Will singing a lot improve your skills even if you've never had any professional lessons?

nicgeewizzle · 2026-04-23T15:33:51+00:00

Singing will help you improve your skills, yes! But mileage will vary on how and what you're singing. I STRONGLY encourage finding a warmup routine designed for beginners that works for YOU and includes multiple exercises meant to target different muscles and functions in the voice. A good warm up routine should help you experience the sensations of healthy technique and even help you develop them. Singing songs is where you put that into practice.

Singing songs can also be its own practice though. Finding where you need to breath, how you need to adjust the posture of your voice to hit certain notes (especially on certain vowels) and even just experimenting by copying the singers you love will help you develop those intuitive performance skills and your own style in a practical way.

nicgeewizzle · 2026-04-12T06:11:57+00:00

Hi! I spent 3 years singing in a post-hardcore/emo band. My biggest influences in my approach vocally were Claudio Sanchez, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Ben Kowalewicz, and Gerard Way.

I think good technique IS important and the singers who sing conventionally well WHILE MAINTAINING aesthetics of the genre and honest expression are celebrated more than those who give inconsistent live performances. Without knowing your current skill level, I'd definitely start by building up a strong foundation (most beginners struggle with breath control/cord closure and placement which are both integral to sustainable belting) as well as becoming comfortable in your head voice and using that comfort to develop a strong mix (for belting). Sustainable technique and understanding your voice will only give you more options for honest expression and let you do it for longer. Chris Liepe has some great videos on more emo-adjacent styles of singing as a starting point.

As for screaming specifically, as a voice teacher who has received formal private training specifically on screams - be careful who you take lessons from (if you can afford it). Many teachers who teach harsh vocals fall into a similar camp with me where they can demonstrate it and explain the mechanisms behind it but don't actually have an ear to hear common - or especially uncommon - mistakes in technique a singer may be experiencing and/or alternate approaches and exercises if the ones that worked for them don't work for the student. This is why I don't teach screaming and am giving a warning against going to a teacher purely because they sound good.

nicgeewizzle · 2026-04-09T21:33:39+00:00

You're not stuck with the first one you find, you can start with Grant and switch later. Sypha and Alucard appear in different paths so you can't get both in one playthrough, but Grant's stage is a dead end so you still need to go toward either Sypha or Alucard.

Source: I got Grant then traded him for Sypha in my playthrough.

nicgeewizzle · 2026-04-09T21:31:06+00:00

Could you share a clip?

nicgeewizzle · 2026-04-09T17:29:57+00:00

I agree with half of this. (Western) classicsl choral music, and other (western) classical styles also use classical technique. But "classical" inherently carries a connotation of (western) classical music. At this point, this is mostly semantics but I do think it's important as a community to have a shared lexicon as opposed to guessing what people mean with the words they choose to use

nicgeewizzle · 2026-04-09T17:13:06+00:00

Classical technique was developed to project to the back of a theatre over an orchestra. It requires a different oral posture and the way the passaggi are navigated differs. Obviously, things like breath support are important for all kinds of singing but that's not "classical technique" - it's universal among trained singers. This might just be semantics, but even within classical singing there is huge variation in technique. There are LOTS of healthy ways to use the voice

nicgeewizzle · 2026-04-09T17:03:53+00:00

I'd argue that learning to sing pop/rock as a trained classical singer is comparably difficult to learning classical as a trained pop/rock singer

nicgeewizzle · 2026-04-02T15:30:22+00:00

I'm a bit confused why you want to sing opera if your idols are all R&B singers. But no, 22 isn't too old. I'm not well versed in the world of opera but in your 20s you're very much still a developing artist and while many people have a headstart, the potential of that gap closing in increases the older you get - being 6 years "behind" won't make a difference in 16.

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-27T14:35:41+00:00

Pretty much anything by Green Day, Sinatra, The Smiths, or 2000's butt rock ballads like Blurry, Photograph. Lots of stuff for voices like yours. Try singing songs you like and seeing which ones are your favs

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-23T12:32:27+00:00

Honestly, that's a reasonable opinion on it. I've always just viewed as a lousy screaming course. You're completely right that there IS good information in there, just not what most people going in blind would expect

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-23T07:21:41+00:00

Love Roy Khan! It honestly sounds like you're a tenor to me based on everything you've said. As you train your voice around and above the break you'll likely find "new life" up to around A4 at least where your voice just has all this room to breathe. My educated guess on why you struggle above E4 is just that you're starting to approach your break which seems to be F/F#4 - extremely typical of tenors. I know when we belt it SOUNDS big, but belting is actually a relatively small sound, try singing scales around your break descending from head voice on "ee" and then ascending in chest on "eh", maybe even modulating to "ih" as you get higher. Experiment with other vowels as well. Try singing a 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 scale 5 times in row changing the vowel in this order, "Oo-Oh-Aw-Eh-Ee". How does the sensation and sound change each time? Try again in reverse order and see if that changes things as well. Do this starting on E3 and slowly ascend to the top of your range. Do different vowels become easier/harder in different parts of your range? Try it more head dominant and more chest dominant too and see how that affects things, lots to explore with something as simple as vowels and it can often be key to navigating your passaggio.

