Do you sing?

[Bartolomeo]

Question for the day - Do you sing in addition to playing keys? Lead or backup singing? Do you sing and play at the same time or only for different songs?

 

Bartolomeo

[drawback]

Originally posted by bartolomeo:

Question for the day - Do you sing in addition to playing keys? Lead or backup singing? Do you sing and play at the same time or only for different songs?

 

Bartolomeo

Yes. Both. Yes. Sometimes.

 

Why?

[Rockitman]

I sing, but only in Karaoke bars. Pretty good too, at least the crowd thinks so. Did Bohemian Rhapsody last week for the first time and they went nuts!

Only play solo classical stuff on the piano so don't sing while I play cuz I can never find the lyrics to Mozart, Chopin and Beethoven!!

[coyote]

"If Tiny Tim and Bob Dylan could be considered singers, I could be considered a singer." - Dr.John

 

I sing backup and always have. When I was a drummer I had good time and could sing background - this got me a slew of gigs over drummers who could dust me as far as technical proficiency.

[ELP71]

Yes.

[ITGITC]

Of course I sing.

 

The more pertinent question is - Are there people who want to hear me sing.

 

I think there are lots of people who would like to sing. However, there are also lots of people who could benefit from a few lessons in order to get a good start. If you don't know *how* to sing, there are many bad habits you can fall into without realizing it... things such as enunciation and breathing come to mind. I find that often people simply have a hard time staying on pitch. Usually they are flat instead of sharp. I'm sure there are other common mistakes/pitfalls to singing that we all should be aware of.

 

Someone should start a list.

 

Tom

[Jeff Klopmeyer]

I always sang, whether I was playing an instrument or not. I think my advantage was that I started out doing it (singing and playing at the same time), so I never knew it was supposed to be difficult.

 

I've done the following combinations:

 

- Lead and/or bck vox as vocalist

- " " " as a keyboardist

- " " " as a guitarist

- " " " as a bassist

 

And the only somewhat challenging one of the four is singing lead and playing bass. Makes you respect McCartney and Sting all the more.

 

- Jeff

[RaGe]

Yes but you don't wanna hear that ...

 

Does Keith Jarrett sing?

[Markyboard]

First I'm a terrible singer. My ear knows when I'm singing off pitch but I have no formal training (or informal for that matter) so I can not control what my mind tells me to do.

 

Having said that I have no problem singing and playing at the same time. However I can not talk and play at the same time. This has always bugged me. I wouldnt make much of a lounge lizared.

 

"Uh excuse me (as the music stops.)Would you mind waiting till this songs over before you request the next one?" How rude!

[Mike Rhodes]

Couldn't sing in a million years, but I can shout pretty well.

[David Loving]

Yes, I sing; lead, back-up, play, too etc. Dr. John, as usual, is right on the money!

[Rick K.]

Yup. Both lead and harmonies.

[MikeT156]

Yep. Probably a better singer than a piano player. Sang lead most of the time when I played in bands, other bands, I shared the lead duties with other musicians in the group so in case the "lead" singer was sick, we could play a gig regardless. Singing harmony and backup was fun too when someone else was singing the lead parts.

 

When I tired of playing in groups, did a duo with a great singer/guitar player. We harmonized together nicely.

 

Some time later I decided to do a solo act. At that point I started taking voice lessons. Not because I "couldn't sing" but because I had to carry the load myself. I played some gigs where I had to sing five or six hours a night for an entire week. I needed proper training to sing from my diaphram so my voice wasn't shot after the 3rd night.

 

I sang lead 5 or 6 nights a week on the hotel circuit for almost 3 years, also as a solo. That was a breeze singing about 3 hours a night compared to trying to sing 6 hours.

 

When I went solo, I also started using a Digitech vocalist for harmony. Nice addition and it always shows up for practice.

 

Starting to sniff around for a more up to date harmonizer. TC Helicon has some interesting units out these days. Can't even think about an Eventide $$$.

 

Mike T.

[Yoozer]

I can do it, but I don't do it on my own tracks; I seriously have to work on my (breathing) technique if I want to exploit that "talent" and I have to look for a decent mic anyway (just to check out the vocoders on my synths in a proper way, even!) because the ones I used until now were awfully cheap, noisy, or just those tiny headset-like things.

 

I also have some trouble syncing my voice to what I play . I don't know if you also have this (probably not), but I'd like to to know if there are excercises for that so your hands stop waiting every time for the voice to continue with the main melody.

