If you could sing like anyone......

[tw2_usa]

We each need to be who we are....Just my view.

 

It's dangerous to compare one's own voice to others.

 

I went to Sting's Symphonicity tour this summer and he played a new song. My wife found it on Youtube bootlegged and posted by a concert attendee and you can hear the song and also the people close to the video camera speaking... Well, the voices that are speaking mere inches from the camera mic sound thin, tight, but in the bg you hear Sting thru the sound system and also through whatever assortment of filters, preamps, tubes, etc. etc. Sting's voice sounds rich, lush, full, resonant, in comparison.

 

These voices we know and love from listening to recorded music have so much more support than the voices we hear of our own when we sing to/for ourselves.

 

But to answer the question, for me it would have to be Frank Sinatra.

[larryp58]

You want to sing like Taylor Swift? Cool!

AJ, you must have misinterpreted that emoticon!

[jannusguy2]

I wish i could sing like James Taylor. I sound like Tom Waits.

[jgwoods]

 

Darrel Scott has a good voice.

[Pickax]

It would be pretty cool to be able to sing and play like Doc Watson, Tim O'brien or like Tony Rice back in his prime. Keith Whitley had an amazing voice in his early Bluegrass recordings.

[nodehopper]

Many of the recordings we listen to are done in pro studios with a bunch of techies who get paid $$$$ to make these people sound good.

 

This is somewhat like the current problems of young girls seeing actresses and fashion models and think that is how they should look.... remember they have air brushing and fake boobs and cosmetic surgeons along with personal trainers and stylists. How can a young girl be happy with herself until she learns that real people with faces that have character are much more interesting and "Hot"

 

I think if you sing along with your favorite artists it adds something to your singing (like I am sure GGirl has a touch of the real Gillian in her singing) simply from being influenced and living with their voices and singing along to our favorite songs. If we practice and really feel songs that we sing.....all those influences will meld and hopefully give us our own "sound" in our singing.

 

jkinnama - #3 says it all....commit to the vocal...it is as hard if not harder to learn to sing vs learn to play the guitar. Practice singing ....I have finally for the first time learned a song by singing it before ever playing it on guitar...totally opposite of my prior ideas of first learning to play a song on guitar and then as an afterthought ...I will just sorta sing it too. As jkinnama says ...."Id hold back (lack of confidence combined with a poor grasp of the tune)" I have gotten to thinking that unless I can really sing a song a cappella ...I shouldn't even pick up the guitar yet.

 

Of course I am still pretty much in the hate my singing camp, but I will keep practicing. If I can learn to play guitar then I have the ear, dedication and musicality to learn to sing too!!

[jefleppard]

" how does a person get past hating their own voice?" Off-pitch? tone? Doesnt sound as good as so and so. One and two can be addressed. Three is something to get past.

 

Here's three things really helped me. One' date=' fingerpicking. Picking the melody line on the high strings made it easier to key the vocals than when I just played chords. Two, Record yourself. Three, commit to the vocal. In the (very) bad old days, Id hold back (lack of confidence combined with a poor grasp of the tune). Result, a poorly supported Dylan-gone-wrong nasal whinge, which only made things worse. [/quote']

 

dead on.

[Gilliangirl]

I wish i could sing like James Taylor. I sound like Tom Waits.

I LOVE your voice.

[Gilliangirl]

" how does a person get past hating their own voice?" Off-pitch? tone? Doesnt sound as good as so and so. One and two can be addressed. Three is something to get past.

 

Here's three things really helped me. One' date=' fingerpicking. Picking the melody line on the high strings made it easier to key the vocals than when I just played chords. Two, Record yourself. Three, commit to the vocal. In the (very) bad old days, Id hold back (lack of confidence combined with a poor grasp of the tune). Result, a poorly supported Dylan-gone-wrong nasal whinge, which only made things worse. [/quote']

For me, mine's both off-pitch and the tone is thin and reedy, nothingness. We've all heard singers who can carry a tune but leave us cold? Mine is neither technically good nor pleasing. I think that's why I don't want to spend time and effort to work on it becuase even if I get it technically improved, it still is not a pleasant voice. Some of us were blessed, some of us not.

[The G]

Paul Rodgers

Merle Haggard

Burton Cummings

[MissouriPicker]

Karen, I understand where you're coming-from, but in reality you're likely being a bit hard on yourself. I used to be the same way about my guitar playing. Kristofferson can't sing. Never could. His voice hasn't gotten more melow with age, it's gotten even more raspy, broken, etc...BUT hey, it's who he is. I don't know if I sing well or not, but I'm not afraid to make an *** out of myself in front of a bunch of strangers. Hey, they're not expecting Perry Como or Patsy Cline at a coffeehouse..lol...I think we often put far too much importance on what we think most everyone considers to be a good singing voice. Cash had a decent vocal range if he chose to use it, but he was a storyteller first and a singer second. I think your voice is more than just sound. I think sound is just part of it. It's the entire package of who you are, how you act, what kind of songs you sing, what kind of feeling people get while listening. Now, if the listeners are folks who measure a singer's voice by how high of a note he/she can reach, then maybe we're both out-of-luck..lol...But I think those folks are far and few between now. I find people want to be entertained in some way. It's more than the sound of the voice. It's the entire picture. .......Another thing is sing songs in the keys that are best for you. I know you likely do this, but I don't always do it...lol...I find myself trying to sing in the key the writer wrote it in. I spent years trying to sing "I Walk the Line" as Cash performed it (usally A, but not always)...and he has 5 key changes in the damn thing. That's why he used to hum between the verses...to make sure he had the next key. Anyway, I've finally learned through continuous trial and error to sing in the right key for me. .....I just think you're being too hard on yourself. You just don't have to be professionally trained or have great vocal cords to be able to sing well. I've never heard you sing, but I think I can safely say you sound just fine......like everyone else in here.

