singing tips?

Question

im a pretty good singer, ive got a pretty low voice for a 14 year old and ive had it since i was 12. I also can go pretty high, sometimes when i sing it sounds great! but sometimes it sounds scratchy and strained. what am i doing and what do i need to do?

Answer 1

You are at a hard age for singing, your voice is still changing. My best advice is to practice, practice, practice. Every day you want to sing scales with a piano or other instrument. This will help to focus and strengthen your voice.

Answer 2

The more you sing the more aware you are of your range. Don't strain your vocal chords too much, that's bad for them and it doesn't sound very good either. Sing along with songs you know that fit your range. ("Doe a deer a female deer" from the Sound of Music is a great song to sing to increase your range.) Start as low as you can and work up to with each round of song a higher pitch, about 3 octaves or however many you'd like. When the higher notes begin to strain your voice work on them each little by little until you get them and realize at what notes your vocal range starts to get maxxed out. Keep your heart in it and it will always be a pleasure to practice and perform. And don't be embarrassed about your voice. Confidence and singing from your heart with conviction usually carries through the songs that you sing further than the notes themselves.

Answer 3

you need to sing through your diaphragm and will take the pressure off your throat,you see you're putting all of your power right in to your throat and that puts a strain on it.also,it sounds like you telling me that your voice shifted about 2 yrs.ago and sometimes you can still hit those high notes but as i said,what you're doing is working too hard.work on the voice you have now,not the one that is naturally changing.believe me,I've been there.

Answer 4

I would suggest keeping your voice hydrated. Drink a lot of water. Also practice , practice, practice. Take lessons to make your voice stronger. Try not to strain your voice a lot and when you know you have a performance prepare yourself. Don't do a lot of shouting beforehand and keep up on the water!! Good luck and happy singing!

Answer 5

When I sing and it sounds scratchy it is usually because i am singing from my throat and not my diaphram. When you sing you need to sing using your diaphram. You can strengthen your diaphram by doing breathing exercises. When you breath your shoulders shouldn't move, but your stomach should. As you breath in your stomach should move out and as you breath out your stomach should move in.

Answer 6

Learn how to control your breathing. It'll help the quality of your voice and how long you can hold a note.

Answer 7

Perhaps you need a voice teacher. Someone to culture your voice. Talk to your parents and school counselor. They should be able to get that started. I think that your school counselor would be proud of you if you'd take this direction.

You're still quite young and if you want a long term romance with your talent, pay close attention to what you're doing. What are the songs you sing in the car, the ones who sing with your friends. Your voice will go through its natural changes and your each choice in your lifestyle, in your music life, however subtle will take its respective toll.

Back in high school (it was an all-girls school), I sang alto 2. I was classified as such via scales. Or whatever you'd call it, when someone plays up and down the piano and you follow the notes. In a mixed choir, I'm still classified as an alto and I envy the boys, whether tenor or bass. However, amongst the conductors I've met and have been with, one had said I'm not an alto. This conductor said said that this method of classifying isn't one that requires the piano or singing of scales or singing at all. The classifier can just have a conversation with you, erm, the classifiee(?), and they pay special attention to the colours of the classifiee's speaking voice and from that conversation, the classifier can make their judgment. It's more of a familial affinity I have with my being an alto 2. I do regret not being able to explore my own higher notes back then and I wouldn't be in a hurry to turn down an offer for soprano these days. Who knows?

I think it's important that you know your voice classification because you'd especially know how to take care of your voice.

I have a friend who is currently taking up music in college, majoring in voice. She's a soprano 1. A while back, though, she sang a bit of alto for church just to make that section louder. When her voice teacher knew about this, she was quite beside herself and my friend, well, was forbidden to sing alto and was in a strict regimen. I'm not scaring you or anything. I'm just saying it was perfect for her lifestyle. She's a voice major and she needed to be in top shape. Form a regimen that will suit your lifestyle.

I also wouldn't want you restricting yourself to a very strict regimen just yet. Have a professional, a mentor talk to you about that. And if you're into belting out, please do find someone who can teach you to properly do it. Like there are methods that can culture your voice for classical singing and there are methods that can make you sound your best singing pop, without destroying your vocal chords. And by belting out, I mean the way Mariah did back in the 1990's. Listen to her first few albums like Vision of Love, Emotion, well, everything before Butterfly, and Butterfly itself. Mariah Carey, by the way was trained properly. Her mother was an opera singer, I think.

And I'd like to know when you get scratchy and strained. Is it just early in the morning? Is it after hours and hours of singing? It could be the type of music you're singing and your body wasn't quite warmed up for it.

And I do hope you're using your diaphragm. Check with your music teachers and vocal coaches to see if you're doing it right.

Also, make sure you get sufficient rest. One of my favourite opera singers experienced internal bleeding because she simply wouldn't quit.

I hope these would help:
1) this may sound a bit odd but we do actual physical stretches before vocal training. Do stretch, as if you were to swim. Stretch the way performers stretch, may you be an actor or an athlete. This will help you relax and it prepares you mentally.

2) have lower back strength training. when using the diaphragm, the effort affects this area.

3) crunches and sit ups help. also for the diaphragm. And, to be quite honest, this appealed to my vanity as a singer and performer.

3.1 - this is something that makes my eyes roll because it's personally something i find difficult to do: always have proper posture. you'd be surprised with the subtle difference it could make. and for girls, the proper posture adds about two inches to the bust line. i think it has something to do with the airways, though. and when one sings, the posture can say a lot, something like in theatre/drama/acting.

4) vocalise everyday, no matter how simple you think your day will be. you'll never know. when there are events, you could be pulled up to the mic to sing... perhaps the national anthem.

Back in high school, we would sing the national anthem and the school's mission song everyday. That was for 13 solid years. after graduating, i noticed a drop in my voice, not only in colour and tonality but in the over all quality because i didn't have those two songs in my regimen anymore. Every bit counts, I guess.

And I know of performers who sing both opera and Broadway who uses whiteboard markers during runs of their shows. They really are wise in spending their voice. Almost stingy, wouldn't you think, but as singers ourselves, it's so easy to forgive them.

Also, performers have so many superstitions. My friend doesn't drink cold water, for example.

I do hope you're part of a club or a choir or a band, or combinations of sort, avenues wherein you can celebrate this talent of yours. At the risk of sounding like a complete nut, be a disciple of disciplines, be a lover of leisure's. It's a balancing act and you always have to make it fun, strive hard to be happy to stay in love.

(lol - this has just become ridiculously long. anyone who has read through this should have a reward of some sort.)

I'm glad you've found your music. (And don't be afraid or embarrassed to open your mouth. That's turning your back at your craft, at an angle. Most sopranos are wide-jawed. I don't quite know why I said that.)
All you have to do now is dig deeper, hold on to it as tight as possible, and, don't ever let it go.
Best,
Gwen ([e-mail])

Answer 8

No matter your vocal range, it's important to know that you gotta sing from your diaphragm (your gut).

Answer 9

Keep trying

Answer 10

Lessons from someone whose talents you admire.