What is my voice missing?

[Bpredki]

I feel my voice is missing something. I'm not a great singer, but I don't think I'm miserable either. My voice doesn't feel like it's as full as it should be. I really like bands like All Time Low, Mayday Parade and other bands like that and I am trying to get that kind of voice if that makes sense. Here is a sample of an original I wrote for listening. I'm singing out of key for certain parts, but that's because I'm working on the flow still. Also, is there any reason that in front a piano I can look at a note and sing it, but without it, I'm off? I can hit notes, but can't make them sound good. I've also been told that I sound like I'm talking in key rather than singing. I have no idea how to fix that. Any advice is appreciated!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mki2kGSaUZ0

[Oliver]

Envision yourself sounding great and blast it out, sing more often, like 1 hour everyday. Record yourself and try to improve what you do wrong.You're singing shy.

[jonathangraham]

Bpredki when you listen back do you think it sounds different from what you thought as you were singing?

i ask that as thats really a big key to improving your sound. take the aspects your not happy with and work on them one at a time?

what do you feel needs the most work out of interest?

[Bpredki]

@jonathangraham - When I listen to it afterwards, it doesn't sound as full as it should be. As I sing, it sounds good to me, but I've learned that what I hear is different when recorded. The problem is that I don't know how to get the "fullness" I want. I sound too trebly and dry if that makes sense. I think my tone needs the most work. I am very picky and I may just not be satisfied with my voice although it's mine whether I want it or not. I also have trouble holding notes and making the words sound good at the end of phrases as well.

[jonathangraham]

ok, well i think you should start with breathing as it can help you with many of the aspects you want to work on like getting a fuller sound and holding the notes longer.

watch this vid

there are four parts to it and the exercises may seem a bit odd if you haven't done things like this before but trust me when you sing after them i bet you will feel a difference.

[ronws]

First off, B, your guitar is out of tune. Tune that, so that you have something solid to compare to. Secondly, once you have the guitar tuned, strike a note and give it a color or name. Blue or bear or something. Do that for each note in the 8 note scale. You are off pitch because your mind cannot see the note. Once your mind can see the note, you will be on pitch. You are NOT tone deaf. You just need to picture the note.

[Bpredki]

@ronws - I am a very visual person so that idea may work, but I don't fully understand how.

@Oliver - When I belt out, I just sound loud and obnoxious. I've recorded it and it's not pretty.

@jonathangraham - I've looked into those warm-up videos and am going to do them daily. Any other exercises you would recommend?

[ronws]

B - 8 times out of 10, a person sings a note off-key because they haven't visualized the note before they sing it. And they can't visualize it because they don't have picture in the mind to link with the sound of the note. So, most pitch problems can be fixed by learning to "hear" the note you were trying to sing. In fact, I have read that half of good singing is being able to hear. Also, too much breath or too little breath can change pitch. But mostly, your air pressure sounds good, you're just not seeing the note you want to sing.

[Bpredki]

My friend said I should post a cover in order to compare to a song you may know instead of one I wrote. I feel this may help in judging how I approach singing a little bit more. I have always felt really good when singing this song also.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4kPcxADBms

Any criticism is highly appreciated! And thanks to those that have helped me so far.

[ronws]

Your cover was a good effort. And you were on pitch more often. Maybe, as you said, you were more comfortable with a song you already knew, well enough.

Next thing I would like to see you try, either on your song or this cover song, is smile, just slightly. Not because I want to see you smile, which I am sure is nice, but because the muscles involved also lift the soft pallete (that soft part of the roof of your mouth near the back.) What this does is allow access to the resonating spaces in your head. It will sharpen the tone a little bit and you may how much easier it is to be on pitch. Before you think yourself silly for doing so, remember that you have already crossed the hardest hurdle. You uploaded ourself singing. What's the danger in one more experiment?

You've got a really good tone to your voice, by the way.