Scott Free Thinking

Singing itself is a strong proposition. You have a lot to tackle when you one day wake up and decide, “I’m going to become a singer!” Unfortunately for most of us, the decision in contrast with the final result can be a bit drastic if you’d like the sound coming out of your vox to be anything other than at least mildly terrible. Now, I have said before, in both Sublimation Through Music & The Science of Music, and The Power of Music, that music itself is inherently often an instinctual sort of thing. On the other hand, that is speaking on evolutionary terms. If we want to go ourselves into the depth of modern music, modern digital recording, and the wealth of new options that are suddenly appearing for the amateur to develop their skills from home - it just might take something a little more than instinct. Hopefully what you can gather here will be some of the beginning elements you will need to tackle the world of progressive vocalization. There are indeed a few first steps. But before I get into this entire thing I also want to point out that singing is not something I have a wealth of experience in, but I feel that I can share some of the tips and techniques that I have seen that have worked in getting me started on the right path. Music itself is a powerful thing, and singing itself can perhaps be one of the single best ways to express your self creatively and emotionally.

Step number one - get a microphone. The music I have recorded for Eternal Exhaust was created using a microphone that was purchased in either ‘92 or ‘93, made solely for the computer. It’s the kind of thing you would use with voice over IP, or chatting with someone over an instant messenger client. It is NOT designed for recording singing, yet that is what it is being used for with some success. So basically, I do not think it matters what kind of microphone you get, how much it costs, just get one to start off with. In addition, you will also need something to record with, like a tape player, or preferably, a decent home computer with some great software.

Digital music software 101 - there are now dozens of different really great digital music programs. Personally, I use Adobe Audition 2.0, because of its ease of use, its versatility, and its excellent continuous design structure that allows Adobe to constantly improve upon the program itself. The other powerful tool that exists, however far more complex, would be Digidesign’s ProTools. Either piece of software would be something that I would highly recommend, however, I should say that while I haven’t done much with ProTools I feel that Audition has a simpler interface for live recording.

Being a modern singer means knowing what you’re talking about, and knowing what you’re doing. Having said that, you may have noticed that I have already laid down a lot of talk in regards to digital recording and equipment. To me, I do not think there should be any way of getting around it, the modern musician must know what they’re doing these days, and musicians do indeed include singers in my book.

The place every singer should start is the lessons of Roger Kain. Are you a soprano? Roger Kain has an attitude of, “who cares?” Roger Kain is the author of The Complete Vocal Workout: A Step-by Step Guide to Tough Vocals. Out of any resource I have been able to lay my hands on short of a well qualified vocal instructor, Roger Kain’s book and practice CD’s have aided me in getting started better than any blog, article, website, book, or other source. If you cannot afford the lessons of a vocal instructor(or even if you can), I would recommend picking this up as a definitive resource for any singer, new or old.

Learn to feel the “crystal” synchronization you’ll hear when you’re in harmony. I’m not quite sure how to describe it, and many singers who try to teach other people how to sing tend to leave this one out. If you cannot hear when you’re in harmony or cannot learn how to get your voice to match a tone, you’ve missed the first step of good vocals. The real key to starting off your journey as a good singer right is to learn how to hear the ‘crystal’ sort of tingling that happens when you’re in harmony with another tone or note, as well as when you’re either slightly out of harmony. If you’re totally off key, you will not feel or hear anything. For me, vocal harmonization is one of the most soothing activities I have ever experienced in music, and it is something that other people outside of you will not experience - you are the only one who can get the real physical sensation of the relaxation harmonies induce.

Higher pitch is higher volume, deeper pitch is lower volume. Many new singers, myself included, have had the problem of starting out completely monotone in their singing. The real way to break out of this starting habit is to experiment with your voice’s volume. You probably know how it sounds to talk to someone when you need to be quieter rather than louder, and how it may sound when you have to shout over an amplified crowd. Learn the differences between these as a fundamental place to start, because volume in relation to pitch in singing is one of the most important aspects you’ll ever learn.

Learn to sing all different kinds of music, not just the kind you want to sing. This one can be a tough one for the teenager in their garage band wanting to become a rock star, or the wanna-be opera singer who has no desire for anything different. But the value of learning to sing multiple kinds of songs is imperative, because it reinforces a number of fundamental vocal ideas in your brain. One of those ideas it that you can harmonize with anything, no matter what the voice is, no matter what the music. Another idea would be that no matter what kind of song you’re singing, it is still just musical notes and tones, nothing more, nothing less. For those who have no respect for the abilities of vocalists like Jonathan Davis of Korn or even Scott Stapp of Creed - see how long it might take you to reproduce their sounds the way they do them. You’ll likely find immediately that they make it sound a lot easier than it really may be. Similarly, you may find out some songs are recorded to sound well but sung live by a single voice rather than two doubletracked will allow you to hear the differences in real talent between singers. A doubletracked voice might be good to strengthen the feeling behind a chorus or particular verse, but some songs doubletrack the entire way through simply to cover the lack of ability of the singer singing it. Doubletracking is a process often done in studio recording where two voices are recorded singing in harmony to produce more depth to the sound.

If you’ve got the time or money, invest either into learning to play a musical instrument. Playing a musical instrument is not a necessity for a singer, but like singing multiple kinds of music, this is a simple tip that can aid you in more ways than I can probably count. Myself, I play drums and guitar, two skills which allow me to practice all of timing, rhythm, pitch, harmonies, and tone - sometimes all at the same time.