I am trying to hum music instead of sing it. Help!!?

Question

I always understood that singing without training is bad for you but I have not been able to take lessons. Anyhow, I learned that humming is good way to develope your voice (I know that their are vocal warm ups that incorparate humming)...I started to try to hum more often instead of just singing. And then maybe I could go for lessons, but I am worried that I have damaged my voice...for years I would just sing in the shower or to the radio w/out any lessons and now I'm 23 yrs old!!

I wonder how much damage I've done and if I can recover. I'm afraid I'll be told that the damage is done.

Anyhow, I do try humming but I am actually finding it difficult to do alone. My nose is stuffed up or if I did resort to singing then I'm too tired to do it. Also, my breathing is just not great.

Help!! What do any experienced teachers, students, and proffessionals have to say?

What's going on? Will I be able to hum a tune? Have I damaged my voice? Should I stop using my "chest voice", etc..

Answer 1

You will I be able to hum a tune. Your voice will change but it's ok
jane

Answer 2

You haven't damaged your voice by singing without training. The damage done by singing without training is the psychological habits that your voice falls into without knowing the correct way. And that only means it will be harder to learn how to sing correctly. There are two things you can do to really damage your voice. One is screaming for any length of time, and the other is singing while you have an illness that affects your throat.

Answer 3

Your voice is not a dangerous instrument! It's pretty difficult to do permanent damage to your voice, and just singing normally isn't going to do it unless you are consistently doing it day after day at high volumes at the extremes of your voice.

Besides, a "damaged" voice has a character all of its own - I heard of some singers taking up smoking to get a grittier voice.

Singing is a very natural thing to do, don't let your worries about damaging your voice rob you of something you love doing. The one thing to remember is don't strain yourself - if your body is telling you to stop by making your throat hurt then listen to it.