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What makes someone think they're a vocalist?

#81
nutdog said:
I don't adjust for any of them. I picked those keys because I can sing those songs easiest in those keys. I probably couldn't sing Jailhouse Rock in A or Johnny B Goode in C. When deciding, if I can't sing in the original key, I move around until I find a key I can sing it in. It doesn't always end up in the same key. It varies widely depending on the song.

I'm having a hard time imagining a singer that wanted to sing every song in the same key.
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I'll try one more time. In the short of it - I don't disagree with you. Song styles work best in different keys, absolutely no disagreement at all. And a singer in only one key? heaven forbid that I'd have to endure that (although I know a couple people that come close - and they shouldn't be singing).

It doesn't change the fact that your voice has a natural key that it is most comfortable in. Call it your 'center of voice balance'. Your talking voice is most likely in your natural key.

To answer the question of: What key do you sing in?
I sing in C, but am comfortable in G, D, and E depending on the song. Much lower is no good for me, E is a stretch, higher and cats become envious.

If you answer, I can sing in any key you want. Then you dodged the question or don't really know. No one can sing in 'any key' it's impossible.
 
#88
Garyth said:
I'll try one more time. In the short of it - I don't disagree with you. Song styles work best in different keys, absolutely no disagreement at all. And a singer in only one key? heaven forbid that I'd have to endure that (although I know a couple people that come close - and they shouldn't be singing).

It doesn't change the fact that your voice has a natural key that it is most comfortable in. Call it your 'center of voice balance'. Your talking voice is most likely in your natural key.

To answer the question of: What key do you sing in?
I sing in C, but am comfortable in G, D, and E depending on the song. Much lower is no good for me, E is a stretch, higher and cats become envious.

If you answer, I can sing in any key you want. Then you dodged the question or don't really know. No one can sing in 'any key' it's impossible.
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I appreciate your attempt to be agreeable but it's not working.:D

I'm not saying some styles work best in a certain key. Jailhouse and Johnny are the same style. 50's three chord blues based boogie rock. JHR was originally in Eb. Tears up my throat. I think Chuck did JBG in Bb. A bit too high for me but doable. A is more comfortable. A would be way to low for me to sing JHR.

Chuck did Rollover Beethoven in Eb, Sweet Little 16 in Ab and Memphis in F#. All basically the same song as JBG.

My voice is baritone. If you asked what key I sing in I wouldn't say any key you want. I'd say it depends on the song. I'd be thinking "wuh?".:D

Try singing the same song in all the keys you say your comfortable singing in. I'm going to go out on a limb and say some of them would be way too high or low.
 
#89
nutdog said:
I appreciate your attempt to be agreeable but it's not working.:D

I'm not saying some styles work best in a certain key. Jailhouse and Johnny are the same style. 50's three chord blues based boogie rock. JHR was originally in Eb. Tears up my throat. I think Chuck did JBG in Bb. A bit too high for me but doable. A is more comfortable. A would be way to low for me to sing JHR.

Chuck did Rollover Beethoven in Eb, Sweet Little 16 in Ab and Memphis in F#. All basically the same song as JBG.

My voice is baritone. If you asked what key I sing in I wouldn't say any key you want. I'd say it depends on the song. I'd be thinking "wuh?".:D

Try singing the same song in all the keys you say your comfortable singing in. I'm going to go out on a limb and say some of them would be way too high or low.
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Do you know my wife?

seriously .. part of this, I think, is interpretation of phrasing. "song style" did not come out as I intended and I did not mean to infer that it locks them to a specific key/range.

so, anyway, how's the weather there?
 
#90
Garyth said:
Do you know my wife?

seriously .. part of this, I think, is interpretation of phrasing. "song style" did not come out as I intended and I did not mean to infer that it locks them to a specific key/range.

so, anyway, how's the weather there?
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Quite lovely, my favorite time of year. Leaves should be turning soon.:)
 
#91
Being asked what key I sing in would be a big red flag for me. Perhaps BayStateBass could provide some examples of well-known and successful singers who sing in only one (or even two) keys.

To be charitable, maybe when BSB says that the key of A is his most comfortable key, he means that he is most comfortable singing within the range of A below middle C to A above middle C. But plenty of songs in keys other than A have melodies that are confined to that range, and plenty of songs in the key of A have melodies that go far outside that range. So I'm still unsure what "I sing in the key of A" means, if anything.
 
