Blue Moon - pls critique, do I have a shot at singing?

[divided33]

Hi all,

I am 34 and have that classic 'I finally wanna be able to sing' wish.

The recording (and probably my accent ) is pretty crappy, I know that, but I only have a laptop to record. Plus I have never recorded anything or sung in front of anyone, and simply just found the courage to upload this and ask for your honest opinion - do I have a chance to develop a singing voice at all? Is there anything good about my voice? What am I doing wrong (if not everything...)?

Thank u guys very much for your patience!!

Cheers,

divided

[MDEW]

I am not a teacher so I cannot give you advice but I do really like your tone. Sounds to me like you have a lot of potential. Thanks for sharing.

[divided33]

Good morning (I am in Europe)...

thank u MDEW for your kind comment, the word 'potential' alone made me happy already - anybody else (vocal coaches?) with an opinion?

Cheers,

divided

[Guest]

Hi divided33,

I just got a chance to listen to this. I agree with MDEW that you have potential. We all have a voice and at its very simplest it is a matter of adding melody to your speaking voice to see that we all can sing if we only learn how. We all have the vocal instrument, we just all don't know how to play it. Like owning a guitar...it works fine...you just don't know what to do with it. That is until you learn, which takes time and practice.

Your tone is good and pitch sounded pretty good also. I didn't recognize the melody until the chorus though. But I think you are a few steps ahead in the learning process by the above points and only need to learn how to make your words and phrases actually "sing." Right now it is sort of like someone who can throw a ball very fast, hard and straight. Maybe even a curve ball. That is a start (potential) but it doesn't mean he can just get on the mound and pitch a baseball game! he has to learn how to use his tools and learn the game first.

Start now....study hard, ask questions, read, practice, sing a lot and learn.

Now "Play ball!!!! :D

[Nick Denison]

Hi, I agree with Tommy. Everyone has the potential to develop their voice as far as they want to take it. You've made a good start, you have some decent feel for pitch, well done! Now it's time to hone what you have into its true potential. Well done on having the courage to sing acapella (with no backing track). Read these forums, ask questions. Perhaps get hold of a recommended DIY voice method, or better, a vocal coach to really get things going. It's much the same as asking if you can be a bodybuilder or not. Everyone has the potential, some start out with naturally better physiques than others (just as some singers start out with more natural abilities). With hard work you will get there. Having said all that, I liked the folk like melody of the song, and your sensitivity to dynamics. I don't mean to insult by asking this question, but are you a male? or female?

[divided33]

Thanx a lot Nick_D & Tommy for your comments - loved the baseball analogy, Tommy, even thought that is the one game apart from maybe cricket that I will never understand But nevertheless, I'll try and play ball!!

Feeling a lot more encouraged - I might get together with a vocal coach I found next week after all. I think I needed somebody's opinion so I don't make a complete fool of myself in front of her...

I am female btw (..and no offense taken!) - gosh, is my voice that low? Or was it because I changed the lyrics to 'she' (that happened spontaneously, no idea why)?

[Guest]

Feeling a lot more encouraged - I might get together with a vocal coach I found next week after all. I think I needed somebody's opinion so I don't make a complete fool of myself in front of her...

She is a coach...she doesn't think anyone a fool. It is her job to make potential singers not make fools of themselves. Don't hold back in front of her. She can't help you unless you reveal your true self.

gosh, is my voice that low?

Well it could have been a male singing high!! :D

[divided33]

"She is a coach...she doesn't think anyone a fool." - thank you, this will be my mantra!!

...and yes, I guess do feel a bit shy about letting go, you got that one right. Hopefully the coach will manage to force my true self to reveal its high male voice haha..

[divided33]

..but seriously, I will read up more on singing techniques and keep reading/asking questions on this forum. I really want to learn how to sing - it is just such a beautiful thing, and it makes me feel - even physically - good sometimes..

At other times my whole throat suddenly hurts and completely 'closes' - those were the moments when I thought I'd better get a vocal coach cause I have no idea what causes this.. :(

[Nick Denison]

ahh cool. I was sure you are a woman! but didn't want to assume, as some guys have high voices, and a guy might be upset to know he sounds feminine... (if he thought he had a muscular sound, you get the gist ) so I was being careful.

Go for it, seriously. A few years ago, I was awful, totally useless. If I hadn't gone for it anyway, I wouldn't have gotten to where I am today. In my case, some coaching from a singing coach, lots of trial and error on my part and finally having it all 'make sense' , a eureka moment.

If your throat is hurting and closing... you need to avoid whatever is doing that. Singing should never, ever hurt. Even if you're belting the hell out of your voice. When does it happen? when trying to sing too loudly? or too high (for you at this stage). You're probably trying to pull your chest voice up too high, and having your larynx do something awful. There are people more qualified to advise you than me.... but I'd say, keep your throat open, like a yawning sensation. That's a good rule of thumb in general. Open and relaxed.

Out of curiosity, where in Europe?

[divided33]

good, I was always sure I was a woman, too not a soprano, though, I guess.. I am from Germany (recently moved back here), thought the accent would give it away... Hopefully I'll have that eureka moment you had some day! Are u singing in a band now?

I absolutely don't know why my throat hurts like that sometimes - I have read that one should keep the throat open and relaxed, and relaxing might be one of my biggest problems. It seems like a paradox to me to sing powerfully and stay relaxed at the same time..will need to ask the teacher about that.

[Nick Denison]

Deutschland! ach so! Ich komme aus Australian, aber ich spreche ein bisschen... Ich habe für zwei jahre Deutsch gelernt, denn reise ich im nächsten Jahr nach Deutschland (villeicht...). Excuse the dodgy grammar

Yes, it does seem a paradox! That was my big epiphany I spoke of, learning to relax. That and vowel modifications, also thinning the sound down as I got higher (these things you will learn about ) In regards to relaxing and singing powerfully, you must develop the power from the diaphragm, not with tension or constriction in the throat. Throat stays relaxed, open. Diaphragm develops power (you will read about "support" and the 'support mechanism'). Also counter intuitively, you will learn to use far less air as you try to sing more powerfully or higher. Too much air is a voice killer..... and will have your voice hoarse and sore in no time. So the use of the diaphragm isn't about blasting loads of air through your vocal folds. There are experts here who have written great articles on this stuff, so I'll not blabber on about it put in some search terms such as "open voice", "support", "Diaphragm" etc on this forum, and you will lots of material to read! and also vids to watch too.

Once it clicks, and it's ingrained in muscle memory, you'll wonder how you could have done it any other way

Ich werde jetzt zu Bett gehen! es ist hier 5am.... I look forward to your future posts and development !

Not in a band currently..... I'm busy finishing a postgraduate degree so unfortunately there's not much time for anything else Plus Adelaide (where i live) is quite.... lets say 'desolate' for a music scene. Although as soon as I finish my degree here, and move (possibly to Germany for further study) I will def do it!

[Nick Denison]

x 2 on What Owen has said, not to contradict myself regarding being totally relaxed.... but ultimately it comes down to a smart management of tension, healthy tension. I think many coaches throw the "absolutely no tension" thing out there, as a means to get students away from unproductive clenching and gripping, as Owen said. Once you are rid of the bad tenancies to tense, and push, and understand the difference between that, and a healthy 'squeezing' of the sound, you can start getting more adventurous with your approach.