Melissa Proctor wrote:LOL!! Thanks. I get that a lot that I have a sweet soft voice. That's just me. Give me a song like Evanescence sings and I con rock the vocals on it. But "Country's Where My Heart Is". and I'll always stay sweet like honey and sting like a bee when the time comes to do so..
So bacially what you're saying is that lots of ppl ask you to open up & give some power in your singing, but you think it's a better style to sing softly & wimpilly (the new word of the day - "wimpilly").
It's a matter of taste, in your opinion. Oh, & the crappy equipment you're working with, right? I'm sorry, but we
can hear you just fine, in spite of the mic or the room or the recording device. Don't give yourself excuses to do less than your best. You didn't put it out there, & you're trying to defend it. Wrong! There's nothing to defend. You dropped the ball, but you think it's quite good. That's what you're telling us, here.
Perhaps it's time to reevaluate your personal take on it all, Melissa. Your soft voice wavers on the notes in ways that are making you sound unsure of yourself, & make the songs have far less impact than they should have. I don't mean to harp on you, here, but the message has been coming to you from many angles & many ppl, evidently, from what you're telling us. You aren't doing the songs any justice if you make them sound weak & insignificant. Yes, there ARE times when that sound is called for, & while that may be your preferred sound, it truly is needed
very rarely in most modern music, esp in country, where you're supposed to be "loud & proud," but you'd know that if you know what country music is when you say "Country's Where My Heart Is."
When a singer sounds unsure, when the notes waver, when the volume is downright whispery, it makes the song sound like it's being done on karaoke night by a shy little girl, rather than a woman who knows herself. You may have "heard it all before," but that doesn't mean that the advice has any less merit.
Ppl want to hear from performers who have some personal power. Once that power is established, THEN a whisper can say more than a holler
in the right context. I'm hearing neither power from you, nor the taste to use the quiet in the right context. Nor do I hear the necessary control at the lower volume levels.
I'm probably the harshest sounding critic in here cuzza the way I word things, but I'd say nothing at all if I weren't trying to help, & you need to quit bucking the world on this issue if you want to be a lead singer. If you want to be a backup singer, you'll need that power even
more to emphasize others.
As a music teacher & occasional vocal instructor, I'd tell you to practice singing very loud, anyway, to better your vocal control at those lower volume levels, which at the moment is lacking. You also need to
learn your microphone. Keep recording yourself while you sing. Listen to what happens when you sing loud, & hafta back off the mic. Try to keep your volumes steady as you lean in for those soft notes, or the lower notes. Using the mic's dynamics is also something you need to develop. The sound in the room through the PA, or the sound through your headphones will say a lot to you in this area, if you listen. The recording will back it all up for you, & tell you where you need to work.
But, you don't have to take anyone's advice. That's true. You can keep on as you are, defending yourself, with the same problems you've had, if you wish. But you won't develop, & you won't impress a lot of ppl with your work. Your singing is quite fine for working around the house, but I wouldn't take it out on the road without some
work.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