#92
Guitalia said:
To be charitable, maybe when BSB says that the key of A is his most comfortable key, he means that he is most comfortable singing within the range of A below middle C to A above middle C. But plenty of songs in keys other than A have melodies that are confined to that range, and plenty of songs in the key of A have melodies that go far outside that range. So I'm still unsure what "I sing in the key of A" means, if anything.
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I think you hit on it with this -- it's not a hard and fast rule, but just a ballpark where your voice seems to work best and where vocal melodies tend to sit within a certain range.

This thread has inspired me to figure out what in which key my voice tends to fit.
 
#93
This argument could go on forever. Like flats vs. rounds or P vs. J. It just seems to me knowing what key you sing in (comfortably) is like knowing what kind of bass you play or what type of amp you use. It just seems like something you should know if you are a singer.

There will always be examples given to confirm, deny, etc.

I'm just going to leave this here, hopefully some will read it. It is the process I used to determine my singing key and the last singer I worked with used it as well (he did not know what key he sang in and was interested to learn).

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

This site will probably leave a cookie on your computer.
 
#94
Guitalia said:
Being asked what key I sing in would be a big red flag for me. Perhaps BayStateBass could provide some examples of well-known and successful singers who sing in only one (or even two) keys.

To be charitable, maybe when BSB says that the key of A is his most comfortable key, he means that he is most comfortable singing within the range of A below middle C to A above middle C. But plenty of songs in keys other than A have melodies that are confined to that range, and plenty of songs in the key of A have melodies that go far outside that range. So I'm still unsure what "I sing in the key of A" means, if anything.
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That may be what he means. But, as I'm sure you are aware, the key of A extends beyond those notes in both directions and every key is located within that range of notes.

BayStateBass said:
This argument could go on forever. Like flats vs. rounds or P vs. J. It just seems to me knowing what key you sing in (comfortably) is like knowing what kind of bass you play or what type of amp you use. It just seems like something you should know if you are a singer.

There will always be examples given to confirm, deny, etc.

I'm just going to leave this here, hopefully some will read it. It is the process I used to determine my singing key and the last singer I worked with used it as well (he did not know what key he sang in and was interested to learn).

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

This site will probably leave a cookie on your computer.
Click to expand...

The argument may go on but it's not like flats/rounds/P/J, which are matters of preference. "Key" has a definition in music and what is was described above (a range of notes) is not "Key". I haven't seen any examples provided to show otherwise.

I didn't look at your link because I don't want cookies right now. Why don't websites leave pizza?
 
#95
if you understand music theory at a professional level and have the level of understanding of your instrument, you could be a guitarist, bassist or vocalist. etc. If you hack at it through tabs and chord charts and have an "ear" for it, you are a guitar or bass player or a singer.
 
#96
I have decided i have no patience for this particular breed of "singers" anymore. Reason being mainly that they are investing SIGNFICANTLY less than what the other band members have to get to where they are and want in on the same piece of the band action.

Ive been playing 12 years, im hauling 5 grands worth of gear around, i went to music school... The rest of the band all having a similar story, why let someone partake in the fruits of an experienced band's labour who doesnt even own a microphone and doesnt know what a chord tone is!

Unless theyre a hot 20 year old girl.... They seem to get special passes ive noticed if they can stay in key and dance around on stage
 
#100
hdracer said:
There are plenty of singers that have made it big that can not sing.

Bob Dylan , Tom Petty, Geddy Lee,Yoko Ono,Linda McCartney, Kurt Cobain, Neal Young,Eddie Vedder, Iggy Pop, Dick Dale,Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson all told them that anyone can make big as a singer.
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I'm sorry, are you saying Dolly Parton cannot sing? I mean, I don't like anything she does sing, but I certainly can recognize that she can sing, and sing very well. There's a lot of that in country for me, because I don't like country. I can't stand a single thing Roy Clark recorded either, but that doesn't mean I can't recognize what a consummate musician he is. It just means I really wish he'd gone into rock.

And Willie Nelson? Even as a bona fide country hater, I'm jealous of the ringing tone and completely natural and (seemingly) effortless way he puts out Always On My Mind. And that's coming from someone who can sing. Oh if only I could play bass anywhere near as well as I can sing.

Edit: to be fair (to myself), I've only been playing bass a couple years, and I've been performing as a singer for (too) many decades.
 

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