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Tons of guitar/instrument threads but nothing for singers? For shame! Why should you be a singer? Why not? It's ridiculously fun to sing, and I can't think of a better way to express emotion. There's a reason people sing in the shower instead of play air guitar in the shower (no offense if you play air guitar in the shower). And bands ALWAYS need competent backup/harmony singers. Nothing worse during a show than a guitarist meekly attempting to harmonize during a chorus and completely loving it up. You should learn to sing so that guitarist is not you. I get it, there's not much to discuss when it comes to singing. It's not like you can buy a better set of vocal chords. But at the same time, there are always ways to improve and to work on your style. Here's some generic advice that I can give based on my experience: - If you're serious about singing, go to a coach or teacher. You have habits you don't realize you have, and a pro will be able to point these out. Even if you totally love the way you sound (you don't), a teacher will be able to push you to the next level. - Record yourself. Constantly. The first time you record yourself singing, you'll play it back and want to kill yourself. "I sound like THAT??? Oh my god, no!" But you'll get better every time you record yourself, and you'll pick up on what your strengths and weaknesses are. Sooner or later, you'll fall in love with your own voice and want to listen to yourself on infinite loop. - When in doubt, belt it. Weak singing is bad singing. This is the number one thing I hear in local bands and goon music. If you sound unsure of yourself, nobody is going to get into it. Some absolutely awful singers have made it big simply because they sing with passion. - Sing and play scales on your instrument. Once you've got that down, harmonize. Sing a third, fourth, or fifth from what you're playing. Good times and it'll help you stay on pitch and come up with melodies. - If you're a lead singer, remember that the quality of your voice matters less than what you do with it. Be interesting and focus on the strengths of what you can do. Work on your weaknesses, but showcase what you do well. If you've got a great upper range, don't write bass vocal melodies. You'll gain more confidence this way and improve in every area, allowing you to open up to other things. - Vocal exercises. Personally, I never do these, but a lot of people swear by them. - Smoking. Do you want to sound manly and awesome? Start smoking! It's improved my tone about tenfold and adds a lot of gravitas. Note: Do not start smoking. It will kill you. Obviously there are a lot of variations on the theme when it comes to singing. There's opera, chorus, plays, a capella groups, death metal screaming, etc. I'm a rock/pop singer, which I'm assuming most people here are as well. If you're a singer or are interested in becoming a singer, chime in!
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May 6, 2010 20:13
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I've been working on my singing since last summer (I guess that makes a year now, wow). I think my tone and pitch control have improved significantly, but of course I could still use more practice. Once I stopped trying to fight the fact that my voice isn't suited for high pitched pop songs things got a lot easier. I can hit the notes, but my tone just doesn't work with that style. Now I'm trying for a jazzier type tone, and it's working out pretty well. Here's something I posted in the acoustic covers thread; I could use some feedback on the singing. What can I improve on?
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May 6, 2010 20:33
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The Mystery Date posted:I've been working on my singing since last summer (I guess that makes a year now, wow). I think my tone and pitch control have improved significantly, but of course I could still use more practice. Once I stopped trying to fight the fact that my voice isn't suited for high pitched pop songs things got a lot easier. I can hit the notes, but my tone just doesn't work with that style. Now I'm trying for a jazzier type tone, and it's working out pretty well. Here's something I posted in the acoustic covers thread; I could use some feedback on the singing. What can I improve on?
