Skip to main content

This is my dream and I'm not sure what to do.

Quora Q: Hi, not gonna say my name. I'm a minor, and I write music. I wanna post my songs and signing be my career. My voice could be better, but I can't go to a recording studio or a vocal coach. Any ideas, tips, help. This is my dream and I'm not sure what to do.


First of all, if it’s your dream you need to be resourceful. “Can’t go to a recording studio or vocal coach” doesn’t explain why you can’t, so my first suggestion is that you explain to YOURSELF why you “can’t,” and then really think hard about whether that statement is true or not.

Second, if you’re really not able to get to a coach (always get a coach before spending money on studio time), look into joining a choir. A school or church choir is a great place to start. You’ll get the skills and training you need for the basics. Singing isn’t like playing an instrument. On an instrument, you touch a thing or pluck a string and the sound comes out. With singing, you have to use your ear to direct your voice, and you have to use your voice the right way. Choir instructors will help you get that coordination.

Third, record yourself. Use your phone — you don’t need studio gear for this. Just use your phone and do videos of yourself singing. Don’t post them or send them anywhere. Use your ears and analyze your own performance. Does it sound on pitch (that’s the most important thing; everything else will suck if your pitch is off)? How is your timing? Are the words clear?

Now, what YOU can do:

  1. Learn to breathe. This is your most important physical element in singing. Correct breathing will solve 99% of your tone and sustain problems. 
  2. Learn basics of tone production. Open throat, open sinuses. Humming is an excellent warm up. 
  3. Speaking of which, always warm up. You can find dozens of beginner warm up exercises on YouTube. This will relax you voice so you can work on technique. 
  4. Work on technique. That means holding a note on pitch (use your diaphragm and abdominal muscles for this). It means fluidly changing notes ON PITCH. Use an app to train yourself to match pitches perfectly. 
  5. Work on clear pronunciation. You can change this later to your own style, but first you need to make words with your mouth. Remember: we sing vowels, but we make sense with consonants. Theater classes will help with this as well. 
  6. Work slowly. Singing is like playing an instrument, learning to write, playing a sport…it’s a physical activity that your body needs to learn. You’re much better off learning to do it right early on, rather than skimming over the basics and having to correct mistakes later.

I don’t know what you sound like or what you’ve learned so far, but you said a singing career is your dream. You’ll find it challenging to have a career if you don’t have training, but it can be done. Just remember: hard work and careful study trumps raw talent every time. Sing songs for enjoyment all the time, but also work on technique carefully and patiently. As your technique improves, you’ll enjoy the results of your singing even more.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review | Donner "Giant Metal" Distortion Pedal

Insane sound from a mini pedal After years of scaling back to just my amp tone, I've started getting back into guitar pedals. 20 years ago, if you couldn't afford the Boss or DOD pedals, you were forced to go with the only budget brand out there: Rocktek. Those things were awful, but affordable. These days, the budget brands are king, in my opinion, and the compact size of the circuitry makes it possible to grab anything you want and try it out for less than fifty bucks. I wanted to start out with a good distortion, and after playing around with online reviews I decided to take the leap to the Donner Giant Metal. This little powerhouse lives up to its name! Super solid aluminum construction, easy to use controls, a fairly wide gain profile, and surprisingly flexible tonal control. It just has the one tone control, and the switch boosts highs or lows (top or bottom), or runs right down the middle. I won't say that this can replace a high-end Boss distortion, but if y...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Music Makers Kantele (Kit)

Traditional Finnish instrument with new life  I did it. I took the leap and bought a Finnish kantele kit from Musicmakers. I know that doesn't sound like a big leap. But considering the price tag ($169 US) plus the shipping to Canada ($58.50), by the end the total after conversion was $313.50 CAD. Again, not a massive outlay, but look at the difference between the sticker price and the final cost, and hopefully you can see why purchasing something online, made out of wood, can be a bit nerve-wracking at this price point. It was an unknown commodity to me at the time, although I will admit I've been wanting to buy SOMETHING from Musicmakers for a long time. To cut to the chase, this is an instrument I play pretty much every day, so it's 100% worth the price of admission. This was also quite early in my Woods & Strings journey, so I unfortunately didn't have the foresight to run up a whole build video. You pretty much get the unboxing, and a couple of test tracks. But...
Post a Comment
Read more

Quora Question: How do I become a good bass player?

 Some years ago, I wrote an essay on how I perceived the steps to mastery. These steps were partly derived from my study of history and the historical context of artist training and education, and partly from some of Bruce Lee's terminology when applied to mastery in martial arts training. That essay was lost -- which is sad, because it was one of the best things I've ever written -- but the fundamental principals haven't changed. These are the stages as I interpret them: How do you become a good bass player? The same way you get good at anything: Take lessons, pay attention, and practice. That said, over the years I’ve developed a sort of theory of pedagogy (teaching) that deals with the stages of mastery. It goes something like this: Stage 1: Rudiments Learn what the bass is, how it works, how to create notes, and what notes are. Stage 2: Techniques Learn how to play correctly and efficiently. Develop the muscle mechanics involved in the task. Understand how different sty...
Post a Comment
Read more