Did my first gig last night singing a number of tunes. Having no natural singing ability, it has taken me literally years to get to this point. Thankfully it all went down really well, even the 4 that I wrote. So it's taken me 30 years of harp playing to get pretty decent, therefore I should be a great singer just as I'm about to die.
sounds about like my experience LL. what i had real problems with early on- and even more recently again- was straining my voice too hard in an evening. breath control is vital and so is good sound reinforcement. keeping the vocal cords relaxed and using a p.a. to good advantage will save a lot of speechless next days.
i've been singing through my harp rig which sounds pretty cool, but i've realized- again- that it just distorts too much. so next gig i will have a mic to the p.a. and maybe use both at once but definitely get my voice out with less strain. from last saturday night it took about 4 days for my cords to tone back up where i had my usual range.
early on i was playing with a real loud band and i had no idea about warmups or breathing exercises. i'd blow my voice out in 2 sets. not good. if you want your voice to get in and stay in good shape, i suggest a voice coach for a few lessons and doing warmup exercises. that coupled with a well set p.a. channel will keep you in good shape for a long time. ---------- http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
"So it's taken me 30 years of harp playing to get pretty decent, therefore I should be a great singer just as I'm about to die."
:-)
Leatherlips, many years ago i was in a trio. i was told that if i didn't start singing right away i would be let go. so i jumped in and did it. it's been over 30 years and i'm still a marginal singer. hopefully your last days will be kinder to you than mine.:-) ---------- MP affordable reed replacement and repairs.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
Jbone, I'm pretty sure I have reasonable breath control but I know I should do warm ups and I don't. I used to do that as part a singing group, but fail to do it now. A voice coach would be nice but I'm fearful of the cost as it's not likely to be recoverable from gigs I currently do. MP, I wish I had started to sing early on in my musical foray. It was pretty hard being accepted even as a harp learner. Thankfully, I had supportive people around me to give me a go.
I decided some months back that I had to sing, forcing myself to. Especially when I am solo busking, it's hard. Our band's guitarist is reluctant to sing, so that's another opportunity. And in my duo busking formation we share singing duties, so it's getting easier (although I may not necessarily be getting better). I still haven't come close to mastering this harp thing either, and don't expect to. It seems to be a receding horizon. But the journey is fun.
Hey BronzeWailer I love your term receding horizon. For me it's a reality in my 70s progress is slow & somedays it's backwards!
I play with a Bluegrass group and a lot of the time I have little to do. I didn't at my stage want to start learning banjo or guitar & wear a harp rack so they suggested singing and I am enjoying it. Not good but they reckon I'm ok & it builds my overall confidence with the harp. ---------- HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
Good on ya, Aussie! I sit in with a bluegrass group sometimes and play my 15 second solo and then get the hell out of the way. (Sometimes I chug in the background in a non-offensive way). I think all harp players should learn to sing. If everybody in Fiji, the Solomon Islands etc. can sing, then I figure we can too.
My singing & harp playing on an old country classic by Jimmy Rogers. Recently covered by Bono. I recorded this today. Would like some honest feedback on if I should abandon singing & harp playing?
Definitely not. Your voice sounds fine to me. Pleasant, sincere and fits the song. I am a newbie singer myself so leave it to others to dish out advice.
BronzeWailer : Thanks mate. We Aussies have to stick together & at this time of day we at least have the forum all to ourselves! ---------- HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
BronzeWailer> I'm no insomniac as I swim each morning & its bye bye ca 8.30pm. But tonight it's our Bluegrass meet which for me is a really late night ca 11pm! ---------- HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
Aussie. Exercise cures insomnia like nothing else. Gig nights are always late just due to music making excitement if nothing else. I'm having four late nights in a row. Have a good one.
Aussie..I'm the world's biggest Jimmie Rodgers fan. I used to carry an 8x10 of him in my guitar case. Your version sounds more like Bono's than Jimmie's and there's nothing wrong with that. Yours is very soft, very pleasant. Very nice. I would love to hear you do some Slim Dusty, by the way. It's your birthright. Also a big fan of him.
