How Singing Everyday For 3 Years Transformed My Voice
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
- My 3 year singing transformation in voice memos. it's been a long time coming and I've definitely improved but still a long way to go. I'm excited to keep going and thanks for watching!
Also! Check out my other channel where I talk about languages and language learning: / @jo.zapinski - Hudba
Love to see this level of dedication in musicians and the improvement is awesome to see
Hey man, just watched the whole video so I'm gonna leave a bit of a longer comment, hope that's ok.
1. Thank you for sharing this, it will definitely encourage more people to put in the work. Practicing every day for 3 years is praise-worthy, however, vocal cords are muscles as well so they need time to rest. Doing anything too long, especially when you don't know a lot about technique will always leave you sore.
2. Breathing is about 80% of great singing. Every singing teacher I ever had told me so and I've come to realize that as well in my own case, and in my students cases. Been teaching singing professionally for 6 years and I've been singing for about 23 years. I have a Master's degree in classical singing, and my students without exception (so far), always won first prizes in federal, international, and world singing competitions, so I believe I know a thing or two.
3. That being said, I feel most songs you showed us in this video are more storytelling songs than singing songs, which can make it a bit harder to learn pitches. That's why students usually start with simple classic songs with easy but memorable melodies.
I would encourage you to practice holding notes more, or even holding just one note and playing around with the vocal position (making the sound wider by jawning, going more nasal, doing squeaky sounds, and so on). The reason for this is to understand that even when you're singing the right note, it can still sound bad if it's not rounded up properly, or focused more (especially for high notes). It helps to think in terms of brightness and darkness, higher notes are brighter and lighter, while deeper notes are darker, wider, and heavier. That's why you'll rarely hear singers singing runs in very deep registers because it's just not as agile as higher lighter notes.
4. Practic your ear. You said you don't have to learn the difference between a major third and a minor third, but you actually need to be able to hear the difference before being able to sing the difference, or you'll always be a bit off. You don't have to be a half-tone off for it to sound bad, it's enough to be a quarter-tone off and it will sound a bit unpleasant.
5. Breathy singing can be dangerous. It dries up the vocal cords and they're left grinding one another. It also takes way more energy for your vocal cords to work when they are dry, that's why people push more air to get the same effect as when they are well-rested, but they end up doing more damage. No amount of water can help then. You better rest, and try again later or in a few days. Also, breathy singing can often be a sign that you're not using your breath support well because the air is ''leaking'' when you're singing instead of transforming into tone. Sometimes breathy singing can be used as a stylistic choice, especially in pop songs, but when you are still learning, it's better to try to avoid hearing air coming out when you're singing. There are quite a few exercises that can help with this and breathing exercises will help a lot too.
6. It might be wise to practice singing without playing your instrument. It's like a whole different thing having to think about 2 things at the same time. Singing is already complex enough at the beginning, playing an instrument can make it harder. But, it's ok to find good karaoke songs, and instrumentals to sing over, and if the song is not in the right key, there are a lot of good mobile apps that can transpose an audio file in seconds. A general rule of thumb is that if you wanna sing a female song, you should lower the key of the song by -6...-8 semitones. But really, fool around, you'll find a key that works for you.
7. Practice smarter, not harder :) Doing the same things over and over and not seeing enough improvement is a good sign you need to shake things up. Singing is often a trial-and-error process, especially if you're learning everything on your own. Getting a teacher can help because sometimes we tend to think we sound better than we really do, and someone listening from a side, completely unbiased can be our best friend. But it's a great thing you record yourself. You can learn a lot by analyzing and trying to do things differently little by little. It would help to invest in a properly recorded, like a Zoom H4N Pro because you'll be able to hear details in your voice that smartphones just won't pick up easily.
All in all, this was all meant as a constructive critique, keep practicing and you'll get there one day! I'm willing to jump on a Zoom call with you and give you a free lesson if you want because I applaud you for sharing 3 years of recording with the world. If you're interested, send me a DM on IG - hofthestage
Cheers!
That was extremely nice advice. You sound very knowledgeable, I wish I could find a teacher like you when I was in my 20's lol
That's all great advice. Thank you very much!
