Learning to sing as an adult - advice please

[boogiewoogie]

I am not new to singing as I sing in church on a regular basis and have recently sung in the choir for the carol services as a soprano par which I enjoyed.

Despite this, I don't think I am a particularly strong singer as I struggle to maintain clear tone at G5 or higher when it becomes breathy and thin. I understand that I am meant to sing with my head voice and that I should practise singing through a fake yawn.

However, I don't quite know whether I am doing it right and I'm pretty sure that it's not something that I can just do at will straight off without proper training and practice.

So, what I'm trying to ask is: What am I meant to feel when I manage to sing in my head voice if I do it correctly? There are many videos on youtube on practising strengthening head voice like doing lip trills, saying "whop" to arpeggios etc but how long will it take for me to see results of these exercises and do they work? I know that I should just get a teacher if I want to sing properly but at the moment, it is not possible.

I would appreciate your advice. Thank you.

Sorry you have been ignored for so long!

What sort of stuff do you want to sing? Does your nickname give any clue to your aspirations? Do you play any instruments, and if so what? Do you read music, or have knowledge of theory?

I can't really advise much on singing, but if you can clarify the above queries I may be able to suggest other ways of tackling things.

I'll look back in a day or two.

Hello Ferguson,

Thank you for your reply.

I sing hymns in church which doesn't really pose a problem for me and I only started doing it to help me become a better sight singer for when I do graded exams in the piano. My lack of real technique shows when I am singing high descants in carols for this time of the year. I don't have any aspirations to sing arias, I just want to sing better by being able to sing in head voice, having better control and being able to sustain high notes instead of it being breathy.

I can read music and have recently passed grade 5 in piano but not sat grade 5 theory yet.

Controlled breathing, long notes - and maybe even Yoga - may help. Our DS plays saxophone, and I guess much of the advice relating to wind instruments can also apply to the voice.

Do you not have any amateur choirs locally, where you could get support? And some secondary schools or colleges do joint projects within the community.

This is a collection of music books mostly involving singing, so there may be something to help amongst them:

www.musicsales.com/Catalogue/Browse.aspx/en-GB/store6_arrangementgroup7/1/

[Forty years ago I played drums with Old Time Music Hall in London, and our pianist was Clair Friedman. Her daughters, Maria and Sonia, are now top West End and Broadway performers and producers.]