I actually love to sing. But I have some problems. My friends told me that my voice is too flat, almost without any tones. Another said that the key of my voice often changes when I sing. I have no time for singing courses. What should I do?
Buy a pitch pipe and a tape recorder.
Blow the pitch and then sing it into the recorder. Rewind and play back while blowing the same pitch on the pitch pipe.
Repeat as necessary to "train your ear".
If you are below or above pitch, this is easily remedied. If by "flat" your friends mean that you are without "color" in your tone, think that you are smiling when you sing. Or crying, or whatever. Give some emotion into your voice. Sing as you speak, just with more diaphragmatic support.
"What?" I hear you cry. "What is a diaphragm?"
Strictly speaking, a diaphragm is an impermeable membrane. Whan it comes to singing, however, the diaphragm is the band of abdominal muscles just below the ribcage. Try this:
Sit or stand comfortably and breathe in through your nose. Notice that your shoulders raise and your chest expands. This is normal breathing.
Now concentrate on your breathing. Open your mouth and throw out your belly. Keep your shoulders down, and your chest unexpanded. If you use you abdominal muscles to create a vacuum, your lungs will fill. Now slowly push in with your abdominal muscles until your lungs empty. Repeat.
Hurts a little, huh? Feels wierd?
Congratulations. You have just learned diaphragmatic breathing.
With a little practice, you can whisper to the back of a Stadium, and out-shout a 747.