crazyhaircut94 said:
-Orgasmatron- said:
Are you any good at the moment? Because I don't think singing is something like guitar that you can just learn, I think you have to be born with it or there's no chance.
I'm not really that good at it. I will start learning when puberty has stopped making my voice go up and down like a siren. But I don't know, It's hard to hear from my perspective. And yes, you can learn by practise, just takes very much time.
Unfortunately he's right, with singing you either can sing or you can't. It's cruel like that but hey, I wasn't blessed with piano fingers either.
If you have a standard of singing in place i.e you can sing in tune you can improve your range through practise, my range after a few years has increased to nearly 4 octaves including falsetto but I can't reach the final chorus of livin on a prayer high
yet...
But vocals are as much about technique as it is range, that will increase with practise.
. You need to be breathing out from your diaphragm not your throat or nose. This means you need to be pushing the air out from your chest. That is where the power is at. You'll know your doing this if your stomach muscles are tense all the time your singing, and yes, it hurts after a while... That's major lesson number one...
Second, you need to anticipate note changes in advance, which is trickier than it sounds. You need to be aware of what notes are coming and how much breath you will need to pull it off, this also goes for the length of the note. It's a rookie mistake to run out of steam halfway through a note. No proffesional will get away with it so you should be aiming to compete with the professionals.
Thirdly you need to gain control of your vibratto, which is when your notes wobble a bit at the end or beggining of a phrase. This is a master craft which takes years to practise. If you've ever wondered why Chris Cornell is thought of as one of the best vocalists in rock, it's because of his vibratto. It is done with the throat, the only way I can describe it is by trying to make the back of your mouth smaller and larger. Give it some practise and you'll figure it out. The pro's can get vibratto from the very first beat of a note. This again is the standard you should aspire to.
Fourthly, posture is critical. You will not sound good slouching over or sitting down as this will partially block your airways. You need them to be nice and open to let that beautiful voice out. You'll see a lot of singers leaning back for high notes, this isn't for show, the more you hyper extend your back and tilt your head back, the more your airway opens, and the better the flow of air. Save it for the high notes tho cuz you'll look stupid staring at the ceiling the whole time...
Lastly, pronounciation is also a key thing which many singers fail at. Think fall out boy... Can you understand a fuckin word he is singing? No, don't be like that. Make sure every word is formed properly as this will greatly enhance the quality of your voice. Another trick in the studio is to really smile when your singing, even on a sad slow song. Yes it looks a feels stupid but it'll brighten up your voice in a very positive way.
The important thing to remember is that you don't have to be able to sing, to enjoy doing it. So even if you suck at first, don't let that stop you, enjoy yourself man, that's what it's all about. That said, don't expect an applause afterwards if you do suck
Right, got all that? Now all that's left to do is pick some bands that you like and attempt to emulate their voices. Choose from a wide variety of singers and pick different songs too to try different styles. Once you've established what kind of key your most comfortable in, your away. As you practise, push your vocal chords every so often and try and reach higher notes. It won't come all at once but so long as you're not tone deaf you should be able push up a whole octave after a few years.
Have fun...
Now about the growling, I don't know anything about doing it because I can't do it myself. But if you start messing about with growling you will permanently damage your voice. You really will need professional training to do it. Even the pro's like that woman from Arch Enemy, Corey Taylor and any respectable screamo or metalcore band... If you wanna do black or death metal... Just don't because it sounds crap alright...
