I can't sing. At all

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Hi all,

I’m a recent convert, and I’ve got a bit of a problem. I have no singing voice whatsoever. Not even rudimentary voice training. I couldn’t hit a note to save my life.

I’d like to sing in Mass, but charity for my neighbors is holding me back. 🙂 I don’t even have enough musical grounding to know how to get started.

Any ideas? Should I look into voice lessons? They might run me out as a hopeless case.

Thanks!
 
If you want to praise and thank God by singing, then do so and don’t worry about it. There are lots of people whose voices aren’t so great, but they sound beautiful to God!! 😃

[SIGN]Welcome Home!![/SIGN]
 
I have known some people that can’t find the pitch so save their life. But that’s not important. Just do your best and don’t worry about it.

God Bless,
Matt
 
Sing if you want to. Don’t sing if you don’t. If you really want to, but are concerned about offending your neighbors, just don’t sing everything blastissimo. Sing at a normal volume, and you’ll blend in with all the other good and not-so-good singers around you. This is not to stress about.

Betsy
Cantor for 30 years
 
When I hear someone near me sing off-key, I am in no way
offended. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It seems to make me
feel like I have some kind of permission to sing a bit louder
without bothering anybody. I do not even have the kind of talent
to know if I am singing good or not. When someone sings
loudly off-key, I feel like they are truly giving praise to God from
the heart and not just singing because they sing good.:blessyou: :harp:
 
Hi I dont think you should worry about your singing voice it doesnt matter to god whether you can sing in tune 🙂
We have some amazing singers at our church and im not one of them 😃 but it never stops me from singing to god.
The most important thing is not that you can sing in tune but that you are singing if you want to join in.
I always feel amazing after we have sung a hymn and i wouldnt say i was the best singer 😃
Sing from the heart you cant go wrong with that:)
x
 
Yeah, tracy, I agree! I’m just happy to hear anyone singing…there are so few people who even sing at my parish…off key has never bothered me or distracted me…I’m just glad to hear people!
 
DJgang said:
Yeah, tracy, I agree! I’m just happy to hear anyone singing…there are so few people who even sing at my parish…off key has never bothered me or distracted me…I’m just glad to hear people!
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Me too theres something uplifting about people singing together even if theres a few out of tune bits 😃
x
 
OP, do you ever sing along with the radio? That’s a great way to practice singing and following along. Don’t try to sound like the artists, though. Just go for melody and words. Then try it at church. You’ll do fine.

Betsy
 
baltobetsy said:
OP, do you ever sing along with the radio? That’s a great way to practice singing and following along. Don’t try to sound like the artists, though. Just go for melody and words. Then try it at church. You’ll do fine.

Betsy
Click to expand...
Yeah, I sometimes croon along with the radio. Or my iPod playlist with some of my favorite Haugen/Haas/Schutte tunes (Sshh! Don’t tell the Traditional Catholic forum that I like them!).

I guess I was hoping for some beginner tips. But I don’t even know if that’s possible, short of actual voice lessons.

Anyway, thanks to all for the responses!

God bless!
 
I can’t sing, either! But I still try to. I love the hymns because they help me feel like an active participant in the mass. And I love hearing other off-key voices because I think it shows genuine enthusiasm and humbleness from the singer. 👍
 
If God didn’t give you a good voice, use this opportunity to get even.
 
DJgang said:
Yeah, tracy, I agree! I’m just happy to hear anyone singing…there are so few people who even sing at my parish…off key has never bothered me or distracted me…I’m just glad to hear people!
Click to expand...
People who sing loudly off-key are very distracting to me. I sometimes get irritable when I hear them. I have close to perfect pitch and it “hurts” when I hear someone with less than perfect intonation. I am a professional singer and performer. But doesn’t scripture remind us to “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord?” If the joy is in your heart don’t let what I say or anyone else who thinks your singing is less than perfect, bother you. I will get over it. However, you might be a better singer than you know. With a little voice training you might even become a cantor yourself. Most cantors are NOT professionals unless they are Jewish! Either way, sing with your heart and you WILL be a joy to the Lord!
 
you can try the Barney Fife method of just mouthing the words.

if you attend Mass long enough you will realize you are not the only person in the pews who can’t sing, in fact we sometimes think it is a requirement for being Catholic (that is a joke). Sing when you can, when you must, or when you feel like it. remain silent when you would rather, it is not the only way to participate in the Mass, listening is also good.
 
Some truly can’t sing aloud at all. God knows this. Sing to him - in your heart!
 
NaturalEnquirer said:
I guess I was hoping for some beginner tips. But I don’t even know if that’s possible, short of actual voice lessons.
Click to expand...
OK, here’s a beginner tip for you that will involve one other person who’s a better singer than you. Pick a friend who sounds good singing along with the radio or sounds good singing in church. Or ask your church organist/choir director to take a couple of minutes with you for a little diagnostic test. What you want to find out is whether you have an ear for pitch and the ability to match a pitch.

If you have chosen someone other than a keyboard player, have the person listen as you sing along with something you like. Ask if you are singing the same notes as the recording. If you are working with a keyboard player, ask him to play a note and see if you can sing it back, and then play a simple tune for you to sing back, like Happy Birthday. If you get a positive response on this test, you are home free. All you need to do is keep listening and singing along softly until you gain some confidence and can pump it up a little. If you want to improve your tone quality, think about singing beautiful vowels. PM me if you want to ask about that.

If you fail the little test, then you need to decide whether to stop singing altogether, sing along softly and not get help, or get help. Your organist/ choir director should know a voice teacher who works with absolute beginners on ear training. You might be able to learn to hear the pitches and sing them back. My DH can do this sometimes, but not all the time. Everyone’s different. It depends upon how high a priority singing is for you.

Betsy
 
cheeto1 said:
When I hear someone near me sing off-key, I am in no way
offended. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. It seems to make me
feel like I have some kind of permission to sing a bit louder
without bothering anybody. I do not even have the kind of talent
to know if I am singing good or not. When someone sings
loudly off-key, I feel like they are truly giving praise to God from
the heart and not just singing because they sing good.
Click to expand...
I am only offended when the person doing it is *really *off key, and is way too loud.

I encourage anyone to take voice lessons who has time and wants to learn. They can not only help you improve at singing (even if you can’t find the pitch, many people can learn to), but they will help you avoid bad speech habits that will make you sound like a frog when you’re older.
 
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