Learning how to sing

Costs are rising and times are tough.
Please consider a donation to keep this
place going.

Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.

This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.

We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.

Update cookies preferences

You are logged in as Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >>Discussions >>Off Topic >>

Page: [1]

Message

<< Newer Topic Older Topic >>

rombsix

Posts: 8031
Joined: Jan. 11 2006
From: Beirut, Lebanon

Learning how to sing

Hello peeps,

I am interested in learning to sing and play guitar simultaneously. It's going to be some pop or soft rock songs, just to get the hang of learning to think of the two things at once without messing either up. It's more of something I want to do just like learning to tap my foot a la PdL like in the Almoraima video of when he was young (which I, and many people here, find difficult because it has to do with your brain concentrating on doing two things at once).

However, I also would like to learn to sing a bit properly, rather than just as part of this brain exercise. The problem is, that I've always had this issue where if I talk for a couple of hours, I go hoarse either directly, or the day after. Or, if I try to sing a bit, I go hoarse.

So I don't want to just sing ... and practice. I want to do that sort of formally, but I don't think I'm going to be able to take actual lessons - voice lessons. So I'm going to settle for material I can access online. However, I've been coming across a lot of EXERCISES and I've read about the possibility of injuring one's voice. And knowing that I have this thing where I get hoarse quite fast... I'm afraid if I actually start to do these exercises, or try to sing, that I am going to injure myself. I want to know if this thing I have with getting hoarse is because I sing / talk incorrectly, or because I am just born that way, and whether there is something that can be done to fix it, or if it is just God's way of telling me that I was never meant to sing...

Any tips, anyone?

_____________________________

Ramzi

http://www.youtube.com/rombsix

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 25 2010 21:46:11

HemeolaMan

Posts: 1514
Joined: Jul. 13 2007
From: Chicago

RE: Learning how to sing (in reply to rombsix)

yeah, when you sing, stop before you get hoarse. drink more water. find a friend who sings.

_____________________________

[signature][/signature]

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 26 2010 4:26:24

mark indigo

Posts: 3635
Joined: Dec. 5 2007

RE: Learning how to sing (in reply to rombsix)

there was an Australian actor who kept getting hoarse and losing his voice while on stage

when he rested his voice it got better

when he used it it got worse

doctors couldn't help him

in the end he decided it must be something he was doing while using his voice that caused the problem

after some experiments and a lot of self observation he found that he pulled back his head, depressed his larynx and sucked in his breath

he found he could not control that last two, but that if he prevented himself from pulling back his head that also prevented the other two things

this greatly improved the condition of his throat and the functioning of his voice

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 26 2010 11:34:22

Ron.M

Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland

RE: Learning how to sing (in reply to HemeolaMan)

quote:

yeah, when you sing, stop before you get hoarse

I thought that in Andalucia, singers worked for YEARS to GET that "hoarse" voice!

(As well as smoking 60 cigs a day, staying up all night and drinking loads of that cheap, rough Spanish brandy.

)

cheers,

Ron

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 26 2010 13:05:56

rombsix

Posts: 8031
Joined: Jan. 11 2006
From: Beirut, Lebanon

RE: Learning how to sing (in reply to Ron.M)

quote:

I thought that in Andalucia, singers worked for YEARS to GET that "hoarse" voice!

(As well as smoking 60 cigs a day, staying up all night and drinking loads of that cheap, rough Spanish brandy. )

Ron!

That's a sure way to come across a couple of these...

http://www.med.nyu.edu/voicecenter/conditions/voice/vocal_nodules.html

_____________________________

Ramzi

http://www.youtube.com/rombsix

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 26 2010 13:35:33

henrym3483

Posts: 1585
Joined: Nov. 13 2005
From: Limerick,Ireland

RE: Learning how to sing (in reply to rombsix)

try doing a 3 or 4 chord song like blowing in the wind by dylan or yellow submarine by the beatles to start off with.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jun. 26 2010 14:31:31

Ricardo

Posts: 15706
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Learning how to sing (in reply to rombsix)

experiment with singing in different keys, even if you THINK it might be out of your range. Record yourself and make sure you are getting the sound you want. It always feels good to sing, and even though you may sing in tune and in rhythm, it matters too what it sounds like to others.