How to get a good singing voice?

VellaJ

So I'm tired of being a "one-trick pony," 'cos basically the only thing I can do half-decently is guitar. So I'm wanting to have a go at singing.

Just a bit of background, I did go for vocal training for a month or two a while ago, and by the end of it I reckon I can't pull off the mainstream stuff, my voicebox just doesn't seem able to handle a sustained amount of singing, especially if it requires a fair amount of highs.

What I really want to be able to do is the "down 'n dirty" stuff, think Billy Gibbons. Now I know it's highly unlikely that I could pull off anything the Reverend Willie G does, he's got one heck of a voice, but anything in that ball park would be awesome. That is, the lower-end of his extensive vocal range. In fact, I'm quite curious about BG's voice, looking at another forum I think one poster sums it up quite nicely:

I find it amazing that a skinny white kid from Texas could have such an authoritative and "old" sounding voice. I mean, the first album was in 1970 and he was barely out of his teens. Listen to those tracks, he sounds like he is 70 and has been sucking down a carton of Cowboy Killers and a gallon of Whiskey on a daily basis.

So what do you think? Was he born with it, or is there hope for a sucker like me to half-learn what he's got? Any advice? Other than, of course "Sucking down a carton of Cowboy Killers and a gallon of Whiskey on a daily basis" ?

karoo

I think you can train your voice to be on pitch, and even push your tonal boundries, but I do believe, just like a guitar or amp or whatever, that your voice is unique to you. I have quite a husky dirty voice (that sounds really weird ???) but I lack a good range

singemonkey

Don't be fooled. Billy G. is (was?) a fantastic singer - listen to "Just Got Back From Baby's." What he's doing is a little like applying a distortion pedal to your guitar playing. It's still not going to sound good if you're not playing well into it, no matter how great the box is. Even Bob Dylan is a good singer. As he said, "I hit all the notes..." and he does.

I'm not trying to discourage you, but you can't apply some kind of texture and be a good singer within a limited sphere. Tom Waits can also hit all the notes. So could Louis Armstrong and John Lee Hooker. There's not a single person that I can think of who carries off singing because of the style that they use despite being a bad singer. Anthony Keidis...maybe. They beef his voice up on records a lot and it sounds appalling on live recordings. He substitutes rhythm for his lack of tone and pitch to a large extent - and it works on record.

Vocal training is still going to be your best bet, but maybe ask your coach for specific advice on where you can sing where you can deliver your best at the moment. You can sing in the most comfortable part of your range and leave more challenging stuff for practise. Maybe find a new coach with whom you may make more progress?

A lot of it is a confidence trick. You've got to be loose and go for the note otherwise you'll miss it. Like jumping across a chasm. You can't be scared or you won't make it. Being able to hear yourself clearly makes a bid difference (monitors, or even earplugs can really help - and I'm sure you've seen singers cupping one hand to their ear to better hear themselves)

Adding texture before you're confident on the basics may make you feel like you're performing better, but your audience will feel differently.

Bob-Dubery

I've been going for singing lessons, in Linden, not that far for you. In my case most of the work was on breath control (largely amounts to singing from the stomach) because that keeps the pipes open, and on sustaining long vowel sounds. My range has extended a bit (or I'm able to reach more of my range). PM me if you want contact details

It's not rocket science. I think anybody can become a reasonable singer. But you is what you am. I'm never going to sing like Art Garfunkel - I don't have that range. Elvis Costello talks about how he wanted to sing like Van Morrison, but couldn't. So then he tried to sing like Rick Danko - and ended up sounding like himself, finding his own voice. One thing my voice teacher doesn't do is to try to make me sing like [fill in the name of a famous singer]. What she's taken pains to do is to get an idea for what I want to perform and help me sing that, sounding like me.

Keira-WitherKay

All said above by singe and bob is spot on,

i work with vocalists on a pro level and have learnt in 25 yrs that singing is an art and skill like everything ,

so long hours of work is required , you mentioned you went for lessons for a month and quit , well the truth is you need lessons till yolu crack it , the singing techniques and especially pitch control and ear training .....just like guitar technique need to be studied and absorbed into your style and that takes time ,

if you couldn't play guitar, or did so very badly do you think you can have a months lesson and play like billy gibbons cos hey its only blues ? hell no ..... Is the answer ,

and yes a great voice needs an amount of natural ability but an average or below average voice can benefit from years of voice training just like a guitarist

even in the pro hotel and restaurant scene where i gig my last 2 singers over the last 3 years have both held degrees in voice as preparation for a singing career,

so if you wanna sing put in as much work and take as many lessons as you would to improve your guitar playing, a process that can take years not a month of maybe one lesson a week ....

