total-recoil
Well-Known Member
O.K., I think I've finally concluded there is no alternative to my learning to sing. The problem is I'm a terrible singer and have a weak voice and you could say I hate singing for that very reason. However, as some of you may recall, I've been spending a great deal of time playing keyboard and synth and writing songs and tracks. In fact, it's now a complete year gone by since I started all of this and, despite lots of doubts and uncertainties, I feel that I've made really significant strides as a songwriter. Whereas over the months I've produced a lot of loose, sequenced riffs, percussion, instrumentals and groovy sounds, there are now actual songs coming out. In fact, I wrote two over the last 10 days or so and on the first track must have spent hours and hours trying to get it all together (late nights till 5.00 a.m.)
The music I mess with is very diverse and I've experimented with psychedelic, semi jazz, hardish rock, easy listening and my main influences are definitely The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Stones.
Anyway, back to the subject in hand, singing. I was watching an American musician do a talk on YouTube and he claims we can all basically sing. He claims people such as me who can't sing are unlucky but the situation can be greatly improved by vocal exercises. Just like if you have skinny legs you can join a gym and lift weights so your legs develop and so on. Now, please don't get me wrong here. It's not like I have great expectations or that I ever imagine I could go on X Factor or something and not get booted off the stage on account of my amateurish voice but, you know, there is this big joke going around about Bob Dylan (who is believed to have had aspergers, by the way). The thing about Dylan was he really couldn't sing but his style and his delivery and his music art was so good people just forgave him. I think David Bowie described Bod Dylans voice as like "sand and glue". So, I've thought about this at length and one thing I do notice is singers sort of find their own way to sound good or acceptable. Bowie has a very powerful voice and Michael Jackson seems to rely on the high pitches and shrieks few people can imitate. Some singers are very average and some just blessed with a brilliant voice.
Now, it gets even more amusing: Last night I played back the background to one of my songs, took a deep breath, tried to feel confident and sang to my best ability. I played it back and thought to myself, well, it could have been a lot worse. So, the plan is now I will try and take baby steps. Practice singing tiny fragments repeatedly with the hope of holding a steady tone and not breaking up. Also, above all, trying to find a style that will allow me to get away with singing my own stuff without appearing to people I'm a guy who can't sing who is trying to sing (if you know what I mean).
Much as I love instrumental, I think the reality is music without a singing voice involved somehow doesn't cut the ice. Even Santana (who relied heavily on African style jingo drums, Hammond rock organ and that brilliant lead guitar) sang lyrics.
I would like to hear from any of you who are in either the same boat or have already learned to sing with confidence. I'm sure there must be quite a few of us who might share this goal to be able to sing vocals but maybe we're shy, clueless as how to go about it or whatever.
Final thought: I can't get over feeling like a sissy at the prospect of singing. I don't know why that is. However, the bonus is that I'm convinced that, for some reason, guys who can pull it off seem to hugely impress girls. I think music has always had this spell over girls which is why rock musicians always seem to have had this power. And despite the fact life for many of us aspie males is one of isolation, solitude and rejection, there are aspie male musicians out there who have had massive success with women thanks to their music (Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson and Gary Numan).
Sorry for rambling this much...
The music I mess with is very diverse and I've experimented with psychedelic, semi jazz, hardish rock, easy listening and my main influences are definitely The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Stones.
Anyway, back to the subject in hand, singing. I was watching an American musician do a talk on YouTube and he claims we can all basically sing. He claims people such as me who can't sing are unlucky but the situation can be greatly improved by vocal exercises. Just like if you have skinny legs you can join a gym and lift weights so your legs develop and so on. Now, please don't get me wrong here. It's not like I have great expectations or that I ever imagine I could go on X Factor or something and not get booted off the stage on account of my amateurish voice but, you know, there is this big joke going around about Bob Dylan (who is believed to have had aspergers, by the way). The thing about Dylan was he really couldn't sing but his style and his delivery and his music art was so good people just forgave him. I think David Bowie described Bod Dylans voice as like "sand and glue". So, I've thought about this at length and one thing I do notice is singers sort of find their own way to sound good or acceptable. Bowie has a very powerful voice and Michael Jackson seems to rely on the high pitches and shrieks few people can imitate. Some singers are very average and some just blessed with a brilliant voice.
Now, it gets even more amusing: Last night I played back the background to one of my songs, took a deep breath, tried to feel confident and sang to my best ability. I played it back and thought to myself, well, it could have been a lot worse. So, the plan is now I will try and take baby steps. Practice singing tiny fragments repeatedly with the hope of holding a steady tone and not breaking up. Also, above all, trying to find a style that will allow me to get away with singing my own stuff without appearing to people I'm a guy who can't sing who is trying to sing (if you know what I mean).
Much as I love instrumental, I think the reality is music without a singing voice involved somehow doesn't cut the ice. Even Santana (who relied heavily on African style jingo drums, Hammond rock organ and that brilliant lead guitar) sang lyrics.
I would like to hear from any of you who are in either the same boat or have already learned to sing with confidence. I'm sure there must be quite a few of us who might share this goal to be able to sing vocals but maybe we're shy, clueless as how to go about it or whatever.
Final thought: I can't get over feeling like a sissy at the prospect of singing. I don't know why that is. However, the bonus is that I'm convinced that, for some reason, guys who can pull it off seem to hugely impress girls. I think music has always had this spell over girls which is why rock musicians always seem to have had this power. And despite the fact life for many of us aspie males is one of isolation, solitude and rejection, there are aspie male musicians out there who have had massive success with women thanks to their music (Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson and Gary Numan).
Sorry for rambling this much...
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