r/singing

My voice completely went out on me a couple times in the past month. I’m trying to recover it, and my voice coach has suggested (sort of insisted actually) that I stop clearing my throat completely - like never again, for the rest of my life. Is that actually realistic? Like… how do you train yourself to stop? What do you do instead?

British rock singers sound like they've got American accents. Meanwhile, country singers sound like they've got a mouth full of cornpone. What's going on here?

I figured out the last piece of the puzzle today right before my recital tomorrow. I am got my vibrato back in a different coordination than what my previous teacher taught. It's all with the diaphragm. You had to be able to get yawning right to access it. I don't sing flat and the notes sound really good even if I mess up. I can sing in my full tenor range. It's like you coordinate the diaphragm movement with singing. I didn't realize how big of a difference in sound it makes tell now. It's a night and day difference.

Tldr; I think I accidentally wrote an article for you guys 😂 This is to the singers who learn mainly by imitating other (usually famous/known) singers who are releasing music publicly. Especially relevant to singers who are self-taught and not learning with a vocal teacher/coach.

I personally fit that category to a T. I internalise vocal technique by observing and then emulating what other singers are doing. I'm at a level currently where I'm very happy with what I can do with my voice, and I'm not afraid to give good old imitation most of the credit for that 😂  

But there was something unhealthy I picked up along the way that I wish I'd understood / known more about sooner. I hope this post can help others here avoid the same pitfall.

My mistake (and a tangent on what "vocal processing" really is - all relevant)

I tried to imitate some singers' voices from their live vocals. I avoided imitating studio vocals (wisely) because I'd heard how processed studio music is, but live vocals, I trusted to be more ‘real’. I didn't expect to learn as I have in recent months just how processed live vocals actually are, even when the artist is on the 'minimalist' end of things.

This method of imitating live vocals went mostly well. I am glad in the end that I used this method. But in some cases, I was trying to master an effect rather than an actual vocal technique. Which led me to some poor technique 😂 That is a distinction I hope people will take away from this post.

What is processed or an 'effect' vs what is a real, attainable thing a human voice can do without any help from technology.

Vocal processing is any effect on the vocal that is not natural, usually added to the vocal as it passes through a DAW, like "Ableton" or "Logic Pro". After that, the sound passes through the speakers to the audience's ears. And that's putting it very very simply, there's a lot of technical skill that goes into it. This is the audio engineer's job at a live show.

Almost every live performing artist will have one of these. Audio engineers rarely get mentioned in Instagram posts or credits though. Some artists do mention them, but it's not common.

It may be like saying the obvious, but I think some of us need to hear it? The vast majority of artists use vocal processing, as a default - I say this because it wasn't something I intuitively knew while listening to my favourite singers and learning to sing. 

I had to learn firsthand a bit about music production and audio engineering to realise how 'fashioned' most music is today. In my case, I listen to music with pop and electro influences, which is on the more processed end, but I also find the same applies to folk and singer-songwriter-type artists. The latter are who I tend to imitate as a singer. What you hear on the track, or even a live vocal, is rarely what you hear dry in the studio room when there's nothing between your ear and the singer's voice.

I'm able to hear when someone is using autotune, delay or obvious effects like that. But it was reverb that tripped me up. It didn't occur to me that the resonance in some singers' voices, who I was listening to and imitating, was changed by the reverb they were using. I didn't realise that some type of resonance is not actually possible to create without reverb.

I knew reverb was being used, but I didn't realise the extent of its effect on those things, like tone and resonance.

I would try to emulate that ringing sound in my tone by increasing the resonance of my notes during practice. I got quite far with integrating this smoothly into my performances, but it always struck me (and others who listened to my recordings) as kind of 'piercing', no matter how smoothly I did it. Especially when editing after and adding any kind of reverb(!), it really stood out .. and not in a good way. I didn't know what I was doing wrong. 

The artist AURORA is a pretty excellent example of this use of reverb on live vocals - her voice is enhanced but still feels human. I went a long time imitating her resonance before realising that reverb was doing some of the heavy-lifting, especially in performances like this one!

Now I feel so silly for trying to emulate what is essentially an unnatural and humanly impossible sound! Even now I'm aware of it, I can't help it slipping into my vocal delivery sometimes, because it's so ingrained from years of practicing it.

