Singing 101

[TB-AV]

Man you have got to get rid of all that crap you are looking at. Just forget it.

Here's what you do. Pretend you are Elvis. sing like the microphone is across the room from you.

Now in your best Elvis impersonation....

One for the money
Two for the show
three to get ready
Now go cat go
but don't you
Step on my blue suede shoes.

Try that until you get a reasonably decent Elvis thing going on.

Now.... do it again but this time pause some of those words on their note.

Like one for the mooooooooooooooo  neyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy and try to play that same note/s on your guitar. Also after you hear the vocal differences between mooooooooo and neyyyyyyyyyyyyy. Try to convert them vocally from the words to sounds like ahhhhhhh eeeeeeee. When you can go back and forth on those and hit the notes on your guitar that's good.

Do that with many parts of those lyrics.  Now after that try to change the aaaaaa eeeeeee to aaaaaa  aaaaa with the pitch changing too. You will probably find that your voice cracks meaning your range is not that high.

But you need to sing something Hell sing Rudolph the Red Nosed reindeer like Bing Crosby. You need to imitate someone that is actually singing and then try to break that down to actual singing notes.

You sound like someone getting their tonsils checked by a doctor right now. Pretend like you're Pavarotti ... you need to move some air to make music. You're never going to get it until you are belting it out a bit. You have your ear monitors up so they are loud when your voice is soft. You want the opposite of that.

 

[PattheBunny]

Play a C Major scale.   Then sing the C major scale.   Do not sing one note at a time and wait a whole lot of time to sing the next note.  Each note is a clue to the next one and when you try to sing them alone you are going to feel lost.  Even if you sing to match a tone, I think you are better off singing intervals.   And to try and pull the tone out of your head without a context is hard.   That's why people ask for starting notes when they sing.   

THe problem you are having begins with not just matching  a tone but being able to hear the intervals, the distance between notes.  So find a short tune, or scale, with fixed relationship that are very very very familiar to you.    Also singing so quietly is not helping you.  Just sing at a decent level even if the note is wrong.  Commit to the sound you are going to make even if it's wrong.   

PAT

If you can't sing a scale, can you sing a simple nursery rhyme?   Or a television jingle?   Or two note intervals? 

[kentl]

The sound i THINK is form the the fact that if I'm not right there with the mic then it dont pikc it up very well, I'm singign pretty loud, not shouting or anything but I'd say nomral.

I'm singing louder then your hearing thats for sure, but I may STILL need to sing louder anyways

[TB-AV]

The sound i THINK

Stop looking
Stop thinking

Take the ear monitors out, you're not using them properly.

Get an instrument like a piano or acoustic guitar.
An acoustic guitar would be best for you as it will allow you to also feel the vibrations as you get the note.
Sing and play as though you want someone outside the doorway to hear you easily.

[kentl]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJp2gMFhoeY


your going to say sing louder but i AM I'm pounding that guitar, its just the mic wont pick both up well in any way I try to make it

[Tourniquet]

The volume's fine for this purpose, but if mic position matters to you look at getting a mic boom. really does make recording easier.

Don't know the song you're singing but it sounds reasonably in key.
Compare your singing voice to your speaking voice (before you pick up the mic) and you might notice a marked difference.
Whether you realise it or not your speaking voice is changing pitch naturally and is significantly stronger than your singing voice.
The biggest distinction between the two is only in your mind, you open your mouth to sing and your mind makes all these little adjustments for "Sing" mode. doesn't matter that they aren't helping you, it's what you're conditioned to do.

Try to use your speaking voice as the base to develop from, might solve some of your difficulties early to use a state you're already familiar with.

[TB-AV]

Are you familiar with the Star Spangled Banner. If not there are probably 5 gazillion videos on YT.

Ooh - o say can you seeeee

First three syllables Ooh-o say

G  E  C

On your A string

OOh = 10th fret  A string
o = 7th fret A string
say = 8th fret E string

Go to Youtube and listen to someone sing it. first :20sec of this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y54ZbdAUlak&feature=related

After you can sing those three syllables as words change the words to just aaah sounds. You should be able to still hit them.

You can forget that microphone too.

No think
No look
No mic

this is an EAR exercise. Yours not ours.

