question for lead singer/guitar players

[thirdstone]

How much do I push the other band members to sing more?

The other guitar player and the bass player can and do sing some tunes.

I've been nagging at them but I'm still singing 10 out of 12 tunes in a set, at least 3 sets a night.

I think we should share the load and mix it up more.

By the 3rd set my voice is almost gone. Should I start asking for more $? Do I hold the gigs hostage? Without my vocals there wouldn't be a gig.

We rarely rehearse which is the convenient excuse for them.

We're playin' tonight and I'll be the professional.

[Rich4Once]

You tell the guys that your voice can't handle the stress, and they need to pick it up. If there are 3 guys that sing, the duties should be split evenly in 3rds when possible. If the lack of rehearsal time is an excuse, schedule more rehearsals.

 

Put it to them like this...if they rely on you to carry the most weight, there's more to lose if your voice goes. If they can pick up a few songs each, there's less chance of your voice going at all.

 

In my band we have two guys the do most of the vocals, and the other two of us do a few. I'm more comfortable not singing at all, but I'm happy to step up and do a few...it gives the main guys a break and keeps them happy and healthy. I'm not as good a singer as they are, but I have a lot of attitude, and that helps.

[twostone]

Umm our singer never has that problem maybe coughs because their's alot of smoky filled barrooms we play at. I don't know what style of music your singing we're doing classic rock to metal are you sure you can hear yourself good on stage. I know I've seen singers lose their voice because the stage volume was way to loud and the poor guy had to relly beltout the vocals so he could hear his self sing through the monitors. And that sounds like your case maybe not but with us the singer comes first on the monitors then the backline instruments. We do get our monitors as loud as we can before feedback issues and he always come through crytal clear with a strong voice I dunno maybe we've been lucky but our singer doesn't drink or smoke and while preforming doesn't drink any drinks with ice in them.

[The*Ataris]

Not everyone who can sing is comfortable singing lead. I would fall under that category, for sure. Maybe work some longer instrumentals into your set?

 

I don't know, I play in original bands, but in the times I've played 3-4 hour slots, we always throw in an intrumental set just to break things up and give the singer a rest.

[elbow]

Gotta be careful with your voice sometimes. If there are others in the band that can spell you out some to rest, that works... and do it.

 

Others have suggested putting in some instrumental songs. Our band plays some.. more because we really like them, but hey, yeah that'll work too.

 

What you have to be careful about is getting too loud or getting too high. The strain of either or both of those will have you croaking pretty quick.

 

Drink plenty of liquids.. preferably warm ones.

 

Have you had any professional voice coaching? A few sessions with a pro would probably yield some good results... and some good tips on keeping your voice strong.

[sideswipedv]

in my band there are two singers, we back each other and split the duties about 50/50 but i would love to see the others start backing us, it would help with our sound i think.

 

As for your question i would just say "NO!" and explain that you need more time between songs you are singing so unless you are willing to take 5 minutes between songs somebody else is gonna have to take up the slack.

 

We are a cover band and typically play the 10 to 2 slot. I personally cant imagine having to sing for four hours or roughly 40 songs

[THBv2.0]

I've dropped several songs from our setlists because it's too much of a strain on my voice to sing them three nights in a row. As a singer, you have to work within your range. If you're doing cover songs, choose covers that are more within your range. If you're doing originals, write songs in the proper key so that you can sing them and not blow your voice out. Another trick is to have the band tune down a whole step.

[SanDiego333]

Originally posted by THBv2.0 I've dropped several songs from our setlists because it's too much of a strain on my voice to sing them three nights in a row. As a singer, you have to work within your range. If you're doing cover songs, choose covers that are more within your range. If you're doing originals, write songs in the proper key so that you can sing them and not blow your voice out. Another trick is to have the band tune down a whole step.

 

There's yer snswer

[flip333]

I don't want to hijack this thread, so see my question about how changing keys affects a song.

[bonscottvocals]

As lead singer, guitarist, the songs I do are based on the vocal, so it's important for me to give a strong, soulful performance with voicing and phrasing dead on. Think of doing "Take it on the Run" in F, just wouldn't have the right feel or energy. My bandmates are there if I'm having a bad night and feeling like I need less tunes, but I would never ask them to do it regularly. I am the lead singer, and I should be able to sing 2 full sets of material w/out a problem.

 

In songs where I can put my guitar down, I do. It's easier to get my abdomen to expand w/out 8 pounds of wood on it, and that makes for better breathing technique. I also use in-ear monitors, and that's a key part of hearing myself well.

 

flip333, some people change keys to better fit their vocal range, but if you get into that habit, you can wind up doing all the songs in the same lower register, which can be boring. High notes = energy, and energy is usually what sparks fun. That doesn't mean that you always hit high note, but look at a guitar solo. It will have some really high notes and some really low. Depends on the feel. Same should go for your set as a whole. Try playing all really high energy songs all night and not only will you tire yourself, but the crowd will get tired quickly too. It's about dynamics, and that's not done too much in music any more. Most bands these days think that really soft and low to really loud and high is a dynamic. In a couple songs, that's cool, but think more about instruments dropping in and out, tempos slowing increasing/decreasing, key changes, etc... Anyway, this one-song, microscopic look should be spread across your entire show.

 

And to your original question, key changes can be beneficial, because it sounds better to hit the note dead on than to strain and show that you can hardly do it.

[Hollow body]

I have the oppostie problem: everyone wants to sing, which is great in the bands (I'm in 3) where everyone sings well. What gets me is when people think they can take over vocal duties when they obviously suck. I mean, would the drummer want me to learn drums by playing his kit for 2 songs per set? Sheesh.