Changing the tone of your voice

[G_urr_A]

Now, first off, I'm talking about clean singing here...

I've got what I'd consider a dry, thin voice, when I sing. Will it get better if I sing a lot, or will that just be practice down the drain? Can I "shape" my voice differently? If so, anything specific about that?

[powersofterror]

Yes, it would be practice down the drain. Officially, singing is on a different range than just talking. Saying words in a sing song manner is like a hobo singing a shitty folk song. Singing is [usually] higher pitched than a talking voice. The most common pronunciations of singing would be to make an "o" shape for lower notes, and an "ah" shape (or like a smile) for higher notes. Try it....you can't really sing high without opening your mouth wide or something. When you sing, try to pronunciate words widely with lots of movement, I guess like a french person would speak. That'll get you a maiden/hansi/deris voice. Singing high and low with less movement would be like Barlow/Vortex singing. (Vortex is the singer of Dimmu...)

[L,B'XXX]

Are you breathing from your diaphragm when you sing? You may not be getting enough umpf behind your notes to give you more volume. It takes some practice and I had to relearn to not breathe so much from my lungs over the past year. I think as you practice you will get stronger and your musical phrases will get longer. Your volume may increase with it a bit. Experiment and see what you think. But don't strain.
But there's been some rather soft spoken singers that melt a girl's heart, you know? ( Personally, I love the way John Mayer does "Daughters" .)

[G_urr_A]

I try to breathe from my diaphragm (sp?), but it's not really a volume problem. It's just that my voice doesn't sound as "full" as I'd like it. Like a BM scream sounds rather thin compared to a low DM growl. In the same way, my clean voice sounds thin in comparison to what male opera singers and the like achieve (no, I'm not going for opera type vocals, but that's a great example of the fullness I'd like to be able to deliver). But I guess I'll keep at it and see what happens.

Further input is still appreciated though.

[L,B'XXX]

If you're that serious about it, call your local arts' center or even a local church and find out if a director or member gives voice lessons. That would be the best way to train your voice. I'd like to be able to do some blues growls when I sing, but mine is too clean. One of my best friends who lives next door gives voice lessons (she's almost got her Master's in Music Education) and I'm considering it since we used to sing together anyways.