A friend asked me yesterday: "How can I learn to sing (or improve my current level of singing)?"

I didn't have a good answer but I knew where to come for suggestions. You wonderful folks have all the answers and never flame anyone for asking a legitimate question.

A free source would be great but not essential.

TIA

Formal voice lessons at the beginning. This starting stuff is not intuitive. After that - sing, sing, sing!!

As jazzmandan says, lessons and sing.

Also learn to breathe properly. I know we all think we know how, but most of us do not.

When breathing for singing or playing a wind instrument, the diaphragm should go down, the lower abdomen should extend outward, and the chest should not expand. Look at a newborn baby or a sleeping dog and you will see what I mean.



Like this.

If this isn't the first lesson your teacher shows you, get a new teacher.

If you breathe improperly you can severely damage your vocal chords, and you will never get your best singing tone.

Insights and incites by Notes.

Before any of that other stuff, it is very important for them to find out what kind of an ear they have.

Can they sing or whistle back a simple melody - in tune?

If not, the starting place is for them to start doing a lot of listening to simpler songs and trying to duplicate what they have heard.


--Mac

One more note on the breathing bit (above). The famous Broadway and movie actress/singer, Julie Andrews was a "chest breather" instead of a diaphragm breather. She got nodules on her vocal chords, had the risky operation, and it failed, she can no longer sing. That's how important proper breathing is.

Notes

There is rather a big difference between someone working almost nightly and someone who is asking the kind of question posed here, I should think.

First they should find out how to "carry a tune".

Don't get them all tied up in that breathing stuff at this early juncture.


--Mac

Yup..... either a good local vocal coach or perhaps one of the courses on DVD.

I lean towards the in your face personal vocal coaches because they will hold your feet to the fire on getting it right, and practicing.

Singing, while a natural thing many people do, is, without a doubt, also a skill akin to playing a guitar or the piano or any other instrument for that matter. Techniques and skills that would take years to develop and discover that must be practiced to refine into second nature can be learned with a proper and experienced teacher. This can save years of practicing the wrong thing and perhaps ruining your voice in the process.

I know one guy who can barely talk or sing now due to the way he abused his voice, thinking it was cool sounding, during the days when he was gigging for a living.

Don,

Your friend might try the resource below. probably not free, but probably reasonable.


http://muskogeelittletheatre.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=29

I don't know the person's situation, but I have had some wonderful chorus directors over the years. And while it's not 'one on one', it is singing instruction.

Seeking out a community or open college choir that practices often and performs in public is a good way to immerse yourself in singing and learn about the singing techniques mentioned here.

If you live in a big city, like l dId for most of my life...in Chicago...
When Frank D'Rone, one of the greatest singers and jazz guitarists, left for NYC to perform in the finest jazz Bistros, I decided to pick one of the best professional voice coaches to attempt to improve my vocal control.

It was money well spent, as she was great guiding me through songs from Broadway, and especially ones that were very popular for singers who wanted to perform live, in bistros and other professional type targeted venues which were draws for the good-sized audiences that were "out there"...

Big Towns with dozens of bars, cocktail lounges, including Bistros, where the patrons came to listen to great tunes, and the jazz accompayist, who was usually the same woman or man...like Nat King Cole's brother, who I believe is still gigging at the Windemere West hotel, in Chicago.

I've been listening to one of Shirley Horn's streaming albums that I have streaming down in the background!!
I'm listening to the coolest rendition of "Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire", that I've heard since Mel Torme wrote it.
And now she's into "Black Magic"....'i hear your name, and i'm aflame'...and every time your lips meet mine...down and down i go...round and round I go...
In a spin, lovin that spin i'm in...under that ol Black Magic calle love"!!!

Come FLY WITH ME...COME TAKE OFF WITH ME...THERE, INTO THE BLUE!! OF COURSE MY FAVORITE FROM SHIRLEY IS, "ESTATE"!

She has a good ear and can listen to a song segment or passage then sing it back virtually error-free.

My chief concern is in her learning the fundamentals incorrectly.

I remember one trick used to learn diaphragm control...to sing into a lighted candle without extinguishing it.

That also teaches the direction the breath takes when singing. Important for proper microphone placement.

GDaddy mentioned Shirley Horn - Shirley and Mark Murphy are my two favorite singers for jazz music. I learned a lot about both singing and sax playing by intensely listening to them.

And that is another point. Listen - don't just hear - singers from all genres. How do they get their expression, what subtle nuances do they do to ornament notes, how is their phrasing, when are they ahead of the beat, when are they behind, how do they vary their vibrato (or not).

Intense, purposeful listening is perhaps the most important learning tool after the fundamentals.

Notes

This is where its at, regardless of what the instrument may be.


The human voice is the 1st instrument...



--Mac

Hi, Don !

This is in fact not an easy question to answer. We all know that
singing is about having the ability to hear what you
are producing and tune the production correctly. I happen
to know guys that can sing 60-90 % in tune and then suddenly they
fly out of tune. Singing in an a cappella quartet will surely
reveal if one can tune it or not. When one sings backed by
instruments it tends to forgive more than a cappella ever will do !
She might want to sing a tag or two with some barbershoppers close to her
site ? We barbershoppers have developed tags that will pretty fast
define if she can tune it or die (as Charlie Metzger - father of two sons
Tom and Frank of the world champion quartet Realtime would have said)!

And.....if she is willing to try, I can help fixing the necessary contacts naturally !

Cheers
Dani

Dani, thank you but she went to a voice coach nearby in Chicago. She's also taking guitar lessons. Certainly more energy than I have.

Thanks for your suggestion though, amigo.

Donny

Holá Don !


and as we say in spanish: .... de nada.....

But, my offer stands, You see
we barbershoppers are like a big world wide family.
It would be very simple for me to connect to a Sweet Adelines
Chorus close to her !:))

Cheers
amigo Dani