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Forums :: General Discussion

Any other site like this for singing??

2 replies [Last post]
Tue, 11/18/2014 - 14:09
orestis
orestis's picture
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Joined: 10/16/2014

Hey guys, i was wondering if you know any other site like this but associated with blues singing? any suggestions?

   

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Mon, 11/24/2014 - 13:45
#1
Some Clown
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Joined: 10/17/2014
The short answer is no.

At least, not to my knowledge. And I've looked around the web a bit, over the years.

But, as for singing suggestions, here's my two cents.

Homespun Tapes has a lesson by Maria Muldaur. It was of some use to me. I'm self taught, for the most part. I taught myself to sing by busking. I sing and I ukulele, daily. I've been scratching a living at it for nearly ten years. I try to do as little as possible for a living, but even this has been damn hard work.

Star Dust was the first song I ever charted and learned how to sing. it took me at two years before I felt like I was doing it any justice. I was in the wrong key for the first year. Imagine took about a year, too, but by then I knew how to find the right key. Both those songs require a tremendous range. Nevertheless, I think everybody has enough inherent range to sing either one of these songs, given enough time and proper effort.

[While I was out busking tonight, I was thinking about this thread. I remembered I neglected to mention an all-important dictate about how to know if you're in the right key for your voice. So, here's your free lesson. Whatever song you want to sing, find its highest note. 

The rule of larynx is; Always ensure that the highest note of the song is right up as close as possible to the ceiling of your voice. That means, you can hit the note without having to really strain. If you have to wince, and it hurts, your too high. The perfect key is the one that lets you kiss the sky without straining. That's your ceiling. Always sing with the birds. Don't sing down in the gravel. 

That may be the only singing lesson you'll ever need.]

Blues singing is not like singing in other musical genres. In the blues, the vocal is not necessarily the focal point. It is only one component that contributes to conveying the underlying emotion of the song. Blues is more about feeling than it is about music. The other instruments, such as harp, guitar, piano, et al, are equal partners in emoting. They are not subordinate to the voice, as a rule. Not like they are in jazz or folk songs where the lyric is the center of the universe. That's one reason why blues is even more difficult to sing. It's really more like learning another instrument. Don't be surprised if it takes you a year, or more, to learn how to sing a particular blues song. That's normal. 

The way to approach singing a blues is to first make the accompaniment second nature. Stefan Grossman talks about the Samurai Sword test. You have to have your instrument, usually guitar or piano, down pat and so much so that if a Japanese warrior crept up behind you and lopped your head off with his blade, your body would keep on playing. That's when you're ready, says Stefan, to start figuring out how and where to add the vocal. And then, you have to sing it everyday, every chance you get, and think about how your voice dovetails into the song. 

I hope this helps.

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Wed, 08/26/2015 - 20:02
#2
blues38
blues38's picture
Offline
Level 8
Joined: 12/20/2009
Helps a lot

Thanks S.C. This helps me.

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