Tips on singing?

[theparsonski]

Does anyone here sing/has sung before? I'm auditioning for a school production of Les Miserables tomorrow and I'd love some advice. I've been told I have a good voice and good pitch, but I don't think my range is that good, and today is the first time I've sung to anyone since I was 5. I know that I'll be asked to sing At the End of the Day and do some scales, any advice? I'd like the part of Enjolras.

 

[bobmus]

Sing the range you're comfortable in, don't go into falsetto because you've heard a particular song sung higher.
Sing to yourself in your room, right now. Full volume.

Source: 'Outstanding' in Grade 2 Musical Theatre

And congratulations on deciding to go for it, nice to see a follow-up thread!
(Keep us posted on how you get on!)

 

[Raven's Nest]

Does anyone here sing/has sung before? I'm auditioning for a school production of Les Miserables tomorrow and I'd love some advice. I've been told I have a good voice and good pitch, but I don't think my range is that good, and today is the first time I've sung to anyone since I was 5. I know that I'll be asked to sing At the End of the Day and do some scales, any advice? I'd like the part of Enjolras.

How old are you now, what is the level of your competition and how well do you actually sing?

Also how long till your audition and production?

 

[TakeshiLive]

Know your style I guess?

Some people just can't do certain genre, I know I'm mediocre~decent at southern rock style songs (KoL, CCR) but I'm crap at stuff like "Over the Rainbow" or "Amazing Grace"

 

[theparsonski]

Does anyone here sing/has sung before? I'm auditioning for a school production of Les Miserables tomorrow and I'd love some advice. I've been told I have a good voice and good pitch, but I don't think my range is that good, and today is the first time I've sung to anyone since I was 5. I know that I'll be asked to sing At the End of the Day and do some scales, any advice? I'd like the part of Enjolras.

How old are you now, what is the level of your competition and how well do you actually sing?

Also how long till your audition and production?

I'm 15 now, it's a school production (though it's as good as school productions get, judging by Guys and Dolls last year) and one of the music teachers who was kind enough to hear me sing and give me some advice said that I have a good voice and that it would be great with some training. I'm a tenor/baritone, and I don't feel that my range is that brilliant (though no one has actually told me that).
It's being performed in November, and my first audition is tomorrow, though it's only purpose is to find out whether I can hold a tune or not.

 

[bobmus]

I'm 15 now, it's a school production (though it's as good as school productions get, judging by Guys and Dolls last year) and one of the music teachers who was kind enough to hear me sing and give me some advice said that I have a good voice and that it would be great with some training. I'm a tenor/baritone, and I don't feel that my range is that brilliant (though no one has actually told me that).
It's being performed in November, and my first audition is tomorrow, though it's only purpose is to find out whether I can hold a tune or not.

If you can sing either tenor or baritone parts easily, your range is pretty darn good!

 

[Raven's Nest]

I'm 15 now, it's a school production (though it's as good as school productions get, judging by Guys and Dolls last year) and one of the music teachers who was kind enough to hear me sing and give me some advice said that I have a good voice and that it would be great with some training. I'm a tenor/baritone, and I don't feel that my range is that brilliant (though no one has actually told me that).
It's being performed in November, and my first audition is tomorrow, though it's only purpose is to find out whether I can hold a tune or not.

Well 5 or 6 months is a long time to practice and get better at singing. It's really not all about range. I'm a baritone singer myself and though I can make better use of my range than most, there are plenty of singers who can sing higher than I can. It's up to your musical director to assign the right parts to suit your voice.

Just try and stay relaxed tomorrow, i'm sure your music teacher will be fair and honest with you and if she thinks you have a nice voice then you are as good as in the production. Les Misrables isn't the easiest musical to sing but it's certainly one of the best.

It's taken me 3 years to push my range up a few whole tones and I've been singing on and off for years. So don't sweat it. Assuming your voice has already broken it'll take a good couple of years for your singing voice to stabilise anyway. Focus on the quality of your mid-register and of nailing the opening notes of a phrase. That is what the auditioners will be looking for most.