I've come to public singing late in life, and somewhat accidentally, in dementia care scenarios. My method is definitely "trial and (lots of) error". I think one of the best bits of guitar playing advice I ever saw in a video was along the lines of "if you want to play something, but can't, go play something else!" The same with my limited singing... better to be practicing something simple and effortlessly well known, where my breathing and control is improving, than stretching to something I'd love to be able to sing. Eventually the benefits come and the targets get closer... well, in the afternoon. Let's not talk about trying to sing in the morning, unless it's in the shower. :-) Thanks again for the tips.
On guitar tabs I meant, I am pleased with this version, but maybe you can find a better one elsewhere
Great critique
Thank you for taking the time and energy to write out and share this comment.
So many of us just want to sound good enough to sing with the guitar. And the average person around a campfire has no idea how much we struggled just to get where we're at. Good for you and thanks for sharing
Man that's an awesome progression, and so much respect for sharing it so clearly! You're an inspiration!
I've been playing guitar and singing for 8-1/2 years now. I started when I was 51. If there's one thing besides focused daily practice and performing in front of live audiences that's improved my playing and confidence it's this:
Recording my practice sessions (and gigs), reviewing them with a critical ear, and making adjustments along the way. It's absolutely essential if you want to improve. So is gigging / playing out as much as possible. Record yourself in any case, and you'll see and hear yourself as others do - not as you do in your head. When I gig, I almost always feel like I played terrible. All I hear are my mistakes.
Then, I go back and listen and watch my performances, and they are never as bad as I thought they were while playing. The inverse tends to happen when no one's watching. I'll think I killed it, then I'll listen and watch and realize, "nope - still room for improvement"
Well done - keep it up!
Good for you! Great progress and thanks for sharing.
Extremely inspiring! Thank you very much for doing this video!
Thanks for sharing ... i feel encouraged
It's cool to hear how you improved through your journey!
I've been playing guitar and singing for quite a while, but I was always pushing out the higher notes, and recognize your feeling of going hoarse after too much singing or exercise. I just started singing lessons two weeks ago, so I hope to improve!
Hell yeah best of luck! If there's any advice I can give about starting with a new coach, make sure they listen to your needs and goals and tailor the training yo your voice. I had a couple teachers who put me on a pre-made curriculum not geared towards my voice and skill level. It was a waste of money.
Great video. Awesome to see the progress and give us all hope
I'm impressed with the progress! Also, singing while playing guitar is its own unique challenge by itself. I have been singing for years, but playing guitar with it (which is a lot newer for me) is very challenging.
you have a great voice it shows even in the beginning where maybe hitting the notes was harder, very encouraging stuff for my own journey so thank you!
Thank you for sharing with us ❤
Thank you for putting this together. Encouraging, interesting. And will take on board the info about breathing exercises.
Loving your Camino de Santiago poster. I hope it has inspired you in your camino through your voice. Good job mate
hey man, i’ve been singing for two years completely self taught, and i loved seeing your progress. What was even more commendable was that you didn’t give up and i respect that
Yeah, I quit about a little over a decade ago, huge regret, but now after learning from that regret, gonna work hard and smart as heck. I love seeing people transform from the level where I am now, into darn good singers. One day I wont be a dying cat and I'll be a roaring lion lol
@@danius4043why did you quit?
@@IAmKentori Mostly because of work and not understanding it takes time and work. The usual suspects for someone that age. Secondary just shyness and self doubt. Afraid of others. And eventually other things came in to replace music altogether. Looking back, it made me miserable really. Jaded even as I had become seething with no outlet.
Now it's impossible for me to quit. Just hope my teeth hold on while I get everything sorted that end. But if not, there's always scales and such while I get new front teeth lol
This might just be the video that gets me to start singing. Thank you, I love it
Just logged in to say you inspired me so much. Ive been practicing a few weeks now and can already see some progress.
Thanks for making this video!!!
Hey! This video was super reassuring and inspiring. I want to sing better but am struggling but this gives me hope. ❤
Thanks for sharing your journey and being honest about the beginning of the journey. Many of those progress videos start at a point where they are already very good and create a false image of how you should sound when you just start out
Big kudos to you for sharing your journey, being open and honest enough to show your real progress and also...your facial expressions at listening to yourself are sometimes hilarious but endearing. Good for you in sticking with your practice and your dedication to improving!
