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Hi,
I placed some ads in my local area for vocalists. One or two have responded that can not sing.
I am looking for kind ways to tell them thanks but no thanks.
Any good ideas?
Also, how would you look for a vocalist in your local area?
I need someone who can actually sing and can work face to face or at least over zoom.
Billy
Last edited by Planobilly; 11/01/21 04:23 AM.
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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Just say something like "Thank you for submitting your vocal track. I've decided to go in a different direction so I won't be able to use your track. Thanks again for your interest."
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Billy, be firm and direct without saying anything that could be construed as derogatory or insulting. Mention that you have found a suitable solution elsewhere, and thank them for their time and effort. No need to go into further detail than that (don't dig a hole for yourself).
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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Ghosting and no reply to their messages seems to work well.
Or you can simply be honest....That was horrible... Don't quit your day job.... or ... That reminded me of the banshees in the Golden Voyage of Sinbad..... You should do a duet with William Hung, or Yoko Ono.
Or, you can be tactful and tell them thanks but that project was put on hold for now. If it becomes active again, I'll be in touch. Thanks for submitting your track.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Thanks guys for all the good ideas.
I just got a call from a young girl who is very theatrically inclined with a good voice.
on the face of it, a perfect match-up. Her boyfriend plays bass and she is up for both recording and live work.
Could just be my lucky day.
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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That’s the ‘different direction’ you can go in.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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So folks that “can’t sing” responded? Bad singers, not so good singers - yeah … but it’s hard to imagine somebody having such a total lack of self awareness sans years of feedback. Our weird music world.
Bud
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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So folks that “can’t sing” responded? Bad singers, not so good singers - yeah … but it’s hard to imagine somebody having such a total lack of self awareness sans years of feedback. Our weird music world.
Bud I've been singing 'badly' for years. Never held me back.  Regards, Bob
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So folks that “can’t sing” responded? Bad singers, not so good singers - yeah … but it’s hard to imagine somebody having such a total lack of self awareness sans years of feedback. Our weird music world.
Bud I've been singing 'badly' for years. Never held me back. Regards, Bob If I could sing “badly” I’d be a happy man. Badly? You? Hahahahaha.
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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So folks that “can’t sing” responded? Bad singers, not so good singers - yeah … but it’s hard to imagine somebody having such a total lack of self awareness sans years of feedback. Our weird music world.
Bud I've been singing 'badly' for years. Never held me back. Regards, Bob Bob was that you who called...just kidding...lol Bud, the first guy said he was living with a heroin addict and could not get in the house. He sent me a youtube video link. It was, let's just say not something I could use or deal with. There are plenty of lost soles out there grasping for any straw. Only has a phone. I told him the truth. I have four doctor's appointments tomorrow and I don't know when I will be able to talk again. The young lady Jenn Dunn who said she was 30 and I got along from the first second. A second fellow named Everett has some Hip HOP skills and some piano skills among other vocal skills want to meet next week. So...at least my $10 dollar ad looks like it may produce results. A ton of work to do on my end. Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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IF you really need to hear "badly" go listen to my stuff...lol Why do you think I am looking for a vocalist?...lol
Well...as bad as it may sound I can sing on pitch for the most part. I can sing in time. I have at least a five-note range...lol Who needs more than that? I don't change key every measure and sing in the cracks. Well...not very much...
My one claim to fame...absolutely no one sounds like me...lol
Back to the subject thanks to all of you for good ideas.
Cheers,
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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If I could sing “badly” I’d be a happy man. Badly? You? Hahahahaha.
When I try to sing my pitch correction software tells me to shut my pie hole and to never quit my day job!
Back in my day the only time we started panic buying was when the bartender shouted "last call"!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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You don't have to tell one of them; I read the thread 
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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I’d probably go to the same place I put the word out that I was looking for a singer and simply say something like “Thanks to the large number of singers that responded. We were overwhelmed by the number of respondents. After some deliberation we have someone that seems to fill our needs. Thanks yet again to all”.
This is polite way of saying thanks but no thanks.
Tony
Last edited by Teunis; 11/01/21 12:18 PM.
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Thanks, Tony, I got a lot of good ideas for future ads.
Rharv...lol
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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Man, how times have changed.
Years ago I was hired to sing a number of jingles in Dallas TX...on one occasion the guy from the ad agency who was "producing" had me sing his 30 second spot over and over and over....this went on for like two hours straight. I tried everything I could think of, different approaches, etc. Finally, the recording engineer (who was a friend and had recommended me) said to the guy "Could you tell us exactly what you're looking for?" and the ad guy responded with "Yes....something that doesn't suck."
I'm probably really old school (or just old), but I kind of feel like if you put yourself out there as a professional vocalist for hire, you need to be prepared for the critiques that come with it, as harsh or terse as they may be. I probably would say something to the effect of "I appreciate your taking the time & effort on this, but I don't feel that your vocal is a good fit for this particular recording. Thanks anyway."
** Disclaimer, I'm the kind of person who likes hearing the truth, regardless of how tough it can be to hear it. Most people probably aren't that way.
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When I sing, the neighbors throw a brick through my window so they can hear me better
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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Just be honest, and don't waste anyone's time...
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I placed some ads in my local area for vocalists. One or two have responded that can not sing.
I am looking for kind ways to tell them thanks but no thanks.
Any good ideas? All you need to say is, "Thanks for responding, but you don't have the sound I'm looking for." If they press for details, then by all means, be honest. But that's probably not going to happen. I was watching a video the other day , and Stan Lee was talking about how he would encounter artists at comic conventions that would show him terrible drawings and ask about getting a job as a comics artist. He said he didn't know what to say to those people, because if you're intending to be a professional in a field, it's critical that you have the ability to evaluate how good (or not good) you were. And these people had no clue how bad they were. So he'd end up suggesting something like "Maybe you should practice drawing shoulders a bit more" or something similarly anodyne (hey, I finally get a chance to use that word!). Similarly, if the singer doesn't know how bad they sound, critical feedback is probably going to fall on (tone) deaf ears.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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I would thank them for responding but tell them that you are looking for something very specific, and although you are capable, you're not what this particular project needs.
I've been in bands for decades, and auditioning singers is the worst.
Way too many people who are not good singers, and think they are, want the gig. The only singing some of them have done is with the radio. Many come completely unprepared with no songs, no keys to sing them in, and/or no charts. Ask them what they want to sing and in what key, and you get something vague like "Maybe a Carly Simon song, do you know any?" (I've actually had that happen.)
Too many don't even know how to breathe with their diaphragms - they will never get good breath support that way.
But occasionally you get lucky, with someone trained, talented and prepared. Then it's worth the effort.
It was so frustrating at times, I learned to sing myself.
Singing is the hardest instrument I've learned so far. With most instruments, you just put your fingers in the right place and the note comes out. Sure, you need refinement after that, but it's a good start.
Fortunately, being a trained wind player, I had the breathing thing down. Then it was the muscle tone, muscle control, and the shaping of my throat and oral cavity. I've become an adequate singer. I'll never become a great singer, I just wasn't blessed with a good instrument, but I can get by.
Then I met a great singer who was in another band. We became great friends, eventually got in the same band, and I married her. I don't have to look for a good singer anymore, I've got one in the family.
She plays guitar and synth too. And we're very best friends. How lucky can a guy get? Not much luckier than this.
Notes ♫
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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