Monday
Apr092007
finding my voice, part 1
Monday, April 9, 2007 at 03:52AM
I was singing a song last night on the new Caedmon’s Call record and was having a lot of trouble with it. I decided to take a break and walked upstairs and told Alison “I just can’t seem to find the right voice.� I realized quickly that I actually meant two things when I said that. This post is about the first thing.
I came to the conclusion a couple years ago that most of my favorite singers have a few different “voices�. Guys like Tom Petty or Lyle Lovett have great voices, but they always sound exactly the same. Tom Waits is always gruff, but sometimes it’s the lonesome howl and other times it’s the distorted circus yeller. A guy like Bono does the Joshua Tree power-ballad belt, the erratic opera falsetto, the almost spoken-word gravelly deep old man and the MacPhisto over-the-top schmaltzy thing. I love that.
I feel like this kind of singing is almost a form of acting. The singer takes on a different character and it radically changes how a song will feel or what it will mean.
The different voices cause me to take the words in different ways.
Long-time readers will know that my favorite album of all time is U2’s Achtung, Baby. There is one line on that record that always bugged me. In Who’s Going To Ride Your Wild Horses? Bono is singing this heartfelt sad love song, and then sings these lines:
“Well, you stole it cause I needed the cash,
and you killed it cause I wanted revenge,
and you lied to me cause I asked you to,
Baby, can we still be friends?�
That last line always bugged me. It just seems so pathetic, and doesn’t seem to fit in at all. Now it’s one of my favorite lines, and it’s all because of the voice (and me finally catching it). He changes to this subtly sarcastic tone at the top of that verse. It’s almost spiteful. Where I used to think he was listing the things she’d done for him and he didn’t want to lose her, I now think that’s probably something she said to him that ticked him off. I could go on forever with my theories, but I do know that becomoing aware of the different character completely changed the song to me. And for the better.
The application of this, at least for me, is that I’m realizing I write in a slightly different voice for Caedmon’s and so I have to learn to sing that way to make the songs feel right. In the months of writing for this record I’ve always kept in mind the history of the band, the sonic rules they’ve sort of set up to define what the band sounds like.
Every artist has them and there are times to try to tear those walls down and times to use them creatively to make stronger the artist’s statement. This has been a time to redefine Caedmon’s Call using a lot of the sounds that initially set them apart. I’ve never sung in that sonic context before and my voice sounds unfamiliar in that setting, to me anyway.
So now I’m having fun with it. I’ve been recording take after take, not intending to keep any of them, but just to see what different things I can come up with and to find out what I have to work with. I’m excited to find “the voice� that lets my voice belong here.
How about you? Have you found this in the music you listen to? Any examples? Any ideas of how this relates to other professions/hobbies/passions?
I came to the conclusion a couple years ago that most of my favorite singers have a few different “voices�. Guys like Tom Petty or Lyle Lovett have great voices, but they always sound exactly the same. Tom Waits is always gruff, but sometimes it’s the lonesome howl and other times it’s the distorted circus yeller. A guy like Bono does the Joshua Tree power-ballad belt, the erratic opera falsetto, the almost spoken-word gravelly deep old man and the MacPhisto over-the-top schmaltzy thing. I love that.
I feel like this kind of singing is almost a form of acting. The singer takes on a different character and it radically changes how a song will feel or what it will mean.
The different voices cause me to take the words in different ways.
Long-time readers will know that my favorite album of all time is U2’s Achtung, Baby. There is one line on that record that always bugged me. In Who’s Going To Ride Your Wild Horses? Bono is singing this heartfelt sad love song, and then sings these lines:
“Well, you stole it cause I needed the cash,
and you killed it cause I wanted revenge,
and you lied to me cause I asked you to,
Baby, can we still be friends?�
That last line always bugged me. It just seems so pathetic, and doesn’t seem to fit in at all. Now it’s one of my favorite lines, and it’s all because of the voice (and me finally catching it). He changes to this subtly sarcastic tone at the top of that verse. It’s almost spiteful. Where I used to think he was listing the things she’d done for him and he didn’t want to lose her, I now think that’s probably something she said to him that ticked him off. I could go on forever with my theories, but I do know that becomoing aware of the different character completely changed the song to me. And for the better.
The application of this, at least for me, is that I’m realizing I write in a slightly different voice for Caedmon’s and so I have to learn to sing that way to make the songs feel right. In the months of writing for this record I’ve always kept in mind the history of the band, the sonic rules they’ve sort of set up to define what the band sounds like.
