Paul Potts, although he gets sympathy points for being so humble and all. I saw a concert on TV last Christmas where he was singing live, and his pitching was not just suspect, it was terrible. Even my old dad, who was dozing off in his chair, snapped to and groaned in frustration.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Bad Singers who made it
- Thread starter lawsonman
- Start date
falstro
Good Bassists Don't Forget Anything
Her voice has definitely stood up well to the test of time. When I was a teen back in the late 60's and heard it I remember finding it kind of screechy but now I can listen to her all day. Go figure. What's really funny is when I first saw her picture I wasn't to crazy about that either. Now when I look at some of them I go hmmmm...not bad. Funny what growing older will do.
Same with the chick on the original Blind Faith album cover. Oh well, wrong thread topic...
1: Have you asked them if that actually is true, or read about it somewhere? Or is it just a guess? If they were singing with a very bad technique, they wouldn't be able to tour at all anymore. But they do, and are able to pull off great shows.
2: I couldn't agree more.
3: Our view on what's technically good/healthy differs. I don't judge any singer's technique before they say they have a problem or it becomes too obvious they have by failing to pull off a show or so. I never said the singers I mentioned are my absolute favorites, just that I like them and don't judge their technique. Here's a list of a few of my fav. singers: Stevie Wonder, Bono, Don Henley, Lara Fabian, Mariah Carey (yes I think she's an amazing singer), Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Bassey, Sting, Bryan Adams, James Brown, Marvin Gaye. In addition there's a lot of singers whose voices I like but not listen to, like Ronnie James Dio.
4: Again comparing various singers' technique isn't my cup of tea.
5: I suggest you read the case stories in the CVT book before judging it so strongly as you do. Good for you you have your technique under control.I also have a 3½-4 octave range, pretty much exactly the range of a normal electric guitar. I don't feel more limited than you either in terms of using it. Anymore. Not too bad considering I've had singing lessons (CVT) for only a bit over half a year. I still have stuff to learn, although my teacher wondered if I would continue studying.
6: LOL. The sensations (or lack thereof) in my throat tells me if I'm on the right track or not. I don't try to imitate other singers too much, I won't ever sound exactly like them anyway...
I know those singers have bad technique because bad technique simply sounds bad, their is definate tonal difference, for instance ronny james dio has good technique but can scream with good tone as well and does it for rock in a wide range, when you compare him to someone like the singer from AC/DC, who also can scream some high note, the tonal difference and all out resonance is strikely differernt, and not just because they have naturally different timbres.
Also, you said you have a range up to 4 octaves. But does it actually sound good with no breaks? is it strained? Can you sing in your highest registers in a full tone without going into falsetto or straining. I know plenty of singer who can belt out high notes but have horrible technique.
You also mentioned you go by the sensation in your throat. That is horrible technique. Good singers use the resonance of their voice as the control panel. Even when singing with rasp or distortion on your tone you shouldn't feel anything in the throat at all, all you should really feel is the resonant vibration of your voice in your head. Like humming with your mouth open. Singing from the throat is a glottal attack and probably the worst way to sing there is.
I have read the case studies. Pure BS. Please give me a link to some sound files with before and after of CVT students who couldn't sing before or needed to improve their voices. Maybe I missed it but I didn't see any. I've been studying voice my whole life, and I know what is bs techniques that just don't work and what really does work.
CVT uses a variation of the registration method of singing. The registristration method , of learning to sing, is not natural and was initially created by failed singer who couldn't measure up to the rest of his family.
He's technically a good singer with a good tone. However I don't like his style at all myself. If you've heard one album he sings on your going to hear the exact same thing but on different songs. I'd rather listen to the guy from stp than him.
He sings the same notes the same way all the time. I think he's afraid of expermenting with his own voice.
Finally something with which I can use this:
Sorry if I hurt your feelings but even my friends who love DT (which bores me to death) agree with the fact that La brie is indeed a bad singer, He's good in studio, but I think live he doesn't cut it.
And then again
All I can say is that no matter how good a singer I am (and I'm not saying I am) I can't copy Brian Johnson of AC/DC. What's attractive to many people about his voice is the sheer grittiness and unique character of it, much like Lemmy. I tried singing like that a couple times and it just hurts my throat and makes me cough. The fact that he can do a 2 hour show like that without faltering still blows my mind. And I still think his voice is fairly accurate to the recordings.
