Voice projection in singing

[Guitargeezer]

@Loraine – you actually stated what you need to not do to sing better. There are many YouTube videos about “How do I not sing monotone?” I think the ones by a woman Kimberly you might find helpful. Just like guitar, vocalizing takes practice. Not all of us are gifted with exceptional vocal chord tone so we must learn to do our best with what we have! Make a joyful noise!!

[Loraine]

Thanks @Guitargeezer-Jack . I’ll try to find the YouTube videos.

[N-lightMike]

What I found, @Loraine , is that the whole “breathing” thing is really important. Really, really pay attention to your breathing AS you sing. So make sure you are pushing from your belly, not your chest. Practice breathing with you hand on your belly and feel it go in and out with your breath. And when you start doing that more naturally with thinking about it, you will have so much more power that your voice will naturally start getting stronger.

After you have gotten to that point, pay attention to when you breath. There are natural pauses during songs. Make sure you consciously take a deeper breath (belly) in the pause so you have all the power you want during the next phrase. Then do it again during the next pause. At first, you may have to pause between words that make the song sound awkward. But you’ll get better and learn how to breath while you sing. It’s not natural at all and takes effort to train yourself to do it.

I hope this helps. Again, like @Guitargeezer-Jack said, there are a ton of free videos on YouTube that give you advice on how to sing with more power and exercises you can do to strengthen your vocal cords and your breathing.

MG 😀

[Loraine]

Very good point @MikeGaurnier ! Sing from the diaphragm. Breathing in general is so underrated.

[the-old-coach]

“Breathing in general is so underrated”….. but…. it’s way better than the alternative😉.

(sorry, I took a smart-a** pill this morning).

Despite my antics— this is a great thread- and great reply/suggestions!

-coach

• This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by  the-old-coach.

[Loraine]

Good to see you @the-old-coach , and smart a$$’ are more than welcome.

[Cadgirl]

@Loraine , I started writing the melody down. I’m attaching an example of what I did with Dream A Little Dream Of Me. As I go through the song, i’m trying to hold my voice to what ever note I figured out should be there (does that make sense?). I still don’t sound like Mama Cass, but my voice has somewhat of an idea where it’s supposed to go. It’s just an idea.

[Loraine]

That’s awesome @Cadgirl . You did this by ear? Very impressive.

[Cadgirl]

@Loraine I did a lot by ear, but when I got super stuck I would turn on my guitar string tuner (insTuner app) and sing the pitch with my voice. example being, “LAAAAAA” and watch on my tuner for where it landed. Ha ha ha ha…. It helped me out a lot. Per my image, pitch was E so now I just had to find the note on the string that sounded the best (really? Is sounded a word?),

[Loraine]

Yes, sounded is a word. 🙂

[HowardM]

I never thought of using the tuner for the voice. Wow HUGE win for me

[Loraine]

@HowardM and @Cadgirl I never thought of using my tuner for vocals either. How does that work? It doesn’t register me talking or singing. Is it a special tuner?

[Cadgirl]

@Loraine , and @HowardM downloaded it from the app store on my IPhone. It really is a nicer tuner. I downloaded when I first bought my guitar. It will pick up your voice. Kind of handy too, because it’s on your phone. Called insTuner Free – Chromatic tuner. Tell me if it works for you.

[Loraine]

Well, I downloaded to iPad, but it isn’t showing screen correctly. This is what I get.

101797B9-059E-45B8-89FF-94EA5423E90A.png 248 KB Image File - Click to view

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[Cadgirl]

@Loraine, It should get you close. I’m not of perfect pitch. So if I’m close to C, I will call it a C. It took me a little while to figure it out. The 1st note on my ‘Dream a little dream of me” is on the 2nd string, 3rd fret, which is a C. Play that note on your guitar and see if it comes up on the tuner (doesn’t have to be exact). If it does, make that same pitch with your voice and it should come up on the ‘instuner’. practice till you can get it to match (somewhat). THEN…. do it the other way around. Make the pitch with your voice (ahhhhhh) when the tuner picks it up and gives you a note (C), find the matching C on your guitar. Does that work?

[Loraine]

Yeah, but the app doesn’t open up. I just get a banner and nothing more.

[Cadgirl]

hmmm… I know there are 2 selections, IPad and IPhone. Mine is on my IPhone so I switched the selector from IPad to iPhone. I know I downloaded the free version from the app store to my iPhone. But, if this isn’t working for you. Here’s the online link, maybe there is some info on there. I can’t think of why it’s not working for you.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/instuner-free-chromatic-tuner/id603425027

[N-lightMike]

Hey @Cadgirl ;

I’m sure you just mis-typed, but just in case, 2nd string, 1st fret is a C note. 2nd string, 3rd fret is a D note.

Anyway, it’s interesting, the conversation you and @Loraine are having about voice pitch. I have used an audio tuner for my voice before, but not often. I actually started playing guitar for the very reason of helping me to sing. I find the correct pitch by matching my voice to a note plucked on the guitar.

When I’m doing voice exercises, I sing to a major scale or sometimes a chromatic scale that I pluck on the guitar string. For me, I always start on the open D string as that tends to be very close to my “natural” talking tone.

MG 😀

[the-old-coach]

Mike–

Did you just answer my (friend’s) question?

I can tell you that he never thought about this, and finds it all very interesting.