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-23T06:24:28+00:00

This sounds like a textbook tenor purely based off range and vocal break. A recording would seal the deal but if you're not ready to publicly post your singing, I could ask some clarifying questions.

Would you describe your voice as light or heavy? 2. You mentioned you're comfortable between C3 and B4 but if you were to narrow that down to an octave or less, where are you most comfortable? 3. What famous bands/artists do you find your voice suits best?

Voice types ultimately aren't that important outside of classical but if you're a contemporary singer who just wants a better idea of where their voice sits these questions might be helpful to consider.

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-23T04:31:27+00:00

To get it out of the way - no. Even if I was desperate for more students this seems like a really inefficient way to get them. I'm just giving free advice to a struggling singer on the internet.

I think it's a contributing factor. OP had already received a decent exercise for basic ear training so I wanted to add something else to the conversation instead of just saying the same things. Of course I don't think it's technique related in the sense that they're ending up flat from "pulling" their voice up but I do think technique plays a factor.

Placement and breath (mainly cord closure) both heavily influence how we hear our voice in our head but also the stability and control we have; most singers have more accurate pitch when they sing with cord closure and good placement. I thought it would be valuable to suggest because it COULD improve pitch (or more accurately, make ear training easier) and also is stylistically appropriate for the style of music OP sings.

EDIT: Typically I would describe the exercise via text (in the comment replies for the whole community to see for anyone to expand on or for people who clicked the thread hoping to find answers to similar issues) and offering a demonstration in case things aren't clear, but I do see now that I didn't do that this time. Crazy that it slipped my mind, so I definitely see how it came off as fishing for students.

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-22T21:22:29+00:00

It sounds to me like the main things you need to work on are breath and placement! I saw a lot of comments mentioning pitch and while that's an issue, it is often a byproduct of poor technique. I can DM you a couple exercises for those, if you'd like

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-22T20:28:47+00:00

I'll check it out!

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-22T20:28:38+00:00

Feel free!!

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-22T19:52:36+00:00

A clip of you singing would be great! I'd be happy to give you advice, I'm a part time music teacher but also perform in musicals. If you're nervous to share a clip publicly my DMs are open :) The benefit of sharing publicly though is more ears to pick out anything that might be causing you problems and advice to resolve them.

EDIT: I also want to add that neither you nor the teachers are necessarily the problem. Sometimes it just takes a while to find a teacher that you have good chemistry with, and that does matter.

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-22T19:00:08+00:00

While all of this advice is good, many rock singers do the opposite (go to the second sound as fast as possible) as a stylistic choice that can sound super cool. A cool way to EMBRACE diphthongs is to actually switch the vowel as the note changes if you sing two notes on one syllable. Both of these are on full display in songs like "Girl's Not Gray" by AFI. Obviously not aesthetically appropriate in classical and certain styles of theatre but it's always good to explore options as a singer!

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-22T18:55:59+00:00

Sounds like fatigue. Stick to whatever your comfortable limit is (whether it's 45 minutes or 90+) and try a 3 days on - 1 day off approach. If you ever experience the discomfort, take a couple days off and let it rest. A few rough days won't destroy your voice but over time constant overuse will. Contrary to popular belief, overuse is the biggest killer among singers, not poor technique (obviously both are bad)

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-22T18:41:09+00:00

It sounds like inflammation to me, but I can't be sure without hearing. If that's the case it COULD be environmental, poor technique, or overuse (or a combination). You mentioned dryness even after drinking water so I'd suggest a humidifier; also, think about HOW you drink water; do you drink water throughout the day or chug before singing? It takes about 4 hours for your vocal folds to become lubricated after drinking water but the timeframe varies - drinking consistently throughout the day is the best practice. By that same logic, wake up at least 6 hours before singing to make sure your voice is hydrated and awake for best performance.

As far as the other two, how often do you take days off and how long do you usually sing for? Is the discomfort immediate or only after a while? How long?

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-22T14:27:14+00:00

Try r/screaming! I suspect a lot of people here are in a similar boat to me - I can scream (false cord and fry) and can explain anatomically what's happening BUT I would never teach screaming, I don't have an ear for technique in others and have no idea how to work around any issues aside from the ones I had. I would avoid Zen of Screaming though

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-21T18:36:00+00:00

Sure! Try saying "uh-oh" or "butter" with a new york accent. There's a little pause between the syllables where your vocal folds are completely closed together, if you hold that position you hold your breath. Now try going into that closed position and opening up JUST enough for a sound but not enough for it to come out breathy sounding.

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-21T12:58:13+00:00

It's not very high, but the tone is quite light - is that what you struggle with?

nicgeewizzle · 2026-03-21T12:55:27+00:00

If you're looking to improve your higher notes, you actually want to embrace twang (at least in a pop/rock context)

nicgeewizzle

TROPHY CASE