Every artist has them and there are times to try to tear those walls down and times to use them creatively to make stronger the artist’s statement. This has been a time to redefine Caedmon’s Call using a lot of the sounds that initially set them apart. I’ve never sung in that sonic context before and my voice sounds unfamiliar in that setting, to me anyway.
So now I’m having fun with it. I’ve been recording take after take, not intending to keep any of them, but just to see what different things I can come up with and to find out what I have to work with. I’m excited to find “the voice� that lets my voice belong here.
How about you? Have you found this in the music you listen to? Any examples? Any ideas of how this relates to other professions/hobbies/passions?
Reader Comments (28)
Im not sure if this is exactly what you are talking about...but I know that Paul McCartney uses like three or four different singing styles throughout the years of the Beatles. Songs like I'm Down, Yesterday, Hey Jude, Get Back, Lady Madanna, etc, he uses several different singing styles that really makes the songs what they are...
I don't have anything to say about finding the "voice." I just think that anybody that posts regarding "Achtung Baby," should get some props.
So, here are my props.
(props)
Ryan freaking Adams has like a million voices and that is one of the things i love about him the most.
Billy Joel does the same thing.
I completely agree with you.
I think it goes for the way you play your instrument too. The way I approach picking or thumbing my bass depends on the mood of the song.
waiting for the new album!
Fish (former lead singer of Marillion) uses a wide range of emotions in his songs as well - from tenderness to sarcasm to heartbreak to outrage. One of the most powerful lyricists and singers I've ever heard.
Peter Gabriel (another of your favorites, Andy) can be good at this as well - I'm particularly thinking of old epic Genesis songs such as "Supper's Ready" and "The Battle of Epping Forest" (which also includes Phil Collins vocaling one line imitating a frustrated woman).
I have a strong to tendancy to pick up the voice of the artist who recording the song we're playing. I'm a worship leader and don't write anything (yet). So if we do play a cover of some kind, I tend to sound like that song's performer (Chris Tomlin, Cliff Young, etc.)
Most of the time I do a good job sounding like them. The problem is - I don't always want to sound like them! I tend to sound better in my own voice(s). I really have to concentrate to stick in my own voice sometimes. My voice tends to last longer by not using the throaty sound many artists use, and I have better support because I'm using my diaphram properly (which many artists don't seem to do).
I just sang Andrew Peterson's "High Noon" yesterday, and really had to focus on singing my voice and not APs. Those here who listen to AP know of his "signature" nasal...er...quality. I actually start to fall into that when I sing his songs! Nothing against AP (he's my favorite artists), but that voice doesn't work for me and can mess up my voice for other songs. But it is really amazing how changing the voice changes the entire feel of a song. My congregation has never heard AP sing the song, but I can hear the difference.
Oh...and Josh is exactly right about this applying to how you play your instrument as well.
When I'm singing I just aim for being on key; anything else is gravy.
Dude, I never thought about the line in "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" that way before. I'm glad that you brought that point up - it really changes my view of that song.
I have to echo Michael W - Billy Joel seems to use different voices a lot too. "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" would be a good example. (Although, I'm not really sure what voice he was using for the National Anthem at the Super Bowl...)
I've always loved the way that Eddie Vedder's voice is always undeniably his, but that he always seems to be able to match his voice to the mood and feel of the song. Maybe that's just me, though. I have a friend who accuses him of having no dynamic range, but listening to how he changes it up between songs like "Given to Fly", "Parachutes", and "Do the Evolution", force me to disagree.
You asked about how this applies to different professions. One of the biggest pieces of professional development I've had as a teacher this year is realizing that you are not a teacher because you have a piece of paper saying that you are. You BECOME a teacher as you choose to step into the different roles that define what a teacher is. I've started to become a real teacher as I've been fair but firm, doled out consequences because of love, demonstrated compassion, been an advocate for my students, been a teammate and hopefully an encouragement to my co-workers, etc. These are different voices (or hats) that you choose to employ and just like the voice you are describing in music, you have to use different aspects in different situations, hopefully all rising out of concern for the people around you (whether student or co-worker).
I am far from perfect at any of that, but as I've realized it I've also seen the concept carry over into other parts of life. You become a husband. I've been married for 3.5 years and it took me about 2.5 to really come to terms with what that meant and have my actions more consistently start to follow. It doesn't happen overnight. You become a father. I've been one for 2.5 weeks now and there are choices you make to step into that role. And those choices will change over time.
It's an interesting phenomenon and it does seem to have a broad application. I too would be interested to read how it applies to other professions and parts of life as well.
