Bee Gees Challenge! (February 2016)

[Gsoul82]

It's Bee Gees Challenge! Select a challenging Bee Gees song, of your choice, and cover that thing. Post your attempt in here! This one will go to March 17th.

[Jeremy Mohler]

On 2/17/2016 at 2:33 PM, Gsoul82 said:

It's Bee Gees Challenge! Select a challenging Bee Gees song, of your choice, and cover that thing. Post your attempt in here! This one will go to March 17th.

Awesome, that gives me a full month to figure out how the hell I'm going to sing that high.  

[Gsoul82]

Well, this one didn't go as expected, LOL. 

I know I got completely overrun with schoolwork. Not sure about anyone else.

This challenge won in voting. Is there anybody else still interested in doing this? If so, we can restart it. Otherwise, we should take a look at a new challenge.

[Jeremy Mohler]

I tried multiple times for a cover and I was bad every cover haha... although I do have this one which is kinda alright but it's a pretty unknown tune: http://picosong.com/NAQD/  Kinda cheesy early 60s Bee Gees tune rather than the crazy disco stuff everyone knows.

[Rosa]

I know that song, Jeremy, and you sound great there!

And looks like you are the only one who knows how to sing some Bee Gees here.   

[Jeremy Mohler]

Thanks guys.  And you are right Bzean, it was first take.  I should have sat down and worked on the melody more so I appreciate that criticism.

Still, I am sad that I didn't get to hear any other covers.  I really had a few people in mind that I thought could do some specific songs awesomely.  Oh well.

[Gsoul82]

On April 14, 2016 at 0:20 AM, Jeremy Mohler said:

I tried multiple times for a cover and I was bad every cover haha... although I do have this one which is kinda alright but it's a pretty unknown tune: http://picosong.com/NAQD/  Kinda cheesy early 60s Bee Gees tune rather than the crazy disco stuff everyone knows.

LOL. It's like that sometimes. Doesn't sound bad to me, you know, just a little pitchy here and there. Still a nice recording. And the fact that this wasn't easy means you really challenged yourself, which is the point here.

I still want to throw one up, myself. Any suggestions?

[Rosa]

27 minutes ago, Gsoul82 said:

Any suggestions?

"Saturday Night Fever", of course. 

 

(Staying Alive)

[Jeremy Mohler]

5 hours ago, Gsoul82 said:

LOL. It's like that sometimes. Doesn't sound bad to me, you know, just a little pitchy here and there. Still a nice recording. And the fact that this wasn't easy means you really challenged yourself, which is the point here.

I still want to throw one up, myself. Any suggestions?

Thanks man, was definitely a challenging song for me.  

I would really like to hear you do "Nights On Broadway" as it has a good soul groove to it that I think would match your voice perfect.

[ronws]

Good job, Jeremy. Only thing I could suggest, as I really did not hear pitchiness but a few pitch scoops (where you ramp up to the note) and a few wobbles (which can cause the scoop) is your accent. Watch the vowels. My or eye should be mah or ah. And you suffer the southern man's curse on "love." Something that used to hobble me, too. For now, make it either lahv or loov. The southern US accent on that word is atrocious. But you got everything else right in there, as much as I could tell.

[Jeremy Mohler]

Hahahaha.. made me laugh man.  Damn southern accent which can turn a single word into a slide through every vowel sound that exists.  Maybe that's why country singers never sing that high hahaha... their accent always gets in the way of learning any proper vowel mods. Thanks for the advice man.

[KillerKu]

I like Jeremy's version cause it has just a hint of escalating intensity as the pitch ascends while being emotive and palatable  You've made progress, man.  It's not an not an ugly sound nor overly pretty either so it has some edge with a song that might sound a bit sappy.  

Me, I  wanted to do a spontaneous one take thing singing and playing guitar cause those are the skills I've been wanting to work on lately.   

https://app.box.com/s/n6u41ddi8na8ovbtwvq8lntst132kxz6

It was only afterward I realized I hadn't checked the mic sensitivity properly so I clipped in a few loud parts. Sad. But hopefully I learned my lesson. If you're determined to do one take, it's even more important to check mic levels.

[MDEW]

    Jeremy, Souded pretty good man. I would keep this in a list of songs to play out for a one man show. If you haven't already, MAKE that list and practice the songs often so you can just grab a guitar, keyboard or whatever and sing when the opportunity strikes.

      Killer, Good to see you back. I have been wondering about you. You should also keep that in a list. It is one of the songs I was going to record for this Challenge.

       I have sat down at the recorder several times over the past few months to record for this challenge and each time was struck by either Red Light syndrome or interuptions. I still plan for a recording but do not know when I will be able to. Until then I hope others will continue to post songs here. Looking forward to hearing more.

      G,  You still out there? I have not seen a post from you for awhile. Do not give up on us. These challenges are still a good idea. It is getting the time that is a problem.

[Rosa]

3 hours ago, KillerKu said:

Me, I  wanted to do a spontaneous one take thing singing and playing guitar cause those are the skills I've been wanting to work on lately.   

https://app.box.com/s/n6u41ddi8na8ovbtwvq8lntst132kxz6

Yeahhhh!  

 

Mdew, stop with the excuses and get one done.  

[