Great job man, I like listening to my old recordings to see my progress too
Nice video man. Kudos on the progress and sharing some tips that you've picked up. Keep rocking.
Appreciate your vulnerability! Good stuff
Sick dude, you give a really realistic account of how much progress you can expect. You CAN make progress but a lot of YT videos give a very false impression of what you should expect. Honestly, singing seems to me a lot like any other instrument, the average person needs to practice for around 2 years to put any sort of floor in from there it's a long climb of focused practice. Think about 10 years on your intrument to be in a place where people will actually be impressed cause the world is flooded with people who have been doing it for 10+ years and the average person's expectations of how good an 'average' person should be is so incredibly high.You got to be in it to enjoy the journey, there are no shortcuts and this fantastic video proves that! Well done by the way, your voice in the performance definitely was enjoyable and felt solid.
Nice work, dude. It's pretty neat to see your progress while I'm trying to train myself.
Thanks for sharing your progress. I am working on finding my own voice for the songs I'm writing. It's also worth noting the challenge of singing and playing an instrument while singing. Two hands working in time making music, hitting the right notes, staying in time while focusing on singing is very challenging.
Loved the video, also I was thinking of how I sing to nico play’s songs and then you ended up singing la ciruela! Loved how you sang it, it was very unique!
Such a great song! And thank you!
Sounds good man! Great video, keep it up!
Nice work brother. I'm on the same journey. Doing my best to improve vocals. I really appreciate you being vulnerable enough to share your progress. So many people won't put their self out there like this.
I went through a similar transformation. It's crazy when you look back at where you started, how much your voice chances, and you start to sing properly. Excellent work mate, keep it up!
Your journey is inspirational, for real. I myself am in the early stages, I feel like I don't know what I'm doing but every day some little thing clicks. Maybe someday I'll be good enough.
Mad props for singing in Spanish too.
well done! Consistency wins. keep goin!!!! 💪🗣🎙🎤✌🏼
Brave video. Thanks for sharing part of your journey.
I like that fact that you understand that its a journey. Self-aware that you have curtain things you need work on. You have the correct mindset in developing the talent. Much respect in showing your development. I cant sing myself very well myself but studied sound engineering, so I've seen some singers that need work but have the ego and wrong mindset to improve. Keep up the good work.
The concept of not knowing enough to know how little you really know about something is called the dunning Kruger effect. You know enough to convince yourself that you understand it better then you actually do. Think of it like climbing a mountain, you climb the mountain that's obscured by clouds, thinking you're really high up you gotta be close to the top, only to climb up past the clouds and realize you're still only starting your journey.
Great video man. A nice and realistic overview of a nice bit of progress. It's so different from person to person, and it was cool to see your journey :)
thank you so much 🤝
Im at the start og my journey. And I’m excited to see what I’ll be in a few months/years. Loved the video btw❤
I have uploaded a video with my first cover:)
Great progress, and respect for showing the rough beginnings without sugarcoating.
What were the best/most helpful resources you found? Any good CZcams videos, or were in-person vocal coaches significantly more effective?
Thank you so much! there's a channel called singwise that has a video called "BREATH SUPPORT FOR SINGING". That video helped me a lot, she does a great job demonstrating and explaining the importance of breathing exercises. That video was a huge breakthrough for me personally.
Don't know how this came up in my feed but massive congrats on the progress. I've always been interested to see if someone can actually improve their singing without already being natrually good👍🏽
I really think it's just a lot like any other instrument. Muscle memory and changing your brain's patterns across years and years of practice to get good but it's very fun learning. Get a teacher.
Breath in accordance to PRI's patterns -> Improving your respiration pattern -> Improving your singing
It happens with most people with lighter voices. Their singing range differs from their natural speaking range. I had and still have a hard time (cause I stopped my progress and just came back). In this channel, for example, I have videos from 10 years ago, when I didn't have a clue how to sing. It's clear that I have no technique whatsoever. My only pro was that I could sing in tune better than most beginners. But I mostly scream all the time until I lose my voice.
