Shyness caused my singing to become very breathy after I stopped seeing my vocal teacher. I used your video on twang to learn how to counter that. I'm still getting used to hearing myself with a higher volume and more piercing tone (even when I'm home alone!), but I keep reminding myself that it sounds and works better this way, and I'm starting to feel more comfortable with that. Now I can get the right muscle memory from my practice. Thank you so much for your help, Ronja!
You are so welcome. Thank you for sharing your story and progress, it makes me so happy to hear about your singing journey😊. And yes, twang does take some getting used to. I often find that it sounds harsher in my head compared to when I listen to my voice on recordings. Do you recognize that?
@@singgeek Yes I agree to that! I've also been on stage playing guitar multiple times, and what I learnt from watching back videos of that, is that what feels big to me on stage looks tiny when seen from the audience: You need to make ridiculously large movements to get that rockstar attitude across visually ;-) I apply this to aspects of singing like twang, embouchure, or expression.
This is me! Literally everything you said. It's been so frustrating and it's so hard to break the vicious cycle - you sing shyly so you hurt yourself, then you don't sing well because you're hoarse and hurting, so you get self-confident and shy about it (also worried that you're doing irreparable damage to you voice), so you sing shyly again...argh! 😭 I also wonder if singing in quiet head voice all the time can have this effect too? If I'm playing music I cannot not sing to, but I don't really sing because I'm really self-conscious about my voice, so I just sing in head voice very quietly and shyly - which can go on for hours! 😳
Shy singing can be caused by two things at least in my case 1/deep psychological problems like in my case, fear of appearing vulnerable and pushed to perfection as child 2/simply not knowing how to get my voice out of my head, here are some solutions that worked for me : 1/get the core of the problem, stop being afraid of being heard, I started calling out my brothers aloud eventhough they are not far, I get to hear my voice loud (speaking voice is the healthiest) without the fear of being judged, I had a small empty closet at home in which I used to practice in yelling and trying to sing scales, after that I searched a place where I can be loud outside my home, you'd be surprised how many people were willing to help, it can be in the backyard of an empty house (not alone) especially art schools they were so nice and one of them offered me their old storage room, it was old and and a little dusty but it was a safe space ,sometimes I used our treadmill, sometimes while walking sometimes just for its noise and it worked wonders. 2/ if you want to get out of your head then use noise beside you, either put on the song and just read the lyrics in your speaking voice to be safe, or the best option while training yell the word "hey" just imagine somebody is really far and you're trying to call them, it is sooooooooo liberating!!
Even I sing shyly whenever people are around me. But I really want to perform on stage as well. It's really difficult coz I suppress my voice whenever I am performing in front of people. It causes strain n when I push my voice out it cracks alot. I was wondering if you had any suggestions about it. Btw love your videos. They have been really helpful. And your voice is really beautiful!!
Hi Tashvi, thank you for your kind words. The type of shy singing you describe is very common, and I remember so well how I was a shy performer. My teacher even told me when I first started my degree in performance that I was boring to look at because I was so shy😅 What has helped me is to perform a lot, and then it has gotten easier each time. It was hard, especially recording myself and watching back but it really changed me. Now I enjoy it, even the butterflies 😊 I also have a video coming up on how to use mixed voice to get rid of voice cracks. That might also be helpful. I really feel for you and I know it will be better you just have to keep performing 😊
You are such a sweetie! Your videos are so informative, crystal clear and never boring to watch. This channel is way too underrated. Your amazing voice and teaching techniques earned you a sub! ❤
Thank you for the advice. For those of us who have some health issue and have little energy it just takes a lot more energy to sing loud. If i were singing loud i would have to take breaks all the time or only sing 30 minutes a day.
I can relate so much to this .. I always sing quite coz I'm always shy that someone might hear me singing .. I want my voice back and sounds like when I am younger .. I can always rifts and can sing RNB songs easily .. but now I always feel strain when I am singing specially when I am singing in choir 🥹🥹
I'm so sorry to hear you feel strain when you sing in choir. I can see how this is a situation where strain can happen since you are singing with a lot of others. If you suspect it has something to do with shyness from the others hearing you then a tip, which might be counterintuitive, is to stand in the front of your group because then the others cannot hear you singing into their ear. Does that make sense? I hope you get to sing with less strain.
