A while back someone, Diki if recall correctly, said singers primarily use hand held mics for the special effects, especially power singers. Now, I've never been a power singer, and as my lungs progressively fail from asbestosis, there are times with certain songs that I used to sing with ease are now a struggle. The first song that comes to mind was My Way, which I've always done very well - at least that's what my audiences tell me.

Another song, Who Can I Turn To, is a great song for a power singer as well. DNJ just emailed me a link of Tom Jones performing this song. Throughout the performance, his mic was never pulled away from his mouth, and in fact, it appeared to be in the exact same position during the entire song. Now, I've always considered Tom Jones a great, power singer. However, I noted that his vocal control style, which is very similar to Mel Torme's style, is outstanding. No pull-aways, just outstanding vocal control.





With this Torme song, he was singing on stage with an overhead mic. What a voice. And when Torme used a handheld mic, the position rarely changed, even on the highest and softest notes. He was always my hero when it came to singers - he was the greatest - ever!



Gary

I think it looks ridiculous ....how annoying to a singer to have that thing bouncing up and down in front of you face no thank you I'll stick with a hand held...



So much more sexy and a much better stage presence look for sure..

Donny, this thread has nothing to do with headset mic V/S handheld. It's vocal control. With both singers I posted it would have made absolutely no difference which type of mic they used - headset or handheld. One, Tom Jones, is definitely a power singer, while Mel Torme is a jazz crooner. Both display outstanding vocal control when hitting notes and the very top and bottom of their vocal range. This is a rare commodity with singers, especially today. Either you HAVE vocal control, or you DO NOT - it's that simple. I'm always amazed at the number of singers I see who try to hit notes well above their vocal range and pull that mic all the way down to their waist. It's not an effect, it's a gimmick and not a very good one at that. Either you can hit the not with quality or you cannot. If you cannot, don't pull the mic away and tell me it provides dynamics - it doesn't. Listen carefully to the quality of Tom Jone's and Mel Torme's vocals when they go for the highest notes - it's impeccable to say the very least. No strain, no struggles, they just hit those notes perfectly and the mic distance did not change at all. That's what this thread is about. I couldn't do this until I got some vocal training at the local community college from a well known, local jazz singer. She taught me a lot in the six weeks I attended her class. Vocal control was an integral part of the course.

As for Englebert with and without a headset mic, do you, for one minute, think his audiences cared what type of mic he used? They came to hear him sing and the band play - nothing more, nothing less. Now, in the videos you posted, the headset mic blocked no view of his face at all, while the handheld blocked the view of everything below his nose and down to his neck. Additionally, carefully take note of the handheld mic position, the distance from his mouth doesn't vary much at all, and obviously he hits the highest possible note of the song at the very end, and that mic was the same distance from his mouth throughout the note - no change in position at all. That's the entire point of the thread - vocal control, which as I stated above, is a rare commodity these days.

To me when I listen the various singers on the reality TV shows, they all try to sound pretty much the same, they're all screaming into the mic and singing outside their comfort zones, and with very few exceptions, none seem to have that vocal quality, and most of all, vocal control, of singers of yesteryear. Maybe I'm just getting old. But, I still love to hear the Mel Torme's of the world over some kid screaming into a mic and pulling it away before his voice falls apart while singing above his range. Singers of the past could sing with or without a mic - it made no difference. Handheld or headset, it makes no difference when you have vocal control. That's my point entirely.

Gary

I seldom change distance from the mic, more because of the compressor/limiter than great control on my part. Trust me, Mel and Tom used one too, with a sound man riding the mixer.
Not disagreeing with you, but most of the people singing in the world NEED to back off the mic on high notes because they will be too loud and blast the audience's ears. It may be because of lack of control that this is necessary. If so, most of us are lacking.

I'm not sure about the mixer and sound man aspect, Don. I don't use compression, and back when Mel was in his early career, I'm not sure it was available. I didn't know about it until the early 80s.