Why I personally made this mistake

Most of my favourite singers (whose technique I like to imitate) have one similarity in their vocal processing when performing live: they add reverb. They also all go for a paradoxically natural sound, so the vocals feel both ethereal and distant, but human and close.

The reverb is added seamlessly, so it doesn’t sound like a voice with reverb added to it, but rather like a beautiful voice that happens to be reverberating. Does that make sense? I was tricked, at least.

Eivor - another great example. Everything is natural but the voice, yet it feels almost more human and 'real' with reverb than a dry vocal would. Her voice and range is insane, I can say that because I've heard it with less processing, but reverb is definitely present in most of her live performances.

After doing some self-learning on music production and engineering, I see that these artists (and their audio engineers) purposefully cloak artificialities in their sound (like reverb) to create an illusion of realness by making the effects seamless, which has the desired effect of making the audience feel both transported elsewhere, but also emotionally open and impacted. I have no qualm with this artistically; I think it's excellent and as an audience member, I love it.

But not understanding how it was being put into practice, as a singer learning from these singers, could have left me with a broken technique for many more years - if I hadn't learned more about music production as I did.

Areas I think other singers should be aware/careful of..

Compression. This one has likely impacted my own technique, but thankfully I tend to go for music that is minimally compressed. But a lot of famous singers use compression heavily. And many of those singers are likely admirable to beginner singers on here. 

If you don't know what compression is, it's another processing effect that can (like reverb) be used on most instruments, making quieter sounds louder and the louder sounds less loud. It sandwiches the overall volume of a track so the notes are more stable, less 'up and down', easier on the ears for listeners. It is very commonly used on most recorded vocals today.

I can see how singers imitating artists who use compression heavily might feel encouraged to sing louder in parts of their vocal register where it's not natural (or healthy) to. I can also see how they might be confused when their louder (belt) register isn't coming out softly enough or smoothly mixing with their lower/quieter notes enough.

Comparing their delivery to the sound of the artist's live vocals, they might feel discouraged or lose confidence, or (like I did) even push further and try to replicate the sound of the effect - not an actual healthy vocal technique - into their singing. (Maybe this is connected to the huge number of posts I see here of beginner singers trying to find their 'mixed' voice and being dissatisfied with it).

I don't want to sound like I'm fearmongering, I just find it very interesting and worth learning about - to understand how most music put out today is not 'natural', and how that might be affecting singers today. Especially us singers who imitate to learn.

We're not music producers or recording artists. Most of us love to sing dry, with just our voices and no interference. So we won't be so familiar with the 🔮 sorcery 🔮 that is music production and audial processing. It is all designed to go unnoticed and have the illusion of sounding natural anyway - which I think is even more reason to develop some awareness of it.

Vocal damage

I was lucky that this pitfall didn't cause much damage to my voice, but I see how it could have. I noticed experiencing more strain when doing this 'technique' and some throat tension. It could have been much worse if I was more regular with my practice (which I'm not 🤣). 

On a more serious note, it did knock my confidence during the years that I was doing it. 

I didn't like my tone and I didn't know why. It just felt off. I didn't realise I could easily get that sound on my vocals if I just recorded myself and added reverb to my vocals after. It's crazy how easy that is once you learn the basics 🤯 

Take this as a cautionary tale, I guess, to not take for granted what you hear from other artists on stage. Even offstage - whenever there's a microphone involved, seriously. And try not to emulate what you are hearing without thinking about what you're actually hearing first. Have critical thinking!

This video on YouTube is a good example of what I'm talking about - although the reverb is definitely more obvious. It's all made to 'feel' natural and about escaping the world of technology, but it's actually dependent on technology to sound the way it does. No shade to the artist, their performance is beautiful, it's just to give an example of what I'm talking about.

If you're interested, learn a bit about music production or audio engineering. Dabble in a DAW or watch videos on YouTube about it - there are plenty. It's essential to understanding how most live vocals sound today anyway. 

Thanks for reading my long post on this topic 🙏 I hope it helps other singers avoid this pitfall when imitating other singers 🎶 (Sorry if I chose the wrong flair! 'Conversation topic' felt too casual for this sort of length 🫠).

i always thought i had a decent voice as a kid but after puberty i feel like i took 100 steps backwards.

im a male tenor and my vocal inspirations are the weeknd/mj and i always see people covering their songs on social media and when I ask them how they do it some of them just say they dont do anything and they were born like it. like how on earth can they hit those notes and have a good mixed/head voice just from birth????

im really looking for singing tips and advice. recently i discovered my head/mixed voice, I dont even know which it is but looking for advice on how to improve. I cant really sing in my head/mixed that powerfully and it sounds really thick and Im really looking to wanna sing lighter and improve my range like the weeknd/mj

thanks alot!

https://reddit.com/link/1wzpwna/video/te09zgijtzth1/player

Hello everyone!

