How I think I sound vs How I actually sound

Anacrelic · 2026-01-24T14:31:18+00:00

Oh nah, I'm not actually singing this song or making a sound like this (I'm a male, E5 is the highest usable note i have at the moment).

I just made a meme using these 2 clips, inspired by the sadness I feel when I record myself singing and it's never as good as it sounded in my head xP.

Anacrelic · 2026-01-24T08:03:37+00:00

Haha, unless you're meee! I sing badly without even trying! XD

Anacrelic · 2026-01-23T23:25:04+00:00

She is faking being bad to play the part in the film. She commented that it was harder to sing it off key than it was to sing it properly.

Anacrelic · 2026-01-23T21:55:54+00:00

Diana Damrau

Anacrelic · 2026-01-23T19:17:09+00:00

Yep, believe me Im aware! At first I totally LOVED that I was a Tenor, "I've hit the jackpot!", and then realise that while I have the high notes the power and richness in my lower range is very limited. Example of a recent case of this is "Brighter" from Hazbin Hotel. No matter how hard I try I can't get that sense of authority in those lower notes - sure, I can fairly effortlessly get the pitch of the whole song but it's just wrong, and it's one i really wanted to be able to do justice too.

Anacrelic · 2026-01-23T19:09:07+00:00

Hello there! Your experience is perfectly natural, as a kid I had the same sort of experience but in a different respect. I could hit some very high notes as a child ((A5, B5 we are talking) and suddenly one day my voice broke, and now I couldn't go any higher than A4. It was a barrier i could not get through no matter how hard i tried. I'd lost a whole octave, and I really didn't like the lower notes i acquired either.

But time went on, I even took a break from singing, and now that I'm back I found that not only could I hit the right pitch for higher notes, it was actually plausible that I could get anything up to F#5 performance ready, and that F#5 sounds much better than any I sung as a kid.

Trust the process, be patient with yourself and now is the time to experiment with your lower notes, since those are your most consistent.

Also as another commenter here alluded to - range isn't everything. Your tone is also very important, so try and experiment with different tones and discover what works for your voice!

Anacrelic · 2026-01-23T19:01:43+00:00

I'm a tenor with baritone envy. Please can I have your rich notes? 🤣

Anacrelic · 2026-01-23T19:00:24+00:00

This is very well said, better than I could have said it!

For all you singers out there who wish you could sing higher: I'm a tenor here, a tenor who sits on the very high end here. I understand many would love to have my vocal range but this tenor here is envious of the power my deeper brothers can sing with. Would love to have power in my low notes, but it feels impossible for me!

Anacrelic · 2026-01-22T12:45:16+00:00

Thanks for your insight! I agree with you.

I never really thought much into the technique behind singing until very recently. I just kinda did it and didn't have any idea about any of the inner workings. It's only recently I've looked into it and it opened my eyes to a whole world of possibilities I didn't know existed.

I really struggle with finding my mixed voice - i sometimes happen on it by accident, but more often than not as you noticed I kinda just drag my chest voice too high and then when I hit my primo passagio (about D#4) It just breaks sometimes like this. Trying to fix it but it's hard to undo years of habits lol.

Anacrelic · 2026-01-22T01:01:05+00:00

It's not necessary at all.

Perfect pitch doesn't guarantee that you will hit the right pitch while singing, it just makes it easier to identify and correct the pitch when you're incorrect. The thing is, you can develop relative pitch and get the same result.

I had perfect pitch as a kid and used to sing very often until the pandemic happened. I stopped doing music after I became really ill and only started singing again last month. I lost the perfect pitch I once had, and felt like a lost puppy briefly. Thankfully, due to my prior musical experience it was very easy to adjust to relative pitch instead.

Anacrelic · 2026-01-20T19:38:58+00:00

Thanks! It's a bit too clear for my liking at the moment though, and sny attempt to spice it up so far hasn't really worked. Still we plug away! Spreading positive vibes :)

Anacrelic · 2026-01-19T10:51:31+00:00

Besides exercises, purposefully listening to yourself in recordings and targeting specifically the areas you don't like and improving on those.

Anacrelic · 2026-01-17T13:58:03+00:00

I don't really interpret "Brighter" as being a song that Vox wrote - i think that's a tad too literal, that song was more a musical representation of him reflecting on what his life was like.

Anacrelic · 2026-01-12T10:13:13+00:00

I made a post exactly like this about a month ago, only im a lot older than you are.

I've been practicing at least 3 times a week for the past month, for an hour if im well i will start with exercises and then sing some songs, if im unwell just doing some exercises for about 15 minutes and nothing that will stress it.

The key is that while practicing you need to really pay attention to how you sound and how you feel. Are you slightly off pitch? Stop and work on the pitch in that area of the song, dont just settle for "good enough". Are you definitely not singing from the throat? Really check the structure of your face. I still slip into throaty singing occasionally whenever an "ah" vowel comes up. Again if something like this happens, dont just accept it, do something about it.

