How can I practice and improve my singing ability (excersises?)?

Question:

How can I practice and improve my singing ability (excersises?)?

I've been singing and playing guitar for awhile now and while my guitar playing has greatly improved my singing voice is still awful. Why is this? I must be practiceing incorrectly. I plan to get an instructor this summer but what can i do in the mean time. (keep in mind that I live in a dorm/apartment, so i never get the chance to practice anything loudly)

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: If you're in school, your college probably has soundproof (or pretty close) practice rooms for students who are taking music lessons. Find out where those are, take your guitar and practice as loudly as you want.

Exercises are really moot until someone can hear you and tell you what you need to work on. However, it may help to get a couple pieces of music that you really want to work on and get them practised and memorized, so you have something to show your teacher when you do start lessons.

Also, you may want to do some light weight work with your back and stomach muscles. They're used a lot in singing, and the stronger they are, the easier it'll be to sing correctly once you have a teacher.

Lastly, if you smoke, quit now. And get in the habit now of drinking lots of water to keep hydrated. You may even want to check out a book from the library on vocal health (or vocal exercises, while you're at it).

Good luck.