Bass Voice

[neoteric]

I'm not a good singer at all, but I think I sound halfway decent when I'm in a really low register. My question is can I get away with this even during melodic parts of a song? Or would it not flow well at all?

[neoism]

hello neoteric,

yes, ofcourse you can do well even at low pitch {or the same you've mentioned...}

but sometimes it depends on the song too....

and one more thing ..... there's nothing like good singer or bad singer.....

every one sings well....what makes the difference is how you manage to sing and how you let flow your voice....

so don't worry practice singing and you'll make good....

thats what i think....

Regards, Prayag

[Steve]

Nothing wrong with a low register. Chris Rea and Johnny Cash managed OK.

[thelevellers]

As long as you write with it in mind I wouldn't expect there to be any problems at all... If anything it'd be good, a little different to the usual... Try listening to this for an example of bass instead of high vox. (click

for original, and

for the bassier and orcehestral cover).

I love The Divine Comedy!

Note: Actually on re-listening it's not as bassy as I remembered, but I think point is still made to a degree..?!?! :S

[Nick]

When I started singing I used to sing in the lower register of my voice as it felt comfortable and is most like my speaking voice - so it's what I'm used to hear. If I sang higher then my voice started sound funny and light to me so I used not to do it. Record your voice and see how it actually sounds - don't worry about pitch or anything just what the notes sound like and you might find that you produce a much nicer sound higher than YOU think you do. (My speaking voice is reasonably low - if you listen here the first voice is mine)

A bass voice goes somewhere from a D up to about middle C - which was about where I would sing. As I've got used to my voice and practiced a bit and used it, the range has shifted upwards and I find I sing things now which take in much higher notes (up to about G above middle C) than I used to and that I actually prefer the tone of my voice in the higher range rather than when I was dropping an octave and mumbling away.

I try and sing All Right Now in A and that I do find a struggle given my voice and the range of the song - lowest note is an F# and the highest a C natural one and a half octaves above - warmed up I can probably hit the A but not the C. I have tried singing it an octave lower which easily fits in my range but it doesn't sound right. So I usually just change the top bit a little so that I can do it.

If you want to be Frank Sinatra then singing in predominantly a chest voice is great. For pop or rock etc it's worth experimenting as I think they normally refer to the range from about D through to C at the top end as the money range.

A lot of it is down to how you hear your own voice - record it and you may find you want to sing elsewhere.

Once my voice broke, Hark the Herald Angels at Xmas used to be the one where I wasn't sure what to do. Normally it is done in G and the highest note of the tune is an E - and I was never sure whether I could get there or not so ither throught or at a certain bit I would drop an octave which doesn't really work! The E is easy to sing now so it wouldn't be a problem if I wanted to sing Xmas carols.

Practice and experiment. If you can sing in tune and are happy in one part of your voice just practice and try other bits of your voice.

Lee Marvin on Wanderin Star worked well

Edited May 26, 2008 by Nick

[Nightwolf]

Sure, use the voice you think is best, maybe even consider tracking two vocals with the low as the main, then sing an octave up and mix it lightly in the back ground.

[neoteric]

Thanks for all the comments guys. I've attempted really high registers before, and I can do it. My voice doesn't crack or anything, but it doesn't sound right to me. I feel like I'm out of pitch.

[neoism]

hey neoteric,

don't get dissapointed.....

i tell you that.....you don't decide limits for yourself.....let the others say.....record your voice upload it and let the people over here listen to it....

Regards, Prayag

[Jules]

Didn't Ian Curtis have a really low voice as well?

[neoteric]

hey neoteric,

don't get dissapointed.....

i tell you that.....you don't decide limits for yourself.....let the others say.....record your voice upload it and let the people over here listen to it....

Regards, Prayag

I recorded my voice about a couple of weeks ago. It just feels like I'm not ACTUALLY singing. Just talking in a different form is how I would best describe it. I couldn't even tell what notes I was trying hit. It just sounds all messed up to me.