I sing like a dying pig in the heat of a miscarriage, HELP ME!!!

Alright guys, take it from a singer: Tucci's right. Listen: I can't play guitar for my life (it's been 5 years, and I'm improving, but have a wayz to go before I'll be swingin' freestyle on anything that comes by), can't do squat recording-wise yet (just got my gear) but lord knows, this boy's got pipes.

Thing is, all I've been doing musically my whole life is sing. In the shower, mowing the lawn, in choirs (gospel, classical, jazz, you name it).

I started off imitating Bon Jovi (hey, I was 12!!) doing the backing vocals and all, then I slipped into Boyz II Men (again, I was young and you have to admit, they know how to do some nifty acrobatics with their chords), and finally Pearl Jam. Now I'm talking about belting out songs full-blast for 2-4 hours every day, minimum. I was, as they say, a loser. Loner, locked in his room. But out of it, I got a falsetto softer than Slim's, a run as fast and impressive as Wanya Morris' and a control which lets me get a Ben Harper raspiness when I need it.

In the biz, they call it soul. Oh yeah, and it gave me the perrenial singer's attitude (arrogant and bitchy). ;) What can I say, I know my shit.

And like I said: Had I spent all those hours on a guitar, I'd be playing my ass off right now. But I didn't. I sang. So there it is. Be glad you have your guitar chops, and work on second and third instruments (vox being one) but don't expect miracles. Money can't buy you 15 years of practice. It might cut it in half, though.

Bottom line, listen to the Tucch. Coaching will help you, but it sure as hell won't transform you into Springsteen. To do that, you gotta sing.

Sing sing sing.

-Q-
 
Not to worry Helmut.

With pipes like you describe you can always do voice overs for Michael Bolton.

[This message has been edited by hixmix (edited 06-21-2000).]
 
Anxiety...as in stage fright or performance anxiety can come from several sources. These include judging yourself too harshly (you hear minor imperfections that the audience doesn't hear), expecting perfection (which literally never happens), blowing the response to errors out of proportion (everyone will laugh if I make a mistake) and also, it acts as protection...by keeping you from performing. One of the big things about anxiety is that it is tends to be fear of the "unknown" in this way: you are anxious because you fear the response to your errors...because you are fearful, you don't perform...so you never learn what the response is to you errors.

In order to overcome my performance anxiety, I started by playing only for one or two friends, then more and more. Then audiences of 4-5 friends with one or two strangers. I played last year in front of about 60 strangers.... okay, not a lot, but I'm not a professional (musician). The things that help with anxiety include overlearning and try this (it sounds weird) make a mistake on purpose... see what happens... usually nothing.

Since I am already being long winded.... I went to hear James Galway a couple of years ago... probably the world's greatest flautest. (okay, I can't spell.) He was talking about the Baroque Orchestra in Portland and then started playing... about 20 seconds into the song, he stops cold. He tells the audience he was thinking about something else and started the wrong piece. Everyone laughed with him.

For myself, I have found that people are usually appreciative of your efforts and are often appreciative of your talents. So sing, what could happen??
 
Okay, I'm a singer. I've studied voice at top schools. I sing opera with a professional company here in NYC. But I like to sing rock. No, I LOVE to sing rock.

Unfortunately, like many of the people who've responded to this thread already, I agree that voice lessons can actually take away that which makes a rock voice unique. For basic technique, sure -- you need to know how to breath, and how not to destroy your vocal chords -- but you also need to beware the paralysis of analysis that many singers fall into. Just sing. Don't think about every little thing.

Don't let the fact that the mic is live throw your vocals into a tailspin. Heck, even I still do that sometimes! The way I work through it is to just keep recording the track 'til I'm comfortable enough with the mic on to be able to sing it the way I would in the shower. That's the beauty of a home studio -- unlimited time and tape to do it over as much as you want... or dare!
 
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