how do you prepare to sing?

Subject: RE: how do you prepare to sing?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 01:01 AM

Mark - yes - the training given to opera and other formal singers is extensive and if I knew what they did at Berklee or Juillard to guitarists, it would probably be the same; although, do guitarists get made to play whilst lying at full stretch along a bench with their heads hanging down over the end or curled up in a ball and expected to be audible? I've been made to do those exercises and that was just for what is basically a church choir!

As for your other question about arcane styles - it is very much a matter of fashion. If you put Bob Dylan on Pop Idol (terrible programme where wannabe pop singers are put through auditions and ritual public humiliation), do you honestly think he would get through? His recordings, to us now, sound rough, ill trained, harsh and quite often not on pitch. 40 years or so ago, it was something different, a primeaval (well, evil anyway) sound that matched the mood of the times. He disappeared from the general public eye in the 1980's because all the general populace wanted then was the perfect sound, highly processed and smooth. We are so used to the 'perfect' studio recordings we can buy quite cheaply now, that we no longer want to hear the rough, artisan style that is what folk music started out as. If you produced a CD of some old people singing in a noisy pub, it would probably go down like a lead balloon to all but the most hardened 'finger in the ear' folkie. It's the difference between Brussels pate and Ardennes pate. Some likes it smooth and some likes the lumps in it, but it's all pate.

LTS

Subject: RE: how do you prepare to sing?
From: Max
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 01:22 AM

I pop on some Robert Johnson and sing really loud along to "If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day" before a gig. He sings so high, and I sing so low, that it really stretches out my vocal chords nicely. My first song is usually "32-20" also by Robert Johnson, which seems to really loosen up my voice and me (maybe more important). My usual gig is always very smokey, so I have to deal with that, and I usually sip Sprite during the night.

Subject: RE: how do you prepare to sing?
From: Merritt
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 03:04 PM

All sorts of methods to learn from here.

Like others I try to sing everyday as much as possible to maximize range and tone. A one-hour round-trip between home and the office helps with this.

I very rarely sing enough to start a gig feeling really ready and in full voice. To deal with this, early tunes in the first set tend to be ones that are in my mid-range and that stretch both low and high ends of the mid-range - Any Old Time (C), St. James Infirmary (Fm), Key to the Highway (E), etc. I perform solo about half the time and play in a guitar/vocal duo the other half, so it's often necessary to negotiate my voice preparation needs with my unindicted musical co-conspirator.

I drink anything from water to ice tea to beer to whiskey depending on what feels right.

After two full hours of singing at a gig I feel like my voice is just hitting it's stride. Am also just moving into that mode where my voice feels equally relaxed and controlled (if you know what I mean). Unless I have a cold, the longer I sing, the better I feel and sound. Unfortunately most gigs last only 3 to 4 hours; some only 2.

- Merritt

Subject: RE: how do you prepare to sing?
From: Deckman
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 03:40 PM

Merritt ... I appreciate your comments, especially regarding what I call "vocal stamina." I know excatly what you mean when you mention that sometimes after two or three hours, you feel your voice is just starting to "hit it's stride." I know that feeling and it's very good when it happens. As has been well and frequently mentioned on this thread, reguliar vocal workouts are what prepare you for the long haul.

Here's another focus on the subject, unfortunatly somewhat negative, but true.

Over the last 6 years, I have spend countless hundreds (thousands?) of hours caring for my elderly parents. At times, the strain on me was horrible and impossible to describe. Bride Judy helped me through it, as did many of my friends.

During those years, I was trying to keep up with my singing obligations, and I fell short. I would start a program that should have lasted an hour, or an hour and a half, and barely 30 minutes into it, my voice would start to fail. Of course, I knew the reason.

I simply wasn't able to get enough rest. I wasn't able to get enough preparation time, especially the MENTAL preparation that was required.
Stress takes a terrible toll on us. And my voice and throat problems are usually the first sign of strain for me.

So, for me, the bottom line is, I can only give a good performance when my head and my body are well rested.

... Just another part of the equation ... CHEERS, Bob