The Smiley Smile Message Board

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I think trying to sound as 'technically' good as Brian might be a fools errand. We have folks on this board trying to figure out whether or not he sings in falsetto or just a very high 'head' voice, the latter of which explains the strength of his tone as opposed to the whinier tone of The Bee Gees or Valli. But Brian's voice is a strange beast. Unless you mean you just want to get as high as him, but from my limited knowledge it sounds like you're going into a falsetto from what you said about your throat. I try and project it between my eyes, when I sing bass parts or croon it goes sort of in my throat, etc. It's handy to 'physicalise' your voice like that.

As me giving singing advice is a laughable notion, get singing lessons - I wish I had them when I was younger. Or, make a concerted effort to sing along with BB's records - maybe just focus on Brian's vocals/putting yourself at the top of the stack in harmonies. Another artist that'd be good to try that with is Harry Nilsson. But stop if it hurts, that's only going to damage your range in the long run. A vocal coach would sort out that weird thing your jaw does, too. The key to 'relaxing your throat' is most likely just to relax, full stop.

The other thing is, you're a youngish dude, right? Your voice will change a lot anyway. Mine's changed a lot in the past two years (ie, my twenties), the blame for which is part good due to practice (started singing to accompany my guitar when 16) and thinking about singing, breathing & stuff, and part bad, due to drinking, smoking, and general misuse. But hey, at least it's my voice!

Any tips on how I could sing like Stevie Winwood (I could probably choose one of his influences but I will limit myself to another white singer) rather than Sean Lennon with hay fever which is what I sound like now.

Join a choir: school, community, whatever. You'll get some vocal coaching, but won't have to pay for intensive coaching, you'll keep your voice working (hopefully, assuming a sufficient rehearsal schedule), and there is great value in learning to sing with other people.

If we're talking about vocal woes, at the moment my voice is sounding so thin. In my head, I hear that sort of metallic whine that BW had on his falsetto during Sunflower, which is the thing it reminds me of the most. But seeing as I've had a stressful year so far, I guess I can pinpoint the reason.... Fucking booze and cigarettes. My kingdom for a quiet life...

Vent vent vent...

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You're 14? Easy problem to solve, then: keep singing. Your range will change, though, not just in range, either. At your age, it's just nowhere near a finished instrument.