@@singgeek ohh .. thanks a lot for being responsive ☺️☺️ Yes .. I feel a lot of strain nowadays when singing in Choir .. when I was younger (I guess 16-22 years old btw I'm currently 31 right now 😅😅) I can easily hit the SOL part of tenor back then .. When I felt my voice is getting deeper I switched into Bass .. I can hit those low notes like FA low when I'm Bass .. but I need to become a flexible since I am the one who teaches the choir that's why I'm currently adjusting my voice again and trying to hit those high notes .. Do you have any suggestion/s for being a flexible like me ? (Sorry for my English .. I'm just trying to communicate well .. 😅😅)
Your English is no problem at all. I understand you very well. And very cool that you teach choir. It makes a lot of sense that your voice dropped and you switched to bass. To increase flexibility I’d suggest you work on mixed voice. I’ve made a video called head voice vs chest voice that might be helpful. Otherwise I have a video about mixed voice that vil come out within the next three weeks. I hope it helps 😊
@@singgeek ohh .. actually I'm often using mixed voice ☺️☺️ I already watched your video about that and it helps me also .. thank you so much 😁😁 I will wait your next video about that .. Hopefully I will see it as soon as you upload your video ☺️☺️
Just came across this vid and wow it really made me think (TY). I'm not a vocal pro but am a fan. I never even considered that singing at low volumes could damage your voice. What you said makes a ton of sense, but made me wonder a bit. Is singing shyly/timidly the same as singing tenderly at a lower dynamic like pp, p, or mp like in a lullaby? I guess it'd be great to learn how to go about doing that in a supported, non-damaging way. Is that even a possibility?
Lack of confidence is my greatest enemy. I hear what I like in my favorites like Brad Delp from Boston. This is what I hear in my head. I have alway had the belief singers are born with it. I "THINK" that may be my problem. I should reconsider. I should "FEEL" not think. I don't even know what my range is or natural key. How to find pitch, how to maintain pitch, Vibrato, Breathe, sustain.... I have a lot to learn. I think I am a Baritone who hears Tenor.
Thank you living in the middle of nowhere and having to drive 45 minute to the grocery store every week 😬 I can bellow like a wounded moose and there's nobody there to witness but me lol
i used to be proud with my voice as a soprano when i was still part of our school glee club. but later when our someone told me that my voice sounds big and its not so good (my singing voice sounds alike to beyonce and alessia cara) that was the time i lost it, my passion to sing high notes. i often change to falsetto to reach the note if we were to sing maybe that’s why my voice often crack and strain.
Well as long as your vids keep showing up in my feed even though I’ve never looked up vocal assistance nor am I subscribed, I’m going to keep leaving ridiculous comments whether you read them or not 😄
Thank you for a great video! I could recognize myself a few years back doing this alot. I was wondering if you could recommend a set of practices/videos for being able to strengthen the voice and increase range? My situation is that I started in a choir as a soprano and since I didn't have much training I have strained my voice singing with bad technique. I'm not able to sing as high as I could before and I would like to get back my range. What do you think is the best way, how often and which things are most important to practice?
Hi Sara, I'm so happy you liked the video. I have had several students who have faced a loss in vocal range as they got older. The first thing I'd recommend you do, if you can, is to find a recording of yourself where you sing the higher notes without strain and then sing along. I've found that this somehow helps the muscles remember how they used to do it. If you practice for 15-30 min three times a week I'd recommend you start the practice with a warmup/technique study that looks something like this: a quick breathing exercise to keep good breath support, lip trills across your entire range to train the balance in your breath pressure, exercises that include resonance building on low and high notes, exercises in mixed voice. Then, finish the practice by singing along to a recording of a song where you once nailed the notes. I hope it helps and I wish you happy singing :)
@@singgeek Thats good advice, I'll try to do that and follow the plan you suggested. I have watched so many videos but I didn't know what are the most essential things to practice and why, so thank you for clearing that up😊 I find you have the best videos because you explain everything in detail and with pictures, once I actually understand how it works it is much easier to follow. Because of your videos I also realized I lift my larynx a lot and thats part of the problem!
I used to sing very confidently when I was in my high school when we used to play Intakshri ( a song game) but after covid I hardly communicate verbally which affect my voice that I it start hurting to talk loudly and sing my throat hurts a lot, Now I'm getting back at it from last year but from few months I'm not progressing and become lower tone, to me I was thinking that I'm audible but many people told me that I'm not. I need to slowly work on my speaking voice first along with singing, can you suggest some tips? Thanks
Hi Mana, Thanks for writing and sharing your story of your voice. It sounds plausible that not using your voice can have affected its agility. And yes, the way you speak can affect your voice as well. I've made this video on how to find your natural speaking pitch: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dz2-9jNn4TU.html I hope it helps and I wish you much progress with your singing.
Hi kamann, I very much agree that soft intentional singing sounds great😊 what I’m referring to in the video is when you use the same vocal technique as you would a normal volume voice and then suppress it to be quieter. I hope that makes sense. I wish you happy singing.
I am not shy I get stage fright so I stop singing I just couldn't do it when I was young teenager now I am 59 and I sing KIshore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi songs sometimes on stage
Thank for sharing Omar, It is so great to hear stories about someone who overcame stage fright. I'm thinking of doing a video on the subject since it seems it's really keeping a lot of aspiring singers from performing. I'd love to hear what was the main issue with your stage fright and how you overcame it. Any thoughts?
I feel the same way about not wanting to be a bother to the neighbours. But I’ve found a solution: I use the common laundry area in the basement of my apartment building, and it seems like nobody really notices me there. 🤣🤣 and if they hear, they will not know which one of their many neighbours from the building is singing 🤣🤣
“repeating a mistake over and over again will not give you progress it will only give you more mistakes”. listen up y’all! ronja back with advice that will my change my singing and my approach to life 🥹
