What to do if you suck at singing.
By Don • Feb 19th, 2006 • Category: Songwriting Advice, Songwriting Articles, Songwriting Tips
Over in the Harmony Central forums someone was complaining they suck at singing and it really bothered them because they really like singing.
I had a similar problem for awhile. I couldn’t sing some of the songs of my favorite artists because the vocals of the song were well out of my range. I just gave up the fact that I could be a decent singer and relegated myself to becoming a good guitar player.
Work To Your Strengths
The songwriting world is chock full of people who - quite frankly - can’t sing. But that hasn’t stopped them from becoming world-reknowned and influencing millions of lives. Dylan, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen - all legends - but not really the greatest in the vocal range department. None of them let that stop them. They had something to say. They said it in a unique manner.
Do you have something to say? How can it be unique?
One possiblity: If you are a songwriter, and not looking to perform live, then work with someone who CAN sing. This can often be a very successful joint venture.
If this is not an option, then you might just need to figure out what key you sound good in. This might suck because you can’t do certain songs by your favorite artists, but it might give you a unique voice. I think of people that sound a little unique, like Tom Waits. My wife thinks he is the worst singer ever - but look at his cult of fans - and the influence he has had on other musicians.
Or look at someone more accessible - like Jack Johnson. Most of his songs are either in E (or the related C#m) or A. Those are pretty much the only keys he sounds decent in because - let’s face it - he doesn’t have much range. But he has some catchy tunes - tunes he has written on his own terms.
So my suggestion would be to work to YOUR strengths. You can still write good songs. You can still sing them in a key that fits your range.
The best part? You’ll sound like YOU.
After that the sky is the limit.
Don is the founder, writer and editor of BloggingMuses.com
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Yeah, this didn’t help a lot. I’m driving myself crazy listening to these recordings of myself trying to sing. I’ve got a few songs I’m okay with, but they’re mostly slower and a great percentage of what I want to do is pretty upbeat and not-slow. And nobody I know’s interested in singing for me.
I could have all my songs in E, but I hate playing E. It’s the only key I have a full octave of voiceness in, I just hate playing it on the keyboard.
I’m pretty much out of ideas.
Not everyone can sing. From a mechanical point of view, sure, one can learn. Tone, modulation and the ability to keep time internally are generally something inherent and a natural ability with some people, not everyone has this. Nothing is as sad as someone who has been told by well intentioned people that they have this ability, when in reality they do not.
The harsh reality is that tone is usually the final determination. If the sound of the voice is not appealing, everything else is moot. There are many successful singers, who from a technical aspect are not great, but because they have the convincing tone and a great amount of the ability to convey this, are very convincing. One that immediately comes to mind is Joe Cocker. There are many examples of this throughout history of course.
Be honest with oneself above all else. If you didn’t dig the tone of your guitar you would change it. If you can do this and still be convincing, that is wonderful. If not, maybe singing is not your bag.
Moe “D” is pretty much dead wrong.
Technique can be learned and tone can be changed with proper technique.
Most people Google “how to sing” or “vocal technique” and after a few weeks of trying things give up, foolishly believing the nonsense that “some people just can’t sing”. If you really want to sing and don’t feel you sound very good, get a vocal teacher.
A good teacher will identify what about your technique is incorrect. Too nasal? You’re not lifting your soft pallet. Too “chesty”? You’re not placing the note properly. Thin, high sound? You’re not relaxing your throat, etc.
Moe is correct - if you don’t like the tone of your guitar, you change it. If you don’t like the tone of your voice, change it…
And certainly, don’t believe anyone who tells you that you cannot…
DN up there is exactly right. No one wanted to sing for my band, so I had to, which was a shame, cause I had the WORST voice. Pretty much ever. But after years of learning I can look back and see I was just doing everything technically wrong you can do vocally
And I don’t even sound like the same person that I sounded like a few years ago. Not that I’m amazing or something, but as DN said, you can get a voice teacher and work on these things! Good luck!
Good discussion. I was one of the people who was told, play the guitar, but whatever you do don’t get near the mike. About 5 years ago, I decided to learn how to sing. For one main reason, to get my songs heard!
I started in group classes where I could hide my voice in a crowd. The instructor, Julie Davis, started the class with “everyone can sing, no one is tone deaf. You just need to learn how.” After about a year, I started private lessons and am still continuing once a week.
What I found out on this journey, was that my melodies were limited because of the limited range of my voice. With more confidence, I can play my voice like my guitar. I also have confidence to sing in front of a crowd and my songs are getting heard.
Am I an excellent singer, no! But at least I don’t sound like fingernails on the blackboard.
under “work to your strengths” at the top, it said that petty and springsteen can’t sing. excuse me, but tom petty and bruce springsteen are both excellent vocalists. they have great range, fantastic style and very rich voices. who are you listning to?
Kyle,
Thanks for the comment.
Perhaps the paragraph could have been worded better, but in general I meant their voices are not what people typically refer to as great vocalists. I don’t mean they suck - not by any means. In fact, what I was trying to say is that even though they might not have the typical voices of contemporary artists, they are amazing singers and do what they do well.
-dm
I hate how my voice sounds, but by steadily working on my voice, I increased my range quite a bit, and even have been able to improve the sound somewhat. And a bad sound very often comes from flat singing and lack of support, which is definitively something you can improve upon.
So if you suck at singing… stop feeling sorry for yourself, take lessons from a pro, and keep practicing. It may take years, just like any other instrument. Even if you’ll never be a great lead singer, you’ll still be able to be a good backing vocalist (if you play in a band) and just have some more tools for writing your own songs.
I agree with most of the commenters above.
I actually have a very unique sounding voice - Friends agree I sing properly, giving support from my diaphram, etc. but they also agree it’s very unique, and often can’t give me advice on a direction except “just do your own thing, you have a lot of potential.”
However, I can’t seem to find my own “thing.” No matter what I do, whenever I project there’s too much bass in my voice. Imagine a guy with a deep voice who normally sings “figaro figaro” attempting a rock song! That’s how I feel.
I guess I need to find a vocal teacher pronto.