If I had a voice like Alex Petty

[bdbdbuck]

I think it would have had an tremendous impact on my songwriting. Even when I was young and my voice was halfway decent, I never had the range or register this guy has.

Just try it.......I mean, write a song where your voice wont go. Your brain just says "what the hell's wrong with you? You know you can't sing that!" Mine does anyway! Course some of you don't hear voices in your head either.


bd

[alexspetty]

dude. thats very nice of you to say. thank you so much for your kindness.

[bdbdbuck]

Well, I'm simply stating the truth. I can't help but think of the world of difference it would have made in my life.
I also remember you saying somewhere in a post here that you were having second thoughts about ever going anywhere in the music business.
We all have realities to face in life, family, jobs etc., my realities were too numerous to list here. You should never doubt your chances because of your obvious abilities. You are a talented and gifted musician.
Just keep feeding us those tunes, I for one have enjoyed them all.


bd

[tanlith]

Originally posted by bdbdbuck
I think it would have had an tremendous impact on my songwriting. Even when I was young and my voice was halfway decent, I never had the range or register this guy has.

Just try it.......I mean, write a song where your voice wont go. Your brain just says "what the hell's wrong with you? You know you can't sing that!" Mine does anyway! Course some of you don't hear voices in your head either.


bd

I got an idea... if you want to broaden your writing scope then why not write as if you were writing the song FOR Alex to sing....

... I bet you got a whole head full of stuff you haven't written down that's just itching to come out on paper.

I like to write as though I'm writing for ... well... nevermind Let's just say I can't sing most of my own stuff and I doubt he would

- Tanlith -

[bdbdbuck]

Unfortunately, he's had a lifetime of having the voice to write with, I'm tellin ya, my brain just won't go there. I guess I just don't think in those terms.......oh yeah...I can hit that note......not! Besides, Alex has some damn decent writing skills himself.


bd

[tanlith]

Originally posted by bdbdbuck
Unfortunately, he's had a lifetime of having the voice to write with, I'm tellin ya, my brain just won't go there. I guess I just don't think in those terms.......oh yeah...I can hit that note......not! Besides, Alex has some damn decent writing skills himself.


bd

C'mon... you can do it... *give an encouraging hug*

(Albeit a very manly type hug)

Tell ya how I do it... I play guitar... so I work out all the basics first... rhythm drums etc (using my lame ass equipment) then once the basics are set... I lay down the lead guitar... then .... I tackle the vocals & lyrics... I know I'm writing out of my range so I think the words as I play the notes with my guitar... make any sense?


Well it works for me...



- Tanlith -

[bdbdbuck]

Actually, I'm working on a collaboration with some guys in the Fostex forum. It's a song I wrote about 20 years ago that I trashed the lyrics to, mainly because I didn't have the range for them. The music is decent, so I just put it out there for a project that I thought would be fun to do.......maybe learn how to do a collaboration along the way. I'm learning a lot so far. I'm sure it's not the last one, maybe I'll talk Alex into doing one with me someday.




bd

[alexspetty]

Originally posted by bdbdbuck
maybe I'll talk Alex into doing one with me someday. bd

bd. we live like 1/2 hour from one another. collaboration is completly a possibilty.

come out to my open stage next tuesday at fantastico's in warrenton virginia. we will work on our first collaboration there!

btw. i humbly thank you and others for the overall tone of "high praise" that this thread wields my way. it is very nice of you to say such kind things about my musicianship. it really does mean a lot to me.

-alex

[bdbdbuck]

Sounds like a great idea Alex. I'll see ya there........remember, I get to go before you! I'm still getting my "stuff" back after a 17 year layoff, but I should be ok as long as I don't get blown off the stage right off the bat! LOL




bd

[WATYF]

Actually bd, I don't take my range into consideration at all when I write. I write in G, and A, and E, and D, and whatever... I just write however the song comes out... I don't let my voice limit it. I know that I'm not the one who will be singing them one day, so there's no use writing them to fit my voice.

