Instrumental and vocal music

[BrassFusion]

It just occurred to me that some people on here might be interested in hiring a tutor for their kids. I play and give lessons on all brass instruments, as well as vocal and introductory through intermediate music theory/composition (Think college level). I even have a guitar student, but I'm sure there are a host of people on this board who could cream me at guitar, so I won't hype myself as that.

I'm affordable (cheap!) and I make house calls. I'm great with children of all ages, if I do say so myself.

[JaneDead]

too bad you didn't do piano too

[Der Nister]

I'm affordable (cheap!) and I make house calls. I'm great with children of all ages, if I do say so myself.

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B are you affordable (cheap)?

[Homicidalheathen]

~sigh~ I have a sax, flute and recorder just sitting here.

I wish my kids still wanted to play SOMETHING, anything really......I can't get the one to keep practicing and the other is into other things now...

[BrassFusion]

too bad you didn't do piano too

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Well, I never have, but I'm way better at piano than I am at guitar. I could teach a beginner.

B are you affordable (cheap)?

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yeah, compared to the going rate. I charge 15 for a half hour and 25 for an hour, though I might tack on up to 5 dollars if I took a student who lived say, 20 miles away.

~sigh~  I have a sax, flute and recorder just sitting here.

I wish my kids still wanted to play SOMETHING, anything really......I can't get the one to keep practicing and the other is into other things now...

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That's cuz sax, flute, and recorder are boring.

They might pick it up again when they're good and ready, and I don't see why there's any particular rush to achieve musical greatness unless the kid has a particular love for it and wants to major in music or something. Or maybe they'll start playing guitar in a band and make a million dollars.

[BrassFusion]

Bumparoonie.

[Msterbeau]

Bumparoonie.

Oof!

[BrassFusion]

Oof!

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You should know by now to stay out of the damn way.

[Steven]

Brass do you teach voice?

I've got a pretty wide range and alot of power and flexibility, but my band keeps adding on song choices that have that REALLY high end to them, like right now they want to do some triumph songs and Rik Emmet's voice was just soooooo up there. I can get about 95% of all of that stuff pretty easily, but its the last jump up that kicks my ass and gets forced, which is not the way to do it.

ANy suggestions on breaking through to the next upper register????

[BrassFusion]

Brass do you teach voice?

I've got a pretty wide range and alot of power and flexibility, but my band keeps adding on song choices that have that REALLY high end to them, like right now they want to do some triumph songs and Rik Emmet's voice was just soooooo up there.  I can get about 95% of all of that stuff pretty easily, but its the last jump up that kicks my ass and gets forced, which is not the way to do it.

ANy suggestions on breaking through to the next upper register????

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Falsetto. Believe it or not, boys and girls have the same problem in this respect. When I was in high school, everyone who sang with the jazz band or in the choir, if the music was at all pop related, tried to belt out the higher notes in their chest voice instead of changing registers and it just doesn't work. It's harmful for your voice and while it sounds okay sometimes, it's really hit or miss.

Falsetto is good because you can abuse the hell out of your voice and it's usually still there working for you... It can be hard to train for some men, though, while some have it naturally. I've even known baritones who have this natural falsetto they never even practiced.

Honestly, if you've been singing for so long, you're probably beyond what I'd consider a normal student, but it would be cool to hang out and analyze your voice and try to work the falsetto, if you want.

[torn asunder]

Falsetto. Believe it or not, boys and girls have the same problem in this respect. When I was in high school, everyone who sang with the jazz band or in the choir, if the music was at all pop related, tried to belt out the higher notes in their chest voice instead of changing registers and it just doesn't work. It's harmful for your voice and while it sounds okay sometimes, it's really hit or miss.

Falsetto is good because you can abuse the hell out of your voice and it's usually still there working for you... It can be hard to train for some men, though, while some have it naturally. I've even known baritones who have this natural falsetto they never even practiced.

Honestly, if you've been singing for so long, you're probably beyond what I'd consider a normal student, but it would be cool to hang out and analyze your voice and try to work the falsetto, if you want.

what about increasing falsetto upper range?

[BrassFusion]

what about increasing falsetto upper range?

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Usually it's not a matter of increasing the range itself as it is solidifying what you have naturally. Personally? I'm a mezzo and I'll probably never get above F6, which is where I've been since I was 14 or so.

However... when I was 14, my F6 wasn't as consistent. It's still not pretty, cuz I'm a mezzo and F6 is ridiculously high.

Figure most guys can get up to a G5 squeal (the G that sits atop the treble staff). So start from there and try to make that G5 as pretty as possible and don't beat yourself up if you'll never be able to sing a higher note.

What's often more difficult than having a consistent falsetto is getting flexibility and blend between the registers- essentially, training your falsetto DOWN to reach into your chest register. But then, a lot of rocker types don't need that blend because they write their own music that doesn't reach into an upper register but to accomplish a squeal effect. What sort of stuff do you sing, TA?

[torn asunder]

just through experimentation, i know i have (including falsetto) at least a three-octave range, although my highs are a bit "squeaky" as you put it. i think marblez actually complimented me once on my ability to fairly smoothly slide across that "chest/head" transition you referred to! :blushing (anyway, my singing is pretty much private right now) one of my faves right now is seal - i can hit some of his higher stuff, but i'm comfortable about an octave lower than he typically sings. i'm getting a bit better with audioslave too, in the same manner... some songs i'm on-octave, while most i'm one lower, and sometimes for fun, i'll sing two lower. i'vew got a bad habit of jumping octaves in the middle of songs, though, if i get tired...

umm... did i actually answer your question in there somewhere!?!? :laughing :whistling

[BrassFusion]

just through experimentation, i know i have (including falsetto) at least a three-octave range, although my highs are a bit "squeaky" as you put it. i think marblez actually complimented me once on my ability to fairly smoothly slide across that "chest/head" transition you referred to!  :blushing (anyway, my singing is pretty much private right now) one of my faves right now is seal - i can hit some of his higher stuff, but i'm comfortable about an octave lower than he typically sings. i'm getting a bit better with audioslave too, in the same manner... some songs i'm on-octave, while most i'm one lower, and sometimes for fun, i'll sing two lower. i'vew got a bad habit of jumping octaves in the middle of songs, though, if i get tired...

umm... did i actually answer your question in there somewhere!?!?  :laughing  :whistling

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Lol, kinda!