 

[theparsonski]

I'm 15 now, it's a school production (though it's as good as school productions get, judging by Guys and Dolls last year) and one of the music teachers who was kind enough to hear me sing and give me some advice said that I have a good voice and that it would be great with some training. I'm a tenor/baritone, and I don't feel that my range is that brilliant (though no one has actually told me that).
It's being performed in November, and my first audition is tomorrow, though it's only purpose is to find out whether I can hold a tune or not.

If you can sing either tenor or baritone parts easily, your range is pretty darn good!

Well, the low bits of the baritone are a bit difficult, as are the really high bits of the tenor, but I can just about manage. Thanks!

 

[bobmus]

I'm 15 now, it's a school production (though it's as good as school productions get, judging by Guys and Dolls last year) and one of the music teachers who was kind enough to hear me sing and give me some advice said that I have a good voice and that it would be great with some training. I'm a tenor/baritone, and I don't feel that my range is that brilliant (though no one has actually told me that).
It's being performed in November, and my first audition is tomorrow, though it's only purpose is to find out whether I can hold a tune or not.

If you can sing either tenor or baritone parts easily, your range is pretty darn good!

Well, the low bits of the baritone are a bit difficult, as are the really high bits of the tenor, but I can just about manage. Thanks!

I'm pretty jealous to be honest, as this a pretty perfect musical theatre range for a guy.
I'm a low baritone myself, so had to adapt a lot of songs just to fit my voice :/

 

[the Dept of Science]

Range can always be worked on, just not in time for tomorrow. Singing can get thrown off really easily by nerves so I would recommend looking up relaxation techniques and finding out which one works for you. If you need to hit a low note, remember not to do what some people find instinctive, which is pull your chin down and your head back slightly. Instead keep your head high, in your normal singing position. Final thing is that singing definitely improves over the course of a session, so warm up before you start.

 

[SckizoBoy]

If you can sing either tenor or baritone parts easily, your range is pretty darn good!

Depends in what sense a 'tenor', though I guess even in common choral parts these days that's pretty good, range-wise. My old piano teacher's husband is a bass-baritone, and his range is phenomenal, and according to him, a tenor's range was supposed to go as high as the first A above mid-C! I could reach that, but only going falsetto and, boy, was it a strain! ¬_¬

OT: The thing about Enjolras' voice is that it's supposed to be 'youthful but strident', as it were, so it's pretty much all about the timbre of your voice. So, more than needing a 'good range', for that role, you need a voice with depth. Be sure to place each note before you sing it, even if you have to pause or hold the last note a tad longer, because there's nothing worse than rushing into a phrase out of tune.

And breathe!

PS - off I go to youtube for Les Mis clips... again...

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

I can't offer much advice as my singing is so bad it has been deemed a war crime. Good luck to you though.

 

[bobmus]

PS - off I go to youtube for Les Mis clips... again...

Damnit man, I had revision to be doing until you suggested that!!

 

[Brutal Peanut]

Line your throat with Vaseline, makes your voice come out smoother. An old Elton John trick. Edit: JK, JK, JK, JK, JK, LOL Not serious. Not a recommended course of action.

 

[BlackStar42]

I'm definitely no expert, but three tips I was given from the Intertubes were:
1 Don't try and sing over your range, it sounds bloody awful.
2 Breath control is EVERYTHING. Breathe with your gut.
3 Put some emotion into it. It's the difference between great and mediocre.

 

[TheFunPolice]

Use power in your voice when you sing, louder always sounds better when it comes to singing, mumbling is harder to hear and doesn't give off the same effect...DON'T BE AFRAID TO BE LOUD!!

 

[Powereaver]

Im with the people who say.. stick to your natural range dont go outside that.. straining your voice has horrible side effects which can require medical treatments down the line which isnt fun at all.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Line your throat with Vaseline, makes your voice come out smoother. An old Elton John trick.

Whoah, do not do this. All it'll do is make your throat slimy, unless it's the kind with menthol, in which case it'll really screw up your singing voice. I saw a guy get sent home from a college level jazz ensemble practice because he had Vicks Vaporub on his chest and it was messing with some of the other singers' voices.

