Instead, the usual cause of bad singing is a problem with pitch accuracy, also called intonation. Pitch is measured in cents (100 cents %3D 1 semitone%3D ¹12 octave), and pitch errors can be defined as the number of cents that a singing note differs from the desired note. Are you afraid you have a horrible voice? This is the most common fear and complaint of students to our vocal teachers. They believe that they will never be able to become singers because they hate the sound of their voice and discourage themselves from giving their best in singing.
The element that causes some people to sing well and others to sing poorly are problems with pitch accuracy, also known as intonation. Pitch can be understood as the “sharpness” of a voice; the higher the pitch, the higher and higher the voice sounds. Go to your nearest karaoke bar. Choose songs that are within your range vocally.
Your voice is no different from that of a muscle, the more you work on it, the better it gets. You don't need to pay someone money to teach you. Yes, it would be incredible but not necessary in your case. The quality and sound of your voice is largely due to habit.
And, luckily, you can break bad habits and learn good ones. If you're willing to spend time learning the right vocal production, you can develop a talking voice to be proud of. My teacher says that singing is really good for me and she has seen me improve but I don't think I have a good enough voice yet. Therefore, it is only a matter of continually practicing relaxing the vocal mechanism and singing with assisted breathing, rather than making the voice “do something”.
Since singing is an extension of the speaking voice, you can try to speak in a lower tone provided by proper breath control. Now that you've seen if you're “tone-deaf”, you can test your ability to match the tone while singing. Those who are sure of their singing are more likely to succeed in music than those who doubt themselves and their talents. Although it is quite difficult to define the limits of “good singing”, since “good singing cannot be the same for you and your friends, good singing can be scientifically distinguished from bad singing”.
Thank you for mentioning how taking shallow breaths can lead to complications while singing. If you hear your favorite singers sing over time, you've probably noticed significant changes in their vocals. If your tone is out of the desired pitch by more than 50 cents, then it is likely that your singing will be considered “bad”. Singing requires some level of athleticism because of all the involvement of the diaphragm and breathing, but you should never feel tightness in your throat and vocal cords.
I recorded myself talking and singing and I hated every second, I decided to live with the comments, oh, there's nothing wrong with your voice, your accent is adorable, I really like your voice. In other words, most bad singing is due to “poor motor skills” and “timbre translation errors”. It is easier to teach a child this skill than an adult, because the longer a person tries to sing in his speaking voice, the more difficult it becomes to break this habit. Anyone can give generic singing advice for bad singers, but a personal vocal trainer can give you detailed tasks to improve your problems and can give you instant feedback on whether it's working or not.