Can't sing whatsoever?

georges

georges

georges

Soldato
Joined
5 Apr 2006
Posts
3,084
Hey,

I play acoustic guitar(fingerstyle, but rhythm is ok for me), and can sing while playing, so I have that covered. One thing that has always annoyed me is the fact I can't sing even close to in tune; my voice just doesn't seem to work.

Has anyone else had this, and without lessons, is there anything I can really do that will improve it? Thanks.

I don't want to be some kind of master, but being able to cover some basic songs like 'hey ya' and 'high and dry' would be quite nice, instead of just playing the music at parties with others singing, or not actually singing properly the national anthem on Remembrance Sunday since it sounds bad :o

Thanks!
 
Uriel said:
Practice singing with your finger in your ear. You'll hear yourself better. I agree that recording yourself and playing it back is a good idea. Amplifying your voice when practising may help too. A lot of singers don't cope well if they can't hear themselves. Monitors on stage are really important in a noisy environment.

Is your voice naturally high or low? Stick to stuff comfortably in your natural range at first. Most singers miss notes close to the top or bottom of their range.
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I think it's kind of middle to low.

Fingil said:
I am quite similar. I thinik the problem is that the way I hear myself is completly different to how anyone else does. I have no trouble hearing if someone else is in tune or not, but when I sing it will sound in tune to me and not even be close. It drives my poor wife crazy :D

On the plus side, I can hit almost any note perfectly when I am yawning :) Sadly, I don't there is a whole lot of use for that talent though...
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Yeah, it sounds fine in my ears when I sing, but if I record it and play it back, it's no-where near.

I don't think I'm tone deaf, I tune by ear for example without hitting frets, but just hearing them relative to each other when played open strings.
naffa said:
I was in EXACTLY the same boat as you a year or two back. I couldn't sing for ****. But now, I'm not fantastic by any means whatsoever, but I'm at the standard where I could sing for a band and they wouldn't go "EURGH... Who is that God awful singer?"

But trust me, there is every hope in practising. If you aren't THAT eager to become good quickly, then just sing along to songs every chance you get. Just getting your voice working. It's something you may do anyway, but do it enough, and it becomes very good practice.
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I think I'll do this and keep on singing (happens quite often when I'm driving on my own :o)

I can also hum, and that's in tune, so it gives me hope :p

As I said, I don't want to be great, but being able to hold a tune without embarrassment would be lovely :D


Thanks everyone for the helpful replies!
 
I had the same thing for a while.

I found trying to talk to people while playing helped it.

Also, begin just doing simple chord progressions which repeat, instead of more complex things, so that you can put it into the back of your mind and just "do it" while singing is what you focus on.

I still get times when I mess up the strumming rhythms, by strumming to the words, if they are short and fast.
 
Guess where I learnt it? ;)

Edit: I like that Guitar Rag on your myspace. Is that an original by you?

Reminds me of Django for some reason, although it's not really the same.
 
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