What is your biggest singing struggle?

[TwistedJourney]

Personally? The fact I dont have equipment for it... Or a decent, private place to explore my own abilities better. Too much background noise.... Blah.

[Mahesh]

On 6/27/2018 at 10:17 AM, ExtraWithExtraExtra said:

I've done choir for a long time, but I never had formal vocal training and don't have the resources to do it now. I was always told I was too quiet and tried to sing louder (in a way that probably amounted to shouting). Now, I still don't really know how to project properly and probably have damage from years of doing it wrong, so I'm scared to try and correct it on my own. 

Ah, unlearning is one of the biggest and most essential aspects of learning how to sing. A lot of people force the muscle memory of speaking for singing use. It's like pushing down a wrong piece of the puzzle even when it doesn't fit. This gives rise to further bad muscle memory and unhealthy habits. 

 

Sing through a straw. Like it's a trumpet. Keep your voice light and yawny while you're doing it. Make the straw your best friend like I have made mine. Your body will learn healthy vocal muscle memory with time. That'll be a start. You can then use all of this newly learnt chops later for learning proper resonance and projection.

[Mahesh]

On 7/28/2018 at 2:34 PM, TwistedJourney said:

Personally? The fact I dont have equipment for it... Or a decent, private place to explore my own abilities better. Too much background noise.... Blah.

Been there bud. @john can vouch for that. I neither had the equipment or the place to do anything related to music. I had construction going on right next to my house all year!

 

But work with what you have and make it work. Start saving in the mean time, as for the place, it'll come.

 

In any case, I wish you luck!

[john]

7 minutes ago, Mahesh said:

But work with what you have and make it work.

 

That is the core of it. You have what you have, make the most of it while you save and plan for something better.

 

Believe me, this is a perpetual guideline unless money is no object.  Even when money is no object you run up against similar restrictions with talent/skill/knowledge/ability.

[Rudi]

5 hours ago, Mahesh said:

Ah, unlearning is one of the biggest and most essential aspects of learning how to sing. A lot of people force the muscle memory of speaking for singing use. It's like pushing down a wrong piece of the puzzle even when it doesn't fit. This gives rise to further bad muscle memory and unhealthy habits. 

 

Sing through a straw. Like it's a trumpet. Keep your voice light and yawny while you're doing it. Make the straw your best friend like I have made mine. Your body will learn healthy vocal muscle memory with time. That'll be a start. You can then use all of this newly learnt chops later for learning proper resonance and projection.

 

Straw? A drinking straw or a piece of wheat?

Its sounds silly. You wouldn't tease an old timer like me would you Mahesh?

[Mahesh]

5 hours ago, Rudi said:

 

Straw? A drinking straw or a piece of wheat?

Its sounds silly. You wouldn't tease an old timer like me would you Mahesh?

 

Hahahaha I'm glad it sparked your curiosity. Straw phonation. It is an exercise that really helps you to use your voice with good support and resonance while singing.

 

Take a straw of any size, smaller the diameter the better. Sing through it with medium volume. Do sirens from your lowest to highest in range, do it with scales, sing songs with it. Because when you sing through a straw, because of the kind of airflow that is working on your voice, there is a backward pressure created in your mouth that helps the vocal cords to stay relaxed and unstrained by untrained breath support. Proper support is the cornerstone for healthy singing. Simply singing through a straw teaches you this. Which is pretty cool and handy. I've a matchbox filled with cut straws that I saved from my trips to juice shops and coffee shops. It stays with me all the time. Gigs, tour, whatever. 

 

[Sreyashi Mukherjee]

Hey Mahesh  

 

Hope your having fun with your gigs (when's Kolkata happening??).

 

Ah... struggle with singing - there are so many!!

 

a) When I open my mouth and realize that there's a frog stuck in my throat

b) When I want to go right with the vocal nuances but they go left  

c) When I have the perfect voice for that day but no inclination to sing  

d) When I have the right voice and inclination to sing but no emotion to accompany them 

e) When the pollution spikes so much that my lungs revolt for weeks!  

 

And so, I limp on...

[Rudi]

On 8/3/2018 at 4:14 PM, Mahesh said:

 

Hahahaha I'm glad it sparked your curiosity. Straw phonation. It is an exercise that really helps you to use your voice with good support and resonance while singing.

 

Take a straw of any size, smaller the diameter the better. Sing through it with medium volume. Do sirens from your lowest to highest in range, do it with scales, sing songs with it. Because when you sing through a straw, because of the kind of airflow that is working on your voice, there is a backward pressure created in your mouth that helps the vocal cords to stay relaxed and unstrained by untrained breath support. Proper support is the cornerstone for healthy singing. Simply singing through a straw teaches you this. Which is pretty cool and handy. I've a matchbox filled with cut straws that I saved from my trips to juice shops and coffee shops. It stays with me all the time. Gigs, tour, whatever. 

 

 

Ok then I'm on board man. I will try to find some straws.

 

but if it is a joke its a really good one 🙃

[The S]

If we do this why don't we all agree on one thing,

 

First rule of singing through a straw, you don't talk about singing through a straw. Ever.

 

Agreed?

 

😀😀😀

[MastersOfWar63]

Breath management was my biggest sticking point. Tension at work really affected me until I started meditating and learning to relax

[2 Days After]

Tension! Its the biggest problem I face as a singer, performer and oftentimes even as a person overall. The mental and physical condition of a singer can often affect how your voice is going to sound. I find that keeping myself confident and anxiety free makes for a very happy voice! Good luck with your progress.

 

Here is my voice in action btw!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_fAvNlHUQyXV9pT3tY539LXjx1OVokDt