Gary

Parallel compression[edit]One technique is to insert the compressor in a parallel signal path. This is known as parallel compression, a form of upward compression, which can give a measure of dynamic control without significant audible side effects, if the ratio is relatively low and the compressor's sound is relatively neutral. On the other hand, a high compression ratio with significant audible artifacts can be chosen in one of the two parallel signal paths—this is used by some concert mixers and recording engineers as an artistic effect called New York compression or Motown compression. Combining a linear signal with a compressor and then reducing the output gain of the compression chain results in low-level detail enhancement without any peak reduction (since the compressor will significantly add to the combined gain at low levels only). This will often be beneficial when compressing transient content, since high-level dynamic liveliness is still maintained, despite the overall dynamic range reduction.

This dates back to the 50's

Most top singers, despite having pretty decent vocal control, FOH and monitor engineer are going to put SOMETHING on it for vocal compression...

So, it's a lot easier to keep the mike in one place and it LOOKS like he has incredible vocal technique, but to a certain extent, the engineer and the compressor are doing a certain amount of the work.

Watch Tony Bennett. Now there's a guy you can SEE work the mike..!

Interesting thread!

I'm sure most of you know that good vocal control comes from breathing properly.....leading into....I consider myself a good vocalist but a much better one when I remember to do this.

That leads into.....it's hard to use those lungs correctly when you're sitting behind a keyboard. At least, for me it is. When I became a disc jockey and was able to go out onto the floor and sing to Karaoke tracks it was like night and day. The freedom I experienced in my vocal expression was astounding. I could hold notes for many, many seconds and hit high notes I couldn't do when sitting......all from breath control. Yet, opera singers are able to reproduce even when they're "sitting" (or laying down even!).

I DO find it very hard to PLAY correctly and SING correctly at the same time. It seems to come down to one or the other. I don't mean just belting out songs...that's pretty easy.....I mean putting them out there in a technically correct way.

BTW......Tom Jones was one of my all-time favorite artists. He picked the right songs to do and he did them magnificently. And a great showman too. Delilah is still being sung by audiences around the world!

Mark

How the Best work that Mic baby!!

I don't know for sure, but I doubt if compression as it is today was available when singers like Vaughn Monroe were popular. And, I was pretty much unaware of it until the 1980s, and I still do not use it. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I do NOT have the polished vocal abilities of Mel Torme, Tom Jones, or Inglebert, but I manage to get the job done and seem to always get lots of complements on my vocals.

Gary

Gary ... I am sure many of the performers here (I purposely did not say WE) could say the same thing, but truthfully, we are not being critiqued like professional performers are ...

You wana bet Tony, just post some music and we will all tell its good, even if its crap, go on give it a try where ever you hold the mic.

BTW have you ever thought some old video might be mimed

I love My Job!!

Tony, I always considered the folks on this forum Professional and no one that I know here would have any qualms about telling someone they sound like crap. One of the main reasons I've posted songs here is to get some constructive criticism - and most of the time I utilize that information to make my act better for my audiences.

I'm pretty sure I am among the few on the forum, however, that went the extra mile and took vocal lessons - I could be wrong about that, but I don't think that's the case. And, I do have several pro musicians in my audiences, many of which played for the Baltimore symphony. Those ladies can be damned well hardhearted when it comes to vocals and playing. I love them, one and all, though. Over the years I've performed for them they've always been complementary, and freely offer me challenges to learn new songs they would like to hear. You would be amazed at some of the songs they requested, though. Just two weeks ago a lady asked me to perform In The Still Of The Night by the Five Satins, and she said she wanted to hear that harmony and all the sho-bop stuff as well. I managed to pull it off, but it was a lot of work to get it together and make the song sound pretty close to the original. She loved it!

Cheers,

Gary

... when it comes to you performing, Gary, I have no doubts ...

Tony ... I've posted and have been told when it was crap ... perhaps not in so many words, but told none the less ... AND I've posted since ...

I'm keys+ vocals not using a headset so I have some leeway in head position. I've had a small amount of vocal training which helped my voice control quite a lot. I use a compressor / limiter to help control things a little more. I still find it necessary to back off at times.

Certainly the vocal technique demonstrated in all the videos is really good nevertheless I'd expect all the big names will have a top notch sound man who knows the arrangement riding the sliders.