Anthony Kiedis on the other hand missteps a lot. He doesn't even have to really sing a lot of the time, yet he still can't seem to be consistent. At least Mike Patton, who has a similar style, can keep it up.
Anthony Kiedis on the other hand missteps a lot. He doesn't even have to really sing a lot of the time, yet he still can't seem to be consistent. At least Mike Patton, who has a similar style, can keep it up.
Too subjective a question really, I love at least half the names mentioned voices(Listening to one now!), and at least three quarters soud perfect in their band's.
But then I could name at least a dozen names of people I think are useless, but most love.
But then I could name at least a dozen names of people I think are useless, but most love.
1: At least partially, yes. I'm not a fully trained singer, (who can claim to be that after only 8 months of lessons?) but I can sing in the highest part of my register in both a strong and soft falsetto and full voice. And stay in a full voice without breaks (if wanted) from the lowest notes to the highest. I've gotten compliments on my singing several times from various people, including a lot of professional musicians/singers.
Regarding the second paragraph, I do go by resonance too. I've even learned how to tweak the resonance to isolate certain overtones. That's quite funny to play around with actually.
I am well aware you shouldn't feel anything in your throat while singing and I thought I've said that clearly enough already. Perhaps it's my English that isn't always as clear as if I was a native English speaker...2: CVT only explains how various sounds are formed, much more exactly than before (quoting thousands of singers that share my views on CVT). I haven't learned how to adopt everything in practice yet, but I can tell it doesn't tell you how to sing beautifully, only how to sing so you don't hurt your voice. It has helped me a lot, my teacher, and LOTS of other singers. I know personally three professional singers that all use CVT (that's all prof. singers I know), and through friends, I know a few more even famous singers with absolutely wonderful voices that I know use CVT. One of them is a very highly respected and quite famous opera & musical singer, actor and music teacher, that has a very successful career spanning over 20 years. Recently I heard he had decided to go for the three year programme in Denmark to become a certified CVT teacher...
CVT is far from BS, but you might need other guidance to learn to sing beautifully, as CVT doesn't talk that much in terms of resonance, phrasing, timing and other stuff. They have left out that part on purpose to give the singer maximum artistic freedom. I see it more like a map of how the voice works. You decide what kind of art you want to make with it.
Here ya go, prove my point, most people have been raving about this Joss Stone cover, but IMO, she murders the song.
I might have missed it but I don't think I've saw anyone say Ozzy, which is pretty surprising. As for my picks I'd say James Hetfield from St. Anger until now and Dave Mustaine.
Ya, he covers up is inability to make tone with loads of chorus creating overtones in his voice he doesn't have.
Graahhhhhh HULK SMASH. You brought back so many lost friday nights. My wife used to play in a band with a chick who impersonated her to a T on her original songs...........but worse. I wanted to choke her every time she started, "singing," at their band practices.
I nominate Marilyn Manson
Some people don't like Louis Armstrong's voice. I bet they've never heard him actually sing and have only heard him doing his gravelly "cartoon voice" that he was most known for. He could actually sing very smoothly when he wanted to, with a velvet smoky voice sprinkled with just a bit of grit now and then for spice.
Oh yeah, I also nominate Nick Cave
And I disagree with anyone's nomination of Bon Scott. Sure he has a unique voice, but he *could* sing. Brian Johnson on the other hand.... yuck
And whoever said Roger Daltrey was a bad singer probably hasn't heard some of the Who's best material circa 1966-1968 where his singing was top notch. I don't like how his voice aged, though.
Oh yeah, I forgot to nominate Jimi Hendrix
Some people don't like Louis Armstrong's voice. I bet they've never heard him actually sing and have only heard him doing his gravelly "cartoon voice" that he was most known for. He could actually sing very smoothly when he wanted to, with a velvet smoky voice sprinkled with just a bit of grit now and then for spice.
Oh yeah, I also nominate Nick Cave
And I disagree with anyone's nomination of Bon Scott. Sure he has a unique voice, but he *could* sing. Brian Johnson on the other hand.... yuck
And whoever said Roger Daltrey was a bad singer probably hasn't heard some of the Who's best material circa 1966-1968 where his singing was top notch. I don't like how his voice aged, though.
Oh yeah, I forgot to nominate Jimi Hendrix
