stompie
I was wondering, some people say you don't need a great voice to be able to sing the blues, i don't have a perfect voice but my dream is to front a blues band, will i be able to practise it and get good enough to pull it off, or is it just a dream i must let go?
evolucian
You can do anything your heart desires. Except movie stars... they're more fit than us musicians apparently so they run away faster. But everything else is still within reach.
DaFiz
Of course you can. Get some tips on You Tube...
I'm lacking in vibrato, so turn to You Tube for help.
=
They say vibrato is imperative for opera singers but you don't need it for the blues.
Them old time bluesmen weren't the best singers.
If you get the timing right and you stay in the right key, it's OK if you just groan the blues ?
vic
OK....consider first the following:
You don't have the right to sing the Blues if:
a. You have all your teeth
b. You were once blind but now can see
c. You have a pension fund
The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes... sort of: "Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher, and she weigh 500 pound."
Make your own Blues name Starter Kit: a. name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.) b. first name (see above) plus name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Melon, Kiwi, etc.) c. last name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.) For example: Blind Lime Jefferson, Jackleg Lemon Johnson or Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Well, maybe not "Kiwi.")
I don't care how tragic your life: if you own even one computer, you cannot sing the blues.
?
studmissile
Why not try a reinterpret the blues a little. Make it you own.
=
=
singemonkey
You don't need a technically versatile voice to sing blues. But it's absolute and total nonsense that you don't need to be a good singer. Some of the Chicago electric bluesmen had technically great voices. And early singers like Bessie Smith are frackin' phenomenal.
But even someone like Muddy Waters (a) hits all the notes - every time - and (b) has oodles of character, resonance, delivery. Ditto John Lee Hooker.
A good counter example - in fact a classic example of why white people have a reputation for not being able to sing blues - is Joe Bonnamassa. The guy can technically sing reasonably well. But his voice is dizzyingly bland (this is not at all true of white blues singers - think Garry Moore, Peter Green, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Johnny Winter, and many more - but it's become common enough to be considered a thing).
What I notice on the SA circuit a lot is the soul-destroying confluence of technical incompetence, with total lack of character. You need both to be able to sing, and to carry feeling with it to sing any blues worth hearing. This idea that because blues singers often had rough voices so you can just rough it up and it'll sound genuine is garbage. Those guys could also sing.
Seriously, the notion that playing blues is easy is one of the reasons most of it you'll hear sounds like crap.
Lethe
Vic wrote:
OK....consider first the following:
You don't have the right to sing the Blues if:
a. You have all your teeth
b. You were once blind but now can see
c. You have a pension fund
The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes... sort of: "Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher, and she weigh 500 pound."
Make your own Blues name Starter Kit: a. name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.) b. first name (see above) plus name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Melon, Kiwi, etc.) c. last name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.) For example: Blind Lime Jefferson, Jackleg Lemon Johnson or Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Well, maybe not "Kiwi.")
I don't care how tragic your life: if you own even one computer, you cannot sing the blues.
?
lol!
singemonkey
Yep. The blues has become a cartoon. That's why the best modern proponents typically avoid the word. Anyone in Cape Town should check out Mean Black Mamba - who describe themselves as playing "roots" music - if you want to see some real blues.
The difference between blues and metal is that, while metal has also been made fun of and caricatured, its fans still take it really seriously. With blues the fans actually buy into the cartoon version and help to perpetuate it. Pretty sad, but nothing to be done.
Bob-Dubery
stompie wrote:
I was wondering, some people say you don't need a great voice to be able to sing the blues, i don't have a perfect voice but my dream is to front a blues band, will i be able to practise it and get good enough to pull it off, or is it just a dream i must let go?
Wot Singe said. In any form of music, no matter what "some people" say, you need to be able to sing in tune and preferably have a bit of character in your voice. There is no standard way that a blues singer should sound: Peter Green and Geoff Muldaur are both great white blues singers but don't sing particularly like each other. (Muldaur was probably taking his cue more from singers of an earlier generation than the Chicago players that Green was inspired by).
Timing is a consideration too. Listen to John Martyn, especially later on when he was concentrating on his vocals more. There's a great clip on Youtube of him singing Ben Harper's "Excuse Mr Mister". Listen to how he plays with the timing, often holding a note/syllable back to create expectation in the listener and generally create tension and drama.
But not need to beat yourself up if you can't get all that sorted out by the end of this weekend ?
Attila
+100 - Vic
should have a Chevy or a horse in there somewhere
PaulJ
This should give you some inspiration..................
=
=
AlanRatcliffe
I'd say you don't have to have a great voice, but you do have to develop it as much as you can and learn how to use what you do have (Hendrix anyone?). Pitch and timing are the most important things. As with anything else, practice... Lessons never go amiss either.
Even if you don't regard yourself as talented - dedication and hard work will get you a lot closer to your dream than someone who has all the natural ability in the world, but no drive to develop it.
singemonkey
Alan Ratcliffe wrote:
Even if you don't regard yourself as talented - dedication and hard work will get you a lot closer to your dream than someone who has all the natural ability in the world, but no drive to develop it.
Wisdom as always, Mr. R. Point remains though: blues is not especially easy. Yes, it's easier than opera, R&B, or Indian classical singing. But it does not represent an opportunity for people who can't sing to sing. That's a myth.
Jayhell
The more you do it, the better it gets! I don't have a brilliant voice but it's getting there. If have to say so myself, in the last year I went from a non vocalist to a pretty good one by just doing it. Your voice is your own, and that my friend is enough to be proud of. ?
stompie
Thanx alot guys, i never meant to say you can sing blues with a bad/out of key or time voice, i was just wondering if it's possible to develop your voice to a point where you won't empty a place when you start singing. I feel inspired to work at it for a while before i try it out in front of people ?
Chocklit_Thunda
You can sing whatever you want....
Whether or not anyone else likes it is another story altogether.... ?
