I've always wanted to be able to sing...if not 'Idol' quality...at least in tune...yet I'm unable to despite practicing...singing scales with the piano...etc...

...I was told that everyone can at least learn to sing ...but I don't think this is true...none of the 5 of us can sing, unless my 9 year old can...but he doesn't want to...

...anyone have any insights as to why certain people can't sing? I can hear myself sing off-key...but am unable to correct it...

...BTW...it doesn't stop me from singing...LOL...I have lots of time during my daily commute to and from school...alone...and safe in my car...

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<span style='color:green'><span style='font-family:Optima'>Music is what feelings sound like...Anon</span>.</span>

I am also a singing looser. I use to sing in empty rooms and in the shower :P

But in an enterance exam for composing studies i will have to sing. :unsure: (but luckily only singing after melodies B)) Must train that next year. <_<

Hello there!!! Yes, there are some people who can't sing...but I believe everyone can learn too sing very good...or at least good enough to carry a tune. Have you ever gone to a voice coach? They are more likely too know why lol. There are different types of voices...many different types. But I suggest going to a voice coach...they know what they are talking about, LOL. :P

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~*~The Angel of Music Sings Songs In Your Head~*~

Once upon a time I believed that anyone could learn music, but now I believe some just can't. My friends and I have tried helping my husband with his lack of musical ability... nothing works. He can't even hear the difference between notes in a scale. He's as musically talentless as I am talented! He wouldn't be offended by that, thankfully, he believes he's Webster's definition of tone deaf. His singing really is something, most people take notice right away!

He doesn't play any instruments either... he once played the sax, but it didn't go well because he couldn't tell the difference between the notes! I love him anyways :wub:

As for why he can't learn ... maybe it's genetics? No one else in his family is musical. His mom's dyslexic, maybe he has a little of that just in his ears?

On another note, my voice got much better as I got better on the violin. I actually envision the vocal notes as distances between my fingers as I sing and it really helps me keep in key!

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<span style='color:red'>Carpe Jugulum</span>

Interesting!
Yes...one of the hardest thing is intonation when it comes to singing. There can be alot of factors...breath control and other technics apart.
But fundamentally speaking :
1. Singers believe that they're 2 pairs of ears in a musically trained person. One on the outside(visible), the other inside .
So, without proper training, you'll not be able to feel this 2nd pair of ears(inner ears)...that is the deciding factor to pitching. The inner ears let u feel the sound as vibrations( esp. so when u sing ). U hear yr vioce 'inside' your body if yr trained instead of outside, and then these vibrations travel deep down. So, if u've inner ears...u'll know how to adjust yrself 'pitchwise' to make the note's vibration levelled to whatever u hear/or is played for u.
2. Pallet is inflexible. There are 2 pallets required for singing. One is the hard pallet, the other, the soft. Very often, the voice travels in the wrong direction ( inside the pallets ) and restrains voice transition-cannot sing any higher and all notes will sound the same up to a point.

The 3rd, which is only assocciated with trained pros...Their inner ears need to re-condition the notes they really want. IE : Sopranos tend to always sound sharp, why?
Caz most sop will actually adjust for instance high G note in relation to their inner ears...they will think of it as G , sharped by a microtone, so that when they do sing the note, the position produced will be high enough( for there's a tendency to drop), and it will sound just right. But as time goes on, the difference gets bigger...and they ended up sounding sharp in higher notes.

Think that's me???? You could have something there!!! :P

WHOOOOA DW!!! You sure know a LOT about singing!!!

U've should have heard her sang. She's a mezzo sop, I think, haven't asked her before. And she sounds so rich and beautiful.

I want to hear her sing! I think we should arrange a group trip to Singapore...

I think all singers must have perfect or absolute pitch (whatever the difference is :unsure: ), they have to imagine the note exactly in their head before they can venture to try to produce it, which is why I can't sing (my formal musical education is non-existant )

that and the voice issue, I think anyone with a musical education and half a decent voice can sing something (with enough practice).

the problem with me is that my voice is unsteady on the lower register (it shakes and falters), it is rather unpleasant in the middle register, and as for the upper register :blink:, I sqeeze the life out of my vocal chords to get anywhere near 2 octaves from my lowest note, and even then, I can feel it is going to fall apart any moment (ever heard tenor crack a high C :unsure not to mention the horrible timbre (improper voice production).

when I hear someone like fischer-dieskau, or some of the really old opera singers (proper voice production), the resonance of their voice, the ring, the projection...

it makes me want to shoot myself (or take up the violin )

oh, and what's really really annoying, as a child, I had a heavenly voice (I am serious). I still don't know what happened to it.

puberty sucks <_<

I would think that yr voice has changed with puberty...alot of boys face this problem, even girls also...esp. Mezzos. All u need is some vocal ex that works on 'easing' out the cracks along the transition.
For me, I have i major crack in my voice, somewhere around Treble A going to B. But with appropriate ex. to strengthen that area, it has been better.
Some people will have more cracks along the way, 3 or more, esp. if the vocal muscles are weak.

Yes...in a way. And that's when the 'inner ear' comes in also. It allowa u to hear yrself inside yr head and body b4 producing the note and after.

you're right. I just pity arabic singers. (the quartertone issue again )

We went to a wedding yesterday.

They had two singers perform during the service. One sang to recorded music...the other along with a piano...

...both were awful...

...why do people sing when they're awful?

This is a great thread for info I did'nt have before. I've allways thought anyone could learn with enough practice. I'm rethinking that now...Kerry PS I've had a singer-songwriter thing going on for the last 20 years ,and just last night I was dreaming about how I could improve my vibrato after listening to a recording...Weird eh?