[marino]

Short answer: NO!

 

Long answer: I used to sing in choirs as a boy, and to sing the *lowest* harmony part in my first couple of groups. The point is that I hate my voice, and not having exercised it over the years has made the situation worse. I can't stand to hear my voice in a recording, even if it's only spoken voice! A couple of times, I was forced by singers to make a quick demo of their part for fast learning, and I just hope all those tapes have been destroyed.

Maybe it's just that working as accompanist for classical singers makes you very humble about your vocal skills...

 

So - short answer again....

[Immo]

I can sing. I can also sing and play, although it was really hard to coordinate at first. Also depends on how hard the piece is obviously.

 

Some people have said I have a really good voice. I think my low register sounds pretty full; however, even though I can hit some high notes, I think I need some lessons to work a little bit of the nasley sound out of it. Any technique/exercises would probably be quite helpful (falsetto especially).

[JeffLearman]

Hey, just get over it Marino, and you'll never look back Most people have to get over that hurdle. The ones who don't ... usually have ego problems!

 

We still don't like our voices, but we get used to them so it's not quite so grating. Then it's the mistakes that bug us more than the voice itself -- just like the instrumental tracks!

 

So, yeah, I sing. Though maybe I should be barred from it! If ya want, you can hear my singing at Learjeff.com . Nothing to write home about, but it's fun!

 

Though you can't tell from my CD, my main instrument is keyboards (mostly piano), but I also play acoustic & electric guitar and bass. I can sing and play piano or acoustic guitar, as long as I have both parts down cold (and I'm not a quick study). I'm not as good singing while playing electric, probably because I'm weak on electric.

 

But singing and playing bass takes another kind of mind entirely. I don't know quite what it is, but doing one seems to totally make the doing the other impossible. I REALLY respect a singing bass player. I suppose the same for drummers, maybe .. but I'm so far from being able to play drums that I couldn't really say.

 

I knew a guy who could talk conversationally while playing the drums -- while playing a very complex part, too. I think he was an alien, or maybe a couple of little aliens inside a robot humanoid body.

 

It's all I can do to chew gum while playing.

[Jeff Klopmeyer]

All hail Geddy Lee, singing, playing bass and synth simultaneously. That's just sick, and wrong.

 

- Jeff

[Raymar]

I'm pretty good if I'm goofing on somebody for some reason. My own voice just isn't a singing voice but if I imitate others its pretty good in a semi-comical way. I do a dead on Dylan, Dean Martin, a passible James Brown, and a quazi Peter Selers(a la The Party) Indian voice. Can't nail Sinatra though, wish I could. He had a pure voice, no vibrato or gimicks, its either there or it isn't.

 

Steve

[MIDIdiot]

its either there or it isn't.

 

Steve

So true about a voice like Sinatra. Some voices sound so natural, smooth, simple, it makes you wanna try it. But then you realize, you don't sound anywhere close.

 

Yet another great topic. I've always wanted to sing. There have been times when I wanted to sing more than play piano (not that I'm a whole lot of a player - still - I've been making music on it(regardless of skill level) since 10 yrs old. I actually took voice lessons for 2 years but I truly believe you either have it or you don't. The voice is the most physiological instrument, there are those whose voices just naturally do the right things and those who don't. In the case of the latter, lessons can help change some things but it's an up hill battle. My range might be a little higher today than it was before I ever tried singing. You would never know I took lessons if you heard me sing. I think there are so many components to what makes a voice sound good but I bet the best singers don't have to think much about what their doing. Personality also directly impacts how a voice sounds. For example, I could probably sing at 3 whole tones higher if I'm alone than if there are people around.

[Tedly Nightshade]

I sounded really, really rough for many years and kept at it regardless. Just belting walking down the street, wherever.

 

Now I have one of the better voices around, a whole one and a half octaves worth- if it's in my key and I can feel it I can own it.

 

Sometimes I think the hardest-won voices are the best ones. What comes too easy is cheap, or can be.

 

I definitely sing a whole lot better than I play keyboards! I can sing and drum, all four feet and voice, sing and play guitar, sing and play bass, and yes I think singing and playing bass is the one where you have to be superhuman to do it! I'm not sure I would have become superhuman, in my limited way, any other way.

 

If you haven't put in your 10,000 hours you don't know if you can sing or not, if you think you can't.

