Can anyone here sing?
Discussion
Ok, so I guess we all howl along to our favourite tune in the privacy of the car.
Although I'll happily get up and scream my way through a Guns n Roses number on the Karaoke, I've never really been comfy singing in front of a room full of people.
Do any of you sing properly? I'd love to jump up and schmooze out a bit of Sinatra...
I apparently have an impressive range - I did go for a warbling lesson once about two years ago, but the lady was a professional opera coach and I kinda blagged my way in. When she found out that I only wanted to twitter out a bit of spandau ballet at the roxy, she sort of lost interest in continuing the lessons
Although I'll happily get up and scream my way through a Guns n Roses number on the Karaoke, I've never really been comfy singing in front of a room full of people.
Do any of you sing properly? I'd love to jump up and schmooze out a bit of Sinatra...
I apparently have an impressive range - I did go for a warbling lesson once about two years ago, but the lady was a professional opera coach and I kinda blagged my way in. When she found out that I only wanted to twitter out a bit of spandau ballet at the roxy, she sort of lost interest in continuing the lessons
JaymzDead said:
Used to sing in a band, although it was a hardcore punk band so no....
Seriously I have been told I have a good singing voice for rock music, round about the same range as James Hetfield's.
Seriously I have been told I have a good singing voice for rock music, round about the same range as James Hetfield's.
I like Punk!I'd need to seriously work on my timing, and I know breathing and posture come into it a lot. When she was testing my range we started pretty deep, and then just kept going. This woman just kept looking puzzled and then asking if I could keep going. Well, I could, right up into 80's hair band territory
I'd love to string together a few songs that I could belt out properly. Couple of Rock numbers and some slow ones.
Now I've realised how disastrous it can be to light your farts, it's essential for me to find a new party piece
KingRichard said:
JaymzDead said:
Used to sing in a band, although it was a hardcore punk band so no....
Seriously I have been told I have a good singing voice for rock music, round about the same range as James Hetfield's.
Seriously I have been told I have a good singing voice for rock music, round about the same range as James Hetfield's.
I like Punk!I'd need to seriously work on my timing, and I know breathing and posture come into it a lot. When she was testing my range we started pretty deep, and then just kept going. This woman just kept looking puzzled and then asking if I could keep going. Well, I could, right up into 80's hair band territory
I'd love to string together a few songs that I could belt out properly. Couple of Rock numbers and some slow ones.
Now I've realised how disastrous it can be to light your farts, it's essential for me to find a new party piece
That's a pretty good range though. My range used to be better, I think I f'd it up by smoking for 15 years, still now I've given up it seems to have come back a fair bit, not up to Bruce Dickenson or Geoff Tate standard yet though!
If you're interested there's a song I sang on at www.myspace.com/locustresin, the songs 'All That Remains' and 'Closing' are me, it is more hardcore/death metal growling though.
JaymzDead said:
KingRichard said:
JaymzDead said:
Used to sing in a band, although it was a hardcore punk band so no....
Seriously I have been told I have a good singing voice for rock music, round about the same range as James Hetfield's.
Seriously I have been told I have a good singing voice for rock music, round about the same range as James Hetfield's.
I like Punk!I'd need to seriously work on my timing, and I know breathing and posture come into it a lot. When she was testing my range we started pretty deep, and then just kept going. This woman just kept looking puzzled and then asking if I could keep going. Well, I could, right up into 80's hair band territory
I'd love to string together a few songs that I could belt out properly. Couple of Rock numbers and some slow ones.
Now I've realised how disastrous it can be to light your farts, it's essential for me to find a new party piece
That's a pretty good range though. My range used to be better, I think I f'd it up by smoking for 15 years, still now I've given up it seems to have come back a fair bit, not up to Bruce Dickenson or Geoff Tate standard yet though!
If you're interested there's a song I sang on at www.myspace.com/locustresin, the songs 'All That Remains' and 'Closing' are me, it is more hardcore/death metal growling though.
JaymzDead said:
You sound like a psychopath. Not really my cup of tea that kind of music. All credit to you for maintaining that voice though. Do you gargle with a Gravel/Listerine mix in the mornings? KingRichard said:
JaymzDead said:
You sound like a psychopath. Not really my cup of tea that kind of music. All credit to you for maintaining that voice though. Do you gargle with a Gravel/Listerine mix in the mornings? It is an acquired taste! Really the only thing I've ever done is what a lot of vocalists in the death/black metal genre do which is to push the sound fron the pit of the stomach rather than the vocal chords. That is my old band, the new stuff I'm doing, although still metal has more actual singing in it, don't have anything recorded as yet though.
JaymzDead said:
KingRichard said:
JaymzDead said:
You sound like a psychopath. Not really my cup of tea that kind of music. All credit to you for maintaining that voice though. Do you gargle with a Gravel/Listerine mix in the mornings? It is an acquired taste! Really the only thing I've ever done is what a lot of vocalists in the death/black metal genre do which is to push the sound fron the pit of the stomach rather than the vocal chords. That is my old band, the new stuff I'm doing, although still metal has more actual singing in it, don't have anything recorded as yet though.
I've just tried that from the bottom of my stomach and it works
Not sure auntie marge is going to appreciate it at little Jimmy's christening though 
Gylen said:
Fronted a rock band for a few years but started off doing musicals/Sinatra type stuff in my late teens. Moved on to more Springsteeny one-man-and-his-guitar type stuff in the last year or so but now itching to put a band back together...not enough hours in the day it seems.
