Getting a singer to lose their inhibitions

[Morgan C]

Tracked some vocals on Saturday, with a vocalist who was decent at softer cleans and great at screams, but the harsher cleans seemed a little weak. After quite a while of trying to get the right takes (as well as playing around with the melody.. we were half-composing on the spot unfortunately), the guitarist suggested the following.

We all (well, vocalist, guitarist and myself) got in a circle, huddled up, and started bouncing up and down chanting "fuck yeah". Slowly getting louder until 15 seconds later we're jumping up and down and screaming at the top of our lungs.

Me being the socially awkward guy that I am was hesitant to do this, but it worked. The next take was by far the most aggressive one we got.


What do you guys do in these situations?

 

[Clark Kent]

That is one way of getting energy in a vocal performance but it's the "wrong way" if you ask a vocal coach. You should be able to sound powerful without being powerful and the key to that is vocal chord closure. Using agressive power will lead to pitch issues on most cases. So what I normally do in these situations is to tell the vocalist (who is usually me) to sing like Britney Spears when she was good. (there was a time... ) So what I'm talking about is starting notes with a vocal fry.

So basically this:

EDIT: A good example of this would be Adele who never actually sings agressively but sounds huge as f***.

 

[Morgan C]

That is one way of getting energy in a vocal performance but it's the "wrong way" if you ask a vocal coach. You should be able to sound powerful without being powerful and the key to that is vocal chord closure. Using agressive power will lead to pitch issues on most cases. So what I normally do in these situations is to tell the vocalist (who is usually me) to sing like Britney Spears when she was good. (there was a time... ) So what I'm talking about is starting notes with a vocal fry.

So basically this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0raVR9T_LIw

EDIT: A good example of this would be Adele who never actually sings agressively but sounds huge as f***.

Oh no I understand the technique behind it all. It's just that sometimes singers are a little self-conscious when they get to the studio and the pressure is on, and they kinda hold back. They give 80%, or 90%, but it's just not their full potential. This really got him to loosen up and let go of some of that awkwardness. It WAS a little uncontrolled, that first take afterwards though - a little pitchy and the timing was a little off. I'd be interested in other things you guys do. Once they're in the studio it's not like you can teach them vocal fry and track the vocals the same day, you really have to work with what you've got.

 

[Clark Kent]

Ah ok! It's the red light syndrome. Basically what I would suggest is at least 30min of vocal warm ups and keeping the energy level up so eating carbs (not too much) and really not being in a hurry. I know it's hard not to hurry when there's a studio time limitation or a budget. If the singer can't relax... make him smoke some pot. :S A beer or two? Wouldn't suggest that though since it'll dry his throat.

My problem is to get the energy level up for screaming. My screams don't work at all if I'm not REALLY FEELING the agressiveness. So for me it's all about connecting with the lyrics. If I'm singing about hatred I'm actually imaging that I'm beating the hell out of the person I'm hating and that's the purpose of the song. That will sound authentic. But that's just me... there are so many insensitive growlers that get respect for their work that I'm starting to feel like emotion doesn't matter anymore.

 

[heshian46]

I had the same problem with a drummer this last weekend. He was nervous as fuck, it took him 3 hours just to calm down enough to get decent drum takes. This is a killer when time is of the essence.

 

[amarshism]

Manipulation works wonders

 

[Skinny Viking]

getting a singer to shed their inhibition with singing is all about establishing trust & comfort. Singing is not like playing an instrument, the singer's body IS the instrument and therefore the entire act is much more personal.

I think what the guitarist suggested in Morgan's situation was fucking brilliant. It wasn't meant to be about technique, it was meant to be about making the guy feel good about cutting loose. Those are the performances you want to catch cause something absolutely brilliant and unique may happen. Pitch issues can be corrected, as can timing. You can't fake a genuine and powerful performance cause it has to be coming from someplace real

telling them to have a couple beers or smoke pot is ridiculous. If thats what they do anyway, fine. What if they don't drink or smoke? What do you do then?

Any singer I've worked directly with its always been about establishing trust & comfort. The fewer people involved when tracking vocals the better. Have the singer there with one other guy in the band that he feels most comfortable with and no one else.

 

[ArthurD]

Singing is all about propper breathing and relaxing. If the singer is not relaxed, it won't sound good. Period.
So, its a good idea to let him bring his coach.

 

[RedDog]

Have sex with him.

 

[AD Chaos]

what I normally do in these situations is to tell the vocalist to sing like Britney Spears when she was good.

And then what.. match EQ?

 

[Skinny Viking]

And then what.. match EQ?

 

[Clark Kent]

And then what.. match EQ?

The sad part is that you're not far off with your joke. I have match EQ'd some vocal mics that I can't afford ATM. So two mics close to each other recording the same performance, in this case it's me saying "piss-kiss-shit-tits" and now I have option to get the flavor of another mic with just my cheapo Rode... ofcourse it won't sound exactly the same but it's pretty close.

I always wanted to use this:

 

[vaiman]

So what I normally do in these situations is to tell the vocalist (who is usually me) to sing like Britney Spears when she was good. (there was a time... )

Really?? :zombie:
There was a time when she was fit. But a good singer

 

[DullElysium]

Really?? :zombie:
There was a time when she was fit. But a good singer

But se did have a lot of vocal fry in her vocals. I believe thats something that many singers overlook/forget to use. Eases the chords.

 

[pikachu69]

A good example of this would be Adele who never actually sings agressively but sounds huge as f***.

She might be huge but that chubby bitch can whale.

 

[Chainsaw Calligraphy]

Try talking to the singer about his lyrics. Ask why he wrote them, what he was feeling at the time, what inspired him etc. Talk about the issues they address and try to get all those feelings to resurface while you're tracking. And while it is unprofessional, I agree that one or two beers can really help people loosen up and give a better performance.

 

[DanLights]

Why do I keep reading the title of this thread as "ginger" and thus keep clicking on it?

 

[plague_rider]

A bottle of Mead...??

Sorts out my red-light syndrome and such... though I wouldn't give them more than a little glass of it...

 

[Terminus]

Why do I keep reading the title of this thread as "ginger" and thus keep clicking on it?

 

[AD Chaos]

This thread's title sounds very sexual.