Skip to content
Notifications
Clear all

Voice like a frog

32 Posts
19 Users
0 Likes
5,268 Views
(@corbind)
Noble Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 1735
 

After hearing that one I've come to a conclusion. Someone should go over to the Singing Forum and put a few of this guy's songs out there. I think it would bring inspiriation that many beginners would sing 'better' than him in less than a year.

I only listened to the clip for ten seconds or so. Is he on key? I would guess, but his voice is so low and abused? Don't know if that's the right wording but there's definitely something goin' on with that voice.

"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."


   
ReplyQuote
(@elecktrablue)
Famed Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 4338
 

That's absolutely true! But, the thing about Tom Waits is that his voice works with his music! I've been a fan for years! He is truly entertaining!

..· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ .·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´ -:¦:- Elecktrablue -:¦:-

"Don't wanna ride no shootin' star. Just wanna play on the rhythm guitar." Emmylou Harris, "Rhythm Guitar" from "The Ballad of Sally Rose"


   
ReplyQuote
(@ignar-hillstrom)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 5349
 

Holy crap! Why didn't I hear any of his stuff before?! Spend an hour on youtube checking clips of mr. Waits. Absolutely blown away...


   
ReplyQuote
 cnev
(@cnev)
Famed Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 4459
 

I'm not a huge fan of his but he does have a unique voice that like EB said works for him. Some of his stuff is really good and he does have a fairly big fan base

"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!


   
ReplyQuote
(@citizennoir)
Noble Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 1247
 

Welshman -

I KNOW where you're coming from.

When I was much younger, I had a real deep, raspy "singing" voice.
Though I wouldn't say that I could sing in key too often.

By my mid to late 20's, that raspy voice was gone.

When my old band and me re-united one night, and did a few songs together, we.... as per tradition,
warmed up with Them's 'Gloria'.

Only this time, I sang it differently.
The drummer's wife was there, and she came running down to watch me.
When we finished, she said that I sounded just like Kermit the Frog.
The guys in the band laughed and thought I was just joking.
Not so though.

This was the start of a NEW singing voice for me.

And after 20 years, I think I have finally found MY voice.

The hard part about singing is that you have to train your voice AND your ears.
This will take some time to do on your own.

The biggest thing I've noticed when I actually am singing, is that my vocal chords are really relaxed.
Not tight - I think someone mentioned that.
That's really the only way it works.

About the best advice I can give is....
Just try and sound like YOU.
It is hard to do.
Mostly because you KNOW how the song sounds.
And you are going to try and force your voice to sound like the singers in the recorded version of the song.
DON'T.

You have your own vocal sound and range.
Find it.
Use it.

You will be satisfied.
It's great.

Ken

ps
Tom Waits sings GREAT!!!!
As does Dylan and Willie :wink:

"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway

"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles


   
ReplyQuote
(@dogbite)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 6348
 

Holy crap! Why didn't I hear any of his stuff before?! Spend an hour on youtube checking clips of mr. Waits. Absolutely blown away...

Nighthawks at the Dinner is an early example that got my attention in the 70's.

his later work and newer stuff keeps getting better and better.
arjen, now you can see why I am a fan of your music posts.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=644552
http://www.soundclick.com/couleerockinvaders


   
ReplyQuote
(@elecktrablue)
Famed Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 4338
 

ps
Tom Waits sings GREAT!!!!
As does Dylan and Willie :wink:

I agree! :D

..· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ .·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´ -:¦:- Elecktrablue -:¦:-

"Don't wanna ride no shootin' star. Just wanna play on the rhythm guitar." Emmylou Harris, "Rhythm Guitar" from "The Ballad of Sally Rose"


   
ReplyQuote
(@vic-lewis-vl)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 10264
 

I've only recently discovered Tom Waits - think it may have been Chris C who's a big fan. IMO, he has the PERFECT voice for his songs....world-weary, worn out, downbeat and tired. He's an acquired taste - but one worth acquiring. Dylan's voice is shot to hell these days - but it's still Dylan singing, so that's OK.

The funny thing is with most of these performers, the ones with the so-called lousy voices seem to have had long and succesful careers - they have a knack of using the voice they have to their best advantage. They also seem to have another rather useful skill - Dylan, Waits, Neil Young etc have all been better-than-average songwriters. In their cases, it would seem that any deficiencies in the vocals department was more than compensated for by an abudance of writing talent!

That's not to say you have to be a great writer if you don't have a great voice, though....the way you put a song across is important. You have to feel what the writer was feeling. Listen to Rod Stewart or Joe Cocker - very good song interpreters. Joe's never written much, and Rod doesn't seem to bother these days. You can go way back - Louis Armstrong was a rarity in an age dominated by crooners, but he seemed to manage OK!

Everybody's voice is different - the trick is to find that voice you've been given, and once you realise you CAN sing, practise. Use your voice regularly. Use any subtle nuances you might have - and pretty soon you'll sound like YOU, not a bad imitation of (insert name here.)

