RE: [Harp-L] Learning to Sing

["Tom McGovern" <tmcg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I was playing harp with a Jimmy Buffett tribute band, and all six other guys sang.  We did Southern Cross and I was assigned a harmony part.  On stage, I thought I was nailing the part, but when I heard it on a local TV station coverage piece that zoomed in on me, I was horrified to hear that I sounded like I was caterwauling to a song I'd never heard before. (even though my lovely wife said it "wasn't bad")  I contacted our local community choir director, who had seen our act at various parks and rec venues, and given my musical background, I was invited to join the choir.  I explained to the choir director that, although I sang as a youngster in school choirs, I didn't have a strong voice.  He advised me to sing softly, listening carefully to those around me in the bass section. (As it turns out, I believe he let me join the choir because he really wanted to add my harmonica and steel drum skills to the choir mix on certain songs!) Six years and twelve shows later, my voice got stronger, and I got much more confident.  I'm now considered one of the better singers we have in the bass section; it's a 120 member choir, with 23 bass guys.  I love it, and as a bonus, I also learned how to read music.  My harmonica playing has also improved.  The added harmonica has been a real crowd pleaser, requiring me to come up with harmonica accompaniment parts that work with the choirs voices.  Quite a few local kids and adults have contacted me seeking advise and lessons.  Best thing musically that I ever did was joning the local choir.  
Tom McGovern
Richmond, MI

________________________________

From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx on behalf of Daniel Gage
Sent: Sun 1/10/2010 3:09 AM
To: Bill Hines; harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Learning to Sing



Bill,

One of the best things one can do for one's harmonica playing is to learn to sing (and lead a band).  Far too often, I've watched decent harp players stifled at jams because they were overlooked by some ego-maniac on guitar/vocals.  Singing gets you to the center of attention really quick.  It also means that you get to decide how long the harmonica solos will be.

I realized this in 2001.  I had been in a band with three soloists and I always felt like I was competing for space onstage.  After the band imploded, I started going to jams.  Now, I was REALLY competing for space.  I decided to learn to sing because I was sick of feeling like an ornament.

Figuring that I was probably only lucky enough to learn one thing w/o lessons. . . I went looking for voice lessons.  This was pre-craigslist, so the closest I could find was in NYC (from central CT).  I thought it over for a while, and then I decided to call up the local liberal arts college music department.  They put me in touch with someone who taught beginners.

It was one of the most frightening things ever for me to walk into that studio.  I'd never sung a word for anyone.  It turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life.  It was costly, but worth every penny.

The lessons were like going to the gym.  I had to prepare physically and mentally for the butt-kicking I got every week.  I was surprised by the other poster who said they laid on their back on the floor pushing a book with the diaphragm.  I laid on my front, pushing my body weight AGAINST the floor. 

It was all technique-based.  I never sang a single word in 6 years of lessons.  Why?  Because my teacher didn't know blues and I didn't want to do opera.  She gave me the tools.  It was up to me to learn to use them.

My first public singing experience was in the winter of 2002 (I think).  Ryan Hartt made me sing with his band and I STUNK.  I spent the next several years singing at jams, learning to dial myself in.  Once I started fronting a band I recorded and listened to every show.  Tom Ball was right.  There is no better feedback than the recordings. 

So, to answer your question on fiding a teacher, a good voice teacher won't teach you myths. There is a lot of anecdotal nonsense out there about singing.  My teacher taught me that if I could stand, I could sing.  I did a gig hunched over with my back out, and a few gigs with bad colds. I sang strong.

They should train you so that singing never hurts/damages your throat.  (my muscles got sore, but my throat never hurt).  Finally, they should be able to teach you to breathe.  It's really difficult to explain diaphragm breathing.  I already knew, from my vibrato, but she could separate the different parts of my body very easily with her instruction.  If anyone is near central Connecticut, I'll put you in touch.

Voice lessons will do amazing things for your range, power, stamina, etc, but one lesson for any novice singer is to sing with your own voice.  It's so easy to sing along to a record and try to match pitch note for note.  Sometimes you'll find a recording that's in your vocal sweet-spot.  Sometimes you'll try to match a bassy voice to Whitney Houston (or Dave Mathews)and sound like a caterwalling mess.  I hear people do this all the time.  Singing in key, yet in the right register will keep you from going places you cannot get to.  It's almost as easy as talking.

Hanging out with people who sing might be a good low-cost solution.  It's hard to take the first step, but it gets easier every time.

Good luck. Singing is worth the effort.

Dan Gage
"12gagedan" on youtube
--- On Sat, 1/9/10, Bill Hines <billhines4@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>> So I guess no matter what kind of chops you are born with,
> you can "learn to sing" at least as far as the key things
> like projection, holding a note, being on key as best
> possible for the songs, and most importantly picking only
> songs that "work for your voice", etc.
>
> Any tips on how one goes about that? Are there any good
> self-training materials out there? I know folks will say
> "get lessons" but that can be problematic if you travel or
> depending on where you live. And how would one identify a
> good teacher anyway? I'm sure it's like the harp world,
> there are good teachers and bad ones.
>
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