Vocals "not working for us"

[plankspanker13]

Somewhat related story that seems suited to this thread, although it might belong in the Hot Singerbabe one, too:

Those who are familiar with my photographic postings know that I work with some lovelies. The violinist had an amazing voice, but her attitude and schedule were issues. Her eventual permanent successor had only half the voice, but an amazing attitude. Throw in some lessons, and a lot of reps (mostly gigs; the "lite" version of the band works a lot), and she is perhaps at 85-90% of the violinist's tonal magnificence, now. It's barely been 90 days, with her. She gets much better, at every show. Eventually, she will plateau, and then we will have to help her with the secondary things that made the violinist so intriguing. The violinist had a great ear for vocal harmonies, and we sounded KILLER, in that area, with her. The new gal cannot find a harmony to save her life...yet...but has learned to match my pitch, on backing parts. When I hear her do that, I take my perfect pitch and find the 3rd harmony that is missing, and it works. What she lacks in ability and polish (she has been singing for a year, and this is her first band, whereas the violinist had been singing professionally for years, beforehand) she makes up for in attitude, and personality. She has that gregariousness that genuine front-people do (the violinist was either self-conscious or condescending, depending on alcohol intake, which was often excessive) . Meanwhile, I sometimes get jokingly called the violinist's name, because I have been singing more of the parts that she used to do.

[jive1]

I think one of the common misconceptions is that if you're not that good at singing lead, you're better off singing harmony.
I'm not talking about gang vocals or singing in unison, where it's a whole lot easier. I'm talking about harmony where each vocalist is responsible for a note in a chord. Personally, I believe it takes a better musician to do harmony vocals. Timbre may not be as critical when singing harmony, but pitch is definitely critical. I know folks who are great lead singers who can't sing harmony at all. It takes a trained ear to be able to hear the harmony and then sing it. It's easier to sing the melody because it's right there. The harmony takes a little more skill to pick out the notes.

Because I'm a marginal lead vocalist, people think I'll be a great backup vocalist. They are usually disappointed because I'm limited in the harmonies that I can do on the fly. It's not natural to me, so it takes more practice for me to sing harmony compared to lead.

[bluewine]

The OP can always work on his vocals, from the initial post I'm still worried for him.

I'm not sure if this is a band or a sinking ship.

Blue

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by jive1

I think one of the common misconceptions is that if you're not that good at singing lead, you're better off singing harmony.
I'm not talking about gang vocals or singing in unison, where it's a whole lot easier. I'm talking about harmony where each vocalist is responsible for a note in a chord. Personally, I believe it takes a better musician to do harmony vocals. Timbre may not be as critical when singing harmony, but pitch is definitely critical. I know folks who are great lead singers who can't sing harmony at all. It takes a trained ear to be able to hear the harmony and then sing it. It's easier to sing the melody because it's right there. The harmony takes a little more skill to pick out the notes.

Because I'm a marginal lead vocalist, people think I'll be a great backup vocalist. They are usually disappointed because I'm limited in the harmonies that I can do on the fly. It's not natural to me, so it takes more practice for me to sing harmony compared to lead.

It's odd. Both my brother and I can put a correct harmony against pretty much anything without working at it. We can swap parts on the fly if we want. I agree that pitch is critical. Listening is important when doing backups. On the other hand, I just don't do leads. My voice just doesn't have the "it" factor. My brother does sing leads, but he's not playing bass.

[Ewo]

Originally Posted by busmandan

you don't ask an opera singer to sing Motorhead.

Now there's an album concept for ya:

The Three Tenors Sing Lemmy

[Depth_Charge]

Originally Posted by bluewine

What is the appeal of this band for you?

There seems to be a few red flags. Did they offer you the gig on the spot?

If the keyboardist and singer didn't show up aren't you concerned that your joining a sinking ship?

Blue

Bit off topic but a fair question. I wanted to knock the rust off, expecting not to be asked back. Its been almost 2 years since I've tried for a band. They auditioned a couple guys so I'm told.

The no show was a last minute curveball. We still knocked the songs off well. They're seeking a replacement.

So I'll give them a few rehearsals, see how they lead themselves out of this patch or if indeed they stay on a sinking ship. I've been pretty militant and knocked good situations back for minor flags in the past. Trying to find some middle ground.

Cheers for the concern

[BawanaRik]

Bob Dylan? Don't worry. The bass is busy enough without being the frontman.

even Jack Bruce used to write songs so he could sing them.

No lie, if you want to do more with Vox join a choir. It might be the best move you ever made.

Originally Posted by lavaxtris

one of the main reasons I dont sing lead in my band is because my voice simply doesnt fit the style of music.

maybe you are bad... maybe your not. sometimes the case is just because they cant see you singing the type of music.

nothing to get upset about though. kurt cobain was a horrible singer, I cant see him singing any other type of music, but it really fit with Nirvana, and Nirvana wouldnt be the same without him.

[pklima]

Originally Posted by plankspanker13

Knowing your vocal limits is the key to being a successful singing player.

Very, very true. Not just stuff like range and tone, but also your ability to engage the audience, memorize difficult lyrics, and how complex a bass part you can play without the vocals suffering. Don't try to stretch too many of those limits all at once.

[MarkMgibson]

I sing harmony parts in both my current groups (and with every band I've played with), but I would never sing the lead part - my voice is just crap by itself. As Clint Eastwood famously said, "A man's got to know his limitations".

Still, don't underestimate the value of being able to sing good harmony parts. Having three or more people singing nice harmonies is like adding a whole new instrument to a band.