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Help me sing on key!!!

Telephonemoose	Date: March 27, 2005 @ 2:40 AM i've been playing guitar for years now and i now have desire to sing. However, my friends tell me i am flat, but i cant tell. I am not tone-deaf either, so i dont know what the problem is. Can anybody give me some pointers on what to do?
Telephonemoose	Date: March 27, 2005 @ 2:44 AM Here's me playing guitar if anyone's curious. http://www.purevolume.com/nyarfmoo
OddOneOut	Date: March 27, 2005 @ 8:06 AM practice scales along with your guitar. try and sing every note you play on the guitar. if what you sing sounds too flat or sharp, perfect it before you move on to the next note. breathe and sing from your diaphram, dont sing from your throat, breathe deeply, open your mouth wide. and finally dont be afraid to sing higher or lower than your range and sing out loud to improve your confidence in your singing and improve your strength.
zedsalt	Date: March 27, 2005 @ 10:56 AM You could practice while running your vocals through a tuner* to develop your physical memory a bit further. *(or this free pitchtracking software: get-it-all.net/community/music_software/demo.downloads/mbtuner220.zip )
Telephonemoose	Date: March 27, 2005 @ 8:30 PM yah i've tried singing with my tuner but i guess i cant remember the notes... and i've hear a lot of people say to sing from your diaphram but i'm not sure if i know how to or not. what exactly does it feel like? Other than that thanks for the tips i'll use them
Cowboy666	Date: March 27, 2005 @ 11:42 PM I can’t sing either Ma Bell Bullwinkle. Sounds like you are a few steps ahead of me though. My ex-wife used a diaphragm.
OddOneOut	Date: March 28, 2005 @ 11:57 AM your diaphram is like the place around your lungs and chest. you should feel it moving as you sing. when you sing from your throat you're not using up all of the air in your lungs
pog	Date: March 28, 2005 @ 4:19 PM One good thing to try is to practice your intervals. Play a single root note, such as an A... then sing it (Ahhh) or hum it. Then play a fifth of that note, a D... sing that. Once you feel you have a 1st and 5th note down, move up to a 7th interval G# It's also a good exercise to perfect your pitch skills. Once you feel you know these intervals, try strumming the root note and singing the 1st then 5th in an effort to perfect the art of singing a harmony.
onewhodreams	Date: March 31, 2005 @ 12:59 PM Record yourself singing, that's my best advice. That way you yourself can hear exactly what you sound like and where you're having the problems. And if you don't like what you hear... take some voice lessons
shadowself	Date: March 31, 2005 @ 5:08 PM Lessons will teach you something that will help your voice evolve: you have to keep practicing. I sang like a forg when I started. My first band would only let me sing the Midnight Oil songs. But... I never took lessons, I just kept singing when there was no one around. Like I still do.
shadowself	Date: March 31, 2005 @ 5:09 PM I also sang like a frog.
woodhead	Date: March 31, 2005 @ 11:08 PM try this, if you are flat, tune your guitar down a half step to e flat, if that doesnt help, tune down to d. tune your instrument to your voice is my thinking.
noimportantone	Date: April 5, 2005 @ 5:25 PM try earplugs not joking. It should help you hear yourself a lil better. Just one ear is goodenough.. LAtez...
noimportantone	Date: April 5, 2005 @ 5:26 PM I used plugs singing on our Dmusic song forgiveness. Check it out, you should hear the difference from our other 2 listings.
pog	Date: April 5, 2005 @ 6:33 PM ..ascertain if it's your singing, or your friend's hearing that's the problem.... if it's you, then grab your nuts and give them a gentle tweek.... if it's them then grab theirs.....
takamineg240	Date: April 9, 2005 @ 1:52 AM I had a big problem in my early singing days. I just kept at it and recorded myself a lot. I also used half-step tuning a ton. But I didn't really start improving greatly until I was stuck in a band in standard tuning and had to tough it out and sing. I am a big proponent of the just do it method.
unsterblich	Date: May 30, 2005 @ 1:55 AM goes through scales on your instrument and sing along, like someone said. do the same thing with intervals, going up and back down chromatically, i.e. sing perfect fifhs in a steady sing-song pattern. do the same with perfect fourths, and so on. get a jazz song book and start doing the same thing: play the melody and sing along with it. jazz melodies will highly challenge your ear. record yourself singing. the most important thing, however, is this: if you can't hear the note in your head, you won't be able to sing it. this is why all these exercises are necessary.
greatscottpr...	Date: May 30, 2005 @ 2:02 AM
greatscottpr...	Date: May 30, 2005 @ 2:03 AM
sarahmicol	Date: June 9, 2005 @ 9:44 AM warm your voice up! I do it every morning and at night I cool it down. And record yourself.
onewhodreams	Date: June 9, 2005 @ 10:20 AM at night you cool it down? What do you mean by that?
XK7A	Date: July 9, 2005 @ 9:51 PM indeed - what do u mean cool it down? just dotn sing at night?
Khonsu	Date: July 13, 2005 @ 9:19 PM how to become a singer: Sing. JUST DO IT ... A LOT! ull get better and better (dont stress ur voice tho!!! ide say try to sing along to ur favorite cd and try to sing it exactly correct... sing 1 cd's worth of songs a day)
Khonsu	Date: July 13, 2005 @ 9:20 PM i couldn't sing... so then i sang... and then i could sing...
Khonsu	Date: July 13, 2005 @ 9:21 PM noimportantone has a point , but i foudn that it only helps when u cant hear yourself.. if the music around u is louder than ur voice... sue plugs... but if u cna hear urself crystal clear... dotn use em...
Khonsu	Date: July 13, 2005 @ 9:22 PM (im the typo king!)
ikeswara	Date: July 14, 2005 @ 3:20 AM xxxxx
greatscottpr...	Date: July 14, 2005 @ 3:24 AM
Mattyleswan	Date: August 3, 2005 @ 9:35 AM Great advice here guys. I'm going to go home and practice the interval training that was mentioned. Cheers
insanebiatch	Date: August 17, 2005 @ 11:23 AM someone mentioned the two words "tone deaf"....a friend of mine is tone deaf wasnt born with it she reckons probably standing to close to loud speakers in night clubs has caused it . Is there anyway tips or advice you can give please as she would love to be able to sing to a point where everyone doesnt reach for the ear plugs..
GeneHilbert	Date: August 17, 2005 @ 12:34 PM Singing is essentially controlled yelling in pitch. OR if you do metalcore it’s screaming, snarling and growling in and out of pitch. Too exercise your diaphragm run or swim - or any exercise where your exertion results in heavy breathing. Try this - pretend you are singing or talking to someone a half a block away. You have to force more air from your lungs to project the note or word. Same idea.. Pitch and timbre are different matters. Long whole notes, practicing scales while singing the vowels (a,e,i,o,u just in case) will help pitch and tone. If you are really serious find a good vocal coach - or someone who sings very well and ask them to help. Not being able to hear you - I’m only going to be able to help so much. But there are a lot of helpful ideas here already. The main thing is to sing - a lot - nothing will develop without use, but if it ever hurts to sing STOP and rest your throat.