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May 6, 2010 20:40
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I'd love some feedback from anyone about the vocals on my Myspace full of demos. FakeEdit: Yes, that one song does have a TON of autotune. That was intended. RealEdit: StormChasing is the most recent and probably the best example of my current vocals. Alternative pants fucked around with this message at 21:00 on May 6, 2010 |
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May 6, 2010 20:56
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Alternative pants posted:I'd love some feedback from anyone about the vocals on my Myspace full of demos. Edit: I want music to punch me in the face. Your music wants to punch me in the face, but you're not letting it. You burying your vocals makes you seem like you lack confidence in them. Like it's an obligatory part of the song but you're unsure if it's good enough. gently caress it, man, you're singing and it is what it is. Let it get out there. Hired Gun fucked around with this message at 21:44 on May 6, 2010 |
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May 6, 2010 21:37
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Voice lessons/teachers are way expensive. :/
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May 6, 2010 21:49
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Hired Gun posted:Edit: I want music to punch me in the face. Your music wants to punch me in the face, but you're not letting it. You burying your vocals makes you seem like you lack confidence in them. Like it's an obligatory part of the song but you're unsure if it's good enough. gently caress it, man, you're singing and it is what it is. Let it get out there. Thanks man. I'm working on learning how to mix from a friend of mine who's going to school for just that. The biggest thing holding me back is my own lack of time to produce. 
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May 6, 2010 21:56
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I'm so glad this thread popped up, I always have little questions about vocals and wish there was a singers megathread, and now there is!  I've not recorded anything for quite some time and had the whole "drat, my voice isn't as good as I think it is" moment when I was doing the vocals for my Rockstar entry:  I've decided to try to improve my vocal skills as much as possible before the submission date, then re-record them. The bits that irritate me in the song are: timing. I think I turned the metronome off, which threw me on a few bits particularly when there was a pause and I had to come in with the piano. Also the first "Heeeeeeereeee" is REALLY horrible and breathy, but I think that was me backing off and I can do that much better now. Also I think I have a really girly voice, and want to manly it up (preferably without taking up smoking again ), funnily enough I have a fairly manly speaking voice. I've been experimenting with starting off talking and adding pitch with varying success... any hints?
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May 6, 2010 21:57
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the Bunt posted:Voice lessons/teachers are way expensive. :/ The biggest thing you're going to get out of it is a personal critique and tailoring to your style. You can't count on your friends or acquaintences to properly critique your singing and tell you what to do better. But on the other hand, many artists have succeeded without training, so it's up to you.
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May 6, 2010 22:01
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Alternative pants posted:Thanks man. I'm working on learning how to mix from a friend of mine who's going to school for just that. The biggest thing holding me back is my own lack of time to produce.
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May 6, 2010 22:05
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RobattoJesus posted:I'm so glad this thread popped up, I always have little questions about vocals and wish there was a singers megathread, and now there is!
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May 6, 2010 22:11
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RobattoJesus posted:I'm so glad this thread popped up, I always have little questions about vocals and wish there was a singers megathread, and now there is! You have a decent voice but I can understand why you'd worry its "girly" becasue it is a bit thin at times. Try placing the sound up in the nose more, start with a big low brassy hum. Then try to put some heavy vibrato into it while humming a song, think of scat or blues singers. I'm not an expert but I have the same problem and I think a lack of weight in your voice tends to come from being too tense, weightyness is looseness, if you tense up at all you tend to sound thin.
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May 7, 2010 02:25
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The Mystery Date posted:What can I improve on? You "say sing" a lot. Your talking voice and your singing voice should be different entities. Am I saying that people can't have unique, special snowflake affectation heavy voices? Of course not. What I am saying is that people should have a more technical foundation to start from and build from and ultimately deviate from if they so choose. For you (and many people) it is turning diphthongs too early. If you suspend almost any word (i.e. "holding a long note") it should rest on a classical vowel. Ah, eh, ee, oh, or oo, all of which are tall and open and close to ahh. Only when the word ends should the diphthong be turned. Let's take the Whitney Houston song, I Will Always Love You. The word "I" is actually two diphthongs. Ah-yee. Slur them together and you get "I". When Whitney opens, she sings "and ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh---yee-ahhhh, will always love you..." So when she's holding the note, she's sitting on ahh, a classical vowel. (Forget the terminal ahh in that, she's just being a diva) Now in your song, you sing something like "ten years ago, on a cold da-ark night" This is you. Teh-ayne yeers ah goh, oh nah koh-oold da urk nah eet. What you want to do is hold the pure vowel sounds more, minimize any unneeded diphthongs, and elide your consonents. It should be sung more like Teh nyehs ah goh, oh nah koh-oh 'ldnah--t. You're almost always moving the last consonant of the first word onto the next word so that you spend most if not all your time on a really beautiful, full, rich classical vowel. It may feel a bit stuffy at times. Like you're singing like an uptight Englishman. But trust me, starting this way sounds way better than "say singing" which is incredibly amateur sounding. Then, when you have a good foundation about keeping your vowels tall and classical, you can start to deviate and be stylish with it. "That the killer who ran..." You're like: that the killerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr whorrrrrrrrrrrrrrran" Reign it in a little. Tha t'thah kih-lah who rah--n No need to make the R's so R'ry. "Word" is wuhhhhhh--d not werrrrrrrrrrd.
