Using Voice as an Instrument
I came to a realization lately about how and why I use my vocals in tracks. When I produce, I sing and layer my vocals in a way that’s not supposed to be singing, but rather layers into the song much like ambient orchestral music. I just blipped Bobby McFerrin singing Bach with Yo Yo Ma and he has completely managed to make his voice sound not like a vocal, but more like a stringed instrument.
I think my goal going forward is to work on making my vocals blend in more with live instrumentation (of which I’ll need to seek out some musicians to get the real deal), and also learn how to better layer and record them on the fly.
There have been a number of artists, like Bjork, who have put out a strictly acapella album. Beats were constructed through beat boxing, ambient through humming, accents made by I don’t know, burping? I just get more and more excited how singing can be used as the sole tool to put out music. I hope I get to a place where I can do just that and make something nobody’s heard before.
Here’s a link to a quick article on wiki, touching on this topic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_music