Can write lots of interesting parts on guitar, and my friends thing that my accoustic/instumental songs are good. BUT...

I dont know how to sing. Ive decided that i want to control the direction of my music, and i am looking into going solo with electronic drums, and to do either i need to sing and play guitar simultaneously.
I tryed to sing before, but my ex-drummer made fun of me, and i actually took it to heart. I havent sang in ages, and cant even really remember how to make a melody that fits my guitarwork.

Help please!

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Successful trades with: Rushfanlv, Teleman

try taking vocal lessons. it certainly can't hurt.

i'm trying out with a band that is looking for a guitar player with backup vocals. I'm not the worst singer, but I'm not the best. I'm seriously thinking about taking lessons to make the most of what I have, "good enough for rocknroll" if you will.

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see my sale/trade thread

who cares.. you can do whatever you damn well please!! with a rig that sharp!

also, if you just holler out wildly as you play.. that would work. you don't necessarily have to sound like sting or colin hay.

take after johnny rotten. or if you're going for a more mellow vibe.. lou reed is a good example.

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Its well worth taking vocal lessions or at least getting a book. I took singing lessons and I found that there are two stages to learning.

Stage 1 is learning the technique

stage 2 is building your voice.

Building your voice is HARD and time consuming and what leads you from being an alright to a great singer but youl find that once you know even a little of the technique your singing voice improves 100%

A couple of basic tips:

Naturally most people try to tighten their throat to reach higher notes. This is wrong, You reach higher notes by using more power and by opening up your throat more. My singing teacher always told me to visualise a big yawn when I felt myself slacking.

A good sounding head voice is probably eaiser to cultivate than chest IMO. I hear a lot of rock singers who never seem to use anything else.

Power comes from the diaphram. When you breathe, breathe right deep down into your chest so your belly swells out rather than your ribcage. When you are pushing for power you should be pushing from your lower back, legs and arse. If your back/legs ache after heavy powerful singing thats fine. If your throat/chest hurts its not.

Dave,
I'll tell you what I know from personal experiences: The hardest hurdle I ever came upon was "letting go" in front of others. With me, it never seemed to matter if it was my girlfriend, a couple of friends I jammed with, or 20 strangers at an open mic...I couldn't do it. I don't know if that's a problem or not, but I think a lot of us have that problem. As far as vocal lessons are concerned, I'm glad I never took them....I've known people it benefitted it some ways, but they lost the character they once had in their voice. There are well-trained singers on 'American Idol', but what sets them apart from the rest of the pack? Only the strength of the push they get as far as I can tell. Pretty much I've stolen lots of the little elements I always liked from my favorite vocalists. With that being said, (and probably not well) believe in yourself and always bear in mind that it makes no difference what you're singing, for every person that likes what you do, there is another right behind them that dislikes it. I'm rambling because I can empathize more than most. I think I've developed a style that is truly my own, and that's not to say everyone loves it, it's just to a level where I am happy with it now, and the bottom line is you can do that too! Just practice until you know all your boundaries and stay within them until it's safe to move on....hope this helps....and to quote Paul from 'Interpol'..."You can't be worried about what everyone's going to think if it's really coming from your soul."

KearyJoeCrisp
Check out our band..."The Name"

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Check out our band The Name!

THis is right on.

+1

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@ The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto - Friday August 19th @ 10:30pm
http://www.thepositions.ca
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Standard Telecaster and/or LG Signature through a Traynor YCV40 with SED 6L6 Tubes -- Marshall Shredmaster, Boss CS3, Ibanez DE7, Roland Volume

I agree with most of what you say, , But I hate it when people say this.
Since when did learning a new skill push old knowlage out of your brain?

Its true that when you think of "Good singers" you tend to think of ones with unique qualities rather than the bland, stage school american idol types but only a bad teacher attempts to iron charicter out of your voice, and only a bland boring person aspires to make themselves sound bland and boring.
It may have been charming how I couldnt hold a note before taking lessons, but I would argue that my voice has MORE charicter since I got a basic grounding in what it was I am actually doing and the abilty to make a concious choice about what I want to sound like before I open my mouth. Learning and applying new knowlage is never a bad thing, And now I dont hurt after every session either.

Thanks for all the replies guys.
I think im going to get some lessons or at least go buy a book, to get started.
I think like the name said, i have BIG trouble just letting go in front of people. I can play guitar in front of people no problem, im confident in my abilities there, but i was, and still am nervous about my singing. Which is just an ugly cycle that makes me worse, etc.... I'll just have to work on that.

I was just listening to "To record only water for 10 days" by John Frusciante, and i noticed that his voice was pretty bad. BUT, he sang with so much conviction and heart, that it worked. They vocals, music, and arrangments all worked together to create some really moving songs.

I geuss this isnt the end of the road to being a solo act after all... Thanks to everyone.

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My 3 guitars. 3 tubes. 1 speaker. and a tuner. Pics of my stuff.


Successful trades with: Rushfanlv, Teleman

good luck man.....i'm curiuse to hear your material

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You kill the thoughts
If you kill the man
Only to find
His thoughts will rise again

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Fender Delux HH strat Guitar
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Squire P-Series Bass

I'm in the same boat and I am thinking of vocal lessons but I don't want to sound all operatic or anything. I think my range is pretty good but I just don't feel confident enough and I could do with someone teaching me how to do it a lot better.

If I was able to find a vocal teacher who would listen to some of my favourite vocalists and teach me how to sing in a similar vein then I'd definitely be happy.

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No matter what your voice sounds like there will be some people who like it and some people who dont, that is what makes artists unique and great so dont take any bad responses to heart, its your music and your creating it and no one can make you change it

when ever im singing and i cant hit that right note i remember this handy phrase

WHAT WOULD DEVO DO?!?!?!?


and so far that has kept me from develpoing a real voice

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www.yfband.com
your favorite band... we kind of sound like linkin park and jack johnson

yea singing and playing used to be hard for me and on some songs i still cant do it

first make sure you know the guitar part then play that part and try and sneak in the words even if you only hit 1 note on the beat just keep doing it till you get all the words and guitar going then it all gets easier from there

and also i never took voice lessons i get mocked for it and stuff but i don't really care when you sing and play you can hear the guitar and i like to make it feel like my voice is either and octave or on the guitar pitch as i hear it in my head it works for me

I'm the same way man...people i alwasy here say well you ant be that bad at singing but i certainly am...i can sing in key and stuff but i have a very weak voice for singing and i can tell i soudn horrible with everythign i sing...cant even do somethign liek foxey lady which is very simple for people with my style of voice usually...i dont know whats wrong with me i just keep practicing and am slowly gettin better...

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I got singing lessons for about 6 weeks, I honestly could not hear any difference in my voice whatsoever, but my throat stopped getting sore and I stopped losing my voice after singing for extended periods. A couple of weeks ago I did a gig and it was the first time i'd sang in public and been recorded, and the difference was amazing. I still sounded like me, but I wasn't cringing at the tone that was coming out and I was consistently on key. I wasn't able to continue the lessons cause they were too expensive but hopefully now I can just do exercises and stuff and be able to continue on by myself.

Playing guitar and singing is something I'm struggling with though... if i'm playing straight strumming it's fine but as soon as I have to play a different rhythm to what I'm singing or a different picking order I usually lose track of one of them, and my voice is usually the first to go. i don't think there's any magical way to get around this except for practicing it and knowing the guitar parts and lyrics inside and out so you don't have to concentrate on one thing more than the other.