...on a regular basis. I mean like at weekly jams or gigs?...and I mean singing in a blues context (or maybe jazz and rock too)
If so, do you consider yourself an ok singer, a good singer or a very good one? Would anyone like to become a better singer?...and finally, do you have any videos of yourself singing?
Most of my videos have me singing: www.youtube.com/zackpomerleau. There are others from other pages. I consider myself a decent singer but I really don't study the rt of singing or anything like that.
When our local Harmonica Club meets every Tuesday, I do most of the vocals. (only because I know the words) I have my limits. I have sang in the church choir over 40 years. but that DOES NOT mean I'm a comercial singer. My balads are poor.
The one week blues singing classes at Augusta Elkins, WV helped me a lot. Singing can be learned, or at least improved. ---------- intermediate level (+) player per the Adam Gussow Scale, Started playing 2001
Mathieu, You can hear me singing on myspace, below.
I consider myself a harp player who sings. Not a vocalist who plays harp.
More than 10 years ago I took about 6 months of singing lessons. Best money I ever spent.
This enabled me to start my own band,and play the music I wanted to play, rather than be a sideman.
I still do my vocal exercises occasionally,but really should spend more time on them. As I would like to be a better singer. ---------- The Pentatonics Myspace Youtube
Due to cutbacks,the light at the end of the tunnel has been switched off.
I started singing so I could play more harp. Now I consider myself as much a singer as I am a harp player. (I get more compliments on my singing than my harp playing!) I do a number of songs with my band where I do not play harp or sax.
You can sample my CD on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby and the other usual suspects. ---------- /Greg
I do like to sing and I do so publicly twice a week in a Church setting. Funnily enough I haven't got round to singing hardly any blues recently but with my rediscovered love of the harp maybe it's about time I did.
Most of my practice time these days is devoted to harp and putting my stuff out on Youtube. I have uploaded a handful of guitar and vocals. (Rock/Pop Category)
No (I) dont sing (I)play some bass,Hobostubs does in our band,and he aint very good at it,we tried to get (Me),to do it,But (me) is to busy with the guitars,And (myself) drinks to much to hold a tune.
Hobostubs and the split -personalites band (me,myself,and I)
http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/control_room/hobostubs#!/hobostubs
Last Edited by on Dec 20, 2010 2:34 AM
"I consider myself a harp player who sings. Not a vocalist who plays harp."-7LimitJI
I consider myself a lyricist who plays harp and sings. I can sing well enough so I don't hurt my own ears around the house, but if I get the chance I always pass the vocals off to someone else.
I started singing in a band 18 months ago. I answered to a "wanted" request of local blues band trying to find a harpist and in the audition it found out it was supposed to be a singer-harpist.. :)
Well, they thought it was decent enough and so I became a singer..
I have improved a lot I think, and actually nowadays I consider myself more of a singer/song writer than harpist. I've took some lessons and nowadays I sing more than play harp. You can hear me singing in many of the youtube videos from our gigs from the link below.
I consider myself an OK singer, almost decent, but there's still some work to do with all of the aspects of singing (being in tune, the effects, vibrato, expanding the scale, etc) ----------
----------Oh yes, I've been keeping it a secret here. But when I do, I'm dropping the bomb on all of you, mwuhahahahahaaaa! Kyzer's Travels Kyzer's Artwork "Music in the soul can be heard by the universe." - Lao Tzu
"I consider myself a harp player who sings. Not a vocalist who plays harp." That's the same for me. But 'm starting to sing more and more. Recently I've been working on breathing and doing vocal exercises. I really makes a difference. There's lot of good lessons on youtube. But of course it can never be as good as taking singing lessons.
Here's a clip of me singing at Reykjavik Bluesfestival in march/april
sing with my jam buddies, planning on singing in acoustic duo...dont sing in the bands i gig with...but i'm actually quite surprised at how much better i sing since i started playing harp...i guess my approach to improvising has often been to mimic the vocal melody and that has probably trained me to hear better...but voice training/singing lessons are definitely something i'd like to do.. ----------
/If so, do you consider yourself an ok singer, a good singer or a very good one?/
I can sing. I'm a decent singer with a unremarkable voice.
