"advice from a fellow singer"(this is from evboard)

[Courtnee]

I didn't write this...I just though I would share it

Every day, I come across a fellow singer who is interested in sounding better, being more confident in their sound, how to be louder/softer, etc.

So, I am going to attempt to create a thread that will help give pointers as to what to do, and what not to do. I am by no means a professional vocalist, and my advice is only what I have learned from others, and from vocal lessons.

So, here it goes.

I am going to start with what not to do.

1. Do not sing songs that are higher than your range. All it will do is frustrate you, and wind up doing a lot of damage to your vocal chords, which will result in not being able to sing at all eventually.

1a. Also, do not sing songs that are lower than your range. These songs are not as damaging to your voice, but you'll just wind up making a fool out of yourself if you're a soprano, and try to sing Type O Negative.

2. If you enjoy bands such as Slipknot, and you want to continue to have a voice at the end of the day, I would advise against trying to emulate Corey. People like Corey have trained their voice to be able to scream like that, and believe me, things like that do not happen overnight. It takes a lot of practice to do what he does. If you really want to become a professional singer, try a few notes here and there, slowly working your way to more and more each day. For example, maybe just do the singing parts of Wait & Bleed, which has a few screaming parts, and then work into the rest of the song from there.

3. Never start with a difficult song. Your voice needs time to warm up, and by starting with a difficult song, all you will do is make it harder to do any other songs that day, and wind up damaging your vocal chords. For example, don't start with Going Under, start with maybe Give Unto Me or Surrender.

4. Do not drink soda or dairy products while practicing. Soda will dehydrate you, and dairy products coat your throat, and make it harder to sing clean, crisp notes. Also, honey is a quick fix, but is actually worse for you in the long run.

5. Don't hold back. When belting out a high note, or a long one, holding back will only make you strain more, and hurt your voice. I always try and make sure I'm alone at home, or everyone is awake, and the door is shut when I'm singing. Try and sing when you can be loud. Holding back is the worst way to sing. It's more difficult to get any kind of emotion across, and also, again, it's very straining on your voice.

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What to Do

Here are a few things that can help you get better pitch, better sound, and more confidence.

To Get Better Pitch:

1. Sing along to the original song, but keep the song low enough so that you can hear yourself. Headphones are bad, because they royally throw your pitch off. You have to be able to hear yourself in order to know you're singing it right. Once you think you have the pitch right, sing a few lines acapella, and then play the song. Are you on pitch? If not, keep trying. A lot of people can be on key while hearing the song, but once they go to acapella, they lose it. By doing this, it will help you get better pitch when it's only you singing.

2. Find the harmonies in songs, and sing along with them whenever you can. In the car, in the shower, wherever. By finding the harmonies, you are going to have to stay on pitch to sound right with the main vocals, and it will help train you into getting your pitches right.

To Gain Confidence:

1. Find something in your house that resembles a microphone. (If you don't have one.) Whenever you're singing, always act as if you're in front of a crowd. Get into the music, make faces at the "crowd", look over to your "guitarist" and jam along with him/her, etc. It will help you identify what your stage presence is or will be.

2. Get a friend or family member to sit down and hear you perform a song or two. Someone that you trust to be honest, but that you are comfortable around. Once you start getting critiques and compliments, you will gain more confidence in yourself. You are your own worst critic, just remember that.

3. If you mess up, act like you meant to. Or even that you found it funny. People mess up all the time. The key is being able to pick yourself back up and do better next time. Whenever I mess up at karaoke, I look at the mic like it was it's fault, not mine. LoL Then I laugh and continue with the song. It's a great feeling to know that people are laughing with you, not at you. Also, if you're not completely comfortable in a song, as much as people sometimes hate to hear them, disclaimers are always good. "Don't laugh if I **** up...", "I suck, just to letcha know..", etc. Even though you know you don't, people won't hold you high, and if you mess up, they won't pick it out as quickly.

Just some other misc. tips

1. Tea. Hot Tea. MMmmMMmm that's good stuff. It will relax your vocal chords, and make it easier to belt out a smooth note.

2. Stand up. Sitting down and singing will only cause more strain when hitting those really high or really loud notes. Always stand when singing. (Unless it's a fairly easy song, than it's not as bad to sit down, but I still don't recommend it.)

3. Learn to use your chest voice. Your falsetto (high, airy) voice is just that; high and airy, and actually your 'false' voice. It doesn't take much to use it, and it's very hard to get emotion across with it. Not to mention volume. (Unless you're in the opera...) If you've never used your chest voice, the easiest way to describe it is the voice you use to yell. Try yelling "GO-O-ING UN-DAH!" REALLY loud right now. Not even sing it, just yell it.... See how loud that was? Did you feel your stomach tighten? That would be your chest voice. That's the voice you're going to want to use to get those really powerful notes that Amy is so famous for.

As silly as this sounds, you can practice using your chest voice by rapping. Eminem, Linkin Park, DMX, etc. They may be talking, but they use alot of breath control do rap, and they are rapping (most of the time) in a certain key, with certain pitch. Below are a few songs that are really good when beginning using your chest voice to practice to:

Lose Yourself - Eminem
In The End - Linkin Park (The background vocals)
Baby Got Back - Sir Mix A Lot
Eyeless - Slipknot (Do NOT do the screaming parts, only the fast talking parts)

The reason I suggest doing rap songs first, is because when first starting out using your chest voice, it can be hard to stay in key. By rapping first, or doing easy songs, it will pave the way to being able to sing in your chest voice, just as you sing in your falsetto; only a hell of a lot louder and stronger.

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And last but not least, breath control.

1. Find a song with a few long notes in your range. Practice that song EVERY DAY. The more you practice, the easier it will be for you to sustain long notes. Judith by APC is a perfect example. Maynard holds a LOT of long notes in that song, and that's actually the one I use to practice.

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[Courtnee]

Wow nobody cares....