How to sing

[DropC]

In short, how do you guys sing, and how did you learn to sing? What style, techniques, ect.

[NiKo Raza]

I just sing and dont care what others think, I've made songs where I sing... most say it is not bad, which is great motivation, and you gain confidence... I have no tips since I am not a real singer

[siberianknight]

I'm taking vocal lessons next semester, and personally you can sing any way you want but you wanna take lessons to protect your voice. The notes don't matter very much, because you'll generally get your relative note from a noted instrument (guitar, piano, whatever). Not to say you SHOULDN'T learn to sight sing, it's just not as important.

It might come as a surprise but singing wrong (seriously atleast. Car singing never hurts) can damage your vocal chords permanently. The best advice I got from a professor who was a professional singer is take a vocal teacher with your gender.

Females throats are a different anatomy than males so a female can teach you range, but only a male can teach a male how to protect his voice, and visa versa. Once you know how to protect your voice you can take whoever you like.

Also, sugar = bad. xD You shouldn't drink any type of soda when singing. I've heard that herbal tea with honey is nice. I prefer green tea with honey. It has some sugar, but not as much. There's also this stuff called Clear Voice, which most musician shops will carry, it works okay too. Just make sure you hit the back of your throat.

[Liznaxadalia]

^ pretty m uch what siberianknight said,
green tea's good for the throat, and so is honeyyyy(:
for singing, there's ALOT to it, for me i need to find my own voice, i have been too much into evanescence, and i sing like amy lee, not like me, which is quite... bad.

you also need to sing from your diaphragm, something like that... not sure, but i'll be taking vocal lessons pretty soon, for that's what i plan to do,

[Missy]

I know this probably won't make much sense cuz I've only taken one vocal lesson and that was YEARS ago... But I'll try to word it simple enough without babbling It's pretty much the only advice I remember from that lesson...

The breathing is what I am referring to. I was told that when you breath in, your stomach should push out. When you exhale, your stomach should go in. The teacher told me to think of it like a balloon. When air goes in, the balloon grows. When air leaves, it shrinks. I believe they also said once you've mastered breathing like this, it makes it easier to hold notes longer. I know, not great advice... But I wanted to chip in where I could

[Serge]

I also heard to NEVER try copying/mocking a certain vocal style and to just sing with your own natural style. Also hot/cold drinks can mess with your throat/vocals (I think cold makes it raspy and hot makes it flat) so room temperature's the way to go.

I've always wanted to take lessons, do they really make a major difference?

[Kemmy]

I'm by no means an awesome singer but I've learned so much in the past year or so. Like it's been mentioned, using your diaphragm is really important - your sound will be fuller and supported. There are all kinds of techniques and warmups that will help develop those skills. Warming up is really important too. If you're getting a teacher, you'll do all that stuff. And like it's been mentioned, breathing techniques are important.

Warm, decaffeinated drinks are good before a performance. I've been told NO caffeine, NO alcohol and NO yelling a few days before performing. But I like all of those things!

I love singing...it's such a release for me.

[siberianknight]

[RowdyJayJay]

I'm very much a non-singing bass player. I imagine that lessons do make a load of difference but there have been several successful singers who don't even really know how to read music upon initial entry into the music jungle. I imagine that you either have some talent to begin with or you simply don't. I don't see why somebody who really can't sing in the first place would want to beat a dead dog with a stick over and over again. Something I've noticed though...bass players are really being asked to step in and lend some harmony and backing vocals more and more so these days. Tell you what, if your dream is to sing and let the world hear it, the only thing stopping you is you! Forget about the competition or the whole theory of "you have to know somebody" Greater things have been done by lesser people. Cheers and Good Luck To Any Future singers out there!

Jay

[DropC]

Awesome everyone, thanks for the responses!

II can sing to songs, bu tI really need to learn breathing and protecting, and getting the notes right w/o listening to the song...

[Savs]

Im the best singer in the world, in the shower,

But as already said, get some lessons and also try not to copy someone else's style, you will have your own style.

[Missy]