/Would anyone like to become a better singer?/
Yep!
/do you have any videos of yourself singing?/
With the mighty Andy Sharrocks (www.andysharrocks.com) and the equally mighty Huskie Jack:
A blast from the past with my wonderfully talented bandmates from Hey Negrita:
And me (solo) inflicting a horrifyingly timing-drifting, back-to-the-woodshed-with-you Rain Crow Bill (instrumental) and a slow blues (with singing) on a pub in South London:
I've been a lead singer in several bands for over 20 years, and started playing harp in the first band I was in, due to a tune they played with a harmonica solo in it...I was the only one who didn't have his hands full, so I got a harp, and quickly took to it. I wasn't even in to blues when I first began playing-the harmonica brought me into the music. I'm a rock singer with a jazz voice-smooth, no 'gravel' unless I force it, lots of power, and a fairly broad range. I don't think I have a particularly unique voice, but I do okay with what I've got. I'm at work, so I can't access the 'good' sites, but I've got stuff on youtube, and a few tunes from my previous all-original rock band's work can be found on a thread somewhere here with links to member's music. When I find it I will add it here. Most of the vids you will find of me are just on harp, however, as my most recent band is fronted by a phenomenal female singer, and I'm quite happy just laying back and playing harp, and only occasionally singing.
EDIT:Here it is.
These are links to download final mixes from my never-released album with am540. Totally free-Merry Christmas!
Me on harp and vox, btw.
Little Sticks (4th position on a C harp) http://www.box.net/shared/1305qmstx0
The Reckoning (2nd position, F and Ab harps) http://www.box.net/shared/ghlttaecrq
Last Round(duet with Dana Abbott) (2nd position, D harp) http://www.box.net/shared/0sxp7obh0z
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Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
Last Edited by on Dec 20, 2010 8:08 AM
@ 7LimitJI: That's some mighty tasty playing and singing!
I've been the singer for a band since the start of the year, prior to that singing was something I was doing only occasionally at jams. I still consider myself a harp player first and vocalist second. I'm not a terribly good singer (or harp player, for that matter)and have a limited vocal range, but the practice has helped me improve.
There are a lot of vocal coaches on youtube. I stumbled across this guy, who has helped me a lot with vibrato and breathing. None of which are apparent in the above video as it was after that was made!
http://www.youtube.com/user/lloyd614
Taking lessons locally would be better,but youtube is a start.
I love singing, I used to sing almost all the songs with my former band, but I hate listening to my recorded voice. I had some compliments on my voice from time to time, so I guess that I can sing reasonably well sometimes. At least I sing mostly in tune and rythm.
As far as I remember, I've always been singing since when I was a child, and always loved music. I was the main singer in my first band "Les Répugnants" (a punk duo really, I screamed more than I sang !).
With my current band I sing one blues song (22/20 blues) but I wish I could sing it better than I do.
Last Edited by on Dec 20, 2010 7:38 AM
so cool that lot's of you guys have answered and posted stuff so massively. I'm gonna take some time to listen to it all.
I also consider myself a singer before a harp player. Here's a recent key to the highway (sorry it's been posted before but, in the interest of shameless self promotion, who cares)
I'm thinking of posting a few youtube vids explaining my approach regarding singing the blues. I'd be explaining some interesting little triocks that make big differences (kind of like when you discover how to do vibrato on harp) Would any one be interested in this info? If not, I just won't bother...
At the urging of a couple of friends, I started singing about a year ago. I'm not much of a singer. I do it out of necessity.
--
Q. Do I consider myself an OK singer, a good one or a very good one?
A. None of the above. Calling me a singer is really stretching the definition of the term to new limits. I'm not a good singer. I do it so I can play the tunes that I want to play.