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May 7, 2010 07:50
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RobattoJesus posted:I've not recorded anything for quite some time and had the whole "drat, my voice isn't as good as I think it is" moment when I was doing the vocals for my Rockstar entry: You have a lot of potential! The beginning sounds a bit... I running out of words. Like HULK SMASH! Your attacks aren't as clean as they should be. Make sure you take deep, easy breaths. Sometimes when you get louder, your pitch wobbles. Like your tonal center isn't as steady. Ground conTROL to Major Tom... No need to stress the TROL in control. It's in an awkward position anyway. It's a downbeat, it has a natural stress. But that's not how you say control in American English. So just leave it the way it is. Sing through the word, don't smash it. One thing that sticks out is you're singing mezzoforte like the whole time (at least in the first half). Try to experiment with phrasing and dynamics. Higher highs (not too high), and lower lows. Every musical line has a destination. An arc and a direction if you will. THIS IS ground control to... No smashy. You've really made the grade... Try to reduce the number of vowels in grade. Strike gr, get right to the ehhh and then turn it at the very end. Who's shirts you're... Whoooooo shirts not whoshhhh irts. The capsule line is "a bit pitchy, dawg". SHE KNOWS!  Some lines are really beautiful. I'd say your performance variance is a bit too much but when you get it it's so nice to listen to.  Overall you need more grace to your singing. You already to a good job most of the time. But you're adding stress when there doesn't need to be any. Just start with a nice big breath and sing.
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May 7, 2010 08:05
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Triple Tech posted:You have a lot of potential! The beginning sounds a bit... I running out of words. Like HULK SMASH! Your attacks aren't as clean as they should be. Make sure you take deep, easy breaths. Thanks, this is all really helpful! Also the part about pure vowels in your reply to The Mystery Date is fantastic, and I'm 99% sure my problems with the horrible breathy "Heeeeeeeeeeere I am sitting in my tin can" were because I was trying to hold on an almost y in "you" like sound. When I try it as an open "ee" it's a million times easier and doesn't run out of steam! I agree about the volume, I think this may in-part be a symptom of me being really conscious of the mic. I tried finding the perfect distance and angle and then "froze" there trying not to move - I think trying not to "rock the boat" hindered me from doing any real variation in dynamics. I also had some horrible noise reduction feature on that made the background hiss disappear unconvincingly when I was singing quietly. Also thanks to everyone for the kind words, really gives me the motivation to get better.
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May 7, 2010 11:59
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Triple Tech posted:Advice. Thanks for the feedback, I never would have thought of that. I'll try to record something where I focus on that after I get back home in a few days (Oh god the R's!).