Big support to you. It would be cool to see reaction and explanation from the vocal teacher along the video
amazing transformation, keep going!
So cool man! good transformation
well done dude, sounding much better, glad to see this dude!
Thank you for this video brother. Legit appreciate you putting this content out there. People will always have something to say and critic your progress but no one knows your journey better than you. Thanks again
Thank you for sharing your experience❤
I dig how you sounded from the beginning, I sound really cliche but its true. Of course all the technical issues that you point out I see them too, but I hear a lot of heart and soul into it. You were brave to commit and do the thing, which I believe it to be 90% of the results. I bet after ten years you will sing again like you dont know what you are doing, even though you know plenty
Great journey, keep it up!
nice progress - on the guitar too! I dig your conclusions :).
I'm only 4 mins in, and I really like your channel already. I think your mouth is tryna rap while your brain is tryna sing in the first year of singing. The 2.5 month progress is wild! You sound so good there. Amazing progress so far, keep it up!
There's much to practice in singing, scales, vibrato, riffs, chest/head voice etc. Like don't listen to me cuz I ain't pro at singing, but I think you should continue with "yelling" or trying to sing louder, and also continue trying to sing quieter (the way you did for the most part of the progress).
You sing louder at 2.5 month, and that sounds amazing at some parts, keep it up you'll figure it out :D
Very nice! I've been singing about three years now and still feel incredibly self conscious. But i just got serious about learning to play instruments, music theory, etc and hopefully will improve. Documenting my progress on CZcams of course 😆
Hi, just came across your channel just now - Well done on your progress. I think anyone who think they're beyond improvement are too sure of themselves.
Hmmmm interesting and good for you to keep going. Singing isn't easy and there are so many components. It looks like you are finding your placement and being more consistent. And a lot of the tension is out of your voice. Good for you. I hope you keep this going...
Great work dude! Keep it up!
First of all, wonderful, truthful video, I could never share my early voice recordings with anyone, let alone the world, thank you for posting.
Second, just a point of advice for beginners regarding pitch improvement:
The best thing I did was get a pitch recorder, just little phone apps that show what note is ringing out, which you can use to see what note you're actually singing.
I remember this completely changing my voice in a matter of days, its still not perfect (my pitch and, voice), but by using it to find the meolody of a song, and then making sure I replicated those notes, as slowly as I needed to at first, I was quickly able to follow a melody. I still lacked some accuracy in my actual voice but I can hear where I've gone wrong and when Ive slipped out of tune. It opened my eyes to how bad I was before, how I just didn't know at all what I was doing. It also made me feel like I had more breath to support my singing, I guess deep down I could hear the inaccuracies before and would keep pushing air whilst searching for the note.
Its a great way to kick start your ear training. But I will say, its not proper ear training and, often you should put it away, otherwise you get fixated on the app and try to stay in tune by seeing a pitch line slide up and down scales, rather than hearing the music and matching it with your voice.
Beat of luck everyone, great video again.
Very brave of you to share this, I admire that Greetings from Mexicali, Mexico
Thanks for sharing this. Dig the spanish song!
Yo thanks for this man. You've come a long way and its great to see someone else who sucked at first, but with consistency we've gotten so much better. Keep it up bro! 🙌🙏👏
Hey goodjob dude, i love singing and am learning too since 2 months. I think what could help u alot is to use songs that are less focussed on "story telling" and more focus on recognisable melody and beautiful tone. Also mouth position for the tone of your note is key. When u yawn, in general, you have a good mouth position. andAlso take more air in your longs (breath deeper) before your new linr starts, so you have more support to get where u wanna be. Respect for the recordigns and the love to perform music that we all share. Keep it up 😃
nice job, you sound great!
Man you sound great today. I could sing really well when I was a little kid. Got pressed into service playing in bar bands and now finally I'm getting better again. Love when people share their journey
Amazing improvement ❤
freaking aye. Bravo :)
I'm impressed by your confidence to put your progress out there to the world. When, yeah, some of that early singing was a bit... shocking.
But you can definitely hear the improvement over time there. Keep going with this, as you'll get there eventually.
Thank you so much for this Video!
Keep going my friend. You've made a lot of progress.
Keep it up man. Hope you make it!
