Are you a good singer?

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Are you embarrassed to sing or do you leap at the chance?

If you are good, Do you show off all the time, i.e. singing VERY LOUD and ALONE with VIBRATO over the words to the songs they play in the car?

But this drives me nuts more:

Friend: I really love "[so and so song by -----]."
me: I haven't heard it. How does it go?
Friend: Oh, uh... [looks away]i'm not going to sing it..,
Me: please? just a hum?
Friend: [laughs nervously] no.

― rebecca s (rebecca S), Saturday, 18 September 2004 01:41 (twenty-one years ago)

i am a bad singer, unless i'm singing very very quitely and so can omit the notes out of my range without noticing a break. But if you ask me to sing the hook, i'll sing it.
even if it's going to make you laugh or recoil.

― rebecca s (rebecca S), Saturday, 18 September 2004 01:42 (twenty-one years ago)

My wife cracked up earlier today when she caught me singing.

― peepee (peepee), Saturday, 18 September 2004 01:53 (twenty-one years ago)

I sing pretty good. I got to the karaoke finals at my local.

I also drunk pretty good right now. I should be in bed pretty good.

― Wooden (Wooden), Saturday, 18 September 2004 02:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Well, I've posted some nasty things here about Michael McDonald, Bob Geldof, Roger Waters - three singers I dislike intensely - and probably some others, including that Counting Crows guy. But I guess they're all better than me, so touche.

(Actually, I suppose Michael M. IS a pretty good vocalist - just can't stand him m'self.)

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Saturday, 18 September 2004 02:49 (twenty-one years ago)

I am a very bad singer. I was asked to lip-synch my lines singing IN THE CHORUS for "The Music Man" in h.s. There were like 20 other people singing and they caught me as the one who was off. I can, however, peel off a good Elvis Costello early days nasal vitriolic whine when I'm asked to do so for charity functions, and to win bar bets. But that's not "good singing."

― Begs2Differ (Begs2Differ), Saturday, 18 September 2004 02:55 (twenty-one years ago)

my mom thinks so

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Saturday, 18 September 2004 03:02 (twenty-one years ago)

i am a better singer than my girlfriend and i look a great deal like meistersinger rené pape. and yet: no.

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Saturday, 18 September 2004 03:26 (twenty-one years ago)

i can be an excellent singer when properly warmed up and not smoke-affected. most of the time i'm just ok..

― the surface noise (slight return) (electricsound), Saturday, 18 September 2004 03:34 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm fairly terrible I think, especially for someone who basically does music full-time. It's got slightly better since doing some theory courses. I really need to work on it but it seems kind of hopeless sometimes. This doesn't stop me from wanting to sing a lot of the time. Especially if it's around people I'm not totally comfortable with, that usually results in me making an arse of myself.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Saturday, 18 September 2004 03:38 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm an awful singer in terms of range, control etc., but I sing in a low baritone, which, for some reason, not many people do these days. So I get by on the novelty of singing most songs an octave below the original.

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Saturday, 18 September 2004 04:00 (twenty-one years ago)

If you are good, Do you show off all the time, i.e. singing VERY LOUD and ALONE with VIBRATO over the words to the songs they play in the car?

its not actually about showing off, its something i just HAVE to do, whether people are around or not. i know its annoying, but its like being annoyed at someone for farting.

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Saturday, 18 September 2004 04:10 (twenty-one years ago)

why?

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Saturday, 18 September 2004 04:22 (twenty-one years ago)

i used to be great. i'm out of practice though.

― A. Atom Gorgon (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 18 September 2004 04:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I have a terribly unmusical voice and no control over it. I'm seriously considering seeking out professional voice lessons just so that I can work up the confidence to do vocals on the music I've been recording without sounding completely horrible and awkward. I don't really know how to find someone who can teach me what I need to learn, though.