You need to get the volume of your guitar balanced with your voice so your ears hear them as near equal. Then you need vary them a bit where your voice will drift just below the guitar volume and rise just above it so you can hear the pitches. Again, when you are dead on your guitar will resonate with your body and you won;t even notice it. When they get real close you will feel the guitar pulsing a bit. Like the beat frequency video I posted above.

[kentl]

So when I do the 10th fret A with "oh" I hear a "wave". Not sure if thats what your talking about but I think it is.

The others its hit and miss do I need to hit them "a bunch of times" or what?

[TB-AV]

The wave means you are very close. Like maybe 1/8th semitone away or even less.

If you could hold the ahhhhhh for say 15 seconds you could move your voice around a bit and the waver will get slower or faster. Faster is the wrong way.

Yes you need to practice. I can't tell you how important the balance in volume between your voice and the guitar is. That is key to hearing this. Later it won't matter as much, your voice will sort of automatically pull to the note. But until you get that in brain you are flying blind.

That's why I said a piano is good. You step on the sus pedal and your voice is not going to be overpowering that note. Now someone that really belt out a song might over power a piano but you won't, not yet anyway.

If you can get the OOH-o say... If you get the "say"  the C note. You might be able to sing sort of

eehhhh and then go down one fret a t a time. C to B to Bb et.. as you go down you will find your voice really needs to change from sort of eehhhh  to aahhh to ooooh to uhhhh if you make it all the way to the Open E.

If you do make it to the E try to then go to A back to E back to A then up to that first C again. If the C is bad start with the OOhh - o say again and start all over.  somewhere on two lowest strings you should be find an area that you can sing the notes up and down a range. don't expect miracles it's not easy.

Once you can go one fret at a time and things are pretty steady hold a singing note and play 3 frets away. that should really sound off to your ears now... so... raise your voice up to meet it. Eventually your voice is going to want to go where your finger goes.


==========================
another thing you might want to do is find a VST 2 Oscillator synth.

It has to have 2 OSC with sine waves. All you do is set one to output at a frequency of your choosing say 880hz. Then move the slider on the other one untill it's almost at 880 as well. There will probably be a fine tune control. those two will beat like crazy when they get real close and you will be able to hear what things are supposed to sound like. then you change one OSC to say a triangle or square adn hear how that impacts the sound as they draw close in pitch ( 880hz). That would simulate say a flute and distorted guitar. Your voice and a guitar is somewhat similar in relation. If you could hear it before hand it might make it a bit easier to understand what you are supposed to be listening for.

[kentl]

I think I'm doing it wrong, I'm hearing\feeling it way to much...
anywhere at anytime I feel it, even if I go form open a to E on the 13th


Maybe I never was on and I'm not hearing it right?

Not sure...

[kentl]

Been about a week
http://soundcloud.com/woflie/sing101-2

Am I even doing it right? I'm singing as loud as can, I know its not ideal but its the best I got, I THINK I hear it but I'm hearing it almost 100% of the time so I wonder if I'm wrong.

[Tourniquet]

your aiming for for G-E-C
on the first pass you hit A#-D#-C
second pass you hit A#-G-C

saying G you hit A
saying E you hit F#
saying C you hit C#

While not the pitch you're aiming for, the notes are reasonably close chromatically to standard tuning.

You might benefit from finding a local vocal coach to spend an hour or two with to get instant feedback and adjustments on the fly. worth doing before you find the whole thing too frustrating as they may be able to get you on target quickly and easily.

[kentl]

Dont think I'll be able to in till next year maybe then when I go to collage they MAY have something (then again they may not)

I was going to a teacher early this year for piano but had to drop it due to money problems, just like a few years ago with guitar as well, living with parents preety much means I'm going to have to dorp it fi I try.

As for the "buzz" I hear, any idea why?

[Tourniquet]

http://www.justinguitar.com/eartrainer/index.php

Give the ear trainer a try, should tell us if it's note perception or not.

[kentl]

Got to level three first try, think the big problem for me was the fact that as we went father less songs start with it, and less time "hearing them" so the 6,7 where hard



I missed one in level one, and one in two.
3 I missed 2 and honestly guessed a few times betwen 6 and 7.