Whenever I record myself singing, I notice that my tone sounds noticeably heavy and thicker than I would like. I really want to train my voice to sound softer, lighter, and more calming/sweet.

What vocal exercises help reduce vocal weight and excess tension?

How can I balance my breath support and resonance (head voice/mix) so the tone sounds airy and gentle without straining?

For singers who naturally had a thicker tone, what habits helped you find a lighter, sweeter singing quality?

I would really appreciate any technique tips or warm-up routines!

I’ve used Guitar Center for vocal teachers, but it hasn’t always been the best. What is the best way to find teachers? Or is there a platform that is good to use for teachers?

Mezzo. This is about high mix belting mostly. Everyday I just feel sorry for myself and the time I’ve lost from not knowing what to practice or how to practice to actually make progress. I still cannot sing any of the challenging repertoire I’ve been working on for years.

I’ve been singing for many years and am self taught mostly by mimicking my favorite singers and seeing what feels good. I have tons of traditional and show choir and musical theater experience. Because of these prior commitments I’ve had a few lessons in the past but I cannot afford them on my own and I don’t know if I ever will be. Between rent and gas and barely making $14 after taxes I’m just burnt out trying to sort finances out.

But I don’t want to give up just because I can’t afford proper lessons. I just want to be able to sing my favorite songs by Ariana and Zara and Celine. I want to book lead roles. I know it requires time and practice, my issue is I just feel like I’m never practicing the right things and that is just so heartbreaking to me. It sucks feeling so lost all the time. I’m so committed to spending the rest of my life becoming the most skilled (healthiest) vocalist I can be and I don’t know how to fulfill that and I lose skill everyday I cry through it instead of practicing.

Im 16 years old and im currently a baritone I’ve been training my voice doing workouts and warmups for about a year now I was wondering if I might become a tenor in the future with more practice everything since my highest head voice note is a D5. Another thing I wanted to note is that my mixed voice is my biggest flaw out of my chest, mixed, and head voice is there any tips you have for that?

I used to have a stable singing voice but ever since I tried finding my vibrato my voice turned awfully shaky. I need help in reverting it back

Hi, I think I’ve posted here previously as soon as I took up the interest. It’s been a few weeks maybe. I’m not sure.

I meant to post this on Tuesday, but I could not because I had a family emergency so my family was in the ER with my father. We’ve been back and forth these last few days. It’s been hectic but he’s home now!! I really wanted to put this on Tuesday but I just- I had no choice.. and I won’t be able to post next Tuesday because I’ll be in surgery, myself 😭 I don’t think this is my month tbh.

I’m so sorry again in advance because I’m sure yall hate this!!! I would hate it too if I were a classically trained singer of x amount of years and this is what the sub was flooded with. But I’m a bit desperate.. and on a time crunch because I’m auditioning for something and the cutoff is soon and I’m still lost. I took a vocal lesson with the intent to do it weekly. He said that I have have potential to sing the kinds of songs I want to sing but I needed training and that my lack of training and confidence is setting me and my ability back.

If you could, would some of you guys be able to assist me with what I could align with so that I can pick the repertoire that is appropriate for my audition book? This time I’ve given more samples. I’d like to know my voice type to choose the proper rep.

(Also, I just became privy to how important warming up is.. it makes a HUGE difference.. omg)

My range is c4 to d6. These are notes I can repetitively hit. I am looking for musical theatre rep So, I’m not really sure I’ll ever actually use a d6 though. But nice to have I guess?

If I’m trying hard to do something I’m sure I can grasp for a b3.

My favorite note is d5. I feel like im riding on a could have soft wind. It feels good. If that makes sense.

My passaggio is a g5.

Now here’s a few caveats with these clips:
- I don’t live alone so finding time to practice on my own is tricky.. i hate singing low or feeling restricted. But I don’t wanna bother others. Someone in my house works from home. And sometimes my parents hateeeee the little lip trills hahaha my dad said I sound like a baby horse getting ready for a brawl 😭

So some of these clips are a bit..restricted. I might sound low or quiet. It’s also hard to sing quietly for me ..I think it makes me sound.. idk. Like a loud whisper??

