Singing! Help! Please!

[pjdave1]

Ok, I am already afraid of the "get voice lessons" response, but here is the deal. I am a very capable guitar player, and have no trouble playing any Dave song, and can "vocalize" the words/lyrics to any of his songs while playing, but no matter how hard I try, I end up off of pitch. I have been working at it recently, and have only been trying to sing for about a month, but hearing the notes so far off pitch when i record myself sucks and I'm gettin' pretty frustrated. I recently have been able to sort of almost sing on pitch to grey street, but everything else sucks. Anybody have any advice? I know it's a really broad question, but any help is appreciated!
Thanks

P.S.- I visit this board regularly, although this is my first post, you guys have a great, very helpful community here!

[dmfollower]

I am totally with you man. I thought that i could sing good enough to not ruin the song. I've had people tell me that my voice was fine but then i started recording myself and my voice is sooo off key. I was hopping it was my shitty-ass mic and the audacity program(not very spendy...okay its free!) Its been about 4-5 months since i've tried recording myself...it's just too bad

So, no help here man but i know what you mean.

[DustyDave]

Hey pjdave , voice trouble are a pain , need a little more info on where it goes wrong though , is it when you do voice changes ? Like when you go up in pitch , or is it just when you're singing normally you go off ?

PS Welcome to the boards

[Trippin Hillbilly]

if you've only been singing for a month and you're getting frustrated then you're in for some rough times...
your voice is just like any other instrument, it needs time and practice.
remember how bad you sucked after playing guitar for a month?
same applies.

anyway my suggestion is to record and listen to yourself as often as possible....
you could try stay away from dmb tunes for a while, then when you're more comfortable with your voice, try some of dave's stuff.
Dave's voice is unique so dont try sound like him.
Try some of jack johnson's stuff, his vocals are easy..

[DustyDave]

Good advice there Miguel , and congrats on the 1000th post , welcome to authority

[DJR]

if you've only been singing for a month and you're getting frustrated then you're in for some rough times...
your voice is just like any other instrument, it needs time and practice.
remember how bad you sucked after playing guitar for a month?
same applies.

anyway my suggestion is to record and listen to yourself as often as possible....
you could try stay away from dmb tunes for a while, then when you're more comfortable with your voice, try some of dave's stuff.
Dave's voice is unique so dont try sound like him.
Try some of jack johnson's stuff, his vocals are easy..

that makes a lot of sense, and i'm the kinda the same as the first guy, cept my problem is range - do you feel the same way about that, practice practice practice? its usually stuff like the beginning of two step and that kinda stuff i have trouble with, not too high, but high enough

[DustyDave]

DJR07 , bending or stretching your voice too a high level also takes practice yes , it can take a while to reach those notes , it also depends on how deep and dark your voice is naturally , practice as often as you can , record yourself all the time you sing like Miguel mentioned above , its the only way to notice your own errors , by recording and listen to where the errors show up

[DJR]

DJR07 , bending or stretching your voice too a high level also takes practice yes , it can take a while to reach those notes , it also depends on how deep and dark your voice is naturally , practice as often as you can , record yourself all the time you sing like Miguel mentioned above , its the only way to notice your own errors , by recording and listen to where the errors show up

thanks bro - good advice

[DustyDave]

Just keep on the practice as often as possible and you'll start noticing the difference faster than you think , but it does take practice

[pjdave1]

Well, i can match pitch if a play or hear one note and take the time to match it....but let's say that I start playing a tune and when the vocals come in I start singing and it is hit or miss as to wether or not i will even start off on pitch...once i find the pitch i am ok unless there is a big jump or some tricky stuff....i am just getting really frustrated (i am a music major and it has been a while since i was new at anything to do with music)
Thanks again, any help appreciated, no matter how small
P.S.- i can sing some really easy stuff on pitch, like pearl jam's "elderly woman behind the conuter in a small town", it's mostly tricky dave stuff that gets me

[DustyDave]

Like Miguel stated , try something else besides Dave songs , if i remember correctly , Dave is a tenor or alto naturally , most guys are baratones , which put your highest note in a D ( above middle C ) Dave's average note is G ( above middle C ) thats quite a few steps difference

[Steve-O]

[quote="pjdave1"]Ok, I am already afraid of the "get voice lessons" response, but here is the deal. I am a very capable guitar player, and have no trouble playing any Dave song, and can "vocalize" the words/lyrics to any of his songs while playing, but no matter how hard I try, I end up off of pitch. quote]


This describes me perfectly. Its pretty frustrating to be able to "vocalize" the words/lyrics to The Stone, Warehouse, Tripping Billies while playing, but not be able to sing well.

[Buck23]

as far as range goes, (and there are people better than me who can help you with this) it helps if you're breathing correctly/projecting your voice "from the gut". your range can also improve as you sing more, kind of like stretching a muscle to make it more flexible - no real quick fix, you just gotta do it