--
Q. Would you like to become a better singer?
A. Yes, I do it as often as I can. Now, I practice singing more than harp playing. Quite often, I find myself using the harp more to set up and end the tune, than actually playing. I'm working on some tunes, where I play no harp.
--
Q. Do you have any videos of yourself singing?
A. Yes. I've posted some of them on other threads.
I first started singing part-time in my first blues band a fair few years ago - I was very ordinary (and unfortunately still have the recordings to prove it) but I improved gradually so that now I'm comfortable fronting a band on my own, with or without harmonica.
That said I'm not a natural singer, and I don't think I've found my "voice" yet - it's always difficult for non-American singers to convincingly pull off roots music.
A case in point is this video from a local London blues jam. I dislike more and more the trying-too-hard-to-sound-a-bit-like-Howlin Wolf thing going on - but it's the only clip I have on youtube
I really want to sing, but singing is unnatural for me and I don't know reason why. I love to sing but I hardly control tone and intonation, so I understand that I need everyday practice to sing well and I prefer to spend with time for harmonica. I envy people who sings naturally. ---------- Excuse my bad English. Click on my photo or my username for my music.
Love that Flip Flop & Flyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! That and Caldonia are my favs that my band does - get all jazzed up when it's time to play em!! But the harpoonist (me) don't sing a lick -one trick pony! ---------- ~Banned in Boston!
That's good stuff. I'm certain a large chunk of us will be visiting these videos. Demistifying this complicated part of what we do. Help would be greatly appreciated.
Singing is indeed something that comes more natural to some...not to say that it's impossible for others to learn and be passable with. My daughter, 7 years old, has a beautiful voice and great intonation-no training as of yet. My son, of the same two parents and a year younger, actually sings more, and at first(bless his heart)he had trouble carrying a tune in a bucket. But, over the last year or two, he seems to have 'dialed in' to his intonation. I've always been a singer, beginning with my parents making a spectacle of me in church at the age of 5, and putting me up in the pulpit to share with the congregation as I sang along(this may explain some of my issues). My wife, however, doesn't have the knack. She asks me if she could be able to correct her singing, and I'm honestly not sure. There are instructors that tout that 'anyone can sing', including Seth Riggs, whose course I studied many years ago on a whim. I'd like to believe that is so, but I can't teach it. So, kudos to anyone who can.
EDIT:my first act as moderator:corrected the spelling of the thread title. 'Anybone' is now 'anyone' ;-) ----------
Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
Last Edited by on Dec 22, 2010 7:34 AM
When I initially went for vocal lessons it was purely to do backing vocals. I honestly could not sing a note before I went. I had been playing harp approx 7-10 years though.
I was taught that we all have a voice and everyone can learn to sing. If you can bend a note correctly to pitch, you can learn to sing in pitch.
I learned to sing just like you'd learn any other musical instrument by doing scales and exercises and of course singing songs!
But like other instruments a few minutes in front of an audience is worth hours of woodshedding.
That's encouraging 7LJI...Just like most instrument lessons involve the playing of many scales, so does most vocal training. Perhaps this is what synchronizes in the ear and the voice? Hmmm...I'll try that theory at home:play some scales and get my wife and youngest son to sing along. ----------
Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
Last Edited by on Dec 22, 2010 7:40 AM
I wasn't expecting to sing, but I did. I screwed up two lyrics 'my hemis running tight'-I started to say the old lyric 'my engines running tight' and I started to sing the first chorus in the place of the second chorus. I need to start getting up more often and getting used to singing in front of people again. Like I said before, I think of my self as a lyricist who happens to sing a little and play a little harp.
I posted these as part of a longer performance the other day.
edit: oops, put the wrong one up. There, fixed.
---------- Nate Facebook Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
Last Edited by on Dec 22, 2010 11:58 AM
Last Edited by on Dec 20, 2010 12:17 PM
