I agree with everything Sourdough has said. I once went to a series of singing workshops at Whitby festival, run by a guy I know who is a performing arts teacher, folk singer, musician, dancer and researcher. He said that many people try to sing in a voice that is not really their natural one, but one that tends to get forced upon them by school choirs, hymns in church and even singing along with popular music where you are presented with a set pitch and singing style and that's that. He gave many examples of the old singers from recordings, made by song collectors and others, of old solo singers such as "Pop" Maynard, Phoebe Smith, Walter Pardon and the like, who could carry a tune unaccompanied, but who were untrained singers. The tip he gave to help find your natural singing voice was to allow yourself an unrestricted sneeze! If you just let it out freely, the air passes over relaxed vocal cords and will therefore ensure the noise produced is really "you". Even posture will help (as you all probably know). If you are sitting, lean slightly forward so that your throat will stretch slightly to keep the same eye-level. This helps open the windpipe and also free-up the vocal cords. If you don't then clasp your hands on your lap you will also find that your chest is able to expand a litle more.

Aside from all this, I still maintain that I sing like a bullfrog, as at some point in my past, my voice seems to have broken. And I am not a bloke. I've been told I should always sing in the lower register, but much relies on me getting the first couple of notes right. If I fail, the earplugs come free!

mouldy