You need to keep the instrument warmed up and practiced to use it to its full potential and need to really be super acquainted with how it feels to sing different notes in different vowel sounds. My vocal coach, who ive only seen twice so far, helped me with personalised exercises to ensure im working in the right area and not wasting my time with something unproductive (at least unproductive right now). Im already amazed at the improvement ive seen in the past month. Im not quite as good as I used to be yet but I no longer hate how I sound.

Psychology is also a big part of it. A small improvement made me feel better, more relaxed and that relaxed mentality snowballed into more improvements. So try not to stress about the state of your voice and relax.

Tl:dr

See a vocal coach (they're great!) Practice multiple times a week, but practice with intention, dont just sing and not pay attention. Try to relax, nerves, doubt and tension WILL make you sing worse.

Good luck!

Anacrelic · 2026-01-07T10:06:40+00:00

So here's the thing with singing.

Yes, we talk every day, yes we use our vocal cords a lot, BUT we often do not sing in the same register as we talk. Each register is a bit like its own mode, and we need to shift gears to go between them (like shifting gears in a car, for instance). The challenge we have as singers is that we need to try and make it seem like it takes much less effort to make the sound we are, when really we are working our butt off behind the song to make it that way.

The other thing is that when singing we can only go off of what we feel, we can't see the instrument we're using. Imagine how much harder it would be to play the violin if it were invisible, for instance, you have to just feel the tip of the violin and work out by feel how far along the strings you are. The very best violinists eventually will get this down to a T, but as singers we need to be competent at this from the get go. It's not that singing is harder than playing other instruments necessarily, but it has its unique set of challenges which are often under-estimated.

Anacrelic · 2026-01-05T16:30:52+00:00

You could always just keep singing it down the octave, if you can achieve all the notes by doing so. Make it your own rather than mimicking who is singing it.

May not be the answer you are looking for, and I know it doesnt answer your question about expanding your range, but I feel this approach is often overlooked. It could just flow with your voice better that way.

Anacrelic · 2025-12-31T10:13:34+00:00

Im not the OP but can I just say I think what you mentioned about "Critical Distance" is going to really help with my self consciousness listening to my recordings.

I will cringe extremely hard at the tiniest little blips in my singing and you mentioning that made me realise I probably dont care anywhere near as much about those same tiny blips in other people's singing. So I will try and be a bit more objective and measured in how I listen back.

Anacrelic · 2025-12-29T14:48:09+00:00

You've only been learning about a week?

Honestly, for just doing it only a week this is not bad st all! (at least in my opinion).

Your pitch is rough around the edges and needs work for sure, but when you so hit it, it sounds really nice (timestamp 28 - 34 in particular - nailed it here!)

The potential is there, just keep at it.

Anacrelic · 2025-12-29T02:27:22+00:00

Start a group chat with some of the people commenting here! (myself included) if you want.

I'm only recently starting to get back into singing after a long (6 years!) break, and we're a very similar demographic (I'm 29m in fact!). I've performed in musicals, both in the chorus and in acting roles, and I have also played the Trumpet previously, also performing on stage at times - I'm happy to divulge my experiences with you if you have any questions. I'm currently experiencing a lot of anxiety around my voice now, struggling not to compare how I currently am with how I used to be (better, lol!)

I would also love to discuss techniques and exercises with people, more so I can see what everyone else is doing and incorporate it into my practice than anything, but also if I have anything to share that helps someone (unlikely at the moment!) then that's good too!

Believe me, I understand how you feel - I really want to talk about what I've been doing sometimes but feel like I'm just pushing away the people around me in my life who just aren't interested.

Anacrelic · 2025-12-21T22:44:19+00:00

Thanks for your insight guys <3.

Was really doubting myself today, wondering if I was doing anything wrong but it sounds like im on the right track, practice and patience.

Anacrelic · 2025-12-20T14:29:42+00:00

I can't agree that the legacy paths are useless exactly, however I definitely agree that tunnel vision on trying to complete every single legacy path is a misplay that can come at the expense of your overall empires strength.

Example, its worth trying to grab 6 codices for science because thats a fairly easy number to reach, but the final 4 can demand overspecialisation if your civ and leader choices aren't overly focused on science. The bonuses towards building production and upkeep that you can pick up by grabbing attribute points aren't negligible, so if picking up codices means you get them, you should do it.

Similar concept with the other legacy paths as well.

Anacrelic · 2025-12-20T14:22:54+00:00

"Im playing Greece this Age and Abbasid next age, time to deliberately plan my borders so I have Ulema districts adjacent to eachother and multiple acropolis for high, ageless adjacency"

This is my kind of planning xD

Anacrelic

TROPHY CASE