OT: You picked a bad time to ask for help from the internet. If you had asked a month out and you had included a recording, we could have given you some useful tips for improvement, but at this point what you need is not to mess up whatever you're already doing. I could give some tips on how to properly form vowels and such, but you'd be too likely to overdo it and make things worse. The biggest thing you can work on at this point is not choking when you get up on stage. For me that always meant having practiced my piece until I could sing it in my sleep, but I got over my stage fright at a very young age. If you still get stage fright, you need to do whatever it is that helps you personally get around it, while still working on your audition piece.

Edit:

Also this:

2 Breath control is EVERYTHING. Breathe with your gut.

Although more specifically, it's your diaphragm, not your gut. If your chest moves at all while you're breathing, you're doing something wrong, although this is a skill that usually takes someone who knows what they're doing being physically there to demonstrate it; I've never seen anyone get it properly without someone else physically correcting their posture and doing a hands on demonstration.

 

[ajemas]

I've been a singer since before I could talk, so I'm well aware of the pre-audition jitters. I've also been in a prestigious chamber choir for quite a while, so I must be doing something correctly, right?

Anyway, this is something you can do right at your desk. Stand up and just take a breath like you are about to sing something. You don't have to sing at this point, but just take in that first breath. OK, now do it again and pay attention to your shoulders. Did they move at all? If the answer is yes, then you aren't breathing properly!

It seems so simple, but that first breath is very important for singing. You want to be breathing from your diaphragm, not from your chest. Your diaphragm is located right below your lungs, and can be used to draw a much more effective breath. It will help you sing louder, longer, and with more pitch control by giving you something called "breath support". This means that, by using your diaphragm, your breathing will be much more supported and efficient, coordinating your breaths in time to the notes that you're singing.

To breathe from your diaphragm, start by putting your hand on your stomach. Now, without using your stomach at all, breathe in so that your torso expands. Breathe in deeply, and make sure that your shoulders don't move. If you did it properly, you should see your hand move as you breathe in. Next, exhale. As you do this, your hand should sink back in to your stomach. Do this a couple of times, and practice singing solid notes after breathing in this way. Next, work your way up to singing your particular part.


This is the a very common mistake that beginning singers make, at least in my experience. breath control does take a while to get the hang of, but it should give you an edge at least for your audition. If you want some more help with specifics, notes, pitch and volume control, or in reading and playing your music on the piano, don't be afraid to shoot me a message. Hope this helps, and good luck!

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I've been a singer since before I could talk, so I'm well aware of the pre-audition jitters. I've also been in a prestigious chamber choir for quite a while, so I must be doing something correctly, right?

Anyway, this is something you can do right at your desk. Stand up and just take a breath like you are about to sing something. You don't have to sing at this point, but just take in that first breath. OK, now do it again and pay attention to your shoulders. Did they move at all? If the answer is yes, then you aren't breathing properly!

It seems so simple, but that first breath is very important for singing. You want to be breathing from your diaphragm, not from your chest. Your diaphragm is located right below your lungs, and can be used to draw a much more effective breath. It will help you sing louder, longer, and with more pitch control by giving you something called "breath support". This means that, by using your diaphragm, your breathing will be much more supported and efficient, coordinating your breaths in time to the notes that you're singing.

To breathe from your diaphragm, start by putting your hand on your stomach. Now, without using your stomach at all, breathe in so that your torso expands. Breathe in deeply, and make sure that your shoulders don't move. If you did it properly, you should see your hand move as you breathe in. Next, exhale. As you do this, your hand should sink back in to your stomach. Do this a couple of times, and practice singing solid notes after breathing in this way. Next, work your way up to singing your particular part.


This is the a very common mistake that beginning singers make, at least in my experience. breath control does take a while to get the hang of, but it should give you an edge at least for your audition. If you want some more help with specifics, notes, pitch and volume control, or in reading and playing your music on the piano, don't be afraid to shoot me a message. Hope this helps, and good luck!

Listen to this person. He (she?) Knows what they're talking about.