Too much information, Jim ...

Roger: I really think a few singing lessons would help to make sense of all this advice. There is nothing quite like one-to-one tuition for helping you to really focus on the way you're making the sound, and how to control it.

Failing that, there are (in the UK at least) many choirs now of the "community" or "folk" choir type, and most of these will open every session with some time spent on singing exercises, similar to the type used by MacColl (above). This makes an amazing difference to the quality and volume of the sound produced by people who do not normally think of themselves as singers. Conventional choirs don't tend to do it much, but they should. If you get the chance to join a choir of this type (or a singing workshop, say, at a festival)that would help.

Another thing: can you speak loudly and clearly? Can you project your voice to speak across a crowded room? I know someone who, as a teacher, can do this perfectly well, and yet when she sings, her voice is almost a whisper. I'm encouraging her extend the way she uses her speaking voice, and to try to apply this to singing.

Not sure if anyone's said this, but don't (for now) sing with a guitar, and don't sing peering down at a song-sheet. Both of these can really inhibit voice projection. Don't let anything come between your song and the people you're singing it to.

Marje