Stuart @Stuartw , since you are unsure how your wife would react I would suggest to have an open conversation with her about your desire to try singing along to playing guitar. You could explain that this is recommended in a next module of the course, and that her support would mean a lot to you, and then see how she reacts.
I had a similar experience to what Andrea @Helen0609 just pointed out. I myself hadn’t sung for decades. I think the last time was when I was still in school.
I wanted to start singing after some time when I started learning guitar, so I gave it a try a couple of months ago. Even though I wouldn’t say that I sing well (and I sing rather quietly), it brought the whole enjoyment of “making music” (if I can call it that) to a new level. Surprisingly for me, I get a positive comment from my partner once in a while. I can definitely recommend giving it a try!
@franzek This is exactely what I felt too. It feels so much more “musical”. I never thought, singing is so much fun and on top, very relaxing and enjoyable .
That’s unfortunate, but so what if she laughs? Not gonna kill you.
Can she sing? If so, maybe she can give you some tips.
Some other suggestions:
Chris Liepe has a … free … course on how to practice quietly, linked in the description for this video…
(BTW, I’m in the middle of his…paid…course “Discover Your Voice” - it’s excellent!)
Other possibilities - leave your home to practice until you develop some confidence. For example, there’s a wooded area near me where I used to practice. Plus, making music in nature is inspirational!
Or, maybe you could rent some hourly practice space. Local music stores, schools, and recording studios often do this.
Certainly more difficult than singing at home, but it might get you started.
I totally relate to this. When I first picked up guitar I told my wife that I intended on learning to sing too and she kind of laughed about it, and I very seriously told her that when I first start trying I need you to be supportive and not laugh, can you do that? And she said she’d be supportive but can’t promise she won’t laugh. lol
I get what others said that who cares, it’s your wife, who cares if she laughs, but it stems from a deeper lack of self esteem regarding my voice and my singing voice. I don’t even sing in the car if anyone is in it. Once I got to this lesson though I started actually trying and I’ve made some progress.
The problem for me is that I’d love to just do this talk-singing thing, but my talking voice is insanely deep and can’t hold a note (even if it’s just a flat low note), because I have a growly kind of voice too. So I’ve been raising my pitch a bit while trying to sing and try to stay relaxed… I think I’ll be ready to sing in front of my wife by week’s end.
The only way I’ve been able to practice by myself since I work from home and she doesn’t work, is when I go pick my son up from school. His car circle is notoriously bad, like 30 minutes minimum of idling, so I bring a travel guitar in the car and practice playing while singing there.
@Tbushell Thanks! I’ll check it out. To be honest I didn’t even look at the video because it was titled about how to sing without disturbing your neighbors, when I’m afraid to disturb the people in my own house in the first place haha. I totally get why it would be called a “head voice” though after recognizing that I can hold a note better in a higher register. I recorded myself singing the same song with a few different techniques and it’s a better singing voice in my higher register, though still off-key and bad - it at least sounds more musical. Practice practice…
You need to get the guitar part so well ingrained that you can play it without having to think about it, that free’s up brain power to think about the lyrics.
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