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May 7, 2010 15:11
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So what can you do if you don't have the strongest voice? You can still sing and sound decent, but you need to tailor your songs and your performances to the voice. For example: Don't do this: http://tindeck.com/listen/hleb Oh god. Don't do it. First off, I was singing with a cold. Bad idea. Secondly, my voice isn't really one that can smash a song out of the ballpark like that. Finally, the phrasing and all that is messed up. Lines run together and all that. In general, when singing, this is what you shouldn't do (in a version that isn't William Hung). If you can't belt out a torch-song like this, you might not want to. On the other hand: http://tindeck.com/listen/wbou Let's ignore the bad mixing in general (phasers ahoy and a little too sparse) and focus on the voice. Is it the best singing performance I could give? No, but this time I do things to make my voice sound better. First off, I'm singing lower, which makes up for my weird vocal quality (I just feel like I'm a muppet with a nose-bleed). I'm not rushing my phrases together. I have a chorus effect on my voice to give it a bit more presence. Another example of how to how a weak voice isn't a detriment: http://tindeck.com/listen/dqxl When done right, a weaker than normal voice won't stand out as a bad voice. It's when you don't do things right that it all begins to fall apart and stand out. Remember, Elton John never considered himself a good singer, and in some ways, he's not really that great of a singer, yet because he uses his voice properly, he can really sell those songs.
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May 7, 2010 18:39
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I'd like some vocal critique as well. I think I've got a powerful voice, but I'm very much a bass singer. I can hit the bass E but it'd be cool if some of the more experienced folks here would give some tips as to extending the upper range a bit (so often I'm just like a semi-tone or two off singing a song that I really want) or just giving more weight to the notes I can already sing above middle C. http://www.tindeck.com/listen/ddrd
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May 7, 2010 23:15
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MAD pitchy... Unnecessary swipes, lack of phrasing, breath control, etc. My advice, learn how to breath properly, sing taller, classical vowels, and learn to sing a cleaner version of that song with way, way less swipes. I have a really hard time believing that you have a powerful voice. There are so many fundamental errors. If you sang a simpler version of that song, or any other song really, with the right breath control, that would fix the pitchiness. And that would be a good place to start. But you have a long way to go to "powerful".
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May 7, 2010 23:36
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I'll post a sample up for critiquing soon, but I quickly want to ask what you guys would advise as the best technique for getting better at playing guitar and singing at the same time? I believe I'm a competent guitarist and a pretty decent singer (even if I still can't stand to listen to my recordings back without cringing and deleting them - I guess we'll see if that's true when I post a clip) but I can't seem to combine the two without going out of time and, effectively, just randomly strumming the chords. Steady 8th notes are fine but for irregular patterns I find myself concentrating on singing so much that I start playing with the rhythm of the singing. Is the answer just more practice?
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May 7, 2010 23:50
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Triple Tech posted:MAD pitchy... Unnecessary swipes, lack of phrasing, breath control, etc. Haha by powerful, I mean that I'm capable of singing very loudly even in a fairly low range. I guess I don't really know what powerful is in a vocal context, just another way of saying that you have a great voice? And swipes here are changing the pitch on a single vowel yes? I basically just copied Paul Robeson's version of Amazing Grace without the super slow tempo that he uses. I guess I should try sticking to non-a capella stuff for a while as I know that I'm much more apt to go off key when trying to sing without reference tones backing me.
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May 8, 2010 00:25
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Midget Gems posted:I'll post a sample up for critiquing soon, but I quickly want to ask what you guys would advise as the best technique for getting better at playing guitar and singing at the same time? I believe I'm a competent guitarist and a pretty decent singer (even if I still can't stand to listen to my recordings back without cringing and deleting them - I guess we'll see if that's true when I post a clip) but I can't seem to combine the two without going out of time and, effectively, just randomly strumming the chords. Steady 8th notes are fine but for irregular patterns I find myself concentrating on singing so much that I start playing with the rhythm of the singing. Is the answer just more practice? Sing with a metronome (while keeping track of the beats) and sing while finger drumming a complex beat. In a way it's similar to learning to play the piano, when you're starting out you learn each hand seperately, and when you can play both hands seperately without too much thought it's actually fairly easy to put them together. Eventually it gets to the point where you can play both hands together without too much hassle. Same with playing and singing. Make sure you're completely comfortable with what you're singing or what you're playing before trying to put them together. But yeah, a lot of it is practice, but you will make quick progress if you do it every day. What helped me most learning to play and sing was to learn to play the instrument without looking at it at all (maybe you already do this). if you can do that you've freed up the part of your brain that was visually processing what you were playing, plus you can straighen your body much more which makes singing easier.
