Five Covers I Want to Make

Eyes
Originally uploaded by BlackenedBoy

“Acoustic Song,” Red Jump Suit Apparatus
“Only in Photographs,” Honor by August
“Sober,” Kelly Clarkson
"Golden," Fall Out Boy
"Heartbreaker," Pink


I have exactly two talents: writing and singing. Of these, writing is by far the stronger, but my singing is none too shabby, if I can be permitted to give myself a little bit of credit.

None of you know me personally, of course, and only one of you has ever heard me sing, so, as with my political persuasions, you can have had no idea that I am extremely passionate about music. When I say that, though, I should probably make clear that I can neither play any instruments nor read musical notes.

I am blessed with what one music professor here has called “an uncanny ability” to hear notes and what another has dubbed “an extremely good ear.”

Literally the only thing I can do where music is concerned is sing, but I like to think I do this rather well.

I have a “midrange” voice, meaning that my comfortable notes are neither very high nor very low, but rather congregate around a comfortable median. That being said, midrange though I am, the range in question is exceptionally wide, especially for a male: my lowest note is a G1 (the first G on the piano), while my highest in chest voice is an A5 (fifth A). Middle C, as a point of reference, is C4. Adding in falsetto, my upper register extends to B6, amounting to an overall vocal capacity of four octaves and two notes.

This means, for those out there not terribly familiar with music, that my voice lies in the middle but that I have some very low and very high notes at the opposite edges of what I can sing.

Anything in the second octave of a piano, except its upper reaches, is fairly low, and anything in the first octave is quite deep. The fourth octave is rather high and the fifth octave, for males, extremely so. The sixth is nearly unheard of, and even I couldn’t access it in my chest voice (that is, without resorting to falsetto).

Now, I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I’m good at what I’m good at, and my inability to find a band in my area has been extraordinarily frustrating. I have scoured Major University attempting to locate musicians seeking a singer, but have yet to even be rejected by anyone because I haven’t come across any auditions.

I have made some YouTube clips, but the problem with providing links to those is that readers would also have a link to my face and my true name, which I obviously can’t allow given the extremely personal nature of this blog’s content.

My lack of activity is driving me crazy, to the point that I may seriously go on craigslist.com (which I’ve never used) tomorrow and advertise, “Singer, looking for band.”

The four songs above are numbers that I’ve been dying to record or perform, but in any case to somehow disseminate them to the public. I’ll likely add to this list as I think of more.

Oh, and just a quick question before I conclude: does anyone else see music?

I’ve been able to see music in my head since I was a very small child. It comes as lines, flashes of light, odd shapes, colors, and rivulets winding their way throughout my mind. It’s not as if hearing the notes sparks some sort of scene in my brain; I’m literally watching the notes themselves as they bounce around, though describing what they look like is extremely difficult.

I’m the only person I’ve ever met who does this (though some of the music professors can see colors in relation to music).

Anyone else? And what do you think of it?