No matter what the hell you take on to do @Vik, you’re gonna KILL it!! You da man!!
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Please give me/us updates about your experience with the course. And also how you think it compares to Dans lessons since you wanted to take a look. It might influence my buying decision once I feel the need to progress.
Not immediately of course, but I would like to know what you think after another week or so.
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Haven’t heard of you @Vik so I thought I check and I have a little bit of an update myself.
I still practice and still sometimes use videos because purely apps don’t teach you technique. At least I haven’t found one.
Still I have found the practice app I like the most so far: Riyaz
It starts with determining your range/shruti and then adjusts the basic lessons for your range. Other apps had adjustable ranges but this one is the most beginner friendly I have seen so far. I liked it so much I started a subscribtion.
It seems it offers 3 different courses but I am just interested in the western style singing course.
The lessons are in sequence and you learn different intervals and speeds bit by bit and it kind of builds up on each other and often repeats the basics you started with. I’m not very far into the course but so far I’m happy with it.
Then I had an episode of training the same song over and over and over on UltraStar and I improved for that song but everything else did not get better. Should have known better.
Now that I returned to “normal” and generic workouts my scores in Ultrastar imrpove steadily but for all songs. I did not nearly reach the same score as I did when binge training the one song. So it seems to make sense to train for a specific song if one has reason to do so but it barely improves your overall skill. At least that seems to be true for me.
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I am not trying to start any argument with you @Lanny and @Vik , but let’s think about this. I will never say a live lesson has less value then an online lesson, in principle.
For instance, a singing lesson with a glorified singing coach to the stars would ALMOST always be better then an online lesson with the same glorified singing coach to the stars. I would not question that, and in this scenario, I question the need for the two to be in the same room as each other for this to be effective, I mean, there is no physical instrument, they are not going to physically place your fingers on the strings correctly. Like I said, not saying the online lesson is not better, just wonder why it would not be as effective, assuming conditions are on par, good internet connection, good audio and video on both ends. All this in place, I don’t know I can see a difference. Doesn’t mean it’s not there, but other then possibly, comfort of the student to be in the teachers presence, I don’t see it. And for some, that might be enuf off a difference.
But Flip that around,
A- Live lesson - singing coach of the stars
Vs.
B - Online lesson - new employee at GC
Obvious winner is A
But
A - Live lesson - employee of GC
Vs.
B - Online lesson - singing coach of the stars
Think I would go B.
Just saying, online holds a lot of value, and has a rightful place for good instruction
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Sure. Another argument that is that it is easy to come by even during these corona times. The other thing is that you have different sources you can easier pick and chose from and find a teacher that ‘clicks’ with you.
I also feel like the app assistance is something that did not exist a decade or two ago (or I didn’t know of it) and it is really helpful to have instant visual feedback instead of having to rely on your ear as you can mainly focus on your voice. The downside is probably that you don’t train your ears as much with that training anymore.
Then there’s also the aspect of “I don’t want to sing in front of others” (yet).
That said what I am missing is guidance. This could also be provided by an online teacher but I haven’t been looking for 1on1 lessons yet. Maybe I’ll have a look around soon.
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This is so true, I’ve found that there are so many apps for singing, from practicing getting pitch correct, to karaoke types of singalong apps. You can self correct yourself with these, which is helpful, but they don’t really provide any instruction. Glad you found a practice app you like though - I think just practicing is helping to improve at some level!
For sure, with a good instructor, that’s the biggest variable, I think, for any lessons, online or live. I tried an online one-on-one session with a voice coach, we really narrowed down my vocal range, and I got actual confirmation of what it was instead of trying to guesstimate with apps and such. Only thing with online, Zoom doesn’t work so well with simultaneously singing, so, difficult to sing scales along with the instructor, she had to play a note on a piano, then I sing it back, then she can let me know if I’m flat or sharp.
All good though! @juli0r I am curious, have you found your vocal range yet? I ask, because mine is a baritone, about an A2 - A4, which is actually perfect with bass, it covers so many of the notes on a bass, so I’ve found I can sing the notes as I play them. I can sing some lower notes and some higher, but this is my comfort zone.
Does anyone sing their bass notes as they play? I think Gio recommended this, and it is helpful, you start getting comfortable with knowing intervals by ear, though, I still need practice on this! It also helps in being able to identify a note by ear. Still a long ways off on this though too!
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Pretty sure we’re around the same range. I can’t say because I guesstimate as beginner and with apps and so on but the apps tell me something like G2 - E4 while it is really straining to sing the edges of the range I still manage to do it without “oversinging” as I call it. The awful scream sound/voice that’s created when you just push more air through in order to reach a higher pitch.
Also the upper end depends a bit on my daily form. Sometimes I do better and sometimes worse in the upper range. Lower edge of my range is pretty consistent though unless I bring vocal frag into play but I don’t practice that on purpose due to the strain on vocal chords.
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I know the feeling! I mean, I can sort of do higher pitches, it just hurts at some point, and, sounds bad, and one early lesson for me was to stop trying that!
Yes, we’re probably the same range. I can get to the low E2 of the open E string on my bass, but that’s the lowest, and my voice gets crackly there, and doesn’t have power.
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My most comfortable note to sing and hold and probably the basis of my speaking voice is Bb3.
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Will never happen @T_dub… @Vik and I are friends outside of this forum and communicate somewhat frequently regarding many subjects…
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I wish I could do that well!
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That is cool, but I meant I was not trying to start an argument with you @Lanny, And I was not trying to start an argument with you @Vik, not that I was not trying to start an argument between you two…
But all good, we are all friends here.
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I started singing out of the blue with rock’n’roll songs and irish folk. Before I join a pop choir. That pop choir has brought me a lot, but isn’t my kind of music. So during that time I tried several online singing courses, not one is as funny as Josh teaching style. Some are decent, some are to theoretical to my tast. I’m working through/looking at https://singwell.eu/best-online-singing-course/, yet haven’t found my sweetspot so far, with one of these.
Check them out and let me know what you think of them, as it’s a lot of fun to play bass and sing at the same time.
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Does anyone have any suggestions for getting better at singing while playing bass? (Sorry if there’s a better thread for this.) Obviously it’s easier the more repetitive both parts are, and if they’re not too rhythmically independent. It also seems a little easier to start by humming the vocal line rather than trying to sing the words. Any song suggestions for practice?
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That’s a start. But first learn the song seperatly, I tend to start with bass, then learn the song singing, play bass humming the song and finally bass and sing the words.
If it’s all new, pick a song with which you’re already familiar either on bass or lyrics. Take your time, the first dozen of songs tend to be hard. At some point you get the hang.
Small tip, you can always simplify the bass line.
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