Quote from: stephanology on August 11, 2007, 01:51:41 AM
Aimee Mann is like my hero, there are SO few strong songwriters like her any more, and singing with her records is one of my favorite passtimes!

I'm going to check out all the artists you guys mentioned in this thread, I trust you!

One of the reasons that Magnolia is one of my favorite movies.

You look like a perfect fit
For a girl in need of a tourniquet

Aimee's voice is about a step and a half (three notes) higher than I can sing comfortably.

There are a myriad of female artists I can match note for note though, Carole King, Billie Holliday, Tori Amos, Bessie Smith, Ani Di Franco and many more.

Little too high: Carly Simon, Janis Joplin, Aimee Mann...

This is a great idea. It sure brightens up the drive to work. gets al ot of strange looks though.

Quote from: ell on May 23, 2007, 11:59:23 PM
Here are some girl songs that are great for singing along with. They give you encouragement as to what you can really do with your voice. You may be surprised how easy they are to sing with. All are extremely feminine, but usually do not go above a high tenor.

"Six Underground" -- Sneaker Pimps
"Malibu" -- Hole
"High on Sunday" -- Aimee Mann
"Slow Down" -- Morcheeba
"Save Me" -- Aimee Mann
"Stolen Car" -- Beth Orton
"Duvet" -- BOA

Ah yes, Duvet. I have that On my iPod in Cyberia Remix.

Might I also suggest:
Sora, from the Escaflone movie OST,-Lyrics availible online,
and: Ocean Size Love by Leigh Nash. Once again Lyrics available.
Both of these are quite beautiful and are sung at a much higher pitch than say Duvet is.

Anything by Karen Carpenter works for me.  She sang alto and had quite a range.  I also love her music.  She has seen me through many a cold night.

Wing Walker

Here is a few I like to sing too.
KT Tunstall - I Want You Back
KT Tunstall - Suddenly I See
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps
Cyndi Lauper - Time after time
Blondie - Heart of Glass
Seether - Veruca Salt
LINDA RONSTADT - Blue Bayou
Madeleine Peyroux - I'm All Right
Norah Jones - Sunrise
Fergie - Big Girls Don't Cry
Amy Winehouse -You Know I'm No Good

I think most of them are on you tube.

Later,
Anna

I concur, Jewel's "You Were Meant for Me" is a favorite and I think relatively easy for the MTF since she doesn't go so high and stays pretty stable throughout.

I go for a lot of Indigo Girls stuff; Amy Ray has a lower-pitched (but still nice and female) voice.

Lia

I like to sing to Taylor Swift and Christoper Cross, yep, I now he's a male, but have you ever heard him sing.


                                     JESSI

The Sound of Music song is realy great for training voice.
it covers all the notes and is therefor easy to raise spectrum an octive.

I love singing.

Sara

Joan Jett can do that because she is a total pro.  She doesn't smoke, drink, or any of that.  Her backstage is like any opera singers - tea, honey, lemon, throat stuff - and she warms up, and cools down.

It is good to find this thread, though I'm WAY out of tune with regards to most of the singers mentioned.  (I gave up listening to radio years ago, because the commercials gave me headaches.)

It was nice to see such people as Joan Baez and Simon & Garfunkel mentioned though.  They've done some of my favorite songs.

I also found the scale warmup and voice soothing concoction mentioned in one post to be right in line with what I had been thinking about doing.  (Well, I hadn't thought about the voice soothers, but as a fan of lemon and cherry drops, any strain on the voice would have me reaching for those or the equivalent.)

Another possible source of music featuring female singers would be folk music from Peter, Paul and Mary.  Very singable and you can usually find the lyrics in lots of places.

If you do an octave shift like one person mentioned, groups like the Kingston Trio open up dozens of songs to your singing pleasure.

If you are into science fiction and fantasy, or Ren Faires, you might look up Heather Alexander.  A great vocal range and lots of songs in a variety of styles.

She retired not long ago and has become a FtM singer calling himself the Heir.

Joan Baez when she was young had a voice that is nothing less than a gift from god.  Hard to use that as a model.

Quote from: tekla on February 25, 2008, 01:48:39 PM
Joan Baez when she was young had a voice that is nothing less than a gift from god.  Hard to use that as a model.

Call it wishful thinking.  There is always the possibility of singing harmony.  Or just trying to match the notes in your natural range.

I remember the SF movie, Silent Running, where she sang "Rejoice in the Sun."  It still brings tears to my eyes thinking about it, though I haven't seen the movie in decades.

(Yeah!  I can order the soundtrack on DVD!)

Her voice was so clear, so near perfect (and for those on another thread we have around here) so dead on pitch, that it is chilling.  But even now, without the range, without quite as much Crystal Clear as she had when she was young, she still can sell a song, and sing it well, and strong.  More than that, she has never changed her politics to fit the current trend.  I admire her for that above all else.

I thought of another possible source of female singers.

Disney feature length cartoons.

Ah, singing - a topic dear to my heart!

I can't believe nobody mentioned Joni Mitchell!!11 (sorry, just couldn't resist the ll!!11!!)

Seriously -- I think way she traverses a broad range and inserts all sorts of ornamentation is great practice for the sing-song quality of female speaking voices. I really love singing along with her. Even if I usually can't hold phrases nearly as long as she can.

Also, how about Bobby McFerrin? I've heard him (in person) sing the Flight of the Bumblebee, which goes up pretty darn high. He's got a ridiculously large vocal range (something like 6 octaves, I think?) and some advice on how to gain such a range and smooth over the break between chest voice and head voice (falsetto). I got that either from a master class I attended with him, or his web site. Anyway, a bit geeky I guess, but some of his methods are, shall we say, transferrable (I think).

Ah.  I forgot McFerrin.  A whole orchestra in a single person.

I have at least one of his albums.  Should pick up more.

Loudon Wainwright's little sister Sloan has a unique style. Not a high pitch voice, easy lyrics, and I like the way it makes me breathe correctly. She has 4 CDs out, I think. And believe it or not, there is a gentleman who sings tenor in his own Bluegrass band that will make you hit some high notes following him, a little nasally though. His name is Del McCoury. (I lose track of following him, though, because the band is so awesome, I just want to listen.)

Quote from: annajasmine on January 08, 2008, 09:53:01 PM
Here is a few I like to sing too.
KT Tunstall - I Want You Back
KT Tunstall - Suddenly I See

Later,
Anna

I love KT Tungstall and that is a great vidio

I've been singing some evanesence to work on my voice, and its not too bad, sounds a little fake though and not sure how to fix this.  I still have time to work on it though, and I will be in my car where it wont be embarrasing as I drive to work.

I usually sing along with Cher and Carly Simon.  I have also noticed that I can sing along with some guys, but at a higher octave.

A friend of mine at work said that she noticed that my voice if much higher and a lot more feminine than when she first met me.  And I do get strange looks when I speak in boy mode.