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May 8, 2010 01:45
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Sweet thread, glad to see some vocal love. I am not currently a singer, but do have a question that has been on my mind a lot lately. I've been really considering signing up for voice lessons the past few months, but I'm always worried about finding the "right" teacher. I can play a few instruments (and have a very solid music theory background), and for the ones I'm somewhat proficient in, I can figure out if someone is actually a good teacher, or if it's a person who managed to get okay at an instrument, but has absolutely no idea how to convey that knowledge to someone else. (For what it's worth, if I ever tried to teach, I'd certainly fall into the latter category) Basically, is there any trick to knowing what to look for in a voice teacher? I mean, I know if they're telling me to sing out of my nose or something silly like that I should run away, but beyond that? Like someone else mentioned, private lessons are always pretty expensive, and I'd rather not spend money on learning bad habits. Also, thanks for the tip about singing/guitaring at the same time. That's one of my current goals as a musician (not only to be able to do it, but sound decent in the process). I never even thought to approach it as a similar concept as a drummer's limb independence.
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May 8, 2010 12:47
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Business Octopus posted:I'd like some vocal critique as well. I think I've got a powerful voice, but I'm very much a bass singer. I can hit the bass E but it'd be cool if some of the more experienced folks here would give some tips as to extending the upper range a bit (so often I'm just like a semi-tone or two off singing a song that I really want) or just giving more weight to the notes I can already sing above middle C. It sounds like a warped record dude. And then there's some weird stuff with your vocal dynamics, like how "Me" trails off a bit before getting louder. You also just seem off key a lot, and it seems like you're content with hovering around the note you want. Like, "sound" is a really sour note suffering from that. And I would argue that powerful isn't just being able to sing loud. Yeah, that's a part of it, but it's also being able to cut through everything and knock people dead. Whitney Houston and Roy Orbison had powerful voices. You give those people the phone book to sing, and they could bring a tear to your eye. You just got to work at it, and develop your tone more. And one more thing, if you're just recording your voice, you'd probably want to do it in mono. It's a minor, meaningless thing in terms of your performance, but it's really weird and annoying to only have your voice from the left speaker.
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May 8, 2010 13:21
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Hired Gun posted:
Depends what you are smoking. Take a hit off a joint and sure--you're going to feel like you sound amazing. However, from the perspective of the audience you're not going to sound any different. Then again, being intoxicated will loosen you up considerably, and you might perform more confidently (which is far more important than being technically flawless). I like to think that smoking adds a little "distortion" to my voice. Admittedly, I've lost some volume on my low register, but I can do a mixture of chest/head voice now that really cuts through the ensemble on high notes. On another note: yes, recording vocals can help your technique. But singing in the studio and singing live are two completely different creatures. For instance, falsetto is going to sound better on many recordings because it allows the singer to hit pitches accurately and cleanly; however, live performances generally call for more vocal presence.
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May 8, 2010 22:59
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I absolutely hate my voice. It is the big thing I feel is holding me back in my musical development. I write all these songs but I hate singing them. Here's a couple of recordings of me singing: http://popcorn.gunsha.com/gagging%20order%20demo3.mp3 http://popcorn.gunsha.com/sugar%20pill%20bad%20singing.mp3 (this one really makes me cringe, it's so weak) In anyone can identify any broad areas for improvement I'd appreciate it. Be brutal. (But not too brutal.)
