Jul
30
How can I sing the blues?
Posted by RockFan under Blues
Tiger Lilly asked:
I’m 14 years old, and I desperately want to learn how to sing the blues. My idols are Janis Joplin and Bessie Smith, but I know its only a dream to sing like them, I have no vibrato, and I dont sound screechy like Janis. Any tips on singing the blues style? ALL TIPS ARE SO MUCH APPRECIATED! Thanks!!! : ) (And any jackass that tells me to start smoking and drinking and eating glass can go to hell, I dont want you’re advice.)
August 1st, 2007 at 2:41 am
tiger baby you got to feel the Blues
You got to pay your dues to sing the blues
but I think you can doo it just put on the records ans learn the songs and practice you don’t have to sound like them find YOUR own blues sound
Good luck from TEXAS
August 1st, 2007 at 2:46 pm
You haven’t lived enough years yet to sing the blues…. That is an art form that only comes after your have paid your dues… and at 14… you haven’t even STARTED to pay your dues… if you haven’t suffered then you don’t have the heart for blues.
August 2nd, 2007 at 2:08 am
sing exactly how you sing now, and don’t change anything.
blues is raw, and real
August 5th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Blues music is all about taking every ounce of raw emotion in your body and giving it a creative vehicle for exiting. Blues music comes from struggles, pain, restriction, but most of all from the hope of a brigher tomorrow. My advice is to keep listening to Bessie and Janis because they are amazing, however don’t convince yourself that you have to sing like them to sing the blues. Be original- they are and thats why they are so good. Listen to some male blues singers like Muddy Waters, Sam Cooke, Robert JOhnson. heck even Eric Clapton, and you’ll be able to discover similarities amoung voices very different from each other. Ultimately, to sing any klind of music effectively you have to FEEL it. So, find those emotions, dig in, and sing with all you’ve got. Peace.
August 6th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Blues is all about feel. When you are singing, sing with as much emotion as you can whether it’s a sad slow blues or an uptempo happy blues. Also consider taking singing lessons it will help you to improve and maintain your voice no end and also teach you how to get that vibrato you want. Your voice is like an instrument…practice makes perfect. Listen to as many singers and their styles as you can.
Don’t listen to all this crap about paying your dues, everybody has to start somewhere. Over the years you’ll gather a lot of emotional experience and your voice will improve with age. I’m sure nobody told a young Eric Clapton that he needed to pay his dues when he recorded one of the most influential blues albums, redefined the electric guitar and earned himself the nickname God all by the age of 20. Just get out there and sing your heart out.
August 9th, 2007 at 9:36 am
Pay your dues!
August 12th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Listen to Janis, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Big Mama Thornton, and a whole host of others.
Their music will serve to inspire you …
but SING like Tiger Lilly.
Here’s a Bessie Smith video to enjoy: