Singers in the house?

[StepOnIt]

I'm not a singer myself, but I love to sing. I was recenty told that I'm not bad at it ( hooray! ), so for some reason, I'd like to improve.

First of all - do you sing? Just for fun, professionally, both?
Is a person's singing voice really the way they sound when playing saxophone?

Well, that's only what I've heard and learned from experience. All my sax-playing friends have different and distinct "sounds" when playing sax, and I find it pretty interesting that that's also what their singing voice sounds like...

I also heard that singing helps tone when playing the sax.

Is all this true?

[ClariBariGal]

im singing in a choir at uni and ive found it helps with lots of stuff, especially aural...
plus its fun :)

[bariman]

I sing in an Honors Vocal Ensemble/Show Choir (we call it R&R), and I find it definitely strengthens my lungs/diaphram, and does help my tone. I wouldn't call what I do a proffession, but we have occasionally worked for money.

I honestly don't know if it changes your tone on sax, fore I have been singing longer than playing sax. I would imagine it would alter it some, especially if you are singing a low part where you must open your throat and pump a lot of air through to be heard.

What you do with your mouth when you sing is very similar to what you do when you play sax. The shape and dimension of your mouth cavity changes how you sound when singing as well. I also think that singing helps my tone and abilities on sax. Learning to correctly annuciate words will help you in performing certain techniques on sax, especially the more expressive ones at higher levels.

Good luck,
Bariman

[StepOnIt]

Wow, that's awesome!
I kinda noticed that once I explored singing lower notes, I learned how to open my throat enough to growl ( yesss! i learned!! ), and I felt really great. And lowering your head doesn't help that much in singing low notes, it actually hinders airflow. At least that's my experience.

[Flower Power]

Actually, voice is my 2nd instrument I learned, and sax the 3rd.
I play piano (my 1st) very rarely, but I'm still taking singing and sax lessons once a week.

Singing helped me a lot with breathing, air flow, intonation and sound ... I'm used to hear the over tones and that helped me to get a good sound on sax fast.

And singing is physically more demanding than playing sax (bari and sop, in my case).

Greetings
Flower Power

[jimmitch]

Learn how to sing and your sax tone will be better then ever.

[Randall]

Singing will defintely help your playing....

Been singing since I was 3 and doing it professionally for longer than I have played sax professionally.

I should stick to it, truth be known. I am a far better singer than saxer much to my chagrin.... :cry:

[ilovejazzmusic22]

I stink really bad at it. I wish I had some kinda books on singing and maybe a an audio tape or two. I would use it all the time. Seriously I love to sing, but I have low confidance b./c I dont know how to sing and I dont know how to use the respitory system however you spell that. I do know it's something close to your stomache. That's all I know. and if I knew how, I'd be a keyboardist/singer , yeah, sax is supposed to help somewhat with the singing. well, gluck. :)

[No Clever Name]

I started taking voice lessons as a sophomore in high school, and just graduated this spring. My initial goal for learning to sing well (and properly) was to impress a young woman (her father was the choir director). However, I found that it significantly heightened my awareness while playing saxophone.

Learning to sing with vibrato (via the diaphragm) has tremendously improved my control over vibrato (which for me is now a combination of jaw/diaphragm motion). Singing has also helped quite a bit with breath control and playing in tune.

In the end, it didn't work out with the young woman (though she remains as beautiful and charming as ever). I didn't come away empty-handed, though.. I now have a life skill that will certainly be useful in my future endeavors in music.

[AuntSaxophone]

I'm not a singer myself, but I love to sing. I was recenty told that I'm not bad at it ( hooray! ), so for some reason, I'd like to improve.

First of all - do you sing? Just for fun, professionally, both?
Is a person's singing voice really the way they sound when playing saxophone?

Well, that's only what I've heard and learned from experience. All my sax-playing friends have different and distinct "sounds" when playing sax, and I find it pretty interesting that that's also what their singing voice sounds like...

I also heard that singing helps tone when playing the sax.

Is all this true?

I love to sing, although I hate my voice, well at least my talking voice since my mic is on the fritz and I can't record my singing voice right now... But I love to sing and have been told that I'm rather good and that I sound like I've been in choir or am a professional singer. I remember in the past that people have told me that I sound just like Britney Spears when I try to sing Oops I did it again. I suppose I sound good but I just don't know it since I'm so used to thinking that my voice sound different than what I think I'm hearing. But when I really get passionate when singing, I supposedly sound awesome. I guess it just figures as I'm the only person in my family with enough passion for music to have memorized all the verses to Silent Night when I was only seven years old. Anyway I need to clean my computer desk. I'm having one of those neat freak moments. So TTFN!

