Low singing voices

Nidge · 15-01-2005 1:39am #1

Yo, i would appreciate an opinion on this. I was in a band just as a singer around a year ago, and it was the one thing i had to concentrate on in the band. Since then i haven't sung very much, and have slowly lost confidence in my voice being good (hearing yourself recorded is always a shock).
My main gripe with my voice is that it is very low. When i was seen singing at gigs i received a fair amount of compliments, some out of politeness and some out of genuine interest. I was even in that shockwaves competition last year, where i was told i needed to project more, and define the words i was singing.
But at this stage i'm even beginning to think that my voice is not interesting to hear as it is too low, although there are plenty of cool "low voices" out there. But the thing is many singers have a voice they use which is usually louder in the chorus, Kurt Cobain:screaming, breaking voice. Billy Corgan: nagging, strange ass voice and Chris Cornell's miraculous shouting voice that repeated by anyone else sounds like they are taking the piss.
What i am saying here is, is that all these have established a unique and interesting style that has enough fluctuation in pitch to keep the listener interested and at the same time none of them have much of a range. I suppose it is down to the fact that i haven't been singing of late, that i have this little confidence in what i can do. Examples of voices that are low without much variation is snow patrol, they are grand but his voice never reaches any great heights, and the guitar playing does not compensate melody wise.
So what do people think, are low voices necessarily boring? I foresee one problem, that it is far harder to hear a deeper voice over such loud music, a problem i had in the past. By the way the reason this is on my mind as something hard to do, is cos i may need to play the guitar while singing as it is stuff i am merely writing myself at the moment, but should i ever play it live doing both at the same time would definitely be the scenario. In general singing and playing at the same time is hard, so this further complicates the singing thing. So opinions, advice in general concerning playing and singing at the same time, keeping things interesting with both instrument and voice, and to do with Low singing voices in comparison to higher octave ones.

Mr. CooL ICE · 15-01-2005 12:31pm

Nidge wrote:

hearing yourself recorded is always a shock

Ay. I think I sound great when singing along to maiden going "aceeees hiii-IIIIIIIII-A-I-A-I-A-I-A-IGH" makes me feel terrible and to just shut the **** up and play bass.

But that is a tricky situation. But, just to make sure, you can actually sing, right? When I say that, I mean being able to change the pitch of your voice as you want?

What you say about Billy Corgan and Kurt Cobain is true. They have a unique voice, but what really puzzles me is how they became big in the first place. I can just imagine a very early Pumpkins getting up on stage in some student bar with Billy just whining away, and bottles being thrown at him. But you would really have to think about your voice and how you would fit it into a particular type of style.

You say you have a low voice. Is it Elvis or Pete Steele Type O Negative style or what?

Eoin Madsen · 15-01-2005 2:35pm

Nidge wrote:

But at this stage i'm even beginning to think that my voice is not interesting to hear as it is too low, although there are plenty of cool "low voices" out there. But the thing is many singers have a voice they use which is usually louder in the chorus, Kurt Cobain:screaming, breaking voice. Billy Corgan: nagging, strange ass voice and Chris Cornell's miraculous shouting voice that repeated by anyone else sounds like they are taking the piss.
What i am saying here is, is that all these have established a unique and interesting style that has enough fluctuation in pitch to keep the listener interested and at the same time none of them have much of a range.

You're kidding, right? Chris Cornell can sing from tenor to alto notes, in full voice. His range in enormous.

If you want to establish your own style, I advise you get some lessons to learn how to use your voice. There's a lot more to good singing than trying to reproduce what you hear other people doing. I know someone that teaches in the TBMC, if you're interested, and I'd strongly recommend vocal tuition to anyone.

Nidge · 15-01-2005 6:29pm

Yes i can sing in the basic sense, as i said other people have said so too. Yeah, i should have omitted from that part of my comment, he really can sing, he is great. Yeah i DO wonder how billy corgan managed without having an immediate fan base. I know people who loeve the actual music, but still can't get past his voice. I think singing lessons are the only thing for it. I'll have to wait for this Leaving Cert fad is over. No wonder i haven't had time to try singing again.

In fairness my voice isn't THAT low, no where near Elvis style. I don't know what the other guy you mentioned sounded like. The real problem i guess is variation, I mean i can't shout, that rules that out, plus i don't really want to.

Zoton · 17-01-2005 7:08pm

Some of the greatest voices have been low sounding ones. Not necessarily technically great, but memorable (Well to me anyway). Jim Morrison, Tom Waits, Johnny Cash.
The problem may not be the voice, but the style of music to which it is accompanying.

Nidge · 18-01-2005 7:14pm

You are exactly right Zoton, cos i like people like QOTSA and just heavy enough stuff in general, that definitely makes it hard to be heard with a low voice.

Low singing voices

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