Singing Voice

Hey, I know I don't have a great singing voice, but I have to try to get my songs heard.  When one of my songs is done by someone else that can sing, it makes me feel good. There's a few folks out there that have done my songs and who have made them their own.   That should always be the goal of the singer - take ownership of the song.  To me, it is the greatest tribute to the writer. 

Now, as for my feeble attempts at singing, I've got over the fear (sort of) of performing in front of an audience knowing that they won't be getting a vocal genius. I've learned to accept that.  Even so, I keep learning things about my voice - what my range range is (limited) - what key works best for me.   Since my vocal range is pretty limited, I have to stay within the range that I got.   The key for a song seems to depend on the song. 

In my last post, I included a song called "Barely Hangin' On" which I did in Key of G.  Trouble is, or me G is an unfriendly key and I had to go higher that where my natural voice is.   I didn't like it, but I liked playing the song in G.   

Well, today I decided I'd find a key that is better for my voice. I tried C, because sometimes that works for me.   Then I tried A, because there a few songs I do in key of A.   Neither worked for me - at least I didn't feel comfortable with either key.   So I tried the Key of D.    you can listen to the results in the video clip. 

Still not a great rendition, but I think a better place for my voice than what I was trying before.  

So what lesson did I learn?   Don't be stubborn and stay in a key that doesn't work and probably never will work for you.  Try different keys - even ones you don't think work for you - in my case, even D.  

 I don't see myself as a vocalist, nor do I have any desires to become one.    I do have to try to sing my songs to the best of my abilities so that others can hear them and maybe some day a talented singer will take the song and make it their own.  That's the real goal.  

Barely Hangin' On

No one was home tonight so I decided to try recording this song on a Zoom H2 Handy Recorder.   If you don't have one of these, they are quite handy, as they claim.  The H2 is bigger than a cell phone and looks like a little microphone.  In fact you can mount it on a mike stand with the attachment it comes with.  I use it quite often when I'm playing around with a new piece of music and want to record it so I don't forget what I had going.  

Oh, the song.  It's called 'Barely Hangin' On'.  This is the song I mentioned in the previous post.  My big challenge is that I need to find someone to do the vocals on it.  For me, the song is in the wrong key and I really have to tighten my shorts to get my voice to go that high.  I should transpose to another key - maybe D, but I like the feel of the music in G.   I just need a singer.  Here's the clip with my lame vocals.   Hope you like it