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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | When I'm in Florida I practice in my down stairs bathroom, a small room and I can hear the singing and guitar coming back off the walls to me. It helps, plus those of you who have seen it know it's a cool room. The other thing is watch yourself in the mirror, it keeps you from getting into weird habits and making faces to hit high notes.
It's easier to sing standing up although what Alison said about being on your back to get the diaphram working is correct. I haven't done that yet either. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | I just got done pulling out my Shure SM59 and hooking it up to my Crate so I can hear myself when I sing. That, with lots of practice (and maybe some lessons) is the only way to improve..... |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Beal, do you get harmonics from the Resos? |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | sometimes! |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 843
Location: CA | My singing rules to live by:
* I confine 'live' performances to songs that don't have a lot of (singing) range, such as anything by Dire Straits or ZZ Top.
* I don't try anything requiring more range unless I'm having a shower or a few beers. Or a few beers in the shower. Then I sound REALLY good. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | For all you people back East, or in SF... Subway stations have great acoustics.
For the rest of us, it's Parking Garages and the shower.
A few beers help, but it is better if the audience has a few as well...
Pick songs that the audience will sing along to... That covers alot of evils. |
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Joined:
May 2005
Posts: 486
Location: North Carolina | Sing a lot and often. LIKE to sing; don't approach it as a chore.
Yes, you can make the instrument better. Make recordings of yourself and listen to them. Don't ask, "Is it good?" Ask, "Does it sound professional. Zero in on those points that don't and ask why they don't. Work on those areas.
Sing songs that stretch your abilities, not necessarily for performance but as an exercise. I periodically make sure I'm up to snuff on "Bring Him Home" (from Les Miserables) I never perform it, but I sing it a lot. |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | Thanks all - lots of answers. Outside of gerbils, the gist of your advice seems to be to do it often (!) and listen to yourself do it (!!) I will! |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 386
Location: nyc area | Lie on the floor on your back... this teaches you where breath support is... you an only sing correctly when you do this... scat while you improvise solos... above all, singing is like acting with pitch... you need to sell the listener the lyric... think about what the lyrics say, speak it with as much passion as you can, then apply the same principle when singing... cover one ear canal with a finger when singing, it will help control pitch. |
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Joined:
February 2004
Posts: 2487
| Good point Matt......Hearing yourself is sometimes very difficult on stage. Monitors are so hard to hear when volumes change on instruments. When you can't hear yourself vocals will suffer it is just a human limitation. I am experimenting with some ear buds right now I find once the band gets cranked up to 10 after midnight I can't really tell what my acoustic sounds like either so I am trying to get a bud working in one ear for my guitar and one for my vocals. Until I can work this out I keep a good set of shooting ear plugs and often use one to help me keep in tune. |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 665
Location: Tychy, Poland | you can always buy this:
antares auto tune |
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Joined:
October 2007
Posts: 283
Location: Portland, OR | Sing from the gut, not the throat. Always think "round sound" and do not forget to open up your mouth. I've been doing choir stuff a lot longer than guitar, but I do think that playing helps you feel the song better. No matter who you are, you're going to have some bad days resulting from who knows what, but the answer for those days is practice, practice, practice. |
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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 888
Location: Louisville, OH 44641 | Garge with old razor blades. It worked for the Three Stooges. |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Originally posted by alpep:
smoke 3 packs a day.
drink a bottle of southern comfort or jack daniels every day The only advice worth heeding! :cool: |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | Ah yes, there is an electronic answer to every problem. What the heck is a "Variable Knee Compressor" |
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How to be a better singer
