Singing Lessons

[Strictlyinkblot]

Hi everyone, I know I haven't been around. Work has been crazy busy. I've got Christmas off and I'm going to see my sisters for a week beforehand and then a week with my parents.

 

I know this is a strange question but does anyone know of any good videos on youtube or other sites that I could use to learn to sing properly, I mean breathing techniques, exercises etc. I would love to be able to sing something like Ave Maria or O Ma Babbino Caro in a way that would not make people want to run away. Probably a little too ambitious but I'm willing to try.

 

 

[Catherine Therese]

I don't know of any links off-hand, but I received classical vocal training for many years… permit me to suggest an exercise to help you develop correct tonal placement? It is one that I found helpful when I was learning. It'll sound silly and I laughed when my singing teacher first suggested it, but it works so well!

1. Place a clothes peg (translation: 'clothes pin' if you're American, I think?) loosely between your lips. It should tilt slightly down towards the ground… if it's not tilting then you're possibly pressing your lips together too tightly.

2. On a single note in the top third of your vocal range, sing the vowel sounds "ay - ee - eye - oh - oo" try to pronounce the sounds as close as possible to how I have written them here to ensure minimal movement of the lips or mouth shape.

3. Repeat on a note a half-step lower and continue down the chromatic scale to somewhere in the bottom third of your range

This is a good warm-up; the aim of the exercise is to get the sound that you are producing resonating forward in your mouth, just behind the back of your teeth. I was taught that this is the correct placement.

Hope you find it as helpful as I did (and I hope that my instructions made sense!)

[CatherineM]

I took lessons for over a decade. I can't imagine doing it by YouTube. You could learn techniques, but an instructor can catch things you are doing wrong and correct them so you don't injure yourself.

[NotreDame]

I don't know of any links off-hand, but I received classical vocal training for many years… permit me to suggest an exercise to help you develop correct tonal placement? It is one that I found helpful when I was learning. It'll sound silly and I laughed when my singing teacher first suggested it, but it works so well!

1. Place a clothes peg (translation: 'clothes pin' if you're American, I think?) loosely between your lips. It should tilt slightly down towards the ground… if it's not tilting then you're possibly pressing your lips together too tightly.

 

Like this?

 

[ChristinaTherese]

I don't know of any links off-hand, but I received classical vocal training for many years… permit me to suggest an exercise to help you develop correct tonal placement? It is one that I found helpful when I was learning. It'll sound silly and I laughed when my singing teacher first suggested it, but it works so well!

1. Place a clothes peg (translation: 'clothes pin' if you're American, I think?) loosely between your lips. It should tilt slightly down towards the ground… if it's not tilting then you're possibly pressing your lips together too tightly.

2. On a single note in the top third of your vocal range, sing the vowel sounds "ay - ee - eye - oh - oo" try to pronounce the sounds as close as possible to how I have written them here to ensure minimal movement of the lips or mouth shape.

3. Repeat on a note a half-step lower and continue down the chromatic scale to somewhere in the bottom third of your range

This is a good warm-up; the aim of the exercise is to get the sound that you are producing resonating forward in your mouth, just behind the back of your teeth. I was taught that this is the correct placement.

Hope you find it as helpful as I did (and I hope that my instructions made sense!)

Be aware, however, that your lips are supposed to pucker on the "oh" and "oo" vowels. (IPA: /o/ and /u/)

[TheresaThoma]

Is there a local parish choir you could join? If you have a halfway decent voice many choir directors will be willing to let you join and work with you.

I have a limited singing background but I found having to sing in choir every week has really pushed me and I have noticed an improvement. Getting that high F (I'm an alto) at the end of Biebl's Ave Maria (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ty_6IRwsqU) is still a bit of a stretch but I'm getting there!