Originally Posted by: Mglambo

I jam with 2 other musicians mostly in our houses but occasionally in public. Me on guitar plus one other guitar and a bass player. I do maybe half the singing. I do ok but my challenge is on the first line of a song coming in at the proper pitch for the song. If I start too high I can't reach the highest notes later on, and if I start too low it can sound awful too. With a guitar you can tune it and hit the proper notes and chords, but it seems like with this instrument (my voice) it's kind of a guess. Any tips?

I'm no singing expert (by far) but you do have to know what range you're best suited for. Are you a natural baratone? Tenor? That kind of thing.

While vocal lessons and a good coach will certainly flesh that out, for the time being, it might just be taking the time to 'know that range' you're best in even if you have no idea what the 'name's is. At home, work at singing songs with you and the acoustic. Just strum out the songs and start singing. Trial and error. I think all singers go through that. Eventually you'll learn your voice a little better and given that so many songs tend to be in a pretty similar variety of keys, you start realizing what range you'll be in for a songs in the key of G etc.

Don't take this as locked down advice from me. I'm ok at best and as Randy Jackson on American Idol used to say, 'you're a little pitchy dog.'

My wife is a wonderful singer and has some training and in her ear, can pick up a key without even knowing what key it is. She's learned how to register that sound to her vocal pitch. I wished I had that....

The skill, I think, is to associate the sound with what you're voice should do. It starts with knowing your natural range.

My very unqualified opinion.