[sopranofreak]

I used to be a singer but I'm in therapy and well on the way to recovery.

:D

But sheriously folks - I used to sing soprano in classical choirs and the legacy lingers on in good breathing technique.

As for the 'sax as voice' thing - I think that for jazz, I am actually an awful lot more expressive on my horns than I am when singing in my natural voice. Odd.

[Bill Mecca]

Sang in a Rock and roll cover band, and on my originals, not great but its fun.

[Flame7]

Im a professional singer and singing teacher who's only recently started playing sax. Ive played various instruments over the years but the sax is the one I feel most comfortable with and Im sure its due to the similarities with a good singing technique. Everything from diaphragmatic breathing, tone control, intonation, registers and placement seems to be relevant to both.

xxxFLame7

[Silvermetalist1927]

Guitarist, Vocalist, and sax here....

I'm definitely finding...that trying to produce a desirable sound on the saxophone...makes me think of how the voice resonates. I've been listening and thinking of my voice in a new way. The experience has been opening me to new ways of relating with music.


It's like something you've heard about for years...and thought you understood fully...but it was in some partial way...Then someone else tells you the same thing...in an ever so slightly different way and you finally can finally say......oooooooohhhhhh I get it!
Thats what that meant! I seeee!

Sax playing has been like that for me.


With singing Its not about blowing as hard as you can, hitting some pitch.....its about using less pushing and more resonation!
My bet is that sax is similar.
YOU can find where your voice resonates as well by using less effort and more vibrating amplification that the head and body provides when your doing it easily and well.

Practicing long tones has been helpful....listen for the overtones etc...
I've been practicing voice in a similar way now.

Both voice and sax can come from the same place...
play music...not guitar..or horn...or whatever it is.

I've been asking new questions...where is your voice coming from?
Where are your ideas springing from?
Head?
Gutt?
Intellect?
Memory?
Habit?
Guitar?
Hands?
Sax?
Voice?
Ear?
Spirit?
*********all of the above and yur doing something right...and most likley not aware enough to think about it at the time your doing it!

Sax help shakes things up. I like that.

[hakukani]

Last time I sang in public (other than vocals for rock bands) was as a tenor in Chorus II in Mahler 8th symphony--the 'symphony of a thousand'.

We got tshirts that said 'I did it with 1000--twice!':D

[harmonizerNJ]

Alto sax is my main instrument (I've played it for about 37 years), but I also I sing in a church choir, sing a lot of vocal harmonies in a covers band, and also sing the occasional lead vocal in that same covers band. Most of my singing experience (outside of my car, that is) has been in the last 5 years, and it has been an interesting learning experience trying to listen to and improve my singing. One thing I notice is that when I sing, my economy of air usage is poor. I think I am breathing well, and when playing the sax I can hold a note a reasonably long time, but when I sing it is difficult to hold phrases very long.

[tensopbass]

I always siad that I played a wind instrument to prevent any urge to sing, but....
At the Summer School we were required to do voice training every morning, and I found that playing was much easier after. I didn't like the "choir" stuff they did though.
Recently, when the piano player was sick and I couldn't do the rehearsed piece, in desperation I put on a slow blues backing and sang Stormy Monday with tenor impro.
The group liked it and said I should do more, so its off to get a teacher.....old dogs, new tricks etc.
Meanwhile I'm going to try "over the rainbow" to Al Stevens beautiful backing track.
nicko

[renaissance_man]

Count me in the club, as well. Al Jarreau, Joe Williams, Bobby McFerrin, Harry Connick, Jr., Stevie Wonder, Daryl Coley, Richard Bona, and J. Moss are probably my biggest influences in that regard, and I feel that my style incorporates all of them to a degree.

[channelback]

I have sung for 30 years or more in various choruses and operas as well as musicals. I took up tenor sax last year, mainly because of my son's influence (excellent alto player and repair tech) and a desire to learn jazz. As some have remarked, singing prepares you for sax. I have received negative comments about my vibrato (a singer's diaphragmatic vibrato) from a couple of sax instructors (I have had four in about a year!). But, I don't really care what they say, I like the way it sounds.

Channelback
(in Michigan)