KingBiscuit
151 posts
Jan 26, 2012
6:39 PM
|
Hey all,
Does anyone know of any good books of blues sheet music that have the lyrics? If they have an accompanying CD, that would be outstanding! Here's the deal:
Age has not been kind to my voice so I decided to take some vocal lessons so I can get back into singing again. There's a vocal coach close to me and I met with her this evening. She's got a ton of experience and credentials. Now here's the catch. She doesn't seem to know much about the Blues. She want's me to find some sheet music so she can accompany me on piano while I sing. She says this will help her determine where I need to work. She's one of those people that can pick up sheet music and play it right off...but improvise...not going to happen.
Any suggestions appreciated,
Dan
|
RyanMortos
1250 posts
Jan 26, 2012
7:03 PM
|
My first suggestion would be Blues Harmonica Collection by: Hal Leonard. It contains the sheet music for many popular blues songs along with lyrics in all the right spots plus you get the harmonica notes in tab & on the staff. The notes for the lyrics are also shown on the staff. I don't think I own anything else like this.
Here's an example page.
----------
~Ryan
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Steven Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
See My Profile for contact info, etc.
Last Edited by on Jan 26, 2012 7:07 PM
|
arzajac
731 posts
Jan 26, 2012
7:06 PM
|
I have a handful of books and to be honest, most of them don't do the songs justice. You can't play blues out of a book - especially if you don't know how to play the blues.
My Piano/Voice teacher was the complete opposite of your voice teacher in that he would teach me stuff using chord progressions rather than musical notation. I pulled out the sheet music to "Little Red Rooster" on my second lesson years ago and he looked at it and chuckled. He said "just look at the chords". I learned a lot of stuff by working on that song and almost none of it came from the sheet music.
If you google "Aebersold Jazz Handbook" you will find a free booklet (it's not stolen, it really is free!). In it, Aebersold covers a heck of a lot of ground, but there are a group of chapters on the blues, blues progressions and playing the blues.
It's not what you are asking for but maybe you could both could use it to find middle ground.
----------
Last Edited by on Jan 26, 2012 7:06 PM
|
Greg Heumann
1445 posts
Jan 26, 2012
9:10 PM
|
If your voice teacher needs sheet music for the blues, I suspect she's the wrong teacher - IF you want them to teach you about blues singing. If you just want good general voice skills, that's another thing. Blues was never written down until after the fact, and rarely at that. I've seen blues sheet music. There isn't much of it but it never properly communicates the FEEL which is ALL IMPORTANT. Be careful not to go down the road with a classically trained but blues ignorant musician - or you may learn to sing blues like a classically trained but blues ignorant musician. Chords and grooves. Chords and grooves. You gotta swing, baby.
----------
/Greg
|
FMWoodeye
205 posts
Jan 26, 2012
10:20 PM
|
I'm with Greg. Having been classically trained as a trombone player, I'm convinced that it impeded my ability to improvise on that instrument.
|
arzajac
732 posts
Jan 27, 2012
3:29 AM
|
I was thinking about this when I woke up this morning...
She has a lot to offer you despite not being able to play the blues. You're getting back into singing so she could help you rediscover your voice. You need the technique and not so much the experience. She could help you with that.
Probably one of the first things she will do is try to find your vocal range - it almost certainly has changed over the years. Maybe those songs you sang years ago are not in the right key. Whether you are singing the blues or The Beatles, your key is your key.
Blues has a feel, but the nuts and bolts of singing it are the same as other styles. You need to breathe the same way. Vocal exercises and warmup techniques will help you regardless of what you sing.
My 2c.
----------
|
KingBiscuit
152 posts
Jan 27, 2012
4:27 AM
|
Thanks for the input.
Greg voiced my feelings/concerns exactly. However, I'm not really wanting to "learn to sing the blues", I'm just looking to get some "BASIC" vocal training to strengthen my voice, help me find my range and figure out what keys work best with my voice.
She is definitely classically trained and freely admits that blues is not her thing. I'm thinking she has things to teach me, we just need to find a middle ground to work on. If it doesn't seem to be working after a few lessons, I'll move on.
@Ryan Thanks for lead on that Hal Leonard book. I'll check it out.
Dan
|