Teach me.Teach me now. Thank you.
Just seen that your in Glasgow. Well, you can at least point me in the right direction
KingRichard said:
Gylen said:
Fronted a rock band for a few years but started off doing musicals/Sinatra type stuff in my late teens. Moved on to more Springsteeny one-man-and-his-guitar type stuff in the last year or so but now itching to put a band back together...not enough hours in the day it seems.
Teach me.Teach me now. Thank you.
Just seen that your in Glasgow. Well, you can at least point me in the right direction
1) Scales - do you have access to a piano or something to play scales on? If so, accompany yourself starting from a low note in your range and go up 1 major octave and back down again. Then, raise a semitone and repeat. And repeat. And repeat until you get as high as you can reach comfortably
Then go back down the same way. Try singing an 'ahh' sound. Then try and do the scales singing this noise: 'aayy-eeeee-aaahhhh-aaawwwwww-you' (so difficult to write) the point is you make all the vowel sounds as you hold each note on the scale.2) Breath Control. The key is to breath from your diaphragm rather than your lungs. This sounds and feels odd in practice but our old choir master used to make us hold a note and then punch us in the stomach. If you were breathing from your diaphragm, the note wouldn't be interrupted. I don't suggest you get a friend to do this but I hope you understand what I mean. As a good rule of thumb, when you breath in, try and do it from the bottom of your torso rather than the top - your shoulders should not go 'up' when you take a big breath.
3) Breath Control again. Light a candle, take a big breath (from the diaphragm) and then gently blow on the flame. The aim is to bend the flame over but not blow it out. See how long you can hold it like this for until you run out of puff. Try and increase your time.
Anyway, these are just some basics but beyond that, sing as much as you can. Learn from the greats. For example, put on Sinatra doing strangers in the night and sit with the music in front of you. Note down, where he breaths and where he slides from one note to the next and then try it out (difficult as Sinatra had great phrasing and masterful breath control yet made it sound like he wasn't trying) along with the cd. Listen to artists you like and work out how they make the sounds come out. Listen to how the breath and pronounce the words - imitation is a good way to learn technique which you can then bend to your own style.
A final thought, you could do a lot worse than join an Am-Dram Musical theatre group if that's your bag. effectively free lessons and stagecraft too...
Good luck and apologies for the long post - feel free to PM or email me if I can give you any more tips (bear in mind I'm no Springsteen or Sinatra - I just enjoy it!).
Gylen
Edited by Gylen on Wednesday 26th September 23:50
I sing 'Tenor' which is the higher and rarer of the male voice categories.
I've sung in amateur operatic productions for 25 years, but taking a bit of a breather now, still sing in a local choir. Mostly sang G&S (Gilbert & Sullivan) done most of the lead tenor roles with a few different societies. Sung a few real operatic parts, and would love to sing 'Siegmund' in Wagner's Die Walkure.
Good post by 'Gylen' covers most you need to know. I took lessons for several years on and off, but was blessed with a reasonable voice to start with. Most people can sing to some degree, and even those without great natural voices can be taught to sing quite well. However the tone/sound of you singing voice is made up of a myriad of things, including vocal cords, chest size, lung capacity, resonance areas, mostly all God given. I don't read music very well and learn't my roles by rote and repetition.
Couple of live samples of me singing 'Frederic' Pirates Of Penzance in a local community production in 2004.
www.solarvan.co.uk/pirates1.mp3
www.solarvan.co.uk/pirates2.mp3
Good luck and give it a go. Never too old to start singing.
Peter
I've sung in amateur operatic productions for 25 years, but taking a bit of a breather now, still sing in a local choir. Mostly sang G&S (Gilbert & Sullivan) done most of the lead tenor roles with a few different societies. Sung a few real operatic parts, and would love to sing 'Siegmund' in Wagner's Die Walkure.
Good post by 'Gylen' covers most you need to know. I took lessons for several years on and off, but was blessed with a reasonable voice to start with. Most people can sing to some degree, and even those without great natural voices can be taught to sing quite well. However the tone/sound of you singing voice is made up of a myriad of things, including vocal cords, chest size, lung capacity, resonance areas, mostly all God given. I don't read music very well and learn't my roles by rote and repetition.
Couple of live samples of me singing 'Frederic' Pirates Of Penzance in a local community production in 2004.
www.solarvan.co.uk/pirates1.mp3
www.solarvan.co.uk/pirates2.mp3
Good luck and give it a go. Never too old to start singing.
Peter
peterperkins said:
I sing 'Tenor' which is the higher and rarer of the male voice categories.
I've sung in amateur operatic productions for 25 years, but taking a bit of a breather now, still sing in a local choir. Mostly sang G&S (Gilbert & Sullivan) done most of the lead tenor roles with a few different societies. Sung a few real operatic parts, and would love to sing 'Siegmund' in Wagner's Die Walkure.
Good luck and give it a go. Never too old to start singing.
Peter
I used to be in first tenors for Wimbledon's Amm dram lot (I was in their productions of Carmen and Guys and Dolls) . Haven't done anything else for a few years since I moved out of London. Always got a buzz from treading the boards as it were - might see if there's a local group that needs an extra singer I've sung in amateur operatic productions for 25 years, but taking a bit of a breather now, still sing in a local choir. Mostly sang G&S (Gilbert & Sullivan) done most of the lead tenor roles with a few different societies. Sung a few real operatic parts, and would love to sing 'Siegmund' in Wagner's Die Walkure.
Good luck and give it a go. Never too old to start singing.
Peter
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