#1 resource for Cigar Box Guitars, Free Plans, How-To, Parts & More!

The Voice - Any Fool Can Sing!

There are are some truly remarkable singers here on the Nation, note i say remarkable not great... without mentioning any names i am truly stunned by the abilities and individuality of our performers whose voices have, through practice and experience, become their own complementary instrument which blends in nicely with their sound.

Before i joined the Nation and produced my first video i'd never sung a note apart from the bath-time or inebriated Karoake out of key drawl...i still can't sing for toffee, but i guess i'm sort of getting around that by throwing caution to the wind and adding characters, effects and double tracking to the mix, many legendary professional singers feel the same apparently! Doing it all live is the real test - something which takes a lot of practice and experience which is what i need, but will come...in time! (-;

A national weekend talent show on our UK TV screens is still getting a lot of media publicity despite dwindling viewing figures, once the initial novelty has worn off viewers realise that an hour of tuneless screeching and painful "egg laying" physical contortions by hopeful wannabe contestant clones singing cover songs way out of their range and musical styles is not ideal weekend entertainment, they'd be better off watching re-runs of "Dad's Army" or going to the local pub (if they still have one) and see a seasoned, though not very pretty, unknown performer, going through a well rehearsed routine singing well within their range, comfortable within their chosen genre and...playing an instrument at the same time...something that has become lost since the heady days of 60's pop - i blame the proggers, they spoiled it for everyone with their 40 minute solos...believe me i sat through many of them!

There is just too much media-fuelled bandwagon jumping these days, what looks good on the CD cover seems more important than the borrowed empty repetative phrases everybody uses - rich owners of 4x4's and regular Air Mile collectors singing about saving the planet, or "you better watch out he/she cheatin' on you/me"...we all use them, and why not? The difference is someone is getting paid a lot of money for this stuff...it is, after all, just stuff, it's commercial, no one will get into the top ten with a song about a Yellow Cadillac will they...but they did in the 50's with a song about a Bubble Car ! Those were the best days...any subject was up for a hit!

So to sum up my little piece, my observations for you, the aspiring vocalist, keen to add an extra dimension to your performance is to give yourself the chance to try out your voice, play it back and hear what horrors crawl out of the headphones, i guarantee you will be shocked - the creature you hear is nothing like the one in your head, but work out your range, tune your guitar accordingly and add your own character - you'll never really like it but it will be yours, people listen to you talk so they'll listen to you sing, especially if you've got something interesting or amusing to say - and write about whatever you like, as i say "it'll never sell but what the hell" ...enjoy yourself ! (-:

Funny stories about singing welcome! (-:

1 member likes this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Diglydog on May 23, 2012 at 9:15am

Thinking about Uncle John's advice to try lots of styles. What about copyright - does it expire after a certain time, like it does with books, and is it this the same worldwide ? Are there lists of copyright-free songs ?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on May 23, 2012 at 7:24pm

Copyright is not an exact science, and a lot depends on legal rules and precedents - if you sing a well known song in a pub the landlord should have a public performance licence which should cover it, though not performance fees for the song, if you record a well known song on an album and sell it to the public the original artist or songwriter could take you to court and claim royalties!

If someone wanted to play one of my songs live or record it on their album without permission there wouldn't be much i could do about it, it costs money to take someone to court and the result wouldn't be worth the trouble.

If an A list artist had a smash hit with one of my songs and made thousands without my permission i would have a case..i wish!

The fact that a song has been posted on the 'Nation is proof of ownership as it has a date and the poster's name on it, i always "publish" the lyrics too...you never know!

I think songs over 50 years old are copyright free but wouldn't like to test it. (-;

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Chris Tinker on May 23, 2012 at 8:45pm

Copryright in the UK lasts 70 years after the writers death.

The 50 years rule I believe stands for recordings only! So if you copied an original 45 of Elvis and distributed it you would still be liable for royalities to the writer but not to the artist.

There is a list of songs in the public domain, but it's slightly tricky as they are different in the Uk to the US.

http://www.pdinfo.com/Public-Domain-Music-List.php

I try and stick to gospel tunes, traditional folk tunes and my own when it comes to youtube etc. as they are pretty much guaranteed public domain. Though if you can get permission from the writer direct then you're ok too (that's what I did with Rebel Rock Armageddon.)

In terms of youtube, technically you have to have permission, but then they also police it and if the artist wants they can either legitimise it or take it down. But it requires you to say you have permission even when you don't. Legalising after the crime as it were!

The other thing to do, is look at the writing credits on recordings, sometimes it's public domain anyway e.g a number of Bill Monroe's songs, Jimmie Rodgers etc.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on May 23, 2012 at 10:58pm

Or you can do what most of the blues artists did - creatively "borrow." Use bits and pieces, jumble up Link Wray's Rumble, things like that.

You can perform any song in your shower, bedroom, or backyard open mic without troubling the original artist for permission. Where it starts to get dicey is when you get paid, either in beer, or in cash. Most artists actually love hearing other people interpret their songs, which may be why Neil Young hasn't come after me for over 35 years - he's never heard my version of The Needle and The Damage Done!
;-)

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by BUGGY (C) on May 24, 2012 at 9:16am

I have to say I never sang before I came on here

and have built up my confidence with some great feedback from all you guys

Strangely the more you try, the more confident you become, and I think the better you sound.

I find you have to throw yourself at it to get it to sound ok.. yes tuning helps, cheat as much as you can.. reverb etc tone all helps... and do lots of takes then choose the best on...

I'm now really enjoying and not dreading it at all... not sure I could do it in public though..

Although I was thinking maybe to go somewhere where knobody knows you, to get the eggs thrown at you first..

Even if you don't sound great to you, you will build your confidence and definately improve with paractice.

So come on you non singers it's...it sing us all your first song week....If I can just about do it then I'm sure you lot all can..

Even Clock has sung 3 words and James with Katman..... Bring it on now its your turn!!!!

If in doubt shout out something cool and repeat it a few times...it works for Lemmy in Motorhead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BstyQX-kQQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7NfJL5lbIk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsMpHHSLSlc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2MMIIi-vp0&feature=related

Come on light up our lives... how much better would this be with singin?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAobIpnkCNw&feature=related

.....Over and Out......Bug

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Diglydog on May 25, 2012 at 6:12am

Great words of encouragement bug. Another question - if I'm going to buy a microphone (I am) to plug into my computer for recording voice and CBG on Audacity, what's the best type to go for ? There seems to be condensers, dynamic and ones with a USB or a jack plug, and all sorts of advice on Google. Neither my budget nor aspirations are huge, so sub £50 (~$75) would be good.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on May 25, 2012 at 6:29am

digly,

The Blue series of USB mics are really good, and quite affordable ( although their premium top of the line mics are priced, well, at a premium). I have recorded PSAs and training videos with the Blue Snowball, and with their big condenser, and can personally attest to the fact that they are very, very sensitive for their size and price, and yet, the results sound " natural." Others may / will have different opinions.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Diglydog on May 25, 2012 at 6:44am

Thanks Oily. Yes, there will always be different opinions, but buying something on a recommendation from someone who's actually used it is far better than taking pot luck with something that looks shiny on the Internet or in a shop.