Ashlee Simpson: the fake exposed !! - Beyond Tiki

T tikibars Tiki Socialite Aku Hall, Chicago Joined: Apr 11, 2002 Posts: 2034	T tikibars Posted posted on Mon, Oct 25, 2004 1:54 PM On 2004-10-25 12:44, hanford_lemoore wrote: a lot of the newsarticles have been saying this: However, the recording sounded a lot like a guide vocal track--a commonly used, though little-discussed, aid performers employ in concert, either to make their voices sound stronger, as they sing with the track, or to cover their voices entirely, as they lip-synch to the track. But I ask the experts of Tiki Central: are "guide vocal tracks" real? This sounds like a fake answer ... how can a background vocal make your voice sound strnoger? Wouldn't a second voice track make it sound like 2 people were singing? If you listen carefully to a LOT of music, the vocals are double-tracked. The singer sings the song once, and then sings it again to get a 'bigger' and more rich sound. They do this with guitars too. If the same person is singing the same song twice-over, then two things can happen: If it is done badly, it sounds like two people are singing. If it is done well, by a quality singer who can listen back to his/her previous performance and duplicate it almost precisely, then it gives the appearance of a single vocal, but with a richer and bigger quality to it. This technique goes back to the 60s, and EVERYONE does it, save for (essentailly) acousticy-folky types and jazzers. Yes, your favorite punk bands and 'real' muscians do this too. And, of course, there are digital techniques that can be used these days to make the second vocal (or "double") line up a little closer to the original if it isn't spot-on. Like I said, they also double the guitars on, basically, every rock record made since the middle 1960s to make them more huge, and they do it on other instruments too. Now the other problem is how you pull it off live. Some people just blow off the doubling effect live, letting the excitement and energy of the show (and sometimes sheer volume) make up for the lost production techniques. Others play (or sing) along to tapes, with one track on the tape mixed with a live sing-a-long (or play-a-long) from the stage. [ Edited by: tikibars on 2004-10-25 13:56 ]

On 2004-10-25 12:44, hanford_lemoore wrote:
a lot of the newsarticles have been saying this:

However, the recording sounded a lot like a guide vocal track--a commonly used, though little-discussed, aid performers employ in concert, either to make their voices sound stronger, as they sing with the track, or to cover their voices entirely, as they lip-synch to the track.

But I ask the experts of Tiki Central: are "guide vocal tracks" real? This sounds like a fake answer ... how can a background vocal make your voice sound strnoger? Wouldn't a second voice track make it sound like 2 people were singing?

If you listen carefully to a LOT of music, the vocals are double-tracked. The singer sings the song once, and then sings it again to get a 'bigger' and more rich sound. They do this with guitars too.

If the same person is singing the same song twice-over, then two things can happen:

If it is done badly, it sounds like two people are singing.

If it is done well, by a quality singer who can listen back to his/her previous performance and duplicate it almost precisely, then it gives the appearance of a single vocal, but with a richer and bigger quality to it.

This technique goes back to the 60s, and EVERYONE does it, save for (essentailly) acousticy-folky types and jazzers. Yes, your favorite punk bands and 'real' muscians do this too.

And, of course, there are digital techniques that can be used these days to make the second vocal (or "double") line up a little closer to the original if it isn't spot-on.

Like I said, they also double the guitars on, basically, every rock record made since the middle 1960s to make them more huge, and they do it on other instruments too.

Now the other problem is how you pull it off live.

Some people just blow off the doubling effect live, letting the excitement and energy of the show (and sometimes sheer volume) make up for the lost production techniques.

Others play (or sing) along to tapes, with one track on the tape mixed with a live sing-a-long (or play-a-long) from the stage.

[ Edited by: tikibars on 2004-10-25 13:56 ]

Post #121606 by tikibars on Mon, Oct 25, 2004 1:54 PM