Vocal tips?

[BrandonewaY]

I was wondering if anyone could give me tips on expanding vocal range. Every now and then I see vocals on youtube for things like Carry On My Wayward Son, Wanted Dead or Alive, Living on a Prayer, and many other really fun songs, but these songs require me to either go lower than the original vocals or go into falsetto to still hit the notes.

Either way, I annoy myself, and it gets extremely frustrating when I can't sound good enough to "cover" the song. Yet I see people on youtube just belting-out these high notes without changing their voice and it leaves me envious and awe-struck.

There's been many a night where I stay on one song for hours just trying to sound better on it and I end up throwing the mic in exasperation. How the hell do these guys manage this crap?!

Before anyone says it, I have researched this. I've seen soooo many things talking about chest voice, head voice, falsetto and whatever else ("Do lip trills! These make everything all better!" Yeah, bullsh**t), but it's all really ambiguous and nothing really makes total sense.

Any tutorial I've found actually ends with "go buy this guide" or "hire a vocal coach." Why? People can learn guitar from looking it up online and just practicing (I actually have a friend doing this right now), so somebody help me find out how to improve vocals. I'll practice, but I need something that actually works.

I'm tired of people sounding better than me... I at least want to hit the proper notes on these songs!!

Somebody give me some helpful info...

[Tank9088]

I was wondering if anyone could give me tips on expanding vocal range. Every now and then I see vocals on youtube for things like Carry On My Wayward Son, Wanted Dead or Alive, Living on a Prayer, and many other really fun songs, but these songs require me to either go lower than the original vocals or go into falsetto to still hit the notes.

Either way, I annoy myself, and it gets extremely frustrating when I can't sound good enough to "cover" the song. Yet I see people on youtube just belting-out these high notes without changing their voice and it leaves me envious and awe-struck.

There's been many a night where I stay on one song for hours just trying to sound better on it and I end up throwing the mic in exasperation. How the hell do these guys manage this crap?!

Before anyone says it, I have researched this. I've seen soooo many things talking about chest voice, head voice, falsetto and whatever else ("Do lip trills! These make everything all better!" Yeah, bullsh**t), but it's all really ambiguous and nothing really makes total sense.

Any tutorial I've found actually ends with "go buy this guide" or "hire a vocal coach." Why? People can learn guitar from looking it up online and just practicing (I actually have a friend doing this right now), so somebody help me find out how to improve vocals. I'll practice, but I need something that actually works.

I'm tired of people sounding better than me... I at least want to hit the proper notes on these songs!!

Somebody give me some helpful info...

The best tips I can give are... you are stuck with your voice. No one person can sing every type of music and every band. I can sing expert on most songs but no one can sing every song perfectly. Getting a good voice is luck of the draw, how ever singing lessons DO improve your voice.

[kralle]

Ok, you can partially expand and strengthen your modal and falsetto voices by just singing alot. Also very helpful is scaling the Major Scale for gradually higher notes (Do-re-me-fa-so...)

Always do warm-ups before singing.

Other than gaining a few extra steps over a few years of practice, we were all given a voice, and you should, on top of using practice methods, experiment and find your unique voice. Don't try to copy anyone else's.

[Banky71]

The analogy I always heard likened vocal ability to highth. You can't teach yourself to be taller. Only to use the highth you are given. If you are 5'9 and decide to go on a rack to be taller you might get to 5'10. It's the same way with singing either you have a good singing voice or you don't. Practice may improve it a little but either you can do it or you can't.

[xXjAmEZXx]

i say test out your voice pitch on sections that you dont have to sing and then when you see the line thingy try to use that certain pitch. i find when i use my regular voice i can sing anywhere from the middle to the top but i have to use a high voice to sing the lower thingies

[Mystlyfe77]

Get lessons. Yeah people can learn guitar online, but it doesn't mean they should.
Beyond that, you have to realize that winds instruments, especially vocals, are entirely different from guitar. Personal feedback from an instructor is priceless.

[Jaden-San]

Going into falsetto isn't necessarily bad. It's actually the first step for increasing your range. Once you hit the note clearly, it's all a matter of "punching" your voice. Basically, you press your gut right below the rib cage. That's your diaphragm. Use your hand to literally push your gut at those high notes, and you'll be able to get what it feels like. From there, it just takes more practice.

Good luck!

[BrandonewaY]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I think it's true I may be trying too hard to sound like other people. I think my natural voice is pretty good (not great, but I can carry a tune I guess) but it just doesn't have the range these superstars have.

Maybe one day I'll find that unique voice for me, but until then I'll just keep doing good on rock band haha.

As for falsetto, I'm a bit confused on how to do it properly. When I do it, it sounds more airy and weird than when I hear it from others. Am I doing it improperly?

Edit: To be frank, when I do falsetto it just seems like I sound foolish to me. Not only that, but it seems like I'm only forced to do it a lot of the time because I can't reach the notes. It's that or go lower and sound (to me) even more foolish. I just feel frustrated when I can't hit the notes the way they were meant to be, you know?

[Banky71]

Sing louder.

[kralle]

Sing louder.

This. Singing louder improves everything. Just cause you're quiet doesn't mean people won't hear you, but you'll sound crappy.

Also, for falsetto, with practice and age comes a stronger voice. You'll get it soon.