Slackmaster tries to sing....

Slackmaster2K

Slackmaster2K

Gone
The mp3 that this post pointed to is gone!

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First of all, this is the same tune that I posted a couple times back....but now with vocals.

Unfortunately I'm extremely paranoid so I had to rush this out while my girlie-friend and her daughter were out shopping. I have an incredible fear of singing...totally bizzare...even when I'm alone I have to sit under a blanket like some kind of freak.

One thing I find strange is that through headphones I seem to be singing in key..but then through the stereo I'm way off. I don't quite get that.

I'd like to hear comments from the willing. This entire vocal part has been mulling in my head for a few weeks and was written this afternoon...does it sound like a song? Does it just totally suck the donkey? Vocals too loud? Too inconsistant? Too off-key? I can't tell anymore. I realize that a couple portions are horrible, I'm talking overall. The more I listen the better it sounds which is NOT a good thing.

I recorded the vocal track in stereo with a bare SM57 panned hard right and a Walmart cheapophone panned hard left. I figured that two crappy microphones must equal one good microphone :) And that's not delay you hear in the background, that's the first take that I screwed up on...I left it in there real quiet like to add some depth and coolness to the sound.

Blah blah. It's 4MB so I'll understand if ya don't want to bother.

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Thanks for listening.

Slackmaster 2000

[This message has been edited by Slackmaster2K (edited 11-08-1999).]
 
Hey man,
I have a bit of advice...
Give up singing.

Just kidding. Actually it sounds like you might have some kind of voice... It takes just as long to learn to sing as it does to learn to play guitar... I still cringe when I listen to the first studio project I did as a vocalist... (Some of you may argue that my vocals are still quite cringeworthy) Let me just say this... I can actually sing if provoked... I may post some older stuff to prove that I can actually play lead guitar and sing in a normal melodic way... It took many years to evolve the abrasive style that I have both vocally and guitaristicly(?)...
Anyway the advice I have on doing vocals came from doing live shows and struggling with many, many inept soundmen... You dont want much(or perhaps any) of your own voice coming back through the monitors(headphones)... Crank the music to the point that you really have to push some air to hear yourself above the music... This will force you to project and sing from your diaphragm... Sing at a level where your voice almost distorts into my "lame ass gwar vocal" style... It gives your voice some natural compression kinda like analog tape...

Just some advice...
S8-N
 
Hey, I am the exact same way.. I will not sing in front of anybody :) That's why I was so scared to post my latest song..
 
I used to be scared to death of my own (singing) voice. Even when I sang live I'd just sing at a "talking" level, a la Bob Dylan. But then (and here's the secret, I guess) I started listening to Foo Fighters and Filter in the car on the way to work. With the windows rolled up and the stereo blasting nobody could hear me, and I just started screaming my lungs out. Very liberating at first, if only from a psychological standpoint (it sounded like crap, but it sure got rid of any pent up emotions). Eventually, I rolled the window down and screamed along. And then one day I did it into a mic ("Mustang Sally") and listened back: it sounded like the guy from "The Commitments"! I'm still working on the control issue; how to effortlessly switch between normal singing, screaming, and falsetto (a la Dave Grohl or Nuno Bettencourt), but it sure as hell has improved my self-confidence as a singer (and I think it's helped make my abs cubed. Seriously. I never exercise and then one day I notice I've got a six-pack!)

S8-N is right, though. If you want to get that massive tone, drown yourself out when recording. If you hear your voice too loud, you'll reduce the volume, and that leads to less powerful (and in my opinion less emotional) vocals. And don't be afraid of flailing around like a maniac and making weird faces and all that when you're singing. Whatever makes the notes come out right with the right kind of feeling....

I have to admit, though, I still feel much more comfortable singing with nobody else around. I guess some people are just born singers and the rest of us have do our best to keep up (although I guarantee you I'm a better guitar player than Steve Perry or Dave Grohl will ever be!!!!!).

Ryan
 
Hey, same here.. In the two weeks following my purchase of my first car, my singing ability shot up by a thousand percent.. I realized I was trying to sing everything a whole octave lower than it actually was, and about half the volume.. so I started screaming, and I'm of course still working on the control, but I'll get there..
 
Ha, this is kind of strange. I wonder if there's ever been a study on how many people sing in their cars? The day before I posted this tune I was thinking that I should somehow rig my four-track up in the car to record the vocals...only half serious of course. It must be the background noise and sense of isolation...sometimes on roadtrips I sing so damn loud that I get lightheaded which is not exactly safe...

Booze helps also (singing, not driving). :) I remember about a year ago being in a local shithole and the tune "Can't Be Satisfied" by Muddy Waters came on the jukebox. I was pretty messed up and just started singin with as much mustard as I could conjure. The next day (I was a 'regular' for a time...screwed up basically) I went in there and one of the guys who plays live music (acoustic) asked me to sing with him. I hadn't been able to remember much from the previous night until that moment. I of course pretended to not know what the hell he was talking about.

Sucks being a chicken sh*t. If it wasn't for the anonimity of the internet I probably wouldn't have shown any of my stuff to anyone. My own mother has never even heard me play the guitar...heh, not for real anyway.

Anyway, thanks to all for your candor. I knew the vocals weren't exactly great but I needed an opinion. I am going to take your advice and try turning up the backing tracks until I have to strain to hear myself. I'm also going to try a pint of Jack Daniels... that usually helps with unfounded fears... and adds a little rhasp :)

Slackmaster 2000
 
For what they're worth, here's some pro techniques and theories I lifted from mix magazine...
Vocals are the most dynamic instrument. The singer should be matched to a microphone by it's characteristics (tightness, rear rejection, etc.) {{ Most people seem to prefer a SM 58 over the 57 for vocals but for my allergy ridden nasal screaming, the 57 rules!}} A good headphone mix is essential. Try different phones and different phone mixes. A general rule is that if a singer goes sharp the mix is too low and vice-versa. A compressor is also important. A rough voice shows pitch mistakes much less than a pure one. A popscreen (windscreen) not only blocks spit but also prevents the vocalist from creeping up to much on mic. If you push windscreen in towards mic, headphone mix should come up.
The environment is also very important. A lot of the previous posts dealt with various aspects of this factor. If you usually play an instrument, try just holding it when you do your vocal. Get off your butt (just kidding!) and stand up to the mic. Position the mic at or slightly below your lips with your head tilted slightly forward. Tilting your head back strains your voice ( S8-N, ever used this? ). Your body support powers the sound. No hands behind back. You need to be in a comfortable environment, never rushed or pressured. Plan on having days when it just ain't happening. Record everything. You don't need someone around telling you to "relax". Has the opposite effect. It sounds to me like you need to schedule some time for eveybody to leave (uh, have special mother-daughter time!). Get a few people from the bar who liked your singing to come over, consume appropriate amounts of inhabition relaxer, hand out head blankets for everyone to wear and have fun. Make sure to instruct everyone that they are there to provide encouragement. Distractions aren't usually good but if it worked at the bar ...
 
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