Best experimental exercise, so far.

[kickingtone]

I have discovered that singing over your own vocals is an EXCELLENT exercise.

Listen to yourself at normal to full volume and try to sing on top of it using a tone that sounds different, but blends. It is not easy! (unless you sing in a choir, I guess -- but then, you still have to produce that second tone.)

 

In this clip, I start with one vocal and sing over it at the very end. I felt as if I was singing higher, even though I wasn't. I think the second tone (left channel) was only lighter. Now, I have a better understanding of the different sensation.

 

 

Here, both right and left channels are the same tone.

 

 

[kickingtone]

This is one that went horribly wrong...

 

I got thrown horribly off pitch and I couldn't vary the tone.

 

Maybe I've got a fixed tone for this song in my head. Anyway, something to work on. The exercise really helps to break down those psychological barriers.

 

 

 

[davie]

Interesting approach. This is essentially what is done when singers do when creating backing vocals. It's especially good practice for learning how to sing harmonies. I occasionally do this as well when I'm working on my own music, usually with a lighter tone as not to overtake the lead vocal. Blending your own voice with another layer of itself tends to make a pretty nice effect as well, especially when they're well synced. Also a good tip would be to hold back a little on the consonant sounds to keep the recording as tight as possible. Experimenting with distanced miking might be worth trying out just to see what kind of sounds you can get.

 

Btw, I've always been curious, what are some of your major vocal influences? Like what band/artists and genres

[kickingtone]

Varying attack (consonants, included) has been on my list for some time. So has working the mic. Right now, I tend to pick a fixed position relative to the mic, depending on the song. It's usually off-axis (as in the clips above), unless I want plenty of base. Varying that during a song should be interesting when I get round to practising it.

 

(Cheat alert! I've heard of sound engineers softening the consonants on the additional tracks to help clean up synchronization.)

 

I can't think of a particular vocal influence...probably because I grew up without TV, so I didn't attach songs to personalities. The first act that I followed was Simon and Garfunkel.

 

My preferred genre would come under "World", but much of that would be a whole heap of West and South African music. When it comes to Western music, there is not enough of a pattern to what I like. It could be anything. I have only actually followed a few acts, where I find consistent interest -- Simon and Garfunkel, ABBA, Peter Paul and Mary! All are to do with the careful blend of vocals. I'd sing newer Western stuff, but I can't find anything like that.

[CosmicDolphin]

Interesting approach. This is essentially what is done when singers do when creating backing vocals. It's especially good practice for learning how to sing harmonies. I occasionally do this as well when I'm working on my own music' date=' usually with a lighter tone as not to overtake the lead vocal. Blending your own voice with another layer of itself tends to make a pretty nice effect as well, especially when they're well synced. [/quote']

 

Your post reminded me of a something I did a while back when my singing teacher helped me work out harmony parts to one of my songs.. It's interesting to hear them without the rest of the music. Good ear training working on harmonies.

 

https://soundcloud.com/cosmicdolphin/home-again-harmony-test-clip