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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | I've always loved The Who's "Pure & Easy".
I have made multiple runs at it over the years.
For some reason the latest run was successful. I took all those diminished/suspended 9th monsters and changed them into something closer to cowboy chords. And waa-la... it worked!
Then to my utter disappointment I discovered that I can't sing it in that key. Townshend has got that just-shy-of falsetto voice that I have not be able to reach since my pre-puberty days.
I tried to capo it up but had to go all the way to the 5th fret to make it work.
There are two possible solutions.
1) Get a longneck. I hope that someone will have one at the hotel lobby to test drive. However... I hate to not be able to play a song just because I dont' have the right guitar on hand.
2) Transpose. C became a G.... G turns into a D. Okay..Now I can get some leverage under the vocals. But it looses something else. Although the chords are right in relation to eachother, it's not sounding the same. I feels like some of the "notes" are being reach by de-sending rather than a-sending.
BrianT's good advise has always been to always cater to the vocals first. Very few people say, "My God!!! Can you beleive what key they are playing that song in?!! :eek: "
So... we'll keep plugging away at it. Maybe someday it will be ready for public consumption. I hope so. It's a good song that I've never heard anyone else do. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | Brad,
Maybe you could work on your voice. That's not intended as a cheap shot. I used to be able to sing anything from bass to soprano. I could get up to Townsend's range and then had a good falsetto that would go almost as hign as a full soprano.
Then I just quit singing anything but basic stuff in church for years. When I got back into guitars a couple years ago and pulled out the old songs, I found that I lost my falsetto and maybe an octave off the high range below falsetto. I've been told several times that it is just a matter of working those muscles, but I'm not so sure. I've gained a little range since, but still no falsetto. Maybe you could ask a good voice coach if it's possible to extend your range with some exercises. Some songs are just meant to be played in the key they were written, but Brian's probably a lot more talented than I am at transposing. |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | That's not a cheap shot at all, Mark.
That is part of the solution.
Until about 2 months ago Brian & I were tuned down to E-flat. Just that little half step made a difference in the quality of the vocals. Now we have come up to concert pitch and found that we can now handle most of the songs we had adjusted down for.
Those once a week, 3 hour practices pay off in the long run.
Unfortunatly, Pure & Easy turned out to be about 180 degrees away from my comfort zone. |
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October 2005
Posts: 5332
Location: Bluffton, SC | There's always Vice-Grips... |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Aww, nuts!! |
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September 2006
Posts: 713
Location: Alberta, Canada | Brad,
Before you start to sing try to warm up your vocal chords by humming. This is a much better way of bringing the vocal chords to the loosened state they need to be to gain the highs or lows used outside of normal speach.
When I was gigging, most of our gigs were 1 - 1 1/2 hours from home. I would throw whatever my new favorite tape was,in the deck and literally sing all the way to the gig. I would then have a 1 - 1 1/2 hour rest before we'd start. I would do the gig and then sing all the back home. I could do things with my voice back then that would amaze me, that I know I would have a hard time reaching now, but I know it's just from a lack of use.
I never knew about humming to warm up back then, and I am sure I would have been less hoarse at the end of the night if I had.
Absolute best thing for your vocal chords is to keep using them. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | I was noticing on the tour dvd that Brian had his guitar capoed at the first fret. Now I know why. I think colt is right. I used to easily sing anything by BJ Thomas, but when I decided to do "Mama" for my mom's 80th birthday party last year, I couldn't hit the highest notes. Sometimes I could and sometimes not. Coincidently, it was just after the NW OFC Gathering, so I had plenty of warm up and had no problem when it came time for the big surprise. Since that was my first "gig" in 30 years, it was pretty significant. Afterward we were talking among several of my family who have much more singing experience than I do and they told me about exercises idea. |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Maybe I need to just sing out loud in the secluded privacy of my own truck and not care what my fellow commuters think. |
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September 2006
Posts: 713
Location: Alberta, Canada | An audiance of "none" will never turn on you. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | On the subject of Transposing... For anyone who doesn't have one of these nifty little things...
It's kinda like a kindergarten art project. Just cut it out, and add the little paper-clip thingie. And viola!
Transposer Wheel |
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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 4394
Location: East Tennessee | This works better than the little wheel.
Chord Transposing web site
Also you can purchase a Transposing program from this web site.
