Should You Sing Your Own Songs?

This is a very touchy subject in many songwriting circles. Many musicians perform their own music live, and feel that, if they are going to pitch their songs to publishers, that they should perform them themselves. Many music houses, though, feel you better your chances if you get a hired gun. Here are a few thoughts to help you decide which may be right for your demo….

WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE FOR THIS DEMO?

If you want to get yourself signed as an artist singing your own material, then yes, by all means, go ahead and sing the material yourself. If you are trying to sign your band, though, and you feel that your singing is the bands’ weak point, then perhaps you should try and hold auditions for a new singer and actually perform a few times with that person before you start pitching yourself as a new band. If you are trying to get signed as a writer, though, look around for someone who can give your demo the best possible sound for your genre. A good local who has been in successfully pitched demos in your genre will do. If you want to spend the big bucks, you might try one of the big demo houses with the great reputations, and one of the top-notch hired vocalists, but many demos have been picked up without spending this kind of cash, so don’t spend the money if you can get just as well for less. If you want to pitch the song to a particular artist, you might find out what kind of voice the singers who were on demos successfully pitched to this artist had—if they are really sensitive about that subject, finding someone who is a clone of the artist may be a kiss of death, but with other artists, this may be exactly what you need to clinch the deal. You might also find a good, well-known local artist, just since that familiar name and sound might impress folks you pitch the song to, might get that artist more work, and both might bring you a little more needed pull in this very competitive field.

WHY YOU SHOULD SING YOUR SONGS

If you really just can’t afford another singer, and can’t interest others to sing your material for free, then, sure, you should perform on your own demos. If you have a very nice voice, you might even try toning down to sound more average so you don’t bruise any egos you pitch your music to. You might get a little coaching from what experts in your area you can find to sing the song a little better, perhaps with less or more feeling, word emphasis and phrasing, and so forth. You probably have the best feel for how your song should sound, so try to be really objective listening to your performance, and tweak it the best you can to get rid of any objectionable personal singing quirks that might make the song sound like only you should be singing it. Also, make sure you are in tune and add any needed harmonies, because, unfortunately, many artists want complete songs, and don’t want to have to do any writing to “fix up” your numbers.

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