Re:Singers (need tips)
Monday, June 11 2012 @ 02:19 PM CDT

I don't like the sound of my voice either. I think anyone that is not formally trained that does like the sound of their own voice either is on drugs or one of those few lucky people that naturally can sing.

A number of years ago I worked on a signal analysis routine for my work. This routine was designed to look at mechanical signals coming from rotating disk media and do some analysis on them. On a whim one day shortly after I joined MacJams I pulled out that code, made a few mods so I could feed it an MP3 file and a band to analyze and I played around with it.

The first thing I noticed about my own vocals was that the frequencies were all over the place. IE if I was trying to hold a C it was varying up and down sometimes as much as two notes either direction! It was pretty pathetic looking and sounding. I was about ready to put my mic up for sale when I decided to try the same test on a vocal from a song I really enjoyed the singing on and I found much to my surprise that this "good" singer wasn't all that much different. She varied by two notes at times and had a fair number of "slurs" where she ripped through a range of notes to reach the desired note.

It caught me off guard and made me wonder why I liked her voice but not my own even though frequency-wise we were not all that different. Then it hit me that there were quite a few other differences:

1) Tonally she had a much richer sound to her voice (lots more harmonics and overtones) than I did.
2) Her timing was so very much better than mine it wasn't funny and often that timing made the difference in my enjoyment of the piece.

I came away from this experience with one basic understanding... With just about any voice there are things you can fix to make it sound the way you want it to sound but just remember that what you like may very well be something that another does not like. So fix with care.

Lastly, it is a rare and gifted person that sings perfectly with no added conditions or effects. For the vast majority of singers, even pros, a lot of work goes into making them sound great.

Re:Singers (need tips)
Monday, June 11 2012 @ 04:32 PM CDT

Thanks for all the tips. I'm definitely going to add compression and reverb then, I'd like to 'hide' my voice in the song, like in 'Fade Into You' by Mazzy Star. Another album that lays the vocals well into the song is Beck's album Sea Change. I know Perry Farrel's voice is heavily effected, and I like that sound, so I'm sure I can find something that will make me happy.

I think the advice I like best, beyond effects is to sing in the range your most comfortable with, I definitely have been looking for songs to cover that won't require me to stretch my vocal chords too much.

So do folks who are singing live have these effects with them? It seems like most people, if they're not recording, are relying on the sound guy to make it sound good....

Re:Singers (need tips)
Monday, June 11 2012 @ 06:43 PM CDT

Just have confidence in yourself--or just pretend you have it!

Re:Singers (need tips)
Monday, June 11 2012 @ 06:47 PM CDT

The dynamic mics that most sound engineers use add a bit of compression all by themselves, whilst reverb is standard fare on most PAs.

Also, don't be afraid to re-key a song for your voice - if the thought of doing that makes you uncomfortable (it's not going to sound exactly the same, and re-keyed songs can really bug people with perfect pitch), then re-arrange it so it is more interpretation than cover in the key you want to sing it in.

One thing I found that drastically improved both my singing and my confidence was by learning what I call a 'singer's' song (in my case 'River Deep, Mountain High') - once I had that under my belt, it suddenly became easier to sing anything (in the right key, anyway).

Re:Singers (need tips)
Monday, June 11 2012 @ 11:15 PM CDT

Quote by: michaeljayklein Just have confidence in yourself--or just pretend you have it!

exactly.

Re:Singers (need tips)
Monday, June 11 2012 @ 11:20 PM CDT

i hate the sound of my voice (always have). i only sing because it's easier than finding a singer I like. you'll learn to live with it to get your point across.

as for singing with effects, I played in a lot of psych/shoegaze bands and it's a little tricky if you don't have a soundman and are trying to play an instrument too. I would focus on a few sounds that aren't too obvious (reverb, compression, delay) and find a way to have that be your sound. you can run through the sounds at sound check pretty easily and the sound man won't be surprised when all of a sudden you stomp on the fuzz/flanger/ ring modulator pedals. nothing more awesome than wild uncontrolled (unplanned) feedback shriek in a live environment.

a lot of bands I like have a murky effected sound that is pretty consistent. it's a personal taste thing in the end. some people get turned off by loads of obvious reverb and delay, but I guess they should probably just listen to something else. another thing to consider: the idiosyncrasies in a voice that may make the owner of the voice cringe, can be the things that others latch onto and make the voice unique. roll with it man. always work with what you have and make the most of it. i'm a hack at everything I do, but I try to be the best hack I can be.

Re:Singers (need tips)
Tuesday, June 12 2012 @ 08:55 AM CDT

The first thing I add to vocals is slapback echo.

Then I go to platinum EQ and try the various presets.

I generally avoid the use of compression on vocal tracks, preferring to leave that to the mastering stage but if the vocalist is all over the place dynamically, . . .

Re:Singers (need tips)
Tuesday, June 12 2012 @ 01:36 PM CDT

Best advice I ever heard about singing (which I don’t do particularly well) is:   don’t run out of air.   Close off each phrase; don’t let your voice go flat.   Then, accept the reality that you have never heard your own voice in the same way that anyone else does:   the only version that you know comes from sounds that are transmitted through the bone of your head, not through the air.   (I have heard of some experiments involving transducers that are attached to the head in an attempt to pick up that sound.)

Re:Singers (need tips)
Tuesday, June 12 2012 @ 05:14 PM CDT

mark and bill can wire those transducers up in no time!

Re:Singers (need tips)
Tuesday, June 12 2012 @ 05:47 PM CDT

Some things that have helped in my own struggle to find a singing voice I can live with:

Sing everday. It's a muscle that needs to be worked out.

Find your range and sing there. Often easier said then done.

Figure out what it is (rockers, ballads) that you sing well.

Find a good singer and sing with them a lot. They will lift you up.