[mikeohiostate]

hey all, I was wondering if anyone could give me some pointers on how to sing. I would love to sharpen up my voice to sound like Bobby or brent. Any advice? Any way to practice this? thanks, mike

[tigerstrat]

Sing scales.

Sing your ass off all the time, sing along with the car radio, or turn off the radio and belt out whatever song you need to work on... practice singing each different harmony part that you can.

Singing deserves just as much practice as guitar playing.

[jck_strw]

I agree with sing all the time. I'm a horrendous singer (moreso I think, in my mind), but I've been singing a lot (when no one's around) in the past 6 months and I can definitely see an improvement.

Singing is using the muscles of your throat. If you're like me, you've never used the muscles in your throat (for 30+ years of living). So just imagine if you never lifted a weight in your life. Imagine how weak your arms would be. That's your throat.

Practice practice practice.

[strumminsix]

Bobby and Brent have a similar trick: start exhaling then sing so that the last breaths you have coincide with the end of the line.

It's a bitch to pull of that part of Bobby.

[HawaiianDedhed]

Yup - sing all the time, it's half the fun.

One thing though, try to avoid singing from your throat. Yes, the muscles in the throat are important and need to be in shape but real vocal power comes from the diaphram (the muscles in the middle of your chest).

Try this: Sing the last verse to Jack Straw using only your throat. "Jack Straw from Wichita. . ." Sounds nice and pretty - but no power.

Now, right before you sing the verse, breathe in, flex that diaphram and let 'er rip. "JACK STRAW FROM WICHITA. . ." While you at first need to overemphasize doing this, over time it will become natural and you will be wailing those pipes just like Bobby Weir himself.

Another way I like to think of it is taking a crap in the opposite direction (you know, the whole flexing thing). Use the muscles in your diaphram and go up instead of, well, you know. No joke.[/b]

[qiuniu]

The diaphram thing is pretty important, don't wear out your throat.

I been trying to do the singing thing myself for about 6-7 years mostly focusing on Jerry and Bobby (just can't nail Pig for the life of me) I have the best luck singing with shows while I'm driving to try to get the correct voicings. I'd also HIGHLY recommend sticking to a certain time frame, so not to confuse yourself. If you like '73 or '86 emmerse yourself in shows from that year, they don't change very much but over the years they do change.

Practice, practice, practice! (How many times you think Jerry sang Bertha?)

[mikeohiostate]

thanks for the input guys, ill get to it.

dedhead i like the anaolgy

if anyone has anything new please share!

thanks
-mike

[tigerstrat]

My advice: try really really REALLY hard NOT to think about crapping out of your throat!!