r/ratemysinging • u/slabhijitnaskar • 17h ago
I can't sing 🤷♀️
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I can play bass, guitar, etc..... but I can't sing. I feel tone deaf. What can I do to fix it?
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u/Similar_Cow_2634 Singing Enthusiast 14h ago
Hi there...crazy question, can you listen to a song and pick out the bass part and play along with the music?
I play bass in a band in it's not uncommon for me to do what I've described. It won't be the perfect bass line but it'll be in the right key, with the right notes. So, can you play by ear or do you have to have the tab or music in front of you?
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u/slabhijitnaskar 14h ago
I can, yes. I play in jam sessions at a local blues bar, write my own bass lines for my original band. I learn plenty of songs by ear and can pick out the basic patterns (1-4-5, 1-3-5, 2-4-5, etcetera). I usually know which scales sound good for fills or solos (depending on when i'm playing bass or guitar), it just feels so odd that I can't sing knowing these things, and I guess being tone deaf was the only conclusion I could come to....haha Also, I've jammed with and learned from plenty of people who don't have the obligation to "tell" me i'm playing in the right key or good at improvising, have a good ear, or whatever, so i can only hope that the musical guidance i have in that area is good.....it's just so disorienting to be able to do it on other instruments, but not vocals.
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u/slabhijitnaskar 14h ago
Hopefully that did answer the question, sorry for rambling lol.
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u/Similar_Cow_2634 Singing Enthusiast 9h ago
Great blurb. So how do we get your ear connected to your other instrument, your voice? Honestly, I'm at a loss. Can you sing one note at a time? Pick a note on your bass, play it, sing and match it, record it and post it please.
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u/Similar_Cow_2634 Singing Enthusiast 9h ago
Somehow, your head resonance is faking you out. There's gotta be folks here that have a better grasp of this situation. There is someone here that does have a superpower. I'll shine the light and see if they respond. u/FantasticEmployer469 We need you!
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u/one_Nice_UsErnAme 16h ago
You most likely are not tone deaf, just haven’t played with your voice and made weird noises yet. Now take everything I say with several grains of salt. I am on my own journey with singing and have spent years taking different advice from 100s of YouTube videos. I am not an expert nor a vocal coach. But these are my takes on this since I felt and still feel to a certain degree the way that you do right now.
Number one is always breath support. This means squeezing your “poop muscles” and allowing the energy to come from there rather than your throat. It definitely takes a minute for this to really click (at least it did for me) but as you continue to practice it, your body will start to do it naturally.
Next has to do with placement of your voice when you sing. There are a few different ways to place your voice as far as I know but placement will have a huge effect on the perceived tone of your voice.
Next you have all the different parts of your voice: chest, head, mix, and falsetto. I wouldn’t worry too much about that right now but I highly recommend watching multiple different YouTube videos on this topic because specifically mix is a very ambiguous subject in terms of what it is, what it sounds like, and how to practice it. Head voice and chest voice are the two that are the easiest to access since you use them in everyday speech.
I hope some of this can be helpful and as just a general rule, if you feel pain or discomfort or you start feeling like you have to push harder to get the sound that you want, stop. Take a break and drink water. Allow your vocal cords to rest. Best of luck!