[Harp-L] RE: Learning to sing

[Tom Ball <havaball@xxxxxxx>]

Singing is a rather odd beast, and in many ways quite different than 
playing an instrument. Because of the proximity of the ears to the 
mouth (as well as the existence of the tone chamber that is the oral 
cavity,) we all tend to hear our own voices much differently than 
others hear us. Case in point: almost everyone cringes the first time 
they hear a recording of themselves, whether singing or just plain 
speaking. We all assume ourselves to be more naturally resonant than 
we are.

Like a few others have mentioned, when I was younger I too was 
convinced that although we humans could improve on our instrument(s) 
through practice, when it came to vocals, one either had it or they 
didn't.  Listening to Aretha Franklin sing when she was 14 is scary, 
and tends to reenforce the false concept of vocal ability as solely 
God-given and not really improvable.  But nothing could be further 
from the truth.

Of course, some folks are just plain blessed with incredible pipes. 
No amount of training or practice is going to make this fool sound 
like Ray Charles. But that's OK. The objective shouldn't be to sound 
like anyone else, anyway.  The objective should instead be to sing as 
well as you yourself are capable.

Speaking for myself, when I first began singing 45 years ago, I had 
an unfortunate tendency to hear the notes I was aiming for rather 
than the notes I was actually producing.  It was only after recording 
and playing back the recordings that I could hear when I was flat or 
sharp. Strange that it worked that way -- my ear could instantly hear 
when a guitar or harp was out-of-tune, and yet when it came to 
vocals, I simply did not hear that I was off until playback. This was 
a very humbling lesson.

Over time however, through decades of singing and listening, I can 
now instantly hear when I'm a tad off. This doesn't necessarily mean 
I can correct myself on the fly -- sometimes the pipes just don't 
cooperate fully -- but it does serve to illustrate that through 
ear-training, one can put oneself in far greater control over the 
beast that is the voice.

Yes singing lessons would've probably helped, but I never availed 
myself. I'm certainly no great singer now, but my voice has improved 
exponentially over the years simply by recording and listening 
closely to the recordings. That exercise, in and of itself, 
contributes to ear-training, and enables one to eventually truly hear 
what one is producing... and therefore further enables one to make 
whatever adjustments might be necessary.  The LPs I cut with Kenny in 
the late 70's/early 80's now make me cringe -- not at the guitar or 
at the harp, but at the vocals. Fortunately they've never been 
reissued on CD so I don't have to be too embarrassed. :)

Anyhow my recommendation (FWIW) to any aspiring singer would be to 
tape all your rehearsals and/or gigs, listen back to the tapes and 
familiarize yourself with your own voice -- warts and all. The more 
you do this, the better you will sing. Guaranteed.

Cheers to all and Happy New year,
Tom
http://www.tomball.us