Range for a vocalist?

[Xplora]

I was working with writing some vocals yesterday, and I suddenly realised that my voice is ridiculously limited in the range that I think it sounds good in. I do the metal thing, so I have very little interest in high notes (Bruce Dickinson!!! LOL) but I physically can't produce a nice "clear" low note below a guitar's E, and I can't really sing below D (with room to move up and down a little).

How do you work out what key to use for a fairly limited vocalist? Just about everyone can do a reasonable job of hitting a few notes, but how many octaves should you expect from a guy? and how low is too low? (I don't mind roaring to get low but a bass guitar's A is too much!)

[shackman]

Good question and I don't think there's an answer! I've been doing vocals for years and writing and I find the key by picking up the guitar and trying. If key D is too high, shift it to C etc etc.

But my best advice is, don't stretch UP or DOWN. The number of songs I hear which fail because some lady is trying to sing the E below a guitar's bottom E or some bloke is trying to emulate the Bee Gees is huge.

AND: In the past few weeks, I've been digging through my archives iof early stuf to re-record. We all know a boy's voice breaks in puberty. But I've discovered that it changes through life too.

Songs I recorded in D ten fifteen years ago now need to be played in C or lower.

Don't suppose that helps much. Good Luck

John

[MetalDave]

Use the force Luke!

[manny08]

I think the best answer for you is to explore the posibility of expanding your
range. Find some vocal excercises & practice them regularly, you be suprised how much you will improved in the space of 3-4 months. This way you probably be comftable in any number of keys

[MetalGod]

Originally Posted by manny08

I think the best answer for you is to explore the posibility of expanding your
range. Find some vocal excercises & practice them regularly, you be suprised how much you will improved in the space of 3-4 months. This way you probably be comftable in any number of keys

I definitely second this one, or even better - take singing lessons. A good singing teacher can help you a lot, I extended my range with more than an octave after I started taking singing lessons.

Cheers,
MetalGod

[MetalDave]

Oh come on, what about the force? Actually I used to make a singer I ran sound for do vocal exersizes every day about 1 hour after he got up. This might be something you could find on the internet. Remember don't sing from the throat, And use the force!

[Xplora]

The bloody force LOL

A New Hope was on TV last night as well... George Lucas did his best work having the guys in desert scenes or wild west bars with aliens... outer space is cheaper though, I'm guessing?

I'm basically just realising that my voice seems most comfortable in D, A, E and B, in that order. Easy for guitar based music... but not so much for anything else. I hate black keys on keyboards, C isn't too easy in the high end for me. (Devin Townsend is someone to be marvelled at, not emulated LOL)

[sparqee]

You say you're most comfortable singing in A, B, D and E. The key of C is right in the middle of that range yet it's troublesome for you. That says to me that you have a tricky break in that range (everyone has break points in their vocal range) even though it's right in the middle of your total range. Learning to artfully maneuver through that break will give you the key of C. A good vocal coach can definitely help with that.

p.s. if Yoda is a master of the force why does he have such a terrible singing voice?

[MetalDave]

Have you ever heard Yoda sing? He can sing as good or better than the Dalai Lama! If he uses the force!

[sparqee]

Originally Posted by MetalDave

Have you ever heard Yoda sing? He can sing as good or better than the Dalai Lama! If he uses the force!

Object start to float around the room.... nearby song birds fall into a descant. The younglings swing their practice sabers in rhythmic counterpoint.

Of course... we all know that Yoda is a direct descendant of Fozzy Bear, and I have heard Fozzy sing. <cringe>