This is one of the coolest videos I've seen on CZcams. Great stuff!
It's refreshing to see what progress looks like for a normal person. Thanks a lot for sharing it. In this day and age it's so easy to be flooded with amazing talent in social media, then feeling like crap because you don't sound anything like it. Cheers!
Thanks for the comment! I think my baseline singing "talent" is probably negative its so bad but yeah I looked at these other great singers and couldnt help but feel super demoralized. Everyone's different, everyone learns at their own pace. Cheers!
Seriously amazing improvement! Maybe there's hope for me, after all.
@Zapinski hey there 😁🤘🏻 First of all ty for sharing your progress & Journey here! 😤 As a *fellow CZcamsr & Beginner Guitarist* (or just a Musician and music Nerd in general 🤣) I am more then thankful being able to see others where they were as they started, and where they are "now" and how much effort everyone is putting into their passion/ craft and everything else ❤
It always boost's the shit out of me in terms of *Motivation* and simultaneously causing an overload of happiness, knowing and repeatedly being reminded:
*"You'll get there someday, just stay true to yourself, stay by yourself convictions and beliefs about yourself & never underestimate THE BASICS! And finally - last but not least... practice like you mean it and how EVERYONE ELSE is telling you to do it!* 🤘🏻🎸
By the way, I started *my own Journey almost the same time as you* did... *"only 2 years later" on March 6th 2023* 🤣🤣
Okay all jokes aside, I'm impressed 👍🏻 I subscribed, keep it up 💪🏻 I'll do the same ✌🏻🤗
~Det
It's interesting how much better your tone is, while singing in Spanish. I suspect it is the difference in Spanish vowel sounds, which are more open than our American speech. The vowel sounds are what carry your tone in singing, the consonants are like little cut-offs between the vowels, which together make words. It wouldn't be bad for you, at this point, to learn several more songs in Spanish to train your voice to relax into their more open vowels--- which will also hold over for when you're back singing in English. Good luck. I'm fighting to get my voice back after coughing it to death during Covid.
Great job buddy!!! I think you didn't sound that bad on day one, but if you had singing classes during this process you would definitely have improved a lot more in a shorter period of time. Wish you the best, I'm actually on the same journey of improving myself in singing and i think you have got potential!
I just want to give it up for this man for doing it for three years. No progress in like an year and you still went on. You have a great vision my G. Keep going for it 👏🏿
That live performance was beautiful 😍
Very good tips for beginners!
This is cool. I’m 43 and started playing guitar 6-7 months ago and want to eventually start singing. I didn’t start recording guitar from day one. I should start that now and also when I start singing should record it from day one to get benchmarks of my progress.
Occasionally you sound ed like Bob Dylan. Your developing style.
Can't wait until your next progress video.
I thought the same!
You improved a lot, perhaps your dedication will get you better than a lot of people that have a lot of natural talent but no dedication. Also it would probably be easier to get your voice trained without playing guitar at the same time, but also if your goal is to be able to sing and play well, it probably would serve you much better to be playing and singing at the same time in your singing journey. Good job, you got more balls than I to upload your progress from day 1 lol
Great playing dude. La Ciruela was a great choice! You dont sound like a pro yet but I thought you sounded great. Again, guitar playing on point.
Good to know you can get better
Wow-- learning how to play the guitar and sing at the same time.
I want to learn, too.
I spent a lot of time singing a lot of loud songs like killswitch engage and Linkin Park that really helped me. I don't sing those songs by those artists at my gigs bc unfortunately they don't really want that where I sing but it really helped with all of the standard acoustic gig songs that venues and establishments want. Someone taught me a long time ago that if you are singing somewhere where you have to be quiet or stay somewhat conscious of the noise level, then you should try to find a place where you can go all out. Good luck bro.
awesome , It would be great if you could elaborate on the breathing exercises that have helped you.
Loved the video. I would also love to learn how to sing. And I would also love to listen to you singing any One direction song
How do you not have more subscribers that’s crazy, your really good being able to do both. I can play guitar like decently good like grade 6 guitar but when I sing all I can do is play basic chords along with it😭
Subbed
The exact kind of content I need
Could you post a playlist, of songs that you practiced to?
