Open mic - and specifically singing..

[EssexBuccaneer]

So, i’ve got this (for want of a better word) fantasy of taking my (6-string) guitar and doing open mic stuff. Just me on my Jack Jones and a room full of people (hopefully!) But man, my voice.

 

i can hold a tune well enough, but my range isn’t great. I also lack the power of the country artists that I really want to cover. 
 

Has anyone taken vocal lessons? Were they worth it? Can anyone be taught to sing or is it just a natural talent that some possess? Any help would be appreciated!

[Geek99]

Coaches can develop your range, I hear. I’m going to one tonight as it happens. I’ve got an acoustic bass now so do a quick run-through beforehand with guitards without needing an amp 

[Rosie C]

I took vocal lessons and found them really useful - they took me from "can I sing?" to performing gigs in about six months. One of the best things was increasing my range - I'd increased my top note 6 semitones after a year's lessons. I find it much easier to sing to octave mandolin which has similar pitch range to my voice. Lately I've been playing mandolin and that's much harder as I have to find my own pitch based an octave down. However, I think it's good practice as otherwise I rely on the octave mando too much. I also found it a great help to have a professional advising as I ended up with laryngitis twice, and a chest infection, and generally since I've been singing I've had to take much more care over my voice & lungs. Not like bass where I can just chuck it in a bag after a gig.

 

Edit: I can't sing and play bass though, I don't seem to be able to carry two rhythms in my head at once. Singing to guitar/mandolin is fine though.

 

Edited September 4 by Rosie C

[Baloney Balderdash]

Bob Dylan couldn't sing, and nobody ever heard from him since...

 

You don't have to have wide tonal range, or be able to sing powerful, heck you almost doesn't even have to be able to sing in tune, all it requires to be a great singer is dedication, given in and staying true to the lyrics material.

 

Letting your voice be/live the lyrics...

 

Edited September 4 by Baloney Balderdash

[Jackroadkill]

1 minute ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Bob Dylan couldn't sing, and nobody ever heard from him since...

 

Luckily he couldn't play the guitar either!

[meterman]

I did a year of solo gigs after my band split and two things became apparent immediately.

 

One: not having the rest of the band around you means you have to be hyper focused on how to pace your set, how to balance your vocal against your guitar playing, and how to work a room. There's a real knack to all of this and I never had any of it.

 

Two: vocal range? I had about an octave and a half when I was playing with others that sang harmonies and the first few solo gigs I did really exposed my limitations as a singer. I did improve with practice and more gigs but I never really enjoyed doing solo turns, so jacked it in.

 

My voice now is shot, although I still sing, and one of my American friends describes it as sounding "like hot pïsş on a rusty steak knife - no, but in a good way!" Bless her 😂

 

Good luck @EssexBuccaneer if you decide to go for it 👍

[Dad3353]

4 minutes ago, meterman said:

I did a year of solo gigs after my band split and two things became apparent immediately...

 

Maybe your choice of castanets as your solo instrument made things harder to sell..? 

 

...

 

 

[Nail Soup]

Most open mics have a variety of abilities and are very supportive to all participants.

So just stick to the ones that are like that, do a bit of practice to get the best out of what voice you have, sign up and have fun!

[Lozz196]

I’d say the main thing is establishing what “your key” is. Mine is A, so many of the songs which I love I transpose to A otherwise I simply can’t reach much of them. Also means I can deliver a bit more power rather than over-reaching and sounding thin. I’d of course love to be able to do them in the proper keys but acknowledge my limits - which in regards to singing aren’t that good.

[Happy Jack]

Absolutely this ^.

 

Mine is G.

 

[Happy Jack]

5 hours ago, EssexBuccaneer said:

I also lack the power of the country artists that I really want to cover. 

 

Country music is really forgiving ... the songs tend to be about the story-telling aspect rather than how well you deliver them, so that relieves at least some of the pressure.

 

It's also a very broad church. There's pretty much bound to be a number of singers whose voice you can emulate to one degree or another. There's a long list of country artists I can't get anywhere near, but I have no real trouble with Merle Haggard songs and I do OK with Hank Williams.

 

Singalongs where you just know the audience is going to sing the chorus for you are also helpful ... Take Me Home (Country Roads), The Gambler, Wild Side Of Life, you know the drill.

 

 

[Geek99]

2 hours ago, Nail Soup said:

Most open mics have a variety of abilities and are very supportive to all participants.

So just stick to the ones that are like that, do a bit of practice to get the best out of what voice you have, sign up and have fun!

Yes 

it’s a pity you don’t live up here with “the wildlings” as my local OM is run by a professional singer who happily jumps in and supports fledgling singers where needed. She’s like the Julia hofer (thomann) of singers
 

I'm trying to convert her into a bass player.. she’s definitely bass-curious so if B wasn’t taken as a persuasion …. 

[tauzero]

4 hours ago, Nail Soup said:

Most open mics have a variety of abilities and are very supportive to all participants.

So just stick to the ones that are like that, do a bit of practice to get the best out of what voice you have, sign up and have fun!

 

I go to a regular open mic every Wednesday - I think I'm reasonably good at self-assessment and I'm a crap singer (I prefer to take Mrs Zero along because she's got a good voice but for one reason or another it's just been me for a few weeks). I'm also not the worst singer there. It is noticeable how some people improve as their confidence increases.

 

It's also worth taking your bass along and volunteering bass duties if people are performing songs that you could play, and if there's no resident house bassist.

[AlexDelores]

The voice is an instrument and like any instrument, singing lessons can be effective in the same way as a tutor of any instrument can improve your performance. 
 

Essentially a decent vocal coach will show you how to breath correctly, sing from the correct place and hold your body correctly. And, importantly, they’ll help you find your voice/range. 
 

I grew up playing in alt/punk bands so kinda learnt to shout/sing but always had naturally a pretty strong, solid voice. 

 

In 2019 when my acoustic duo was transitioning from a weekend gig to becoming our full time jobs I ended up getting ill and then getting a bad case of laryngitis. 

I decided to get some singing lessons to rebuild my confidence and try and learn to sing in a way that not only improved my voice but protected it. 
 

I had about 6 lessons and then Covid struck so I stopped. But, the info I got from those 6 lessons has changed the game completely for me since then. 

 

I would add that it’s important to find a good and knowledgable singing teacher. 
I tried a few who basically had me singing karaoke in their spare room and had no knowledge of how the vocal cords words or the science behind singing. 
 

Also, as mentioned above, it’s important to find your range. Sure, with practice and training you can expand your range. But, there very few (even professional) vocalists that can sing absolutely anything in any key. 

Maybe get out and play a few gigs and see where your confidence/comfort level is with singing and then look at what you want to address with a coach. 

[petebassist]

I had vocal lessons for 18 months a couple of years back to get good enough to do BVs - I used to call them primal scream sessions, as it took a long time for me to shrug off my old way of singing. If you can find a good teacher I reckon that would fast track you to getting where you want to be. But youtube has tons of great stuff.

I never thought I'd be standing up in a room full of hipster strangers and singing one of my own songs at my age, but I've done a few open mics, I'd say go for it!!