― Al (sitcom), Saturday, 18 September 2004 04:46 (twenty-one years ago)

I think I'm fairly good. I was in choir for several years (h.s. and college), which undoubtedly helped. But after being out of practice with singing on that formal level, my breath control is not up to snuff. And if I feel at all self-conscious -- even just in band practice -- my pitch wavers. (Singing back-up vocals in the band has very much made me appreciate our lead singer.)

― jaymc (jaymc), Saturday, 18 September 2004 04:49 (twenty-one years ago)

(One of the first signs, however, that I have TURNED INTO MY DAD is that I've begun to randomly sing IN PUBLIC.)

― jaymc (jaymc), Saturday, 18 September 2004 04:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I've got a surprisingly decent falsetto. My karaoke versions of "I Wanna Sex You Up," "Like A Virgin," and "Frontin'" have gotten enthusiastic responses.

― manthony m1cc1o (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 18 September 2004 05:14 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm a horrible singer. I was once in a choir when I was a kid and got picked out to be in a Christmas commercial for a local department store with a few other kids. When it came time to do the commercial, they told me just to lipsync and let the rest sing.

Which means of course they must've picked me for my stunning good looks ;).

I sing to myself sometimes in the car, but my range sits near the bottom of the register, so sometimes I even horrify myself. Anything more than dramatic talking really, and I'm screwed.

― Mike Salmo (salmo), Saturday, 18 September 2004 06:14 (twenty-one years ago)

I think I'm pretty good for someone with no training, but I have a real lack of control in the upper register.

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Saturday, 18 September 2004 06:23 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm also ok, i get compliments doing karaoke for what that's worth but I have no technique. my voice is naturally low but I have a good falsetto, shame I can't get too much power or volume with it(is that the definition of falsetto? i don't know anything about voice. is falsetto bad for you?). with my real voice I can imitate rufus wainwright early in the morning before my voice warms up, except for the breath control and can do a spot-on tom waits for about a half hour some nights(an expressive, emotion-laden growl is no mean feat, he should get more credit) but stevie wonder gives me fits as he always skirts the line between my natural voice and the point where my voice cracks all to hell. The easiest for me is the old style rhythm and blues voice(Jackie Wilson, Bill Turner) but that takes stamina

― tremendoid, Saturday, 18 September 2004 06:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm okay. Years of church choir, school chorus, garage bands at the very least taught me HOW to sing. Lost a little top-end in recent years.

― briania (briania), Saturday, 18 September 2004 10:23 (twenty-one years ago)

No. According to my 'friend' Tom (who has a lovely singing voice) I make "everything sound like Morrissey, if he were female and not that good." Now whenever I sing he does a little Morrissey warble ('oh huh ohhhh') and I get too embarrassed to continue.

― Anna (Anna), Saturday, 18 September 2004 11:27 (twenty-one years ago)

I've done some session work and can pull off a decent range of styles and voices. I also sang some pop-dance songs for a tiny label in the late 90s, and have done backup vocals for pretty much every band I've ever been in. I'm still not crazy about my voice because I don't think I have an instantly recognizable sound, but I generally get a favourable reaction when I sing.

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), Saturday, 18 September 2004 13:14 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm decent enough to get paid for singing in a church choir and an opera chorus. I don't consider myself a strong soloist, though. I think too much when I sing.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Saturday, 18 September 2004 14:10 (twenty-one years ago)

X-post
Anna, if I were a label I would sign you right now on that description alone.

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Saturday, 18 September 2004 14:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Fuck, I don't even remember coming home last night, let alone writing crap on the internet. I wonder if I wrote on any other threads?

My drunken self is right, by the way. I do sing pretty good.

― Wooden (Wooden), Saturday, 18 September 2004 14:32 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, I can sing all right. I mean I know when I'm not hitting the note, and I understand phrasing. I can do a really good soul falsetto a lá Ted Taylor or someone like that.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Saturday, 18 September 2004 16:27 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm ok, i can carry a knotty tune really well, but i don't have a big range at all, esp. since i started smoking

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Saturday, 18 September 2004 16:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Anna surprises me: I don't think I've heard her sing, but she is so good at doing all kinds of voices when talking that I would have imagined she could sing, if only imitating others.