:D :D :D

Vic

"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)


   
ReplyQuote
(@dogbite)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 6348
 

Vic. so glad you mention Louis Armstrong. he is an amazing musician, performer, artist.
not only did he having incredible timing, he had perfect pitch.
frogs and all.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=644552
http://www.soundclick.com/couleerockinvaders


   
ReplyQuote
(@chris-c)
Famed Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 3454
 

Vic. so glad you mention Louis Armstrong. he is an amazing musician, performer, artist.
not only did he having incredible timing, he had perfect pitch.
frogs and all.

+1 to that. :)

And that's what singing is about. 8)

Singing is about timing, phrasing, pitch, and being able to 'sell' whatever emotion the song is trying to convey. People who don't sing themselves often mistake liking or disliking the tonal qualities of a voice, or the song styles, for whether the singer is 'bad' or not, regardless of how good they are at controlling their voice or making it serve the song. Many people don't like the sound of Operatic voices - but 'bad'? - I don't think so....

We have a large collection of music (a legacy of owning a CD shop) including drawers full of Opera (which we're both fans of), Choral music, Jazz, 'torch songs' - you name it and we've probably got some of the best singers in their genres. Tom Waits easily makes it into my top 10 of great singers - any style, any era. He's not everybody's cup of tea by a long shot, but he is WAY better than you might imagine from a casual first listening.

He can take his voice right to the edge of collapse and then hang it over the precipice even further and still keep singing. When he does that it suits his song in a unique way. Yet if you listen to some of his other songs (some of the ones on the 'Bawlers' CD for instance) he can also be soft, lyrical, and tear-in-the-eye beautiful. He certainly isn't always comfortable or easy to listen to - but anybody who dismisses him as bad is missing out on one of the great singer song writers alive. 8) In my not particularly humble opinion of course... :roll:

As Vic says, Tom has a perfect voice for his songs. And as he also says - funny how many guys with 'lousy' voices have had long careers. It's because they have unique voices, not lousy ones, and because they understand how to use them. They have often long careers because of those voices, not 'in spite of them'.

We can all sing. We just need to put in the effort and discover 'our' voice, as Ken said. One of the things that I've learned about guitar is to stop stressing out about imitating somebody else and enjoy developing my own style. I'm hoping to do the same with singing - relax and do what I can with what's there. Early days yet, but I'm already hearing progress. Great feeling!! :D

Come on Welshman - give it a go. A Welshman who can't sing is going against nature... :P :P If I can take up guitar at 58 and singing at 60, then I'm sure there's time for you too. :wink:

Chris


   
ReplyQuote
(@coleclark)
Honorable Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 417
 

its amazing how different our voices are when we hear ourselves recorded as we talk, you think 'oh my god do i sound that whingy?' but when you think about other people you dont even compare there voices to anything, its just 'thats james voice' or 'that sounds like sam', its the same when we sing, although oursleves we might make comparisons to other singers or puppet creatures to other people thats just what your voice sounds like, same as a speaking voice. if you can hit the notes well people will just accept that as your singing without pulling it to pieces...i think/hope...


   
ReplyQuote
(@odnt43)
Estimable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 158
 

One of the worst singers to ever make a lot of records is also one of the
best songwriters ever...Kris Kristofferson...
He cannot sing in every way possible....tone, pitch, timing, rhythm...you name it. :shock:
Lots of records though...lots of collabarations like Highwaymen, etc.
Go for it... :wink:

"A child of five could understand this...send someone to fetch a child of five !"--Groucho Marx


   
ReplyQuote
(@chris-c)
Famed Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 3454
 

One of the worst singers to ever make a lot of records is also one of the
best songwriters ever...Kris Kristofferson...
He cannot sing in every way possible....tone, pitch, timing, rhythm...you name it. :shock:
Lots of records though...lots of collabarations like Highwaymen, etc.
Go for it... :wink:

Have to agree with that. :D

Somebody linked to a Youtube video of him singing at a concert in honour of somebody or other, a while back. And he was singing just as you describe. :shock:

Here's a good starting point for us beginners:

Home on Your Range - by David Hodge

He shows us the importance of first finding out what you have now. Trying to sing out of your natural range is the first downfall for most of us. Start on the wrong note and four bars into the song the voice falls apart... :roll: But David shows the way to set the first goals. then we can find (or set) some songs in the right key and range for us, and start work on controlling and improving what is currently in reach. And then slowly work on widening that range a little.

One step at a time. And the articles here by David and Nick are as good a place to start as any. There's also beginners' books with CDs, or finding a mentor who sings. Even lessons if you're feeling flush enough with funds.

Why I am still here typing instead of practicing?? Well, I can't play and type but I can sing and type... :P

Chris


   
ReplyQuote
(@rahul)
Famed Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 2736
 

I never found Jimi Hendrix or Kurt Cobain's singing 'good' or 'melodic'.

Mr. Waits, however, is a classic.

You can sing. Keep trying. Don't worry, we will listen to you.

Rahul


   
ReplyQuote
(@wes-inman)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5582
 

Kevin

That was a great video of Tom Waits, thanks!

But before Tom Waits there was Joe Cocker. Check out his hit Cry Me a River. 8)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMwXPueu-RM

The thing is, Joe could sing kinda pretty when he wanted to. Here is You Are So Beautiful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlDmslyGmGI

If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis


   
ReplyQuote
Page 2 / 3