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First ever real attempt at singing
June 15, 2015
8:29 pm
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Drew Notmylastname
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I don't think I'm a natural, aside from having good pitch perception, but I'll have a go at this so that I could use my own voice on my own songs.

Song I'm covering is Japanese. Here's the part I recorded so far:

An actual cover is on Japanese video site NicoVideo, but you need to sign up so I won't link it unless interested.

June 16, 2015
12:38 am
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OwenKorzec
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"I don't think I'm a natural, aside from having good pitch perception" describes me to a T when I started singing. Your rhythm is pretty good too, just like when I started too. Tone seems good too so you're probably even ahead of where I was on that.

This natural pitch perception is actually a blessing though because accurate pitch is by far the most important part of singing, rhythm second. Most people will think you are a natural anyways if you have your pitch down well. Maybe not right away but once your voice develops a bit and you get confident with it you will sound like a natural definitely.

I'm curious, do you have a lot of experience playing other musical instruments? Did you sing in groups as a child and teen every now and then even if you didn't intend to be a real singer? I think those two things are what i attribute to my own natural ability in pitch and rhythm when I started singing for real. Maybe you were brought up in a similar way

One thing to remember and that I have to remind myself a lot is that just because we are good at pitch naturally, that does not mean we can completely forget about it, we still have to keep improving at it to get to a professional level of consistency. And then with rhythm there's a lot to work on playing around with as you get more advanced, and for you right now, a bit of working on locking in with the beat more consistently could help, but that's just a minor thing.

But my main two suggestions on how to improve from here:
1. Experiment with your upper range and see how you are naturally inclined to approach it so you learn how you need to train to either add more range or make your existing range more usable. Flick on a recorder and try taking a simple arpeggio up as high as you can, modulating it up in half steps like any vocal exercise - don't think at all about how you will go higher just try it. Take the brain out of the equation and just see how your voice naturally responds to going for higher pitches and also pay attention to how it felt and listen back to the recording and see how it sounded. Take note of what your bad tendencies in the sound or feel that you think would need to be fixed with technique training. If you can send the file to a vocal coach for some initial critique, even better. This is your first step toward better technique- assessing what problems you have to begin with.

2. Start listening closely to really great singers, and pay attention to everything BUT the pitch. Usually people with naturally good pitch perception tend to have a naturally poor textural perception so it will be a weakness to work on hearing first before you can even add it into your voice.. Stuff like variations in breathiness, dynamics, adding a little vibrato, the way vowels are pronounced, etc. You can try some of these things and get a head start but if it doesn't feel easy don't bother because they should all be easy once your technique is in order which it probably isn't yet. If you try to force vocal style with poor technique it usually creates bad habits so be careful. But any textural techniques that come easy, start adding them into your singing sparingly and artistically, it will make you sound more interesting

June 16, 2015
6:29 am
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Drew Notmylastname
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Well, first off I'm 16. My vocal tone may be affected by having a pubescent (but deep; I can hit a low F without sounding too bad, and a low E will be possible with enough training) voice.
Another thing is that I haven't much experience with many instruments. I play a little keyboard and guitar, but it's mostly just innate ability, I guess.

As for self-assessment, I noticed that my voice sounded very, VERY muddy during that recording. I decided to sing louder than I usually do, and it worked wonders; I found that problem mostly solved. I also noticed a lack of resonance in my voice, but I decided to bandage that by intentionally using a breathy voice instead.
I felt my rhythm off by half-beats every once in a while, but I think that has to do with not having an accompanying voice for singing. I should improve on that as I get used to it.

Thanks for the advice, man.

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