I'm terrible: closest thing to a compliment I've ever received was one dear friend comparing me to another (that other being a sometime ILXer). He said to me "At least when you sing it sounds as if you're aware that there ARE other notes."

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 19 September 2004 13:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Hated the sound of my voice for years but I've always sung along to everything and I've been told by a few people I have perfect pitch. Recently I tried singing on one of my own songs and as a result of hearing it so much I'm getting more used to the sound. I remind myself that I learned to like Bjork's voice in a similar way.

― Vinnie (vprabhu), Sunday, 19 September 2004 14:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Sometime in the early 80’s, I was listening to The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” on a pair of headphones and was singing along at the same time, and not realising that just because I couldn’t hear myself sing that others couldn’t. When the song finished I heard some strange sound outside my bedroom door. When I opened it, my older sister was doubled-up with laughter because of my terrible singing. Since then, I have never, ever sang in front of anyone again.

― Neil FC (Neil FC), Sunday, 19 September 2004 15:37 (twenty-one years ago)

That's such a sad story, Neil. Your voice can't be much worse than Phil Oakey's, surely?

― Wooden (Wooden), Sunday, 19 September 2004 15:40 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm fine.

My music teacher said I have a nice voice. He was telling us if we were Saprono, Tennor, or Barotone. He came to me and said, "You have a really nice voice. It sounds really good."

I never got to know if I was a Barotone or a Tennor. There is no way I'm a Saprono.

― Aja (aja), Sunday, 19 September 2004 15:50 (twenty-one years ago)

You might be a Sapporo.

― Gaunt (joseph cotten), Sunday, 19 September 2004 15:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Aja, girls generally aren't baritones or tenors. You might be an alto.

is falsetto bad for you?.

I've been told that singing in falsetto is good for yr voice; it gives you more control and strength in your "normal" range.

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Sunday, 19 September 2004 16:00 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm sure falsetto would give me more range, but I can't do it in pitch yet. I was better than my friend who sang in chior though.

― Aja (aja), Sunday, 19 September 2004 16:02 (twenty-one years ago)

I kinda like Phil Oakey's voice. At least he doesn't sound like a cat in distress.

― Neil FC (Neil FC), Sunday, 19 September 2004 16:53 (twenty-one years ago)

That's such a sad story, Neil. Your voice can't be much worse than Phil Oakey's, surely?
-- Wooden (josephgoode...), September 19th, 2004.

I kinda like Phil Oakey's voice. At least he doesn't sound like a cat in distress.

― Neil FC (Neil FC), Sunday, 19 September 2004 16:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I thought only men can sing in falsetto? Why is this true, physiologically speaking? Dan Perry, return to thread plz.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Sunday, 19 September 2004 17:30 (twenty-one years ago)

no. You would have to hear my principal sing to understand.

― Aja (aja), Sunday, 19 September 2004 17:32 (twenty-one years ago)

I thought only men can sing in falsetto?

False. Those ridiculously silly high notes Mariah Carey hits? Those are female falsetto. (Not all women can get into their falsetto, or if they doo it's completely mixed in with their head voice so there eisn't as much of a break as there is for men, largely because the average woman's vocal chords are thinner than the average man's.)

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Sunday, 19 September 2004 22:47 (twenty-one years ago)

maybe aja's a mezzo soprano?

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Sunday, 19 September 2004 23:08 (twenty-one years ago)

why?

cos i just get caught up in the music, its probably a bad habit, like biting my nails. but if it pissed my friends off, they'd tell me to shut up.

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Sunday, 19 September 2004 23:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I've got (or used to have) a pretty good voice but I've damaged it so badly that it no longer breaks where I expect it to and I have a much smaller range than I used to have and just can't hit those high notes any more. It was almost like having my voice break all over again around the age of 30.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Monday, 20 September 2004 08:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Is that damage or aging? Everyone's voice goes through a change around puberty and then another one around 30-35.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 20 September 2004 11:16 (twenty-one years ago)

I've never heard that before.... still definitely damage to at least some extent 'though - kept straining for notes that were really too high for me, leaving gigs hoarse and having a sore throat for days after etc.