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May 8, 2010 23:57
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Popcorn, don't be so hard on yourself. The second recording was much more clear than the first and besides the funky accidentals near the end you're largely on pitch! Two things that would help everyone out immensely since a lot of you are doing the same thing. 1) STOP. SLIDING. I know, it's fun for everyone. But right now, it's like amateurs 101. Sing discrete pitches and stop sliding. Sliding is what the pros do and they're pros for a reason. Sliding is like a Lvl 20 technique and you're only Lvl 3. Stop it. You're sacrificing clarity and pitch for an effect that is doing more to harm your credibility than it is milking a phrase. I would rather listen to an on-pitch straight singer than a amateur who thinks it's diva night. Stop. Sliding. 2) Try a vowels only run. Doesn't matter the song. Let's take the National Anthem. Original: O'er the la-and of the free! And the home of the brave! Vowels: Oh ah ah-h ah ah ee! Eh ah oh ah ah eh! Elided: Oh tha lah-ah 'ndah vthah free! Eh nthah hoh mah vthah breh-v. The technique you use between a vowels run and an elided run should be like 99% the same. The only change is you're throwing in consonants to make the words intelligible. The key here is holding and sustaining pure vowels instead of running to the end of a word or a consonant which isn't musically pretty. The idea here is if someone froze you at any point in the song at random, you would be holding a classical vowel. And it would sound amazing. Sing every note like you're going to hold it forever. Example: Run is sang as Ruh-n. Ruhhhhhhhhhh-n. Not runnnnnnnnnnnnn. Notice how pinched and retarded singing that n sound is (provided you're not going for a special effect or something advanced). You want to milk every note over the vowel, not the consonant, hence the vowels-only exercise. Your vowels only run is the foundation of your normal singing.
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May 9, 2010 00:40
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Triple Tech posted:Popcorn, don't be so hard on yourself. The second recording was much more clear than the first and besides the funky accidentals near the end you're largely on pitch! Thank you very much. That was a more positive reaction than I was expecting. I've never had a problem with pitch, which I suppose is a blessing, but whenever I sing it feels like I'm squeezing out a sharp-edged poo poo. Seriously, listen to that second recording, it sounds as if I'm sucking a lemon. You don't think it sounds strained and unnatural? Can you give me any practical advice for things to work on? You talk generally about not sliding. I have no idea if I'm sliding in my singing. Am I? What's an accidental? And btw- your posting in this thread has been awesome. FYI.
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May 9, 2010 00:53
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Well it does sound like you're singing at the top of your range. Are you sticking your neck out at all when you sing like that? If you do you shouldn't be doing that. Ideally, you should be attacking a note from the top, downward, even high notes. In your internal visualization, if you're "reaching" for a note, that's bad. Don't strain. A slide would be the word "bleeding" in your second recording. It's blee--dehn. Not bleeeeaaayduhinnn... Two seperate pitches, not a gliss or a slide through all the micro pitches in between. Think piano keys and not a trombone. Trombones slide, pianos can't. An accidental is any sharp or flat. In this case I meant any note that deviates from whatever major scale the piece is in. So that's usually any key changes or fancy chords. The "black keys on the piano" in C major, if you will.
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May 9, 2010 01:06
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Triple Tech posted:A slide would be the word "bleeding" in your second recording. It's blee--dehn. Not bleeeeaaayduhinnn... Two seperate pitches, not a gliss or a slide through all the micro pitches in between. Think piano keys and not a trombone. Trombones slide, pianos can't. That makes perfect sense. Thanks for that example. Tested out the 'blee-dehen' thing and it felt much better. I wasn't even conscious I was doing that before. quote:An accidental is any sharp or flat. In this case I meant any note that deviates from whatever major scale the piece is in. So that's usually any key changes or fancy chords. The "black keys on the piano" in C major, if you will. So are you saying the accidentals you mention shouldn't be there (they are "accidental!") or that the accidentals are just badly sung? (Forgive my lack of formal music theory knowledge.)
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May 9, 2010 01:11
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Accidental is the technical term. I think you hit some out of key pitches under in both recordings. Under or awkwardly. Own the chord!
