I just got around to checking out this thread, and it caught my interest. I listened to your Karaoke recording of "Colors of the Wind" three times now, trying to gather up a good critique for you.
Having taken a semester of singing in college this year, and growing up in a musical family (Mom was in choir in college, grandma is in the church choir, and Uncle is an Opera singer), you could probably profit from listening to my advice and criticism.
Not trying to be mean when I say this, but you were right when you said that you thought you were singing incorrectly. Just by listening, I could tell that you were controlling your voice with your throat instead of your breath, and also that you were singing with your nasal passage open. The last problem I noticed was you were kind of unsure about some of the notes, words, beat, and the general flow of the song.
As an explanation, singing is
absolutely dependant on your breath. If you aren't breathing correctly, you can't reach your full singing potential. As a breathing exercise, take as deep a breath you can through your nose, not just filling your chest, but also your stomach. Do it enough that you can notice your chest "blossoming". Hold your breath for 10 seconds, and then, very, very slowly, exhale through your mouth, trying not to make any sound as you do so. Exhale for as long as you possibly can. Keep in mind, this will work the muscles on your sides, and it
will hurt if you do it correctly. Keep exhaling, pushing the air "up" starting from the very bottom of your stomach, just above your waist, and work your way up. Remember, even when you think that you are out of air, there is still some air left in your lungs, so go for as long as you can. Push yourself. Do this about 10-15 times, twice a day. You can do it while you do almost anything else, so you don't have to worry about it taking time out of your day. Remember, you have to be able to control your breath in order to sing. When you are singing, always take as deep a breath as you can during the brief lyric breaks, and put as much breath into your words as possible. You will be able to notice the difference in your singing once you have mastered, or at the very least, worked on this.
3nodding Next, the breathing through your nose while you sing. Quite simply: Don't do it. You
never leave your nasal passage open while you sing. If you do, then you lose your breath more quickly, and your voice also takes on a nasally sound, which takes away from the magic of your voice. It is fine for you to
inhale through your nose while singing, but it is far better if you use your mouth to do so, otherwise, you run the risk of forgetting to close your nasal passage. Also, it is much easier to take a quieter breath through the mouth that it is through the nose. If you absolutely have to, practice singing by holding your nose closed. It sounds stupid, but it helps, and you only have to do so long enough that you become accustomed to singing with your nasal passage closed.
The last problem was the uncertainty of your singing. There is only one thing you can do to work on that: Listen to the song. Know it. Own it. Before you can do anything, you have to know the lyrics, the notes, and the beat of the music. But just knowing all that won't make you a great singing. The most vital part of singing is something that people (more of them than you could possibly believe) fail to follow through with: practice. Work on the song until you are sure of yourself. You can't master a song without practicing it.
All that criticism aside, and the things I listed for you to work on, I love the sound and quality of your voice. With enough regular practice, you could go very far in a musical career. I look foreward to hearing your singing after you work out the few kinks. I'm sure that I'll be blown away.
3nodding heart Does anyone else have any questions about things to practice to improve their voice or singing ability?
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