So find a tutor and put in the hours it will be rewarding in the end and yes it may take a while ,

V8

VellaJ wrote: So I'm tired of being a "one-trick pony," 'cos basically the only thing I can do half-decently is guitar. So I'm wanting to have a go at singing.

+1 for Bob, Singe's and Kiera's comments. Practice, practice, practice.

Not that I can sing (especially without a guitar in my hands), but I've done a little work getting there.

Three things I've had some fun with (and gotten results...if I am deligent) are :

1. Singing basic melodies, while playing same melody on the guitar. Doh, a deer... or Row, row, row yer boat are two I use to 'warm up'. I'll alternate either playing 1st then singing, singing 1st then playing, or both together.
2. Harmonica, it's a wind instrument and the basic guidelines for playing are similar to singing. Posture and breathing from the belly for tone and sustain.
3. Singstar (on the Playstation) or Ultrastar (PC platform, freeware). Yeah karaoke can suck, but when you have feedback on how far out (or in) you are, you can develop some skill and have fun with your favourite tunes. Just don't get fooled on beginner level - you can be up to 5 semi tones out and still get 'great' scores.... ?

DonRoos

+1 for Bob, Singe's,Kiera & V8's comments.

As a vocalist, your instrument is your body. You need to be fit to sing well. You need muscle control to sing from your stomach and that takes much exercise in the form of practice. As with any muscle exercise, you need to warm up with breathing exercises and stretches before you sing to make sure you don't damage yourself in the process.

You need air control which require making sure you breathe properly, at the right time and then control the release. More exercise required, I am afraid.

You also need control over your vocal chords which also need warming up. You need to practice changing from one note to another with accuracy. This is where the scales that your teacher should be giving you come into play. As with playing the guitar faster, you need to exercise your vocal chords to react quickly, as well as the entire vocal instrument including air pipe, jaw, tongue, etc. One month is not nearly enough and this is something that will require continuous exercise to remain fit.

But trying to sing like someone else who has a different voice will cause you to strain your voice and could lead to permanent damage (polyps on your vochal chords). If you try and make a bass guitar sound like a lead guitar you will damage the guitar and your fingers and snap many strings. Be happy with the voice you have and practice making it better, not different.

Jayhell

...then there is the other option; just do it.

Just start singing to everything, you would be amazed how quickly you will get better. I recently started singing after years of just playing the guitar, wrote a few songs and just started singing them on a daily basis, some still sound wonkey, but a lot of them are starting to sound good. You'll find a voice, your voice. Eventually it will come to you and you will think; wow that's me.

VellaJ

Thanks for the replies guys ?

Keira WitherKay wrote: so long hours of work is required , you mentioned you went for lessons for a month and quit , well the truth is you need lessons till yolu crack it , the singing techniques and especially pitch control and ear training .....just like guitar technique need to be studied and absorbed into your style and that takes time ,

if you couldn't play guitar, or did so very badly do you think you can have a months lesson and play like billy gibbons cos hey its only blues ? hell no ..... Is the answer ,

True enough, though when I say a month or two it was closer on 4 months that I went to lessons. I can get on pitch, but singing the "regular" songs is just out of my comfort range, I'm more comfortable in the lower registers...

V8 wrote: 3. Singstar (on the Playstation) or Ultrastar (PC platform, freeware). Yeah karaoke can suck, but when you have feedback on how far out (or in) you are, you can develop some skill and have fun with your favourite tunes. Just don't get fooled on beginner level - you can be up to 5 semi tones out and still get 'great' scores.... ?

Maybe I must get hold of Ultrastar... Not much of a gamer, so I don't have a Playstation for Singstar ?

Jayhell wrote: ...then there is the other option; just do it.

Yeah I've kinda taken to doing that, but only when I'm sure nobody can here me. Not too confident yet ?

singemonkey

You know you don't have to play in the same key as the original recording... right?

Bob-Dubery

singemonkey wrote: You know you don't have to play in the same key as the original recording... right?

+1

A lot of the guys who made the records no longer sing songs in the original key. Most of the guys from the 70s and 80s have lost the high end by now. Billy Joel, for example, can no longer sing the high falsetto part in "Innocent Man". Did you hear Elton John sing at the Jubilee show? There were several parts where he used to go UP but now drops down an octave instead. Etc.

The song doesn't have to be played and sung in the key in which it was originally recorded. There's no law that says that.