If you want to be a great songwriter, you have to forget your vocal limitations... write them as if someone else is going to be singing them, because for most song writers, someone else is going to be singing it.


WATYF

[tanlith]

Originally posted by WATYF

....someone else is going to be singing them, because for most song writers, someone else is going to be singing it.

*SSSMACK*

Who asked YOU????


*giggle*

Sorry couldn't resist... Man I'm in a weird mood right now!


- Tanlith -

[bdbdbuck]

Thanks tanlith,
I was just ignoring it, trying not to be rude.....we're not in the cave here. I feel I would have said something else altogether.


bd

BTW....I do aspire to be a great writer, oh exalted one.....please show me the way. Just a little parting shot on my way out the door.....couldn't help it.

[WATYF]

uh.....


what on earth was that about...???

Since when do people need to ask permission to enter conversations on a public message board?




If you detected arrogance in my post, then you detected it incorrectly... I'm just sharing how I keep my meager vocal range from affecting my songwriting... there's no reason to get offended over it.







did I miss something here?


WATYF

[WATYF]

aaahhh... I think I'm seeing where everyone has got their panties in a bunch...

I said, "if you want to be a great songwriter".... and instead of stopping that phrase right there (where I did)... you guys added the words "like me" in your own heads...


well... sorry to burst your bubble of offense... but I don't think I'm a great songwriter (in any respect)...

I was talking about real songwriters who do it for a living... my entire point of that paragraph (which was separated from the first paragraph for a reason) was that a real songwriter (who gets paid to do it) doesn't even care about his/her range, because they know that all their stuff is gonna get picked up by somebody like Faith Hill (or whatever), so they just write whatever they think will work with a great voice.


I was encouraging you that you can get to a place where you ignore your limitations so that you can open yourself up to new possibilities in songwriting,.. because there are lots of people out there who do that for a living... and most of the "great" songwriters (did I mention that I'm not one of them) have mastered that ability.




WATYF



(you might wanna lay off the whole "jumping down people's throats for no reason" thing)

[Jagular]

WATYF has a good point, and from what I have seen of him at the MP3 Mixing Clinic, he in no way meant to offend anyone.

I just wanted to add one thing to his comment. There is a very good percentage of professional songwriters who can’t sing well at all (Paul Williams is the biggest example I can think of, and I’ve heard quite a few of them locally as well) IMVHO, yet he has written and continues to write songs for the best of the best. Just something to ponder.

That being said, I tend to write songs that I can sing too (but I have a pretty good range)

[dafduc]

Yeah, the "turd that is my voice" (trademark pending) gets in my way a lot.

I was in Manassas for a while, Alex, though maybe long enough ago ('87-'89) that it wouldn't have mattered. I wasn't writing then, anyhow. Too bad, Warrenton's practically next door.

Because I write church music, primarily, I wind up writing in the "default range" a lot: low C - middle C. the idea is that almost everyone can sing in this range (men an octave below women). Every step you move outside the range, you lose another 25% of your singers. (These are approximate, and they're for Catholics or other unison singers - if your congregation sings harmony, you've got some more flexibilty). But the idea is, these notes are where everyone's ranges cross.

So if I'm writing for a specific singer, I'll use his/her range. But if I'm writing for a generic singer, I try to use this rule.

You can always transpose, of course. The effect can be weird, though...

[Jagular]

Originally posted by dafduc
Because I write church music, primarily, I wind up writing in the "default range" a lot: low C - middle C. the idea is that almost everyone can sing in this range (men an octave below women). Every step you move outside the range, you lose another 25% of your singers. (These are approximate, and they're for Catholics or other unison singers - if your congregation sings harmony, you've got some more flexibilty). But the idea is, these notes are where everyone's ranges cross.

