Singing courses?

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WhiteShadow

WhiteShadow

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Was wondering if any of y'all had any experience with singing courses you can purchase/download at home? At the moment I'm way to shy of my voice to go to a vocal coach. I would like to get started on my own trying to establish a decent baseline of singing before I decide to actually get a coach.

Are there any good programs out there you guys have tried or know someone who has tried with good results?
 
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Moved.

As for singing courses, I can't think of any standouts off-hand. A youtube search should yield plenty of options 'though. Probably best to specify genre in the search terms or you'll end up sounding like Ariana Grande. :dunno: :LOL:
 
Because singer's voices are their job, a lot of them went virtual during covid. So this should be easy. I took vocal lessons until then. I recommend biting the bullet and going. It is awkward. Especially the weird shit they make you do. But ifnyou get a good one, you will progress very quickly
 
Back when I just got out of the military in 89, I joined a band where I was forced to learn backups/harmonies/sing lead on 2-4 tunes. Up to that point I hadn’t done much vocally in my other band I had in HS. Our bass player was the lead vocalist and gave singing lessons out of a mom/pop music store. Since I had a decent ear developed from picking songs before tab really existed, I started concentrating on picking out each part in a 3-4 part harmony tune like Kansas or Queen, Journey etc. The biggest help/tip I can give is this: sing to your favorite songs in your car or at home. Put some power behind it; don’t hold back. Repetition is key just like guitar. Do it every day. You’ll hear yourself if you aren’t hitting the note right. I did this every day on the way to and from work, school…after a few months my voice and range got stronger/better. The more you do it the better you’ll get.
After that band, and going forward 6-7 years I’d become the lead singer in our 3 piece. 40 songs a night. AC/DC, Journey, AIC, Queensryche etc I could sing it all. Not on the level of those great vocalists but I could at least hit the notes.
 
Racerxrated said:
Back when I just got out of the military in 89, I joined a band where I was forced to learn backups/harmonies/sing lead on 2-4 tunes. Up to that point I hadn’t done much vocally in my other band I had in HS. Our bass player was the lead vocalist and gave singing lessons out of a mom/pop music store. Since I had a decent ear developed from picking songs before tab really existed, I started concentrating on picking out each part in a 3-4 part harmony tune like Kansas or Queen, Journey etc. The biggest help/tip I can give is this: sing to your favorite songs in your car or at home. Put some power behind it; don’t hold back. Repetition is key just like guitar. Do it every day. You’ll hear yourself if you aren’t hitting the note right. I did this every day on the way to and from work, school…after a few months my voice and range got stronger/better. The more you do it the better you’ll get.
After that band, and going forward 6-7 years I’d become the lead singer in our 3 piece. 40 songs a night. AC/DC, Journey, AIC, Queensryche etc I could sing it all. Not on the level of those great vocalists but I could at least hit the notes.
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Indeed, all one's doing is releasing what's already there - an ability we all have in theory.

IMHO one shouldn't need a guru to make this happen.
 
Well. I trained naturally like racer said for a long time and had a really big range already. But vocal traini g teachest to expand what range you have, and cut a few bad habits. If you have a good voice, you will have a better voice. It is like polishing a motorcycle rim
 
Chris Liepe on YouTube is pretty good. I got The Zen of Screaming by Melissa Cross early on in my career and it helped a lot. The first one is mostly about breath control and projection, which is both singing and screaming. Get The Zen of Screaming 2 if you want to learn pig squeals.
 
I bought Ken Tamplin's course like 5 years ago, and then life happened and I never did anything with it.
It has some pretty comprehensive instruction, and a forum for people who buy the course to ask questions and get progress checks.
If I can get my life rearranged a little more, I'm going to actually do the course and see what happens.
 
Dude just check out Chris Liepe on YouTube. The dude is crazy good and has some awesome tutorials to get you going. Just amazing.

 
japetus said:
I was in a Catholic choir for 2 years when I was growing up. Talk about vocal training!
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I realized after I posted this how gross it sounds, but I really was, lmao. I sang in the New Cathedral in STL..it was awesome.
 
Save money.

Put a microphone in front of you. Use a mixer or something to pipe that mic into headphones. Ultimately, put music in it with you.

Sing.

A lot.

NOTHING will make you better than actually hearing what you're doing at a microphone.

Range, endurance, and technique...yeah a coach can help. But you can develop quickly with just this.
 
Just practice singing Silent Lucidity, it has all you need really.
 
squealie said:
Save money.

Put a microphone in front of you. Use a mixer or something to pipe that mic into headphones. Ultimately, put music in it with you.

Sing.

A lot.

NOTHING will make you better than actually hearing what you're doing at a microphone.

Range, endurance, and technique...yeah a coach can help. But you can develop quickly with just this.
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Singing through IEMs was the thing that really helped me. When I made the switch, it taught me to stop eating the mic all the time and helped with my dynamics. I set it up to where I can do soft or lower parts right on the mic, and scream/growl at about 2" back, and then go back further when I yell or sing high notes. It's not until you hear yourself clipping a preamp or smashing a compressor that you realize how far back you have to get for high notes or yelling parts.

I can't tell you how many lead singers I saw back in the day that would always eat the mic no matter what. They would death metal growl, and it would be fine, until they "Hello, Cleveland!" between songs and practically blow out the PA. Or, they start singing and get buried in the mix because it's too quiet. Practicing through headphones is the only way to truly get your dynamics in check.
 
NeubyWanKaneuby said:
I bought Ken Tamplin's course like 5 years ago, and then life happened and I never did anything with it.
It has some pretty comprehensive instruction, and a forum for people who buy the course to ask questions and get progress checks.
If I can get my life rearranged a little more, I'm going to actually do the course and see what happens.
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Ken Tamplin is an awesome singer and teacher.
 
Go to a vocal coach, no need to be shy. You are in a closed two person environment and you will start building up your voice together with the coach. If the coach is good, he will pick you up at the level your singing is right now and go on from there. The coach will "learn" your voice as well to see, where your vocal shortcomings are.
Best way is, to record the whole lesson to later exercise along to it. Don`t use the lesson to exercise but more as an instruction on how to exercise.

The problem with online courses is, no one is telling you, that the way you are singing right now or what you are doing in this particular exercise is actually wrong. And changing wrong things you learned at the beginning is more difficult to correct later than doing it right from the start.
I see online courses more as a thing when you already have some singing experience and basics developed.

And overcoming the shyness will be something that you will have to face anyway, if you will ever play in front of people. So better start with it from the beginning to. Although as mentioned, there is no "safer" environment than with a vocal coach to not hit the note right from the start.
 
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NeubyWanKaneuby said:
I bought Ken Tamplin's course like 5 years ago, and then life happened and I never did anything with it.
It has some pretty comprehensive instruction, and a forum for people who buy the course to ask questions and get progress checks.
If I can get my life rearranged a little more, I'm going to actually do the course and see what happens.
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I'd be interested to hear how that goes if/when you do. I've heard mixed reviews about Tamplin, but most of the negative ones could very well just be guys who don't like him personally or have a grudge or whatever. There was a little thing that happened there with him, I forget what it was, but it cause some controversy with one of his videos, and some guys started bashing on him. I mean, he did kind of pop out of nowhere and achieve success fairly quickly, which I would see as a testament to his course.
 
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