Gimmie gimme (aka my villain origin story)
Jesus take the wheel

(Fooling around while doing the dishes)
don’t take this seriously

(Very first temp at singing this with music. I also don’t know the words I’m sorry guys)
first time. kinda nervous.

(First attempt at trying to do a belt. I was scared I’d sound like a bird shrieking so I tried to put some UMPH in it)
weak first belt

————-

California dreaming - tried something not theatrical
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2l6u49sk4ua8critusz81/Calidreamvsh.m4a?rlkey=yxfzavrlpcj5xrc6adqrq5r7f&st=14562w2d&dl=0

Rainbow High second attempt.. I tried Rachel’s version with the long “I’m there..” part and I tried to do her lower notes. But it felt heavy and I think I sound tired. I was also very out of breath when I got to Lauren Bacall. It is suppressed bc my mouth swallowed the mic I’m sorry.
I’mmmm theirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr(hurry up Rachel)rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrer (no slide) SAVIORRRRRR

Mr snow attempt 1 - first time singing this ever at all. Also I didn’t want to be ridiculously loud. My voice cracked coming down. So I tried again. I wasn’t satisfied maybe it’s not for me? https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ov5x0v13vzz2kzdgad9iq/Marysnw.m4a?rlkey=runrzz4ot9u2db3h6x64vc9li&st=sarm9hv2&dl=0

Again
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/9lhhteufcdbfc939s39a3/Mrsnowsamplevsh.m4a?rlkey=4apz4skjtqzmoyat08iisipgj&st=tm99ztwj&dl=0

Joy to the world snippet:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/eeg37ruqmtt08unwqcnn8/Joy2wr.m4a?rlkey=eewvvpdrtkmqhhvdoyp8bwawe&st=a46uji4a&dl=0

Loving you snippet: (i knew i only had one shot before my mom tells me to shutup so i risked it on the whistle - who’s was loud Omgg i had to compress)
loving you

Pure as the driven snow (I love Rachel! This clip is sung low because it was 11pm and for all the reasons listed above. I’m sorry. Also I didn’t say “no”. I said snow. But I used a compressor because the tv in the back!! It cuts my S 😭)
Pure as the driven snow

I just feel like with voice type.. there’s soooo many caveats.. I’m not sure what kind of rep to put in my audition book.. I don’t want to sing the wrong things.. I like singing contemporary songs honestly. I dont think the golden age selections suit me. I’m not sure how to navigate them or put my own personality into it.

Ive been told soprano. I’ve been told light lyric mezzo with a high extension. And it all just confuses me idk.

As for things non theatre related.. I love singing Sabrina carpenter songs but sometimes I feel like they’re too low. Like in nonsense. I feel low. My voice feels— dry. Then with please please please, I feel I have a lot of room to not sound so dry..

And then there’s Ariana and Cyndi lauper — I feel “in my element”. I can sing to their music without “too low or too high”

I’ve joined a choir for the first time in ages and we are doing some songs that have solo parts in it. We’d be able to audition for those spots. One of the songs we are doing is When You Believe from the Prince of Egypt. Should I try sing it like I would in a musical theatre role or should I try to keep the style of choir? Is there a difference?

I’d also love to tips for someone who’s just joined the group whose members have been there for a long time or just auditioning in general! :)

Hey all, I've been making pretty good gains on my singing overall which I'm happy with but right now my biggest hurdle is accuracy. I'm... guessing that's pretty much universal to every singer on the planet but while I have some exercises for that, was curious on this approach.

I also play trumpet and sax and it's very common to do long tone exercises, with or without a tuner present to match precise pitches and hold them for a whole note or whatever, work up/down chromatically etc. None of the exercises for accuracy I've encountered do that; not sure if it's because its so common sense it doesnt need a video to demonstrate, or just not considered worthwhile for singers.

Another random observation about my accuracy... it's weird but like if I really concentrate on getting a note right as opposed to playing on an actual rhythm, I can usually nail the note. It's when I have to sing on rhythm where I get sloppy... It's not exactly something that's 'strange' to me, like when a novice guitarist has to position their finger for a bit on the fretboard to get a perfect clean note. I suppose that's a start at least.

Hey guys! I’m making a Discord groupchat for singers,Musicians, songwriters, composers, and ppl who just like music, pls comment or dm me if interested!!