I do a couple Jimmie Rodgers songs. I sing "Last Blue Yodel" and play "Any Old Time" on the chromatic. ---------- David Elk River Harmonicas
I'm always surrounded by some great musicians, we can all play several instruments and sing. Thus, I never have to sing and play harp at the same time. So, in a typical set, I'll play guitar and sing on some, just play rhythm guitar on others. Some I'll play instrumental on harp with either a bass and mandolin or guitar and mandolin from the other guys.. or somebody else will be singing and I'll be playing just harp for rhythm and lead. Here's what a set would look like, minus a fiddle or mandolin tune and some more songs thrown in. There will be a song or two on chromatic, a few in second position, maybe a couple in first position (which I don't think I have recordings of), two or three in second position and a couple in fourth position. this way gives a good mix, the harmonica contributes, but it's not on every song, never sounds the same and I don't have to play in a rack, which I can't do.
I wear a Seydel Smart Belt on stage, but I don't like to wear them in the front like I see everybody do. I like to wear it loose, slung at the hip, like they were revolvers in a holster or something.
So, if anyone is interested, and I hope I don't bore y'all with all this, but this is what a mixed up set like that sounds like: Most of these are from the Wheeling Jamboree radio shows I did last year: Me singing and playing guitar:
Me on Harp with guitar and mandolin:
Me on harp with mandolin and bass accompaniment. We'd use this configuration on something that was soft we'd want the harp to be really forward on:
Me on chromatic with guitar and mandolin. This was Jason Wise's 270. He send it to me for checking, I said "there's nothing wrong with this harp, in fact I'll play it on the radio":
Me backing up Greg's singing of Bluestone Mountain on harp. this is a recording of a replay on a radio station in England:
This one obviously wasn't recorded on the radio, but it's another one that will come out of the woodwork:
I don't have to sing and play harp at the same time, which I don't like to do. I can just concentrate on one thing I want to do as well as I can. Getting this representative set together's got me all worked up now. I gotta get a new band together... too much fun. ---------- David Elk River Harmonicas
Elk. Hi David I thoroughly enjoyed all those vids & clips. All my kind of music. Great rendition of Hanks 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry'. Which harp did you use? Those radio studio gigs have great sound quality.
This is the only Slim Dusty one I have done. No singing. It was Slims 1st big hit 'When the Rain Tumbles Down in July.
I'm off to my Bluegrass jam tonight. Surrounded by lots of musicians all plucking, strumming & fiddling away whilst I get about 30sec in some tunes. I'm the only harp player so I have to behave myself. Singing is where I can contribute more, I'm hoping. ---------- HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
Oh, it's tomorrow evening there isn't it. I listen to Saturday Night Country on Radio Australia at 9580 kHz every Sat. when I wake up about six a.m. lol. I'll check your vids out tomorrow. On the harps: I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry: B-Radical A Elk River Blues B-Radical C, paddy tuned Bluestone Mountain: Prewar Seydel Bandmaster G, American Chestnut Comb, paddy tuned.
@Elk-David, Saturday Night Country is a good show bet it starts at 11pm & goes all night. Great show here for insomniacs. I note your interest in history & ask if you have ever come across any of the work of Tex Morton? Tex was a Kiwi but lived in Oz and was a forerunner to Slim Dusty. He had a distinctive voice and was an all round entertainer appearing in film, practicing hypnotist, and great singer. In his US travels he appeared with Hank Williams in some shows. If you are not familiar then check out the following Youtubes :
Oh yes, I've heard of Tex Morton. Kind of an Ernest Tubb/Buffalo Bill rolled into one. I wonder if any videos of his sharpshooting act are floating around out there.
Shortwave does better after dark, so when summer comes, there's not so much to listen to, Radio Australia is the one exception, because everything is backwards, it actually comes in better as it gets into summer here. I can listen to Saturday Night Country from maybe 4 am to 9 or 10 am, when there's too much static to listen. I didn't listen last week, but for the past few weeks before SNC wasn't on. I took a shortwave to Harmonicollege on March 23, was going to listen to SNC when I woke up Sat., but there was an Australian Rules football match on. The next two or three weeks, they had matches on. One of the teams playing Australian Rules was the "Cowboys," which, as a Steelers fan, I had to root against.
I was able to watch an Australian Rules game a while back, it was way less boring than soccer. I think if I were able to watch sone games, I could also get into cricket. ---------- David Elk River Harmonicas
Elk> I'm definitely not into cricket. I'd rather watch paint dry. Not only is it dull & boring but they play it in the blazing sun on 100+degree days. Beach for me. Aussie Rules is OK as its fast, high scoring & play is all over the field.
Did you watch the Tex Morton video of 'You'll Never Be Missed'? ---------- HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
