(The Real) Grace Slick-related Vocal Question

[grace_slick]

I read yesterday something the real Grace Slick once said about how she cannot sing softly and high.

 

She said her voice is low, and she's good at yelling and singing really loud, but if she tries to sing softly she HAS to keep the notes low down in her range, or her voice just can't do it. She says her "vocal box" does something weird. lol.

 

She says if she sings higher AND softly, she can't do it. This was in an interview I read, and to illustrate this, she sang a song (a lullaby) and the interviewer said her voice actually CRACKED when she sang a bit higher and quietly.

 

So, my question is, WHY would this happen? For anyone who's ever heard her sing, you'd know her "normal" singing voice is NOT weak, or crack-prone at ALL.

 

So why would she be physically unable to sing quietly and slightly high up??? Even if she was only an average singer in general, wouldn't a standard human being with an undamaged voice box be able to sing a lullaby without the voice cracking!?

[davie]

I'm thinking maybe why she can't sing soft and high. Is probably because she sings with more vocal weight in her voice. Basically singing using the thicker mass of the vocal cords rather than the thin edges of the vocal cords. She's probably too use to doing that, so she wasn't able to sing soft and high. The healthy way of singing soft and high requires the use of the thin edges of the vocal cords. The most healthiest way to sing is using the thin edges. A singer trained this way should be able to sing soft at any part of their range, as well as moderate and loud.

[HollowSound95]

I have the exact same problem. I have to sing with a lot of volume to hit high notes. My voice cracks a lot when I'm singing quietly too. It's pretty embarrassing and I'm sure it's a subconscious bad technique.

[CountRobula]

I also have the same problem, although with time and effort I've been able to sing much higher up in my range softly with less of a strained sounding tone.

 

I figure singers with heavier voices have a harder time taking the "weight" away as they raise their tones. I'm sure it works the other way around too, with light and airy voices adding "weight"..

[Okie Bob]

I feel if its something you want to do then you can train your voice to do so.

Your voice is an instrument and you must practice with it and train it.

[grace_slick]

See, I'm curious about it cause (a) I think her voice is incredible, and (b) I am the opposite. I find it hard to sing with a heavier, stronger, louder voice, and find it much easier to sing softer and higher. So I want to learn how to be more Grace-like I suppose, heheh.

[WaterMoc]

 

See, I'm curious about it cause (a) I think her voice is incredible, and (b) I am the opposite. I find it hard to sing with a heavier, stronger, louder voice, and find it much easier to sing softer and higher. So I want to learn how to be more Grace-like I suppose, heheh.

 

 

 

Trying to reply to whole thread but the system is slow today.

 

Back when Grace was starting out, new bands rarely had any kind of monitor system. The girls with soft high folksong voices, or even good blended voices, had a lot of trouble getting over the guitars and drums without lots of sore throats, constant voice problems and maybe even end up with nodules and surgery. Slick herself probably damaged her upper register but still had her lower to fall back on. I saw many aspiring singers flame out including my best friend, a trained singer, who were used to singing alone, or with just piano or acoustic guitar. My friend's voice was good but just so tiny..the old belters like Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, Linda Ronstadt, Koko Taylor..Bessie Smith et al really blasted. They had to.

 

I played drums and did not start singing myself until monitors came along.

 

So, the gals with the lower belting voices were the ones who won out. Nowadays I notice a lot of younger women with high voices going into soprano ranges with hit records, who never would have lasted in the old bar bands of the 1960s.

[grace_slick]

VERY true. Thanks for that post.

 

Yeah, I know Grace said she had to sing really loud or nobody could hear her and she couldn't hear herself over the loud instruments and surroundings of the band and audience. Hmm.

[tjcarr2002]

Head voice vs chest voice.

i can’t explain the mechanics of it, but in opera, a high SOFT note is well known to be harder to produce. Verdi called for such a note at the end of one of his arias (Celeste Aida, if you care) and tenors for over a hundred years have been saying, **** that, I’m singing LOUD!

Maybe a vocal teacher can explain...?