Singing With my Favorite Bands, is it safe as a beginner?

lukethemuse

I'm luke. Been repeating exercisesand videos in volume one of the course for 8 weeks, and i am moving to volume 2 soon. But i listen to bands like Nothing More, Tool, Foo Fighters. I don't really know much else besides the genre and the bands that truly inspire me. The problem is i get warmed up and anxious to sing, but when i sing to these badass bands i get tension in the neck and the back of the head. I sing high a lot, but I'm in chest voice most of the time. Any thoughts as to whether or not to sing at all? If so what are some great bands or musicians to start with. I believe i am a tenor btw.

Wigs

Hi Luke, if you purchased the course you should look into getting your status updated so you can access the student area and we can give you much more detailed feed back. Since I haven't heard you, I can only guess that trying to sing the bands you do are creating tension because either its at the top of your range (high note scales and singing them in songs are 2 different beasts) or you are trying to match the gravel and distortion when your voice isn't ready for it yet or you haven't figured out good cord closure, breath control and support.

HuduVudu

To follow up with what Wigs is saying you can find out how to upgrade here:
https://forum.kentamplinvocalacademy.com/discussion/6859/how-to-get-access-to-the-ktva-student-areas-of-the-forums#

christina4gigs

Hey Luke. I totally get your point and problem, cause I'm mostly listening to metal bands which is way too difficult stuff to start with. But I understand that you want to sing the songs you get inspired by. I would personally give you the advice not to sing the songs, even when you already recognize that you feel tension in your body. I used to sing with wrong techniques all the time, feeling tension in my body and then suffered the last year from vocal nodes. I had a hard time to get them healed and now need to start from the beginning, which is really demotivating sometimes. So I would give you the advice to really start with some songs where you got the feeling you can do them easily without tension. Also: Sing with karaoke and record yourself, so you can listen afterwards and hear if it sounds squeezed out from your lungs or easy to go. When you still have the urgent feeling you need to sing to the difficult songs, try to get the tension from your neck and throat to your feet and diaphragm. You can use a thera band, and pull everytime you sing high notes where you feel you are tensioning yourself. I do that when I sing difficult songs for start. Also: try to work on one song. I also sang different songs all together, for a long time, but then realized I sing every single one of them at an "okay" level, and not "great". Focus on one song and keep training on it until you get the feeling you can do it without tension, relaxed and cool. Start with bands like Green Day, their tunes are mostly not so hard and not too high for chest voice.

But overall: I like your motivation, keep going like that and I think it's great that you're so reflected that you feel tension and immediately ask if that's a good thing to do!

Keep on building up your range and your voice, and you will move on to the difficult songs sooner than you think (:
Wishing you good luck and all the best!

P.S: Maybe post a demo so we can hear how you sound?

Christina

Wigs

Also for the distorted stuff, I tried singing them completely clean, but still following the melody. Then when you’re ready to sing heavier you already know the song quite well.

lukethemuse

I really appreciate the advice and support! So I just sent an email to get my account upgraded, and I thank you for letting me know about that Wigs! Dont know how I missed it! I sing mostly without distortion to just get the feel of singing in such a high place in my range, but occasionally Ill try on some distortion. I know now to either practice and not sing them, or practice and find new songs that fit my range nicely. Christina, I too have that habit of singing multiple songs at an ok level, so Ill take your advice on sticking with one at a time from now on too. I just got a cheap mic that I borrowed, but its not a compresser mic. I have never even sang in a mic before, but I have an audiobox and studio one artist (software) to record with. I dont yet know how to get a song in there and record my voice overlayed on it, so any links or advice for that would help as well. Finally I want to say to Christina thanks for noticing my motivation. I have bought a whole course other than KTVA focusing on actualizing my "life purpose" (lifes work, most fullfilling career), and I have learned that to create a life aligned with my vision of being an exceptional singer I must have 1. A purpose realize it(efficient action/practice/mastery) and 2. Faith that I am realizing it. Anyone curious check it out at actualized.org. ITS BEEN THE MOST TRANSFORMING COURSE OF MY LIFE, IT BROUGHT ME HERE!

cwcw

@mindvacuous15, welcome!

Christina gave you excellent advice.

May I also suggest that before you move to Volume 2, that you post some LAH scales on the "member" side of the forum and ask for comments? Only 8 weeks on volume 1 is moving very fast, and there is so much to learn there. The fact that you are still dealing with tension, and unable to manage it when singing songs tells me that you probably aren't quite ready to move to volume 2.

It may seem simple, but there are so many nuances with breath control, the feeling of open throat, head and chest voice, to name a few, that you don't don't want to miss. "Mastering" those things comes with time.

I have been a musician for 35+ years, playing guitar, and singing with bad technique. I have been on volume 1 for 6 months, working out 5-6 days per week as Ken suggests, and I still don't think I'm quite ready to move to volume 2. Your experience may be different from mine, but don't rush.

Bands...I'm an "old" guy, but some of my heroes are Lou Gramm (Foreigner), Steve Perry (Journey), Steve Walsh (Kansas), Rik Emmet (Triumph), but I also like guys like Bon Jovi, Billy Idol, ZZ Top, Michael Buble, John Mellencamp, Toto, Rush, and various country and jazz artists.

Gear
Your recording gear is fine. It doesn't have to be expensive.

Here are couple videos that may help. You are running Studio One Artist. These may be a for a slightly different version, but it won't matter for learning the basics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUa8owUpeIw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nWp4DvWn_c

lukethemuse

@Cwcw a sincere thanks. The truth is that i knew that the course is supposed to last years, but i didnt know how long i should stay on volume 1. I just got done practicing, and todays practice has been rather amazing! I was doing my warmups, and after i did the tongue exercises my voice just opened up and my support went full on. Its great to have days like this, it is so worth it to practice just to get to that flow state! I'll check out those studio one videos and I'll also look for the members section to post my progress with the scales. Really glad to hear from experienced and committed people who want to help as much as they want to sing. Thanks again!

Gaston_Jauregui

@mindvacuous15 hi, it is very common in volume 1 to get tension still, you are still learning the mechanics of the voice, but dont worry youll get it, the main thing when you sing songs right now is to not over accentuate te consonants try to stay open and bright smile all the time, even if the artist you are trying to sing doesnt smile that much, it will bring brightness to the sound and youlll find more release in the neck and back of the neck hope this helps, watch the abs while singing and practicing

lukethemuse

Yes i now make a habit of staying bright with good support. One of the essential tools i have not gotten yet is a body mirror for observing any tension or whatever.