the same in the first hour as it does at the end. An example of what happens otherwise that comes to mind is Kelly Clarkson in the finale of American Idol... she was singing constantly for the competition and for some reason people weren't correcting her breath control so during the finale she had laryngitis.

One other thing, sometimes on unfamiliar songs I struggle with on transitions from note to note that my voice isn't used to doing. I find that if I practice the song a lot, over time my voice gets used to the transitions and powers through it easier & easier. So... practice is your friend. :)
posted by miss lynnster at 3:09 AM on January 13, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

You might want to read up on passagio.
posted by loiseau at 5:33 AM on January 13, 2007

Yesssss! Thank you, loiseau!
posted by olinerd at 7:20 AM on January 13, 2007

Oh God, wrong thread. Sorry. ::slinks away::
posted by olinerd at 7:21 AM on January 13, 2007

Well, how 'bout a few lessons? I was unhappy with my voice too and was amazed at how fast I improved. Find a decent teacher and you will likely be delighted.
posted by SampleSize at 7:44 AM on January 13, 2007

It's totally normal, and even desirable, to sound like that in a number of styles of singing -- your local shape note or West Gallery or Balkan group would probably be excited to hear you just as you are.
posted by nonane at 7:51 AM on January 13, 2007

Hey dude -- Elvis Costello *can* actually sing his ass off. He sings in genre-stylized ways, but he has a hell of a lot of voice control. Don't believe me? Listen to him nail "This House is Empty Now" and then put on "Good Year for the Roses."

It takes more energy to move a low tone at a normal volume than to produce a higher tone at the same volume. What you are hearing is a relative phenomenon, and results from you applying force (breath force, with resonance in your diaphragm or your head, it doesn't matter) *evenlly* across your range. To smooth it out you have to reduce the energy at the higher end of your range, or boost it on the bottom, or else move or reshape the primary resonance point as you go up your range to compensate. Generally, the former (backing off on pressure as you go up) is preferable because of the high likelihood of stridency (various kinds of noise) in higher frequency vocalic sounds. Best way to learn about this is to try some lessons on a brass instrument. It gets clear fast.

Or, as Nonane says, you can just sing Balkan music, or something else that parts the voices in such a way that you don't have to exceed the sweet spot in your vocal range.
posted by fourcheesemac at 8:17 AM on January 13, 2007

It's easier to sing loudly, period. Singing softly takes more control over you air flow. Just keep practicing. A very good technique to use is to record yourself with a tape recorder, and analyze what you hear.
posted by FergieBelle at 8:18 AM on January 13, 2007

You'll find this is true with other instruments as well as the voice.
posted by ludwig_van at 8:38 AM on January 13, 2007

Singing loudly IS NOT THE ANSWER if you're singing the wrong way! Learning how to use your breath with control is the answer. Seriously, otherwise you can strain your vocal cords.

Okay, here are some links:
The Anatomy of Singing
Vocalist Dos & Don'ts
Vocal Techniques
Excerpts from "Voice of a Lifetime in 30 Days" (Relaxing, Breathing, Creating Sound)

Hope this helps.
posted by miss lynnster at 9:01 AM on January 13, 2007 [5 favorites has favorites]

It's easier to sing loudly, period.

This isn't true, though. It's more difficult to sing loudly in the lowest register of the voice (as it is with playing in the lowest register of the flute, for example).
posted by ludwig_van at 9:14 AM on January 13, 2007

Record yourself. You will think of lots of ways to change what you do after that. :) Lessons are great but more expensive. Even a few can make a big difference. Record those, too. Also, even if Costello says he hates his voice, I think he intentionally sings like a horn part fairly often. Maybe try singing something that doesn't lend itself to that style. Record. Listen. Repeat.
posted by Listener at 11:07 AM on January 13, 2007

"I felt like I'd finally learned how to sing. I'd been studying the microphone for a dozen years, and suddenly I saw what I'd been doing wrong. I'd been singing too loud, especially on those Whitfield songs. It was all so easy. One night I was listening to a record by Lester Young, the horn player, and it came to me. Relax, just relax. It's all going to be all right." -- Marvin Gaye, talking about recording "What's Going On"
posted by fuzz at 11:18 AM on January 13, 2007

If you don't like the way you sing, find someone to teach you how to sing in a way you do like. If you can't afford proper lessons, you may be able to find a singing group or choir type group that will groom you up.

Also - methinks you underestimate Mr. Costello. If you listen to his catalog, you will realize that he has good control of his voice and uses it to add emphasis to lyrics and themes within his songs. I'm sure there have been times when less than perfect vocals have made it out on recordings, but his stuff is pretty layered.

Seriously - look into groups where you can be trained without spending an arm and a leg if money is a concern.
posted by Meep! Eek! at 11:22 AM on January 13, 2007

Singing with a microphone is a totally different art from singing without one. Many a great "natural" singer has discovered this, and many lousy singers have mastered the mic in compensation.
posted by fourcheesemac at 2:10 PM on January 13, 2007

What does this suggest that you're doing badly?

Diaphragm support.
Breath control.
posted by Coaticass at 1:34 AM on January 14, 2007

Or possibly more helpfully- it suggests that you need to breathe just as freely and well, when singing softly, as when you sing loudly.

IANAST, but work in a related field.
posted by Coaticass at 2:07 AM on January 14, 2007