Gaining the courage to sing

DPdrummer

Hi all, Im sure this has been covered many many times but I was wondering if anyone has any solid advice on how to gain the courage to being singing. I, like everyone else, sing while driving and of course when Ive had a few too many but I really want to take it to a new level. I want to be able to freely sing a song when asked.

I have played drums for over 10 years now and have never stepped up to the singing plate. I'm still young so I really want to push my way through quickly and try make a career of it.

I am very quiet about singing around family and friends even when they are singing.
I know people will say to just practice singing in my room etc but im still living at home and i know I could be heard around the house.

I desperately want this and i know i just need to push myself and do it but is there any way of easing into it at all??

Thanks in advance

petals

if you find the answer let me know lol cos as far as I can tell it's just jump in and do it!

Eeden

Hi OP, I feel just like you, but I am finally (after more years than I care to mention) taking steps to overcome my shyness with singing. Mine is made worse by the fact that most of my family are very musical, almost all of them are singers in one form or another, some even professional.

I would suggest singing lessons to get over this. It's what I'm doing, and it is slow progress, but my confidence is most definitely increasing. Singing in front of a teacher just seems to make things easier for me.

I also joined a choir. That helps a lot, too.

Spiderman80884

DPdrummer wrote: »

Hi all, Im sure this has been covered many many times but I was wondering if anyone has any solid advice on how to gain the courage to being singing. I, like everyone else, sing while driving and of course when Ive had a few too many but I really want to take it to a new level. I want to be able to freely sing a song when asked.

I have played drums for over 10 years now and have never stepped up to the singing plate. I'm still young so I really want to push my way through quickly and try make a career of it.

I am very quiet about singing around family and friends even when they are singing.
I know people will say to just practice singing in my room etc but im still living at home and i know I could be heard around the house.

I desperately want this and i know i just need to push myself and do it but is there any way of easing into it at all??

Thanks in advance

The lack of confidence to get up and sing in front of anybody can come from anywhere. It might be easier for you to address the issue if you could pin down where your stress comes from. e.g. some performers stress comes from a feeling they haven't prepared enough, for others it's the number of people looking at you and so on.

There was a very interesting article in the Guardian very recently where they interviewed the "front man/woman' from various different bands regarding their relative abilities to get up and perform in front of a crowd and ALL of them said they stressed about it. What was interesting was that they all said that they are generally not the life and soul of any party but when it comes to performing they seem to just switch a switch and become a different person. I'd agree with this from my own personal experience, it's like acting. If you were to develop an on stage persona that you can be comfortable with it could make things easier for you.

DPdrummer

Thanks for the replies. I had never really thought of creating a different persona. It seems like a very good idea, I guess I just wont care as much of I stop thinking about it as people looking at 'me'.

First Up

DPdrummer wrote: »

Hi all, Im sure this has been covered many many times but I was wondering if anyone has any solid advice on how to gain the courage to being singing. I, like everyone else, sing while driving and of course when Ive had a few too many but I really want to take it to a new level. I want to be able to freely sing a song when asked.

I have played drums for over 10 years now and have never stepped up to the singing plate. I'm still young so I really want to push my way through quickly and try make a career of it.

I am very quiet about singing around family and friends even when they are singing.
I know people will say to just practice singing in my room etc but im still living at home and i know I could be heard around the house.

I desperately want this and i know i just need to push myself and do it but is there any way of easing into it at all??

Thanks in advance

Join a choir. There are numerous "fun" choirs in operation that will give you an opportunity to sing out loud. One I've come across is Córus, who have a number of choirs operating in Dublin and elsewhere. You will find some videos of them on YouTube.

kahler

you could do what some other people do and hide behind an instrument. it dilutes the focus a bit. plus you can use it to fill in the gaps a bit. i know drums isnt the usual singalong instrument but it worked for levon helm.. if you re playing with a band, start off with the backing vocals. the best advice is that embarrassment is short lived but regret lasts a lifetime. and enjoy it. singing in front of people is the most fun you can have with your clothes on..

Wurly

kahler wrote: »

you could do what some other people do and hide behind an instrument. it dilutes the focus a bit. plus you can use it to fill in the gaps a bit. i know drums isnt the usual singalong instrument but it worked for levon helm.. if you re playing with a band, start off with the backing vocals. the best advice is that embarrassment is short lived but regret lasts a lifetime. and enjoy it. singing in front of people is the most fun you can have with your clothes on..

Just from experience, sometimes people really do get stuck hiding behind an instrument and find it very hard to break this cycle. If you want to do this, start off with the intent that it is a short term measure.

Great post above though. Backing vocals is a great idea.:)

themountainman

Maybe join a singing class that forces you to sing in front of people. Plenty around in places like Waltons for a decent price.

First Up

themountainman wrote: »

Maybe join a singing class that forces you to sing in front of people. Plenty around in places like Waltons for a decent price.

See #6 above.

themountainman

Sure, I wouldn't personally be interested in joining a choir, but same idea I guess. Was just trying to suggest alternatives.

First Up

themountainman wrote: »

Sure, I wouldn't personally be interested in joining a choir, but same idea I guess. Was just trying to suggest alternatives.

I'm not talking about "serious" choirs. The ones I'm suggesting sing everything from Adele to Abba, Leonard Cohen, Queen, Pink, Mamas and Papas etc.
If the OP wants to sing out loud and get some confidence, its the ideal way to do it - and have some fun.

areidy

Hey, great post and some great advice. I'm a singer with multiple rock/pop/indie bands over 15 years and i still get nervous going on every night. Biggest thing is practice, practice, practice and most importantly, record yourself. Always be your biggest critic. Get used to hearing your own voice, it's strange at the start but the more comfortable you are with hearing yourself, the more others will be comfortable with you. Good luck with it. As said above, i'm in the category of being the last to sing/play at a party, and i'm not centre of attention by a long way!! You can't change who you are as a person but you can change who you are perceived to be on stage;)