 

For me it's all about channeling the spirits- they can sing far better than I can.

[MIDIdiot]

Ted Nightshade:

Just belting walking down the street, wherever

you really do this? Would love to see people's reactions

[Jeff Klopmeyer]

I do sing while walking down the street. But I live in Los angeles, where nobody notices (or cares) about such things.

 

- jeff

[resigned]

I used to sing, mostly backup and some lead, but I gave it up altogether three years ago and now I am a dedicated keyboardist. Should've done it years ago. I was never very good at singing and now that I've stopped I'm even worse! I've also worked with a lot of singers and got tired of being farted on... even with ample room to the side they always seemed to want to stand directly in front of me on stage. And they would get all the credit if the job went well while all I got was the odor.

 

I decided to go strictly instrumental and work upscale restaurant and private parties as a soloist, and it's been a good move. I can play at lower volumes and do a better job of providing true background music than any vocalist, and rehearsal times have dropped considerably (no more waiting for the singer to show up late and unprepared, only to leave rehearsal early). Also my playing has improved a lot since I depend on it much more now.

 

Of course, I get calls from this and that singer who wants me to make them look good again... they even seem willing to pay me more now that I can work just fine without them. No thanks... singers stink...

[keynote]

Yes, I sing both Lead and back up and here's a recording I made a while back to demonstrate that fact.

 

The song is called "Have I Told You Lately" written by Van Morrison and made popular by Rod Stewart.

 

All the sounds are from my Yamaha Tyros Keyboard and I also used my Tyros' onboard Vocal Harmonizer during parts of the song.

 

Here is:

 

Have I Told You Lately

 

PS: It would be cool if others (that sing) could post some of their vocal recordings too. That is, until I eventually delete the files from my Server to make room for other songs and files, etc. But I'll be sure to leave these songs on my Server for at least a month or so.

 

On The Road Again

[RABid]

Only in the car, to stay awake on long trips. I have a comfortable 1/2 oct range. Anything outside of that and, well, as my throat says to my ears, "You are not the boss of me."

 

Robert

[Prague]

I sing lead and backups.

 

I went to headset-type mics years ago. They are great for playing guitars, keys, or drums.

 

Backup vocals are really what separate the great bands from the good bands. There are many occasions to add harmonies.

[JeffLearman]

Idunno about those headset mikes -- what do you do when you're playing keys and you gotta burp or clear your throat?

 

And I agree that singing is 99% effort. Sure, some folks seem to be able to do it effortlessly. Most of them actually did expend the effort, you just weren't there to watch. But yes, we all have different starting points.

 

My high school band director said that anyone with an ear and vocal chords could learn to sing on pitch, and the best course he ever took was an ear training course. No instruments allowed, so they spent the first half of the course learning to use voice for the purpose. At the time, I thought he was jivin' me but now I believe it. 30 years later and finally I can sing -- not great but well enough to make it work! Putting on 30 lbs has helped too, I think.

[Andre Lower]

Originally posted by InTheDark:

its either there or it isn't.

 

... I actually took voice lessons for 2 years but I truly believe you either have it or you don't. The voice is the most physiological instrument, there are those whose voices just naturally do the right things and those who don't. In the case of the latter, lessons can help change some things but it's an up hill battle.

InTheDark nailed it back to back. One of my shrewdest friends puts it in this not-so-polite, yet expressive way: "Having a meaty Rock'n Roll voice is just like having a foot long wand: You are born with it. Period".

 

That said, I've been singing since I can remember. And also took classes for some time, which improved some aspects of it, increased my range a bit, but did not turn me into Steve Perry or something like that. After so many years and with smart aids such as TC Helicon, careful song choice and zealous commitment to GO UP THERE AND SING MY HEART OUT, I am good enough to be "regarded" as a singer (and tolerated as a keyboard and guitar player )

 

P.S.: No, I do not have a foot long wand, and just to stick to the analogy, I do the best I can with the one I was given .

[Dave Pierce]

I do sing. A little bit of lead, lots of backups. My lead voice is a bit rough and raw, but it works OK if I'm careful about picking my tunes. At the end of a four-hour night, when everyone in the bar is drunk, I sound f'ing GREAT.

 

Singing and playing can be tough. Some songs are harder than others. I can usually pull it off if I practice enough, but I do sometimes have to simplify the rhythm on the keys to get the vocal lines phrased right.

 

--Dave