Tips on Singing

Greetings

After my last blog posting I figured joining this group would be a good idea.

Over the years I have played, performed, and sang at venues ranging from bars to prisons to busking (on various instruments). I am not a great singer, the kind that gets you a recording contract, but I have learned a few things along the way about singing and performing. Maybe I can pass a few thoughts along here, and maybe someone will benefit from them.

1) Record yourself playing and singing.. often. No one likes the sound of their own voice, including people like Paul McCartney. But this will help you correct any technical problems, such as intonation and phrasing, and help you to learn how to convey what you want people to hear.

2) Work at developing a personality to your voice. One way to do this is: play the song but dont sing it, speak the words as your playing and after a few times slowly work in the melody. Natural singing should be like talking.

3)Dont play and sing the song.. PERFORM the song. Put yourself in to it. People who are listening to you want to feel that you believe in what you are singing.

4) Yes, there are many exercises one can do to improve their vocal ability. But most of the singers in this venue (traditional folk music) never had a lesson, they just practiced singing.

5)In past blogs here I have seen many people mention their problems with allergies and stuffed nasal passages. Maybe you should look at it another way. Many singers in the folk/country venue work at closing their nasal passages while singing. This provides more volume and gives your voice that old time sound. And try not to use any vibrato.

Anyway, these are just a few thoughts that came to mind. Hope they help.

Cheers Ken