I've gotten quite good at playing intermediate level stuff on guitar but want to go back to basics becasue I don't think I understand any theory or really anything about the instrument. So I am hitting the basics, chords and scales. I really would like to be able to sing alnog with it, but for some reason all the songs I listen to tend to have something a little too complex about them for me to be able to play and sing.
Having a playlist would be a good start to know what kind of songs are more accessible to beginners.
talent fr
Good job, dude. Love the rolling R's (wish I could do those). Keep it up! You've gotten a good bit on the way. If I may give you a piece of advice (this is very sincere): Start trying out classical singing techniques, like opening your mouth vertically and not horizontally, and focusing on relaxing the upper body (jaw, neck, shoulders etc) as much as possible. I know this may sound counterintuitive singing pop music, but it has truly, and I mean truly, taken my own singing to the next level---even when I sing pop.
Thank you! Funny you should say this. like a week after posting this vid I found some luciano pavaroti videos and have been learning more about chest voice and lowering my placement. been super helpful.
Good stuff. And I know you're not supposed to care about singing high and stuff too much, but I thought I was a baritone my whole life until I met my current voice teacher who taught me the technique I use today, and she told me I'm actually a high tenor. I've never enjoyed singing like I do today and I just want to share it with people if it could end up helping others, too. It obviously really depends on what you're struggling with, but to me it was opening my mouth to the max (vertically, of course) and not lifting my head, or jutting it forward (posture), as I ascended through my passagio. It was just magical to suddenly be able to sing tension-free.@@Zapinski
Would be cool to see you sing the same song from one of those early recordings.
I’ve been singing for 10 years, and I really think that the improvement that you have made is incredible! I would definitely say that working on technique does in fact improve pitch, but I’d also say that you should work on your ear training. That will go a long way. Good luck!!
Thank you for sharing your journey, I've also spent the last years trying to learn how to sing and play guitar and it takes so long to minimally sound musically competent. One day I'll hopefully be able to sing a sound like "Oceano - Djavan" or "Mamma - Gilberto Gil" and make it sound even half as good (vocally) as these masters :p
Great tips!
Hey ! 👋 congratulations on being so brave to share this. By the way, I'm really sorry for the negative comments. Please keep singing and playing music !!
I feel really spoilt that I can learn a lot of songs by ear on guitar. The exercises you do before singing are crucial. I do exercises before playing guitar because it helps me so that I don't injure myself and I play a lot better for that too. 😊
DAMN! this what i was missing
The best way to get good at singing is to have some commitment to sing regularly. At coffee shops or church or wherever so long as there’s a calendar and you have to be there. That commitment and throwing yourself into it will push you in ways that sitting in your bedroom never will.
I get the point of your video. I can't sing worth s#!t, but I love music and playing guitar and singing along with what I'm playing. And even though I haven't consciously pursued improving my singing, like you have, I have noticed some improvement over the years, simply as a result of regular "practice." Practice may not make perfect, but it certainly does make better. I'll never win a singing contest, but it doesn't matter. I just do it for myself, mostly by myself, for my own enjoyment and self-improvement. I think that is the point you are making. And I commend your commitment and persistence. And most of all, your courage to put your journey out there to inspire others knowing how brutal the internet can be. Keep the music going. Cheers.
hey man, i've been singing my whole life and i just want to add about your range comments - your range is not a static thing. with proper technique and practice you very much can massively increase your range. obviously, its best to get a comfortable range first but just know, these songs that are "out of your range" with proper dedication you will be able to sing them. i used to struggle to sing along to aerials (soad), not even the high parts just the verse, and now i can confidently sing along to the highest songs in linkin park's collection. nearly anything is possible with dedication, keep it up :)
If you want to work on locking in your voice to the key, sing the notes of the scale in numbered order as you play them on guitar, then do triads of each chord in the scale. Game changer. You can feel when you lock into the pitch.
Wow I was not expecting a cover in Spanish lol felicidades chico 😊 I can relate when you said that u started singing Marvin Gaye songs, I started singing Demi Lovato songs and as a beginner you can imagine the difficulty level lol I damaged my voice too.
Saludos de Mexico 🇲🇽