“From now on, it’s not going to be about how pretty the voice is. It’s going to be about believing that the voice is telling the truth.”
Sam Cooke, on Bob Dylan

Bob: Sings Like an Angel

Sam Cooke=Pretty Voice

Bob Dylan= Not So Pretty Voice

Both were/are legends and outstanding musicians, songwriters, and performers.  Most people can agree that Bob Dylan sounds like a dead frog when singing.  Yet his voice has that certain truth to it.  You believe his stories and you want to know more about him.  You appreciate his perspective, even though his vocals are far from pretty.  It doesn’t matter if he is not the most technically trained singer.  It doesn’t matter if his tone is not what any other singer strives for.  It matters because it’s truthful and who he is at that moment in time.

Now ask yourself these questions:

Are you trying to play as fast as you can and throw in a bunch of shredding licks to prove yourself to the guitar community?   Are you making your chord progressions and changes more complex than necessary?

Are you thinking too much rather than feeling and just letting things come naturally pouring out of you?

We all are guilty of these things.  I have been working on some original songs lately, and one thing I noticed after listening to a section over and over was that it sounded fake.  It sounded forced.  Now the part I was listening to was a vocal part and not a guitar part, but the same applies to any instrumentation.  I couldn’t quite put my finger on it at first, but it just hit me when it finally came.

“This sounds like shit because it doesn’t sound REAL”

It wasn’t a truthful or believable vocal performance.  It lacked a certain intangible energy behind it that is necessary to grab a listener’s attention.

So basically, I am going to have to re-do the vocals for the song.  I am not a great singer, nor is everything I sing going to sound “pretty” and fancy, but damn it, I know I can at least make it truthful and real.

And that is what matters most in music.

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