Personally with one pair of hands and no sound man I find the compressor invaluable.

Net's not forget that these people look effortless at the top end because the song will be carefully arranged to suit their range and not overstretch the voices, you can't do this stuff night after night on tour or in a residency if you push your voice too far too often. The fact that these guys are relaxed singing in keys that us mortals can only dream of is one reason they are where they are.

I've always taken tine to work the best key for any song that I sing and this is the first bit of advice I give to anyone starting out in this business. It's very nice to be able to do stuff in copy but it's not worth ruining your voice in the process.

As a more general point I'm certainly not going to beat myself up because there are people out there who are better than me, it's a pretty big list!

first vocal tip, ...take the highest NOTE in the song and hit it effortlessly just at the tip of you breaking vocal range to give you power, if it's too high back down in 1/2 step increments until you can hot it,....the rest will all follow suit. Do this for every tune you sing....then play it in the appropriate key on your KB, etc,.
I cant stress this enough.

I'd add, take into consideration you might be asked or want to do the song at the END of the engagement... Whatever is really comfortable while you are warming up might be a bit of a squeeze for the last song.

A half step down from what you CAN do (whole step if it puts you in an awkward key to play) can make all the difference if you are playing most days of the week, or longer engagements than your average NH gig.

We've had some of this discussion before, but another thing the vocalist has to consider is WHEN that highest note needs to be hit: what notes are being sung just before it - are you singing a number of notes one or two steps lower than that high note; what is the phrasing just before going to hit that note - is there time for the proper breathing to get to the note and get it out ...

Not just the phrasing either...the vowel or consonant being sung can matter too.

Ian

easy you're a singer or you're not a singer

Does that mean a singer DOESN'T have to take these things into consideration???

Tony I backed up for over 25 years many great pro singers in shows on stage and learned alot just by watching them perform.
But you need to have the foundation of a great singer inside you, and strong confidence in your abilities to command the audience. .....I believe your just born with it IMO.
Go to your local karaoke bar and you will see what I'm talking about.
Good thing liquor was invented.

I wish I enjoyed singing more. I don't. It has to be done in a small group and I am always elected.

Over the years, I have done lots of singing on national advertising campaigns (Sealtest Milk, Lensecrafters and lots of others), and am invited to sing (and sometimes play) at tributes to people like Beau Diddley, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole and lots of others with a local Philharmonic.

I don't hate it but enjoy making those who really love to sing sound the best they can sound a lot more than singing myself.

Back-up vocals help. I don't mind them if it make the final production better.

What's sad to be are those who love to sing but don't do a very good job. There are a few here who aren't nearly as good as they think they are.

Russ

I've never run across anyone in a Karaoke bar that had any vocal training. Most of the drunks there think they can do anything, including sing - for the most part, they can't. They want their 5 minutes in the spotlight and everyone applauds the most horrendous singing performance you'll ever hear. This, unfortunately, encourages them to get on stage and do more songs throughout the night. It's amazing how many women sincerely believe they can sound just like Patsy Cline.

Those who have taken the time to obtain vocal training learn a lot that most people don't really have a clue about singing. Breathing technique, phrasing, diction, and range, just to name a few are part of the course.

There was a lady I met in Nashville that taught diction to most of the top singers in the nation, Elvis, Streisand, Sinatra and many, many more. She is booked a year in advance with her course and the cost was ridiculously expensive.

Yes, you are born with some of a singer's attributes, but it takes a lot more to make a great singer. Without that training, most, but not all, singers would be mediocre at best.

Gary

I don't "love" singing, but I played in quite a few bands where I was required to sing harmony, and, I learned very quickly that you have to have more than decent vocal abilities to support the lead singer, if you are going to do a good job. It certainly helped me achieve a good enough technique to manage backup singing a lot better. Another benefit was that it helped me croak out the melodies to tunes I had written/arranged well enough so that the person who was to do the actual vocal understood how it was to be interpreted.

One group I played in had three backup singers, a guy and two gals, and they were all technically better singers than the lead vocalist, but he had better stage presence and delivery, and, as Donny said above, exuded confidence in his abilities....hence he sang the main vocals.

Ian