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May 9, 2010 01:47
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(Crossposted from music review thread) Would like some feedback on the vocals in this track. I think I sang them a little "boring" and didn't hold notes as well as I'd have liked. Title: Never Too Late To Break Away Genre: Power Pop/Alternative 
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May 13, 2010 02:33
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Hired Gun posted:(Crossposted from music review thread) Would like some feedback on the vocals in this track. I think I sang them a little "boring" and didn't hold notes as well as I'd have liked. If it was anyone else I'd say it sounded great... however I remember hearing your other track "And You Know" which is absolutely freaking awesome And while the vocals in this song are still pretty great, compared to your other track this one is lacking something.Most people's singing lacks confidence, but your voice in this track has confidence, but lacks emotion. It sounds like you're just singing some random words which don't really mean that much to you. I always used to think it was ridiculous when actors would release albums, or singers would start a movie career, but after getting into singing I can see why - it can be a fairly similar skill set. The best performances are like little plays or stories, which is why people with terrible voices but lots of emotion can still have songs which totally move you, and people with good voices can sing songs that are just sterile and bland. Personally I think it's important to almost "get in character" when singing (the voice in the song doesn't have to be yourself, it can be a made up character), and have a picture in your head of who you're singing the song to, even if they're imaginary (infact I'd say imaginary is better, even if the song is about someone real, cos you might change your feelings towards a real person over time), and when you're singing try to imagine you're singing it to that person and it's genuinely making you happy / hurting you / disappointing you, or whatever the general mood of the song is. So that while you're singing you have almost a play going on in your mind driving your emotions and letting you use them to tone and colour your performance. Oh and I totally love your harmonies, how do you go about writing them? Do you stick to one interval and move it about, or is there a mixture, or do you just go with what sounds good?
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May 13, 2010 09:46
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Largely on pitch, which is great. Nice range, harmonies, etc. Bad. There are some random points (very few actually) that you don't hit the notes cleanly. I'm sure you can tell. Why not do a new take? You're pinching your sound by turning to an R sound too early. R like a pirate. Arrrrrr. "You left in angerrrrrrrrr... Sssssssssay I believe herrrrrrrrrrrrrrr." Anguh. Huh. And it's really funny, you may be eliding too much! Between phrases (it depends) you don't want to elide your consonants. You actually want a break in the sound to signify a break in the phrease. If two four measure sets are part of a larger phrase, you elide. But if one eight measure section is one verse or thought, that eight measures should end in a lift or breath or silence. Careful with your attacks, particularly your S or maybe even T. Don't hisssss through an S. Hit the consonant quickly and run to the vowel. "It's not tomorrow" currently sounds like "It's not tsumorrow". The vocals sound very legato and buttery and flat compared to the track. I think it should be more dynamic and more punctuated. More contrast. Right now everything sounds sort of the same and boring and just kind of bleh... It needs to be more present, more forward. Definitely more... "acting" I guess. Sing like you're telling a story, like you're having a conversation with someone. It just happens to be a very beautiful conversation. Right now, visually, you're like a steady stream, like a flat line. You need peaks and valleys and drama in your sound. Regarding the mix... I wish the instrumentals were dialed back. It sounds like it's overpowering you. Triple Tech fucked around with this message at 23:23 on May 13, 2010 |
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May 13, 2010 12:06
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Triple Tech posted:Well it does sound like you're singing at the top of your range. Are you sticking your neck out at all when you sing like that? If you do you shouldn't be doing that. Ideally, you should be attacking a note from the top, downward, even high notes. In your internal visualization, if you're "reaching" for a note, that's bad. Don't strain. Holy crap! I tried thinking this way while singing near the top of my range, and it's amazing how much easier it is. In the higher register, I think I usually end up singing notes like "/-------\"; however, doing this makes me sing "\______." -- much more crisp on the front end. I think I subconsciously insert a grace note about a major-third below those high-end notes just before to kind of calibrate my voice as it goes up there; forcing me to actually hit the note cold, while a bit harder, definitely feels and sounds better.
