Is my singing still acceptable?

[BrandonBass]

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...4547E855C8349C

small clip of me sing...my bro says i suck

[Bard2dbone]

I won't say you suck. You're not lead-singer material yet, though.

The majority of people who think they are lead-singer ready are wrong. So you're in good company.

Your rhythm sense isn't bad and you're not often far off on pitch, so there IS hope. And your basic vocal tone is okay, which is good becasue that's the hardest part to change.

Practice. Consider lessons.

I ended up singing lead in my old band, not because I was somehow awesome, but because I couldn't find anyone good enough to do what I heard in my head when I wrote our songs. Years later, I discovered that the voice I was picturing was basically Paul Carrack. I got the pitch and phrasing right. I just didn't have the voice Paul has. I still don't. But then again, who does?

[James Hart]

Your voice has decent timbre... some lessons could open it up and make you more precise and confident with it.

... that's better than I could do.

[Pacman]

You can't sing if you don't completely know the melody. I hear this a lot in singers - but you have to nail all the notes in a melody, not just the 'big' ones. Practice, preferably with a piano.

[B-NoteCowboy]

Being tentative is a good way to be off pitch I've found, and flat more often than not.

I sing lead on about half of my band's songs, and it's just a matter of practicing at volume. One thing about your recording I couldn't tell for sure is if your pitch was a little off because you weren't singing at performance level. For me anyway, I am not skilled enough to have good vocal control except at or nearly at performance volume, and then it's fine.

[dls59]

And it's not just pitch, tone and dynamics that count, especially when singing with others -- it's good time, phrasing, etc. You can be in or out of the pocket when singing, just as you can when playing bass. Your voice is an instrument and part of an ensemble, just as any of the other instruments.

I hear more people who sing sharp than do flat, and I would say that it probably sounds worse (at least to me). It's easy to sharp when in the excitement of the moment, or when pushing too hard. The most important aspect of singing correctly is breath control, and that means correctly using the diaphram, supporting the voice. I would suggest that no matter the music you want to sing, lessons would be in order. They don't benefit just the operatic performers. I was a vocal major my first two years of college (before, as my dad said at the time, I got a REAL major ), and the private lessons i was forced to take helped me many years later, regardless of the style I was singing.

[Aaron Saunders]

Originally Posted by Pacman

You can't sing if you don't completely know the melody. I hear this a lot in singers - but you have to nail all the notes in a melody, not just the 'big' ones. Practice, preferably with a piano.

+1 -- especially on the piano thing.

I hear more people who sing sharp than do flat, and I would say that it probably sounds worse (at least to me).

This may be a personal preference thing, but IMO, out of tune is out of tune. I don't care if it's flat or sharp, it just feels unpleasant.

[Bard2dbone]

Originally Posted by Aaron Saunders

This may be a personal preference thing, but IMO, out of tune is out of tune. I don't care if it's flat or sharp, it just feels unpleasant.

I'm with dls59 on this one. Most times that I notice, people with a weak pitch sense go sharper if they are pushing harder, and flat if they are laying back. Out of tune is out of tune...but loud powerful out of tune is more offensive than soft mellow out of tune.

It's the difference between tasting something unpleasant, and being forcefed that something.

When you try to increase your range, and you will, don't strain. I've seen a lot of people totally thrash their cords trying to go against biology. Small change is totally do-able. Large change is much less so.

[BrandonBass]

I dont think i can afford lessons cos the nearest place to learn is pretty far and id rather spend the money on better gear loL

but I would practise though. I know its hard to explain stuff thru the net, but mind trying?

I used to be in the choir years ago, when i was a damn kid. but i forgot all the techs they taught me

[BassGod]

Bassist's Guide to Singing

This is probably the most helpful thing you'll ever read, singing-wise. If nothing else, it certainly helped me to gain more confidence behind a microphone, which is after all, half the battle.

Graeme