General Music Chat

Singing on key part II: When Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon came to see me; he had written a couple of songs that seemed out of his reach. We found that he needed to build his second and third registration and we went on to do so. Exercises are songs that are designed to speed up the process of building the voice. We always kept in mind that the goal was the feel of the art. The exercises are always a means to that end. Kevin was also happy to find that his ability to sing on key was improved and so was his stamina. More shows, rehearsals, interviews and recording sessions: no problem. Vocal technique and art (if applied well) are reciprocal.

wtf?

A lot of singers 'siren' into the note.
They don't hit the note immediately, so they make corrections, sliding into the note.
If you don't have to slide into the right note, then you are singing in-key.
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Not many singers can sing: "Bang! - perfectly & instantly in-key."
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You can get away with sirening in some styles of music, like, maybe; country, blues, and soul . . . depending . . .
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If you can siren into the note in less than - say, maybe, 1/10 of a second, you'll generally sound like you're in-key.
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But if you take too long to siren into a note, say maybe 2/10 second, your singing will generally sound 'iffy.'
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It doesn't matter if you can hit the right note, and if you have a wonderful voice - if it takes you too long to actually hit that note.
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It's a matter of timing . . .

A lot of singers 'siren' into the note.
They don't hit the note immediately, so they make corrections, sliding into the note.
If you don't have to slide into the right note, then you are singing in-key.
.
Not many singers can sing: "Bang! - perfectly & instantly in-key."
.
You can get away with sirening in some styles of music, like, maybe; country, blues, and soul . . . depending . . .
.
If you can siren into the note in less than - say, maybe, 1/10 of a second, you'll generally sound like you're in-key.
.
But if you take too long to siren into a note, say maybe 2/10 second, your singing will generally sound 'iffy.'
.
It doesn't matter if you can hit the right note, and if you have a wonderful voice - if it takes you too long to actually hit that note.
.
It's a matter of timing . . .

Actually that is a very astounding observation ... I tend to slide into some of my notes, for that very reason. General I can hold my own, but I could never compete with a trained or operatic voice... Hell I cant even use real words in some of my sentances...

I slide into notes all the time in Country as you can hear on my profile.
It all depends where you start your slide.[/b]

I slide into notes all the time in Country as you can hear on my profile.
It all depends where you start your slide.[/b]

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Exactly, Klugmo.
If we want to hit the right note ON the beat, then we need to start earlier, eh? It's usually better to END the slide on the beat, or pretty close.
And - if someone isn't used to doing that, it can take a while to get the hang of it.
Some styles - like C & W - would sound funny if you DIDN'T siren. But - I dunno - maybe some CW songs would sound ok; what d'ya think?
But imagine listening to a soul song, where there was no sliding into the note? It'd lose it's 'soul.'
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An interesting note for those who take 'a while' to hit the note; a slower tempo song may help you get away with sirening. But a faster song might make you sound way out of key.
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Of course, we're all aware that - no matter the timing - some singers will always be better than others . . .