Can't sing whatsoever?

georges

georges

georges

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5 Apr 2006
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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!
 
stop smoking if you do, smoking is a major cause of refractory vocal nodules in other words the damage doesn't heal limiting your range , very detrimental .. and yes although you see many 'rock stars' puffing 40+ a day it really doesnt help them in the long run
 
Its a fact that 60% of the population are tone deaf and if you're in this category then theres no hope.

What you can do is hit notes on your guitar and then 'ahh' the sound.
Try and record if you can so you can hear it back.
If you think you've done well then go on to random melodies.
Play any 3 notes on your guitar and 'ahh' to those.
Once again record if you can.
More importantly don't ask family or friends for their appraisal because they tell lies unless you've got an old Uncle who plays in a band and has been round a bit
 
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.
 
Uriel said:
A lot of singers don't cope well if they can't hear themselves. Monitors on stage are really important in a noisy environment.
Click to expand...

And thats why I have to use this piece of kit -

wireless.jpg
 
Well it's a very good sign that you've noticed that you can't sing. That shows that you do have some sort of musical ear.

Like everything, there is no great secret to learning to sing. ALL you have to do, is do it. Sing along to the music you're listening to, sing along to yourself playing guitar. It's the things like this that train your voice and help you to start sounding better. As stated above, record yourself playing and singing (on video of possible), and watch it back. Do this regularly as it will help you spot flaws in your technique. If want to be able to sing well and you want people to stop and say: "Wow... He's got a good voice." Then there is a lot more to it than that. But if you just want to be able to sing along to yourself playing your guitar, then just sing. Sing every chance you get.

Another important thing to develop is your ability to confidently try and push into the upper register of your voice. This is very very difficult at first, especially when you feel that you sound awful. But, like above, this only takes practice. But try not to sing from your throat, and more from your chest.
 
I'm actually in quite a similar situation. I'm definitely not tone deaf, in fact I'm quite the opposite. I just plain suck at singing though.

What I've always wanted to know is if there's actually any hope in practicising. Can you just be born with a rubbish voice?
 
Of course you can be born with a rubbish voice. Plus you can ruin your voice yourself, but unless you put a bit of work in to see if there's any improvement how will you ever know?
 
mks2005 said:
I'm actually in quite a similar situation. I'm definitely not tone deaf, in fact I'm quite the opposite. I just plain suck at singing though.

What I've always wanted to know is if there's actually any hope in practicising. Can you just be born with a rubbish voice?
Click to expand...
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.
 
I am in a similar position too. I used to be an awesome singer when I was growing up. I was the lead soloist in our school choir as a soprano before my voice broke when I went through puberty. Since then, I can't sing very well at all. I am ok at the lower end of the scale but I struggle to reach some of the notes that even songs on the radio use, so nothing uber-high. There's no way I'm tone-deaf, I used to play the Clarinet (to grade 8 Royal Schools including Theory), I just can't keep the tune at the range that most songs are at. Give me some Crash Test Dummies though, and I can sing their songs quite well because he has a very low and deep voice. It's just weird that I could sing really high when I was young, and now I can sing really low.

Perhaps you might just want to try adjusting your range a bit?
 
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...
 
Spending my early teens in metal bands and having poor technique has FUBAR'd my range completely...Can still belt it out like Van Morrison if I'm completely inebriated though.

*n

Edit: If I'm sober, I'm really conscious of the gaps/faults in my range so I don't sing much.
 
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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.
Click to expand...

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...
Click to expand...


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.
Click to expand...


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!
 
What about those of us with the opposite problem - a reasonable singing voice, but can't seem to sing while playing? I suppose the answer would be practice, but I can't get far enough into a song to start practicing without tripping over my fingers. Same on piano or guitar. Any tips?
 
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.
 
I can't sing and i know it, wouldnt even dream of subjecting even my worse enemies to that kinda of torture, I just wish the so "called" friends of those muppets on TV told em the same :P But i am learning to play guitar quiet well, 1 week playing so far and know 8 chords \o/ just need to practice changing between em faster currently i have to "think" where to put my fingers.
 
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