I always dreamed of being a singer. I sing along with songs, but it sounds bad. It’s like I am singing faster than the beat.
I want to sing at the school assembly, but I kinda lack confidence. What hurts me most is when someone tells me that my singing sucks. I am unconditionally in love with singing! I want to surprise everyone one day. What might be the problem? My voice, or am I just not meant to sing? Or is it because I can’t use diaphragm? I won’t give up… I really want to get this! Please help me out. Thanks in advance! ~ Lira.
Hey Lira,
If you’re having issues with timing or pitch, it’s really just a factor of focusing on making sure you’re voice is matching the melody line while you’re singing. Then, once you get used to that, you’ve got to learn it well enough to do it on your own. This takes time and practice. There’s really no way around it. But, here’s the encouraging part… as long as you’re practicing the right things, the more you practice, the better you get.
As a side note, one of the reasons you’re probably getting ahead of the beat is you’re having fun, getting excited, and moving to the beat of your own drum so to speak. The fact that you’re having fun and excited will be a definite advantage when you start performing… people love to watch others have fun b/c it helps them have fun. So I think this could be an asset for you, but in the meantime you’re going to have to get used to flowing with the music.
As I mentioned before, with practice, that’ll come along and when it does, you should get a better response from those around you when you’re singing.
So, to ensure you move in the right direction, I challenge you to really focus when you’re practicing. Make it your goal for a bit when you’re practicing to match the singer’s pitch, rhythm, and words precisely. Once you get used to this, your ear should be good enough to start working on the technique of your voice.
I hope this helps. Best of luck along your vocal journey!
~ Vocal Coach Ken Taylor