[albertjohn]

AJ' date=' you must have misinterpreted that emoticon![/quote']

 

I did. On purpose. Sorry Larry!

[acoustic idiot]

if Randy was never around, i would want a voice like Randy Travis. very distinct. but, that's his voice, so i don't want it. i'm not the best singer at the moment, but i learn as the nights go by, so it's safe to say that i like where my voice is going.

[Rambler]

'For me, mine's both off-pitch and the tone is thin and reedy' Both of those things can be worked on (see prior posts). But you arent going to get far saddled with negative comparisons. I'd humbly suggest taking Teri out of the CD changer for a spell and working with Karen.

 

From the clips youve shared, I recall your speaking voice (cant recall if you sang or just played) to have a pleasant quality, so work up from that. Hum along with songs, work up to sing-speak. Dont push but support it, what I said about committing. Admittedly its hard to find role models among the ladies, who tend to be big mamas (Clark, Janis, Retha), lil Girls (to many to name) or ethereal (Mis Emmy). Two names that jump to mind are Ricki Lee Jones (jazz mumble) or Sarah Cater, plain and unvarnished (I have a song in the back of my head titled "why dont they sing like Sarah Carter anymore"). Maybe try some blues. Not the shouters, but acoustic country guys like Mance Lipscomb, Lightnin Hopkins, Blind Boy Fuller. They were totally expressive without hollerin'.

[albertjohn]

His name's not Mike? lol

Yes' date=' he must be the guy. Listen to the emotion in 'The Living Years'...... beautiful.[/quote']

 

His most famous song is arguably "How Long". I have a dvd entitled "Strat Pack", a concert celebtrating 50 years on the Fender Strat and he does a great version of this and a couple of other songs I can't recall. Great singer. Check out the dvd or clips on YT if you like that sort of stuff.

[Taylor Player]

Based on how my wife reacts every time she hears Michael Buble sing "I'm your Man..." I would have to say it would be nice to channel his voice occasionally, but in reality his voice is not my thing. Given the choice, I would be happy to have a voice like Clapton... not too powerful, not to sweet, just natural and nice.... (I have heard he used to really dislike his voice but I think that has changed now.) As it is, I can't sing too well, my voice is too low for standard tuned songs, but when I play my 12 string tuned a full step lower, my voice doesn't sound so bad on the blues songs I like to croak out. As always, a bit of beer makes me sound better.... at least to me! :-

[maninblack]

A cross between Bob Dylan and Little Richard

[mr newhaven]

Paul Simon...easily!

[Jack6849]

I remember years ago, when John Lennon was asked who he'd like to sound like, (if he could sound like anybody...) he said "George Jones". (At the time I was surprised. That is, until I really started to listen to George Jones.) Now I understand what John meant.

 

Still, if I could pick for myself, I might just pick the voice of John Lennon, (the voice that recorded both "Julia" and "Twist and Shout"... try to top that!)

 

But then, whenever I hear it, I realize that no voice could be better than that of Ray Charles. (Like Willie Nelson, Brook Benton, and Little Richard.... simply in a class by itself.)

 

Let's just say it would be a most difficult choice to make..... (great topic for a Forum thread, however....)

 

I'd never pick my own voice, that much I know for sure. I'd love to change that one....

 

Jack6849

 

In the liner notes for one of his first albums, Leo Kottke famously described his own voice as sounding like "geese farts on a muggy day...." A classic observation, Leo, truly unforgettable.

[Daryl M]

Sinatra. The Voice.:)

[grampa]

Placido Domingo.

 

 

 

 

Or Van Morrison.

[jt]

If I could sound like one singer, it would be Ray Charles.

 

Because I don't sound like Ray, or any competent singer for that matter, I play only instrumentals. Sigh.

[Rambler]

If I could sound like one singer' date=' it would be Ray Charles.Because I don't sound like Ray I play only instrumentals. [/quote']

 

You and Ronnie Earl. Obv JT you have an MO that works for you. But, Ray Charles or bust? Doesnt exactly leave a lot of wiggle room (Im thinking of Delaney Bramlett telling Clapton how he needed to sing....).

[yaz1009]

MUDDY WATERS

[jt]

You and Ronnie Earl. Obv JT you have an MO that works for you. But' date=' Ray Charles or bust? Doesnt exactly leave a lot of wiggle room (Im thinking of Delaney Bramlett telling Clapton how he needed to sing....).

[/quote']

 

Well, you did edit out the phrase "or any competent singer" from that quote. Anyway, a point well taken. I actually have a live radio broadcast recording around here somewhere in which I sang a number of RGD, Blind Lemon, and other tunes. Not horrific, but not good, either. But, I do think of working a bit of singing back into my act. Maybe I could pull of some MJH.