AO, any chance you will give us a sample cut so we can hear what you are talking about??
i always love to sing country twang but everytime i tried to sing Live Like you were Dying I sounded like shaun groves meets chris carraba instead...
im still looking for my voice though
i made a couple of home demo and its really annoying trying to have 5 different recordings of a single song just to find out which voice that fits...
I think Carman does a great job of switching voices like that. Like in "The Champion" he goes from ring announcer to narrator to schmaltzy lounge singer all in the same song. Don't even put him in the same conversation with anyone else. Carman rocks.
...wow, I think I just threw up in my mouth.
First, I'll second what Gronk said about Fish!
I hate my voice. Or at least, tape hates my voice. Ok, I hate my voice on tape. Even if I think I've sung rather well, hearing the playback shatters all of my illusions.* Which is why I'm ever so grateful to the Lord that I work with a great singer. If only she'd take over more of the songs that I used to sing.
Working with her has also changed how I write. I no longer write just what I think I want to hear; I try to write for her voice and style. I used to hear other male singers in my head (hoping that some day either they'd sing it, or I'd at least be able to sing it like them- ha!). She can also take anything that's mediocre and change it inot something I didn't expect, and it's wonderful! I think I sometimes play it a little too safe; not sure if I do something either too personal (lyrically) or too "unusual" (melodicaly/harmonicaly) that she'll "get it" or relate. Which makes me wonder about one of my favorite writer/singer combos, Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey.
Pete is a great writer, but a so-so singer. I often wonder why he sings certain songs, when Roger is the better singer. I guess I'm understanding some of that now, that what you write may be too private or personal to let someone else sing it; or you just feel strongly enough about it that you have to sing it yourself, even if it's not "the best" it could be on some levels. Even if I'd rather just be playing bass and letting her sing it!
*Maybe I should just try to sing more like Clay Aiken!
Shakira seems to have different voices but I don't think it's in the "cool" sense we're talking about here.
yes.
you need to update your bio (cause you've added yet another lady to your life!) - and we need kid pics.... please?!?!?
Oh - Jewel is a good example too. You know that light, little girl voice to the raspy country-esque voice and sometimes she almost gets an operatic thing going on. Sometimes she goes pretty low for that deep, scary effect. She covers pretty much all of the bases in "Who Will Save Your Soul".
Funny, I never post on this site but I always read it. Ive been going through the same thing lately as I'm trying to write songs. I like Folk, but my voice sounds better with more soul-ful stuff, so I'm trying to find where I lie between those two genres. Also, if you care, my voice seems to sound different when I play the guitar than when I play the piano. Why is that?
I have trouble getting my voice to sound any different from song to song although when I was recording a bit of a harder rock number a while back I found a gutsier range than I knew I had before. I also got to test a part of my high range I didn't even know existed when my band covered High and Dry (Radiohead) so I think I know what you're talking about.
Random question but I have to ask: sevenmiles are you Jim Echels? I go to First Evangelical Free Church in Austin Texas and our worship leader Jim Echels sang High Noon at our Easter service yesterday and the coincidence of that being mentioned here was too random for me to pass up.(: Any way Jim if that is you it's very cool to find someone from my church here on AO's site. Sorry for that randomness folks but I couldn't help myself.
Different voices can totally set a song apart. I fully agree with that. One thing my voice prof used to always tell me, was that people should be able to tell what you are singing just by seeing your eyes and expressions - more and more I think that voice expressions can do the same thing. If you can express the song with the texture of your voice and tell the story of the song even while singing la la la, you are going to connect so much more with the audience and make the words so much more real. It's very much like acting, reallly. One album that comes to mind is actually a musical.
I know, all musicals are acting, but a lot of Broadway stars really aren't that good at it, sadly. The Scarlet Pimpernel (Original Broadway Cast) is absolutely amazing though. Go get it and listen to it over and over - you won't get sick of it...and the voices are SO good! Easily the most vocally expressive album I have ever heard. There is a lot to be learned from it for sure :)
Seth, I know what you mean about the husband/father evolution. I thought I was a Bono Vox until I got married and realized that I was just a William Hung. Then I had kids and realized that I was, well.........demon possessed.
Well, yes. I use a different writing voice on my Weblog than, say, caedmonscall.net. Also, at work, I totally speak differently to management differently than I do to one of the machinists on the shop floor. You've got to just meet folks where they are, and you're meeting listeners' ears where they are...
I know I have an outstanding voice when I sing in my car, by myself, when no one else is around. However, when other people listen to me it seems to fall apart....???