On the plus side, I can put a lot more gravel in the bottom end of my range now; but if I wanted to start singing in a band or anything again I'd have to completely re-learn where to pitch myself so that I lose the tenmdency that I now have to start too high and end up running out of notes I can reach!

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Monday, 20 September 2004 11:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, I'm happy to have some bottom end in my range, and I really don't miss the high notes that much. It means I get to sing the bottom harmony rather than the top, which I prefer anyway.

I can't sing to save my life, but I can do good harmonies.

― The 120 Days Of Streatham (kate), Monday, 20 September 2004 11:28 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm not sure which bothers me more, shitty singers who are really confident in their singing ability, or amazing singers who have no self-confidence. Either way though, I think confidence has a LOT to do with it.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 20 September 2004 11:53 (twenty-one years ago)

By the way, I'm a fucking MONSTROUS AWESOME BADASSTACULAR SINGING MACHINE. My voice is like the CLARION CALL UNTO THE HEAVENS.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 20 September 2004 11:54 (twenty-one years ago)

(Actually, my singing voice is just about identical to finally-singing-in-key era David Byrne.)

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 20 September 2004 11:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Cute cute!

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 20 September 2004 12:35 (twenty-one years ago)

I am a terrible, terrible singer. I have no control and can't sing at all in tune, but I at least can hear when I'm out of tune. Actually, my pitch is pretty decent in falsetto and in my very low range, but those aren't very useful in actual musical situations. I'm pretty much at peace with the fact that my natural singing voice is useless, but I'd love to be a good singer.

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 20 September 2004 14:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Actually, my pitch is pretty decent in falsetto and in my very low range, but those aren't very useful in actual musical situations.

JOIN A CHOIR

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Monday, 20 September 2004 15:42 (twenty-one years ago)

My biggest problem is really low stuff, even with the notes down there I can sing, the tone of my voice is so reedy, it just sounds like a wet fart.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 20 September 2004 15:46 (twenty-one years ago)

used to be horrible, getting better i suppose. esp. if i bury my voice under 4 guitars

― kephm, Monday, 20 September 2004 15:47 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm a pretty bad singer, which doesn't stop me from being in a band. I can do ok if I'm within a certain small range, and I make for some of what I lack in technical skill in spirit and verve. I tend to get a little better if I'm singing somewhat regularly (ie, having band practice and playing shows on a regular basis), and if I'm not in a band for a while, I lose a lot of range and volume from lack of practice.

― n/a (Nick A.), Monday, 20 September 2004 15:50 (twenty-one years ago)

This is a lovely thread.

I'll never forget my mother singing "Boris the Spider" to one of her friends.

― Thea (Thea), Monday, 20 September 2004 21:35 (twenty-one years ago)

six years pass...

I asked this on another thread but this thread has better detail. A chorus or choir is a great idea if you want to improve your voice, any insecurities you have can be made up for by your choirmates. It has psychological benefits. Sometimes the material is a bit conservative, find one with a broader repertoire than traditional choral music.

― Deremiah Was a Bullfrog (u s steel), Tuesday, 31 May 2011 14:39 (fourteen years ago)

I'd love to join a choir/quartet...

― broodje kroket (dog latin), Thursday, 2 June 2011 10:12 (fourteen years ago)

People in this thread are really humble!

I'm also not that great, though my range got better after I started singing songs with more range (cause otherwise you'll just change the key the song is in to be in your comfort zone, right?). I used to think I had a good jazz voice but I discovered recently that all bi women (okay: a lot of bi women who are into music) have that voice so it's nothing special really. I like to hide my weaknesses by singing the harmony part.

Sing all the time, including on the street, especially because I don't have a portable music player, so I have to carry the music around with me.

― forapper, Thursday, 2 June 2011 15:02 (fourteen years ago)

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