I think the number would be lower than 25% in Protestant congregations

(I’m Catholic so I can say that) – But I have noticed in general the Protestant choirs tend to be a bit better than the Catholic counterparts

[bdbdbuck]

Originally posted by WATYF
(you might wanna lay off the whole "jumping down people's throats for no reason" thing)

Sorry dude. Your post just struck me as a little condescending, which I now know was not your intention. I'll try to curb my "little shots" in the future.


bd

[WATYF]

no problem man...


Jagular brings up another good point... some of the best songwriters can't sing at all... (can we say, "Bob Dylan"??)

Songwriters who can't sing, (like myself ) kind of just ignore the whole "range" thing...

In fact... this is my method of song writing... I just write in whatever key my hand falls on when I start writing the song.. I just go with whatever falls out at the time. This method has lead to problems though... when it comes time to get someone to sing it, sometimes it's impossible. I wrote one song that ended up needing to be sung by a chick, and I had to change the melody of the chorus almost entirely because it was way too high for her to sing, and the chords were structured in a way that modulation (on a guitar) was almost impossible. So, while it's good not to let your vocal range limit your writing, just make sure you don't write it so that no one can sing it....

Another thing I do when writing is ignore the guitar structure. I also assume that some day, somebody who actually knows how to play guitar will be playing the song, so I try to keep it basic and just hope that some day, it'll be arranged better by someone else.

WATYF

[tanlith]

Originally posted by WATYF

(you might wanna lay off the whole "jumping down people's throats for no reason" thing)

ROFL.... Actually I really meant what I said at the END of my post...

And I quote:

"*giggle*

Sorry couldn't resist... Man I'm in a weird mood right now!"

I really was just in a totally weird mood at that point ... I meant absolutely nothing by it... in fact at the time I wrote it I hadn't even read your whole post... just thought it would be funny to "smack" the new guy :P (New to the conversation that is)

hehehehehe.... I'm giggling again

But hey... looks like it jumpstarted this thread... is this place turning into the Jerry Springer show???

- Tanlith -

[bdbdbuck]

I think it's time we got some levity in some of these threads. I always enjoy Buffalo Bob's posts because he doesn't take life too seriously, and damnit I enjoy a good laugh.

Bob, I didn't miss your birthday.......did I?


bd

[WATYF]

Originally posted by tanlith
ROFL.... Actually I really meant what I said at the END of my post...

And I quote:

"*giggle*

Sorry couldn't resist... Man I'm in a weird mood right now!"

I really was just in a totally weird mood at that point ... I meant absolutely nothing by it... in fact at the time I wrote it I hadn't even read your whole post... just thought it would be funny to "smack" the new guy :P (New to the conversation that is)

hehehehehe.... I'm giggling again

But hey... looks like it jumpstarted this thread... is this place turning into the Jerry Springer show???

- Tanlith -

Don't sweat it man... it's no big deal. Trust me, there's nothing on the internet worth getting upset aboot.



btw,.. how's the winter going up there in Windsor. I used to live right up in your area. (Kingston & Ottawa) And all I remember is that the winters sucked. (but there was great skiing, so I guess that made up for it. )


WATYF

[tanlith]

Originally posted by WATYF
btw,.. how's the winter going up there in Windsor. I used to live right up in your area. (Kingston & Ottawa) And all I remember is that the winters sucked. (but there was great skiing, so I guess that made up for it. )


WATYF

This winter is real weird man... on Christmas day I drove over to my ex-wifes to see the kids with the windows down wearing a sweater. :P

Four days ago I went to the store in about 30 layers of clothing and still froze my ass off :P

I'll blame it on el capitano ... or el nino or whatever...

- Tanlith -

[joro]

I would sing my own songs...................















But.................

I don't.............................................



small animals (and most people) flee in terror at the sound of my singing voice.....................









so................................

















I sing them in my head when I am writing them........

at least there in key when they are only in my head............ya know?

Joe

[tanlith]

Cool idea.... but how do you drown out the other voices???



Sorry man... couldn't resist!



- Tanlith -