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Singing!

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Snail of Doom:
I took a lesson from this completely non-traditional vocal teacher named Guy. He had some interesting (and helpful) pointers:

1. Singing is yelling with a tune

2. Try to think of high notes as being louder and farther, as opposed to physically higher. Conversely, think of low notes as closer and softer, rather than lower. I this doesn't make sense, think about this: When you talk to someone close to you, your voice is relatively low and soft, but when you yell at someone across the room, your pitch gets higher and you get louder.

3. Push your lips forward, This has the same effect as cupping your hands around your mouth to make yourself louder

4. Focus on the vowel sounds, rather than the consonant sounds

Phrozen:
I'm a singer and I've taken a couple years of training from someone who specializes in contemporary styles. So here are a few things not mentioned and or should be reinforced.

Dairy is a huge no-no. If you find yourself absolutely needing some dairy then there is a rather harsh not so great way to fix the phlegm you will inevitably produce. Hot sauce. Seriously, I suck down a little packet of mild hot sauce from mexican fast food palces when I really need to clear my throat, it works wonders. Again, don't use this a lot as its probably bad for you.

Breath! Watch how a baby breathes, they breathe from their belly and they are capable of producing some of the loudest noises you've ever ehard. There is a very good reason for this. they lack the social conditioning that many of us have. When you grow up you're told belly-breathing is childish and makes you look unattractive. Well, thats right, but it also makes you sound a whole fucking lot better when singing.

Singing is Zen! Less is more. All that shite. When you're singing don't strain. If you're straining you're hurting yourself. the more you hurt yourself the less you will be able to sing. When you find yourself coming off stage unable to talk/sing properly you need to re-examine the way you're singing. When pushing for those upper notes use the corners of your mouth to control your tone. Pulling them up ever so slightly, like you're smiling, can help you hit that higher note.

Most importantly: Be yourself! Everyone has a natural sound, everyone is different. Do not try and sound like someone else, it will only hurt you. Be unique and be damn proud of how you sound. When I hear stupid kids trying to sound like My Chemical Romance or Coheed and Cambria and absolutely thrashing their voices doing it it makes me cringe.

As far as how to treat your Mic? Eh, thats personal preference methinks. I know that I used to drive sound guys nuts because I'd kiss the mic when I was trying to sing in an emotional, breathy tone and then I'd back off a bit more when I was belting it out. I didn't really discover the value of pulling back from the mic until I stopped performing in front of people, so now only my Karaoke crew gets the benefit of hearing it(Pretentious? me? No!). Also, when holding a mic don't strangle it. Hold it lightly, I'm not sure but I do believe it effects the sound. If you want to look cool you can hold it by the grill but remember it /will/ effect your sound, typically in a bad way. I tend to hold my mic like I would a wine glass, lightly with the tips of my fingers. Frankly, I prefer using a mic stand. But when I was singing I also played bass so that might have something to do with it.

For practicing to increase your range Ir ecomend using basic vowel sounds and singing scales. start from the lowest note you can manage and move to the highest note you can manage without straining. Practice with a keyboard and NOT a guitar. the reason being is that keyboards are loud, guitars are not. People tend to sing quieter when they sing with guitars. A great excercise my teacher used to make me do was sing scales of "Na, ni, nu, ne, no" each time moving up a half-step. It works really well and gets your lips in shape. Try to do it fast, but not too fast.

So, to sum everything up: relax and be natural.

Good luck with it all.

Lines:
yes to ^, borondir, and dynamite.

i am a singer and did have lessons. pointers:

- sing from your stomach, not your chest. as in, if you're just letting all your sound come out of your throat/chest area, that's going to strain your vocal chords and you won't be able to sing as long.
- breathe. find good spots do breathe and do it as often as you can. and obviously doing it in the middle of a word is bad.
- water is your friend! dairy and soda and alcohol are not! drink lots of water, before, during and after you sing.
- warm ups are good. they can help improve your range and also helps you sing better when you're on stage. it'll help clear up your throat if you happen to be phlemmy or something as well.
- don't eat the mic. it's meant to capture your sound, and it does. just point it at your mouth and you're set.
- open your mouth. it sounds dumb, but you need to enunciate when you're singing or it all turns to mush.
- listen to your band. it keeps you in tempo and in key.

and most of all, have fun! dance, whatever. just don't stand around and look bored. get into it and you'll automatically be better.

Phrozen:

--- Quote from: iamyourpirate ---
- open your mouth. it sounds dumb, but you need to enunciate when you're singing or it all turns to mush.
--- End quote ---


I knew I was forgetting something >.>

Borondir:
My lessons have been exclusively art music, so the pointers from pop people are great. Totally agreeing with Phrozen and iamyourpirate.

Straining is something I forgot to mention and then Phrozen caught it.
Your jaw and neck should never be clenched, you won't sound as good, and it will hurt your voice.


And Snail of Doom, I don't understand why your voice teacher would teach you that louder and farther and softer and closer in reference to pitch.  Ideally, a trained voice should have all of its capabilities at any pitch in its range, so you can sing loud at a low pitch and soft at a high pitch, and of coarse vice versa.

Also singing isn't yelling with a tune, its art of exhaling gracefully. ;) That's a reminder of just how important correct breathing is...

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