Timbre or more?

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Cult_Status02

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I couldn't decide where this should go...so I'll put it here, people sing in mics, right? ;)

I was just thinking about pop music singer and I guess just singers in general and came to the idea that singers don't necessarily have to be great at singing (hitting notes) but just have to have a pleasent timbre. I for one, have an annoying singing voice (to me and probably other people), so in hte event that I try to sing, I dub my voice over to make it sound fuller, and inevidably, it sounds dubbed...

Anyway, do you guys think a good singer is made mostly by the timbre of the voice, and hitting notes is all after the fact? I can practice a song all week and hit every not, but it will sound like shit because I have a bad sound to my voice.
 
i think the singer's timbre should fit the music. if it doesn't, it will never sound right. if your voice isn't working well with the music you've chosen, then maybe you have to let the music choose you, instead of trying to shoe horn your voice into something that isn't going to work. i think anyone's voice can work when matched with the right music. maybe you need to experiment with other style's of music?
 
This subject is not a simple one.

There are those who have good voices. Having a good voice - which means mainly a pleasing and effective sound - is analogous to having a good instrument. And, like the quality of an instrument, it is a result of the physical construction and materials - and age! - of the body.

There are those who are good singers, meaning they have good technique. They know how to use their ears and their muscles to achieve the desired result, just as a good player does, and they have practiced enough so that it is second nature.

The two - good technique and good voice - do not necessarily coincide. You see people who have been blessed with glorious voices but can not sing well, and you see those who work and work for great technique but will never move listeners because they don't have wonderful voices.

These two elements combine to make the craft of singing.

GREAT singers have both, as well as a third element: Art.
 
And to carry that on in a positive light

Following on,

Not so great singers who have learned their craft can still create Art.

The hit parades in every genre except Opera are filled with great renditions of great songs by imperfect singers. Some singers turn their flaw into their gimmick. (Bill Monroe) Some just put their heart into it. (Ringo Starr)

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
There's a good scene in that Dylan/Scorsese documentary No Direction Home where it talks about how people were thinking that John Hammond had made a big mistake by throwing his weight behind Bob Dylan because Dylan's voice didn't have a beautiful tone like that of a Mathis, Bennett, etc. I think ol' Bob has done all right for himself despite his atypical voice though. As long as the songs are good and the style fits your voice, I think there's a lot that can be done with different sounding voices. I don't really know what I'm talking about though, so keep that in mind. ha ha...
 
TravisinFlorida said:
i think anyone's voice can work when matched with the right music. maybe you need to experiment with other style's of music?
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I don't know about that, I've tried a lot of styles! Well, I rapped once and that sounded ok, but please don't urge me tp pursue that, lol :)

Great input guys.
 
hairylarry said:
Some just put their heart into it.
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I think that's the most important factor of all. There are alot of artists out there with not so stellar voices and/or not so stellar technique.

Cult, have you found anything to put your heart into?
 
Two words:
Tom Waits.

But he'd never make it in the pop world today.
 
TravisinFlorida said:
I think that's the most important factor of all. There are alot of artists out there with not so stellar voices and/or not so stellar technique.

Cult, have you found anything to put your heart into?
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Yeah, my recent song I put my all into it. I too have thought that when you just sing out it sounds better. I mean look at most punk bands, the only reason it's usually pleasant to me is because the singers aren't afraid to sing.

Like I said, I recently did as song that I think turned out pretty good, but I had to do the vocals twice to make them fuller. No amount of any effect can make this voice of mine better than just good ol' overdubbing.
 
RAK said:
Two words:
Tom Waits.

But he'd never make it in the pop world today.
Click to expand...

Sounds like he ate a bucket of gravel but still has more heart than any pop artist on the radio. He still makes it into my listening rotation.
 
Cult_Status02 said:
Yeah, my recent song I put my all into it. I too have thought that when you just sing out it sounds better. I mean look at most punk bands, the only reason it's usually pleasant to me is because the singers aren't afraid to sing.

Like I said, I recently did as song that I think turned out pretty good, but I had to do the vocals twice to make them fuller. No amount of any effect can make this voice of mine better than just good ol' overdubbing.
Click to expand...

I say as long as you sound like you and are genuine, good enough.
 
Works for me, I'll let you know if anything magical happens :)
 
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