Sometimes it makes sense to jump octaves if the song isn't by someone of the same voice type. You must be a bari/bass, I guess. I'm not surprised.

Most of my favorite bands are fronted by men, and most pop music is more in the tenor range than baritone. If it was bari-range stuff I'd sing up an octave (baritone and alto are an octave apart, as are tenor and soprano), but sometimes I just change octaves. Or push my voice down to the low C's and D's to sing along, but it doesn't sound good and I can't project it. Just for fun fun.

All that only proves how useful it is to change keys to suit your range. Karaoke hosts can do that with the machines. I sang "man of constant sorrow" and i remembered it being pretty low, so i asked tina to bump it up 2 half steps... and it was still too low.

You're lucky to be a bari-bass (again assuming that's what you are) who can transition registers well. That gives you the potential for some ridiculous range that women just aren't physically capable of... Even Ella Fitzgerald only had three octaves, and I'm only comfortable over two.

[torn asunder]

Lol, kinda!

Sometimes it makes sense to jump octaves if the song isn't by someone of the same voice type. You must be a bari/bass, I guess. I'm not surprised.

Most of my favorite bands are fronted by men, and most pop music is more in the tenor range than baritone. If it was bari-range stuff I'd sing up an octave (baritone and alto are an octave apart, as are tenor and soprano), but sometimes I just change octaves. Or push my voice down to the low C's and D's to sing along, but it doesn't sound good and I can't project it. Just for fun fun.

All that only proves how useful it is to change keys to suit your range. Karaoke hosts can do that with the machines. I sang "man of constant sorrow" and i remembered it being pretty low, so i asked tina to bump it up 2 half steps... and it was still too low.

You're lucky to be a bari-bass (again assuming that's what you are) who can transition registers well. That gives you the potential for some ridiculous range that women just aren't physically capable of... Even Ella Fitzgerald only had three octaves, and I'm only comfortable over two.

yeah, i don't really know what i'd be classified as, but i can probably sing baritone, bass, and tenor with little difficulty. who knows? i may even sing karaoke when bren comes to town, then everyone can have agood laugh!! how can i determine my overall range? i do have access to a keyboard, and guitars... any help?

[BrassFusion]

yeah, i don't really know what i'd be classified as, but i can probably sing baritone, bass, and tenor with little difficulty. who knows? i may even sing karaoke when bren comes to town, then everyone can have agood laugh!! how can i determine my overall range? i do have access to a keyboard, and guitars... any help?

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If you're comfortable singing an octave lower than Seal, I'm pretty confident that you're a baritone/bass (the two are often used interchangeably).

The classification itself doesn't matter so much. As a mezzo-soprano, I can sing across the whole female range. I'm just most comfortable and I sound best right in the middle.

A woman might be a soprano if she's unable to project below middle C, and a woman might be an alto if she has a rich, meaty tone that she can project to say, the D below middle C (True altos are actually rare).

As for men, your average baritone/bass has the capability to hit lower notes than a tenor could, but they still often are able to sing as high as a tenor, using the magic of a blended falsetto. Where a bari might have to use his falsetto, a tenor may not.

Your overall range you should be able to figure out by just playing notes on the keyboard and singing along with them. You'd probably want to start from the note one octave below middle C if it's hard to tell if you're on the same octave as the piano.

A very impressive bass would be able to project the note two octaves below middle C. A baritone might only be able to get a good hold on the F one octave and a half below middle C, and some tenors can only sing as low as one octave below middle C.

All men should be able to reach at least the G above middle C, but baritones and basses may have to use falsetto by that point.

You said three octaves... If you can get down to the C 2 octaves below middle and up to the C one octave above middle, you'd probably be considered a bass/baritone (depending on who you talk to and how exacting they are when they classify voice types). Your falsetto break should still be a factor, as in, what's the highest note you can comfortably sing without using falsetto?

[Msterbeau]

Doe rae me fa latodohdaoipiduqoipduoi3ud032r832r8n 32fjow!!!!!

How was that? :-)

[Steven]

you just described my desire to improve in theis area.

I sing like a mutha Brass - but I'm comepeltely untrained.

I'm very confident in my voice and range but as a rock singer I'm also aware that I do many thigns "wrong" and that this style of singing takes a bit of a toll.

ANyway - yes - I'd love to sit down with you and learn some things.

[BrassFusion]

lol... do you have a piano at home?

[Steven]

lol... do you have a piano at home?

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hmmm...I've got an old crappy keyboard laying around the attic.....

[BrassFusion]

hmmm...I've got an old crappy keyboard laying around the attic.....

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Keyboards are ++ because they're usually in tune no matter what... pianos can be problematic.

Any time you want to hang out and work on some stuff, maybe practice some art music (i have a limited collection anyway ) let me know.

[Steven]

Keyboards are ++ because they're usually in tune no matter what... pianos can be problematic.

Any time you want to hang out and work on some stuff, maybe practice some art music (i have a limited collection anyway ) let me know.

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ccol. of course yrou assuming that I'LL be in tune.......