[tcsned]

however when we started I just let it rip and pulled it off quite well..... a couple of chicks asked me for my number.......so if an old dog like me can do it any one can...........
just takes a lot practice and being willing to fall of the cliff of failure in order to fly.....also had to learn what I couldn't do.......I am having more fun singing now and feel like I am also learning to be a better player with my bandmates

lol - I hear you, I played guitar in my band for more than 10 years before I started singing and while I got a lot of dudes asking my "how'd you play that?" and such didn't get as much notice from the ladies if you know what I mean. The day I started singing - there they were. And I was gawdawful too . . . wassup with that???

It does take risk - if you worried about failure . . . you fail. Picking that skill can only help you as a musician. Having to think about music in a different way will help your guitar playing or whatever.

[keirweir]

I would say I am practicing singing more these days than playing guitar. For the first 13 years I just played guitar. I have focused on singing bigtime in the past year. I take every opportunity to sing at gig levels. Every 35 minute work commute consists of at least 75% singing.

Yes... I am that guy letting it rip vocally when you drive by.

[tcsned]

I would say I am practicing singing more these days than playing guitar. For the first 13 years I just played guitar. I have focused on singing bigtime in the past year. I take every opportunity to sing at gig levels. Every 35 minute work commute consists of at least 75% singing.

Yes... I am that guy letting it rip vocally when you drive by.

lol - we have travelled similar musical paths. I agree with practicing at gig levels as you get a way different result that just singing quietly at home. You highs tend to be weaker and lows are easier to nail. My wife and I do a cover of "Jackson" the old Johnny Cash, June Carter tune and it was initially a big struggle to hit those Johnny Cash low notes

On the way to gigs I sing with the radio too - it makes a good warm up since I rarely have time or space to do it at the gig. I'll sometimes record a tune w/o vocals to practice a tune in the car too - no one to bother

[jkstraw]

That's cool; I printed that one up. I am also going to get one of the Grateful Dead songbooks and try and sight read and sing the melodies. Which one is the best one to get overall?

Rukind.com tab/chords are better than most books.

[krzykat]

your never too old to learn how to sing.

[tcsned]

That's cool; I printed that one up. I am also going to get one of the Grateful Dead songbooks and try and sight read and sing the melodies. Which one is the best one to get overall?

Rukind.com tab/chords are better than most books.

The GD Anthology was pretty decent at getting the vocal melody from what I remember. It's been a decade or so since I've seen that book. I think it's basically a piano part but the vocal melody is there. If you really want good practice, get a jazz fake book and practice some old jazz standards. I've got 10 or so different fake/real books on pdf if you want to take a stab at those. Much easier to get through as there is only a melody line no harmony or other stuff to get in the way.

[krzykat]

That's cool; I printed that one up. I am also going to get one of the Grateful Dead songbooks and try and sight read and sing the melodies. Which one is the best one to get overall?

Rukind.com tab/chords are better than most books.

The GD Anthology was pretty decent at getting the vocal melody from what I remember. It's been a decade or so since I've seen that book. I think it's basically a piano part but the vocal melody is there. If you really want good practice, get a jazz fake book and practice some old jazz standards. I've got 10 or so different fake/real books on pdf if you want to take a stab at those. Much easier to get through as there is only a melody line no harmony or other stuff to get in the way.

I'd love to check those out can you send em in an e-mail?

[tcsned]

I'd love to check those out can you send em in an e-mail?

The whole shootin' match is about 700mb - also has a master index that cross lists all the books. PM me and I'll figure a way to get them to you.

[DeadAheadNH]

I'd love to check those out can you send em in an e-mail?

The whole shootin' match is about 700mb - also has a master index that cross lists all the books. PM me and I'll figure a way to get them to you.

check PM

I also just started working on vocals after 30+ years of playing things with strings. Here's what I've been using to get me over the hump:

o download the studio versions (amazon, itunes, or just rip from your cds)
o open in Audacity and choose "Remove Vocals" from Effects (?) menu (Audacity is a free recording tool that if you don't already have you should definitely get!! )
o If the vocals were center panned on the original then most of them will be gone ... BU tracks will still be there if panned to the sides. Live recordings wont work at all!
o Sing along to DEAD Karaoke!!
o At this point all you need is a mic into the sound-card microphone input and you can record yourself - totally low tech but free and the tape don't lie
o A more elaborate setup could include a small mixer with a mic-preamp ... I'm using a small Yamaha MG10/2 and have a mic, my guitar, a kbd, and sometimes my bass going through it - one at a time.
o This process helps me with pitch and phrasing - and remembering the words!!!
o I do like to use the books for splitting hairs on melody lines. I find it easier to "read" than "hear" these lines - I actually sometimes record the melody on piano and try to sing along with that.
o Here's another useful tool to keep the pitch correct - it's an online chromatic tuner
o obviously this is all just for the academic ritual of mastering a new craft - on stage its a whole different ball game ... I find the hardest part is remembering the words - any ideas on that ???

[javalina]

A friend once told me, if you sing a song a hundred times, you will know it. I told this to a singer friend of mine when she was just starting out, and it seems to have worked for her. It was kind of cute seeing her going around with her guitar and a little notebook, making hash-marks. 20 sets of five, ten sets of ten...

[tiffcheese]

so hard to not fall into boredom after 20 plays of some tunes.

[Emoto]

Ok, so how do you help someone you play with learn to think about keeping within a certain range when singing with others, so that everyone has their own lane, so to speak?

[Grateful Dad]

Ok, so how do you help someone you play with learn to think about keeping within a certain range when singing with others, so that everyone has their own lane, so to speak?

Sit down with no instruments (except for an acoustic guitar) and practice, practice, practice harmonizing. Listen to each other and the blend you make. The good and bad will be exposed and you can work on what works and arrange accordingly.

Set time aside during practice to do this, or even arrange a "vocals only" practice so no one is distracted by the electric mayhem and drums.

Also when you do play out or practice make sure the vocals are up in the mix/monitors and the instruments don't kill the vocals (easier said than done).

[tcsned]

Ok, so how do you help someone you play with learn to think about keeping within a certain range when singing with others, so that everyone has their own lane, so to speak?

Sit down with no instruments (except for an acoustic guitar) and practice, practice, practice harmonizing. Listen to each other and the blend you make. The good and bad will be exposed and you can work on what works and arrange accordingly.

Set time aside during practice to do this, or even arrange a "vocals only" practice so no one is distracted by the electric mayhem and drums.

Also when you do play out or practice make sure the vocals are up in the mix/monitors and the instruments don't kill the vocals (easier said than done).

+1 - talk about singing too, listen to other groups who sing well together. Listen to some barber shop quartet stuff - the songs may be hokey (or Hokie in my case ) but they are broken into parts by range, they aren't just parallel harmonies, and they don't have instrumentation to get in the way. While you're at it, learn a barbershop tune. That's good practice in defining parts. Make it a priority.

[DenverEd]

FWIW. I find that if I sing really "breathy" it creates a really thick note. Generally, the note I am trying to hit will be somewhere in there. If I sing it non-breathy (not sure of the opposite), then it's much harder to hit the note and easier to sound flat or sharp.