forum Need advice for singing

Started November 20, 2020 by @Im-just-here-idk-what-life-means group

tune

Typing my explanation, please wait

Okay, so, I'm 15 years old and haven't hit my growth spurt or gotten a lower voice(im a late bloomer, i guess). I have a horribly bad voice and I want to sing better so I can maybe start writing songs that I sing in. Plus, I kinda need to sing a song for a girl I like… xD

Wellcome to my life. Im younger than you and sound like an anime girl- I dont know why but my voice started to crack soooooo good sign? But I always try even if it's hard.

yes thats a good thing, my voice hasnt even started to crack yet lol

I'm in a quier so…I Crack a TON

quier?

oh choir?

or chorus both are singing class

oof. Sorry. In a rush. I'm in class.

ok

anyway, anyone got advice for me?

Before you start singing for real, you have to do warmups. The best advice I can give is to breathe by using your diaphragm. Your abdomen has to move, not your chest. It will help you with breathing during singing, too. You can lay on the bed and put some books on your stomach, then inhale deeply so as to lift the books. Then exhale slowly, and repeat. Try to do this exercise as often as possible.
The opening of your mouth is also important, because when you sing, but don't open your mouth wide enough, you may damage your throat. Try doing this: put your fingers next to your ears' antilobium. Then slowly lower your jaw. You should feel a dimple the size of your fingertip. Now focus on the jaw. When you sing open vowels, it should be as low as it is now. Also, your tongue shouldn't stick up, lay it down relaxed behind your lower teeth.
As for the head, it shouldn't be too low or too high. When you sing, stand straight and look ahead of yourself.

Now let's move to the actual warmups. Some of the most popular is singing the scale on various syllabes, for example "mi", "fa", "ta", etc. The next popular one is doing (sorry but I don't know how to explain it) a "prrrrrr" sound with your lips. Well, there are tons of different warmups that you can find online, and I'm sure that other people will explain it better for you.
When you want to sing a particular song, you have to get familiar with the tone, lyrics, melody and rhythm. You can start with murmuring along the singer's voice, then singing with them, and then singing without. You can record yourself singing and then look for some mistakes (but I don't know how are you going to do that if you don't have a teacher).

I think that's all I can say. Remember that you won't sing perfectly the next day you read this. Practice takes time, and as for singing, it takes a lot. But the more you sing, the better results you'll get later. And last but not least: stay hydrated. When you sing, you might not feel thirst, but doesn't disappear. If you have a 1-hour singing session, you should drink at least two glasses of water. Also, if you start feeling any kind of pain, take a break. Care for your vocal cords.

Good luck on your journey with singing :>

If you have any particular questions, feel free to ask. Also, remeber that I'm not an expert but I've had singing classes so I'd say I'm quite experienced :>

In my class the go "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, sol, Fa, Mi, Re, Do"

On the topic of hydration, @tomat, I do notice that when I drink water, I sound better for a few minutes immediately after… but it doesn't last long lol…

Hello! I have been through 5+ years of voice lessons, choirs, choir classes, and show choir, and Tomat's advice is very good. I'm guessing that you are focusing on pop singing, but a lot of this choir advice is still relevant for learning the basics. Work on your diaphragm and do warm ups even if you aren't planning on singing that day (lots of good YouTube videos for that!) and that will help you grow your voice. On hydration, stay hydrated. A little bit of water will only be a little bit of help.
My personal recomendations are: practice practice practice. learn to read music. learn to sing your favorite songs. record it and listen to yourself. adjust accordingly. keep going. DO NOT GIVE UP. learn some basic music theory (again thank the lord for YouTube) and write your own songs. learn an instrument, while youre at it. My first songs were GARBAGE, so dont get discouraged. And do not forget to enjoy what you do.
finally, the voice cracks. i have horrible news for you. Even after puberty, no matter your gender, your voice is gonna keep changing. Last month I couldn't sing middle C, and yesterday I sounded like a contralto singing O Holy Night. It's just how goes. Adjust and hope you dont have a concert or contest coming up like i do right now (sigh). The best remedy is hydration, rest and practice, so get on that. I'm also here if you have any questions!

Alright, thanks to every one giving advice. Thankfully, I don't have any music classes, as I know I would only make the rest of the chorus sound bad, I just had the idea that I might could start a career(but not really since im 15) in music.

You can start a career :)
I'm a freshman in highschool and have a song coming out in the next week or so :)

All the advice that I would give has pretty much already been said.
I’m 19 and an ex-performer who now just sticks to singing alone. When I had professional choir lessons we were always told to avoid consuming dairy and chocolate before singing, though it was never explained why.
Something I noticed a couple of years ago was that when I sing songs of a low pitch, I should never have a drink until I am completely finished— though I put this down to the fact that even though my voice is naturally low, it’s still biologically female.
Anyway, like others have said: warmups are key, breathing techniques are a must, and keep your posture straight and firm.