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May 13, 2010 15:38
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Triple Tech posted:The vocals sound very legato and buttery and flat compared to the track. I think it should be more dynamic and more punctuated. More contrast. Right now everything sounds sort of the same and boring and just kind of bleh... Also, and this is as much about the music as it is about the singing, I really wanted you to change up the melody or phrasing or something on one of the choruses in the end. Maybe earlier in the song, too, but especially in the end. (But take this with a grain of salt; I like jazz, so I'm always looking for ways to sing or play things differently than they're written.)
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May 13, 2010 15:56
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I've been singing a long time, but I have a consistent problem with vibrato and using way too much of it. At least, too much uncontrolled vibrato. The most recent example of singing for me is the cover of Sober I did a few rockstars ago  You can hear especially when I end higher notes that I always do the shaky vibrato thing. A lot of people seem to like it stylistically, but I'd like to be able to have the kind of control over my voice that enables me to not always do it, or at least have better control over it, like to be able to make the vibrato waves longer or something. Any tips for that I would really appreciate. And I always enjoy general critiques as well.
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May 14, 2010 17:37
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AquaVita posted:I've been singing a long time, but I have a consistent problem with vibrato and using way too much of it. At least, too much uncontrolled vibrato. Im guessing that the vibrato and the fact that you sound like youre straining on "jesus wont you loving whistle" are aspects of the same problem. You sound like your larynx is way up there and you're trying way too hard for every note. It comes out in the not so high notes too, you cut phrases short so rather than a smooth attack onto and off of the note theres a strained staccato aspect. I think what would help a lot is any SLS style singing tutor becasue everything SLS related always seems to be about releasing tension as much as possible. Try ascending and descending scales of "ga" starting low and moving up to the limits of falsetto. Keep the motion free and easy and check you're not going "n-ga" (excessive tension coming onto the note) or "ga-uh" (excessive tension coming off it), ideally it should be nothing more than a breath with the little click of the onset of the "G". Its a good excersice for eliminating tension and teaching your body how to move into a sound with limited amount of effort. Its important to get that right becasue once your body has comitted a certain amount of energy into the onset of a sound it cant really take it back. Also check your resonators; your nose, chest wherever. There are better places to lean a sound on that aren't your throat. massive spider fucked around with this message at 20:44 on May 14, 2010 |
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May 14, 2010 20:40
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Triple Tech posted:Largely on pitch, which is great. Nice range, harmonies, etc. RobattoJesus posted:If it was anyone else I'd say it sounded great... however I remember hearing your other track "And You Know" which is absolutely freaking awesome . You're right on about the emotional aspects, it's easy to get into a mode where you're focused on hitting the right notes and getting the correct tone and forget what it is you're singing for. Finding that balance is really what separates the good singers from the great singers, and obviously I'm still working on it! I'm a total ignoramus when it comes to music theory, so harmonies are hard for me. It sucks, because vocal harmonies are my absolute favorite aspect of music. So what I do is basically trial and error until it sounds good - start with the lead vocal melody and go up a few steps and play around with it. It's sometimes helpful to map it out on the guitar or piano, but vocally it sounds totally different than on any instrument, so recording's really the only way you're going to find out. If anyone has any theories or ideas on this, I'd love to hear them.
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May 15, 2010 04:10
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About harmonies: I never took any sort of voice training, but I've sung in various amateur choirs for several years. At a certain point, (to me anyway) the harmonies just kind of snap into place, like if that's what the lead part is doing, then this part over here needs to do this so the lower part can do that. For me it's just a matter of practicing and just really starting to think harmonies over the songs I already know. Even if there's no harmony over a particular vocal part, just ad-lib to what you hear on the radio. Heck, I got bored once and recorded a verse from American Pie just to see how many different harmonies I could fit into a couple of bars of music. I know there are better ways, but they probably involve getting training, so just listen to what's around you and start adding harmonies in your head.
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May 15, 2010 05:42
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