-the old coach

[N-lightMike]

LOL, Mark @the-old-coach ;

Tell your (friend) that he’s welcome. I’m glad my comment can help (him). 🤣

MG 😀

[Cadgirl]

What the heck , a name change @N-lightMike! Your right, I called out the strings wrong. I was looking at thick to thin. The A string, 3<sup style=”background-color: var(–bb-content-background-color); font-family: inherit; color: var(–bb-body-text-color);”>rd</sup> fret is C. You and I were talking about learning how to sing in another post. I found some very good apps out there that will help. Just trying to match the pitch to what the melody is was a ground breaker for me. Plus it helps me adjusting my thinking to where those notes are. Thanks for calling me out for wrong information. Ha ha ha…..

[the-old-coach]

Wow–

This discussion was very interesting to begin with, but now it has taken on a whole new area of thought indeed!

Is there any way this train of thought can be used by someone who ***doesn’t*** have an android, or an ipad, or any kind of new-fangled “tweeter-hooter”- (that’s what my wife’s uncle calls “them fancy phones”)— but rather, has only a regular guitar tuner, a laptop, and a flip-phone???— (asking for a friend😉).

-coach

[N-lightMike]

I don’t know what type of guitar tuner you have, but some use sound waves instead of vibration and so you could use them for your voice, Mark @the-old-coach . If not, you could put the vibrating type on your guitar and put you mouth close to the sound hole and sing into it. You’ll get a reading, but it’s not going to be the best way to do it.

Just learn to match your voice to the plucked stings. Don’t just sit on one note. Go up and down on 2 or 3 notes as you try to find the right place with your voice. I can usually start right off with the open D because I’ve been doing it for so long. But with practice, you will get better and better.

MG 😀

[the-old-coach]

This is indeed awesome stuff- this thread!!!

I wonder if when we use these simple ways– are we re-tracing the very same steps as our “guitar fore-fathers”?🤔

They learned to play & sing LONG before all the electronics of today……

You may have just explained how they did it hundreds/ maybe thousands of years ago.

(Again-🤔).

the old coach

[N-lightMike]

🤣👍😊

[the-old-coach]

Mike–

“Just learn to match your voice to the plucked strings………”

My simple mind🙄 says this is exactly right. Wouldn’t the earliest guitar players and “sing-along-ers”- (I’m talking since the invention of the guitar itself)- have had to have some sort of reference as to what note they were actually singing?

Like the old “pitch pipe” or maybe tuning fork?

With-OUT something to compare to, like your example– the plucking of a certain string at a certain fret, how would they have had any way of knowing if they were singing a- (example)- C note or a G note?

Different octaves- yes– but by picking any fret on any string- doesn’t your guitar “tell” you what note you are on?

To me, your idea with this “Just learn to match…” paragraph is simple, easy, and foolproof.

I’m takin’ as a challenge😜👍😎

Mark

[N-lightMike]

🤣👍😊

[Cadgirl]

@the-old-coach ! What! are you living in the dark ages. You have an IPhone don’t you? or an android? Are you still using a dial up phone in your house? Maybe a party line? 🙂

[the-old-coach]

It would have to get lighter out for me to be living in the Dark Ages😎

Android- no. I-pod- no. I-pad- no. Dial-up phone- no. Tweeter-hooter- no. Round TV- no. 650-pound stereo console- no. Party-line- no (but we used to have one when I was a kid). Flip-phone- yes. 10-year-old, beat-up laptop- yes.

There ya go. Welcome to my world😀

Mark

• This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by  the-old-coach.

[N-lightMike]

Were the “Dark Ages” really that bad, @Cadgirl ? After all, it was so dark the pictures we have aren’t too clear. 🤣

I agree with @the-old-coach , technology isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. 🙄

MG 😀

[Cadgirl]

@the-old-coach , ha ha ha……… you do have a color tv don’t you? 🙂

[the-old-coach]

Yes– I painted it blue.

[Cadgirl]

👍

[Loraine]

I don’t think it would matter wwhat key a song is in versus what key my vocals are, because I can’t hear to match the pitch one way or the other. I can typically raise or lower my vocals to what I think sounds like the right key, but I have no clue what key I’m playing or singing in. It’s all one big crap shoot.

[Cadgirl]

@Loraine , You can’t hear pitch difference? I’m getting better at it, but, I wear hearing aids. When I’m practicing in the morning, I usually don’t wear them. So when my husband walks in my art studio and gives me that “what the heck are you doing” look. I know I’m playing too loud. ha ha ha.

[N-lightMike]

I didn’t used to be able to tell if a note went up or down, @Loraine . That’s why I started using the guitar as my “tuning fork”. Yes, it takes some time and persistence, but it was the thing that worked for me. 😎

Hey @Cadgirl , I wear hearing aids also. I know what you mean about too loud. Even with the hearing aids, I frequently talk so loud my wife tells me to talk quieter. 😅

MG 😀

[Cadgirl]

😆

[Loraine]

@Cadgirl & @N-lightMike that makes 3 of us with hearing aids, but I go days without wearing them, because it’s just me and the dog typically. But, I don’t play or sing loudly usually, but I’ve heard many with hearing difficulties do that. That might be part of my problem hearing pitch. Mike, what are you referring to when you say you use the guitar as a tuning fork?

[N-lightMike]

Hey @Loraine , I pluck a note, I usually start with the open D string, and try to match my voice to it. Then, I’ll go up to the 2nd fret, an e note, and the 3rd fret, an f note. Somewhere in there I usually am able to finally get my voice to match. It’s hard to tell, like you said. But when you hear it, you can tell. It’s just like the octave that I demonstrate in my music theory video. The notes blend together and you know you are hitting the same note.

From there, I use the C major scale, and play up to the open E string, sometimes I can get a little higher. Then I go down as far as I can, sometimes I can get below the open A string and hit the G or even the F# on the 6th string.

It really helps me. It is voice exercises.

MG 😀