Key Transposing program
I have one and it works great. Only $19.95. |
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Joined:
July 2003
Posts: 1922
Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Brad, I had a version of the song in C, and did a transposition to G to try it. I agree, it doesn't sound "right" that way. This is the problem with songs that we are used to hearing in a specific key.
Brian is right, though, you have to set the key to cater to the vocal.
I've never heard the Townshend vocal version of the song, only the Who version with Daltrey singing, and he is "up there" with it as well.
Roger |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Townshend could sing MUCH "higher" than Daltrey.
Daltrey just had more "power" behind his voice.
Brad, I'll have a LongNeck there if y'wanna try it. |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Yes please Cliff.
I wanna try one of those.
Roger and anyone else... if you want a copy of my cheat sheet, let me know.
After playing it in "G" a few times, it's starting to come around. Or... I'm just getting used to it. I just gotta try to sell it. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | I was thinking about this yesterday as I was mowing the lawn. (Yes, we are well into Spring here.) I wonder if the same reasons that cause us to snore as we age also cause us to lose our vocal range and falsetto. From what I have been reading about snoring (a big issue at our house) the backs of our throats get flabby. There are some exercises supposedly that will help. Maybe I should get my wife to try singing with the hope she'll quit snoring. Coincidentally, my snoring has decreased since I've been singing more. Maybe I'll try to get a grant to study this or just write a book without any evidence to support it and make millions. |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | I'll be your lab assistant (a.k.a. Test Monkey) for a mere 15% cut. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | Snoring used to be a major problem at our house. If I slept on my back I snored so loud I'd even wake myself up. I quit drinking & lost 20 pounds & the problem was much less severe. I lost 25 more pounds & the problem went away. I guess all the racket was flapping interior throat fat. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | Testing theories always ruins them. None of those diet books ever test their theories and they all seem to be based on the premise that Americans only eat when they're hungry. If any of them worked, there wouldn't be so many diet books.
I would suggest that my wife get the surgery that they do for snoring, but a local guy died from that surgery, and at this point I'd rather still have her around than have a big malpractice verdict like his family got. |
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March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | losing weight is easy. All you have to do is poop more than you eat. Simple as that. |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Easy for you to say!
In the last sevceral months I've moved tunes down to D from E using the long neck and down to C using the Baritone National. Fatter strings and detune.
Why not rearrange the tune and do it your version rather than what some high=pitched-across-the-pond-wanker did? |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | Originally posted by cwk2:
Easy for you to say! It works for me, AND, unlike the others, I have personally tested it.
Maybe I should write a weight-loss book,
"Crap your way into a new wardrobe!"
Or maybe,
"You aren't fat, your just full of shit!" |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Aw... This is so technical.
I just Transpose stuff down one note so I don't have to use B and F chords! :p |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Originally posted by cwk2:
Why not rearrange the tune and do it your version rather than what some high=pitched-across-the-pond-wanker did? .
Ever since Matt Smith demonstrated that at the last tour I've tried to keep that in mind. Matt talked about it in his mini-seminar then showed us how it's done by taking the happy, bouncy, "Love The One Your With" and making it into a mornful, sultry, blues tune. (BTW.. that performance is included in Wabbits Tour DVD production)
With that seed being planted almost a year ago now, I think I've now found a song to apply it to. Brian & I have been literally hammering away at "Won't Get Fooled Again". The other day I layed off the oxymoron that is the "acoustic power chord" and brought the vocals way, way, way down from stadium rock to Tom Waites. I'll have to play it about 50 more times to smooth it out but I think it just might work!
And to all you lucky guys out there where this stuff comes second nature.... count your blessings!! For some of us it's like trying to grow mahogany in a vegetable garden. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | Matt did that with the tune, I'm A Believer at the Acoustic Cafe at this year's NAMM show. The crowd went nuts over it..... |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13997
Location: Upper Left USA | Played the new Longneck all day Sunday (four services). The biggest benefit was the ability to capo and/or shift my chord figures for the key being played by the rest of the band (sometimes).
For example, the intro to Sing Allelujia, ala City on a Hill, requires the G2-D-Em7-C2 phrasing with the song done in G (capo 2nd). Then Came to My Rescue which was in D, and jumps to A, I got to phrase open E chords for the most part.
When the key is G/C/D I can add a cut capo and figure the same chords with a little "Drop" edge.
The best comment received about the guitar that day was from the Soundboard. He was digging it and had a good input to work with.
Longneck LX is the way to go.
Thanks for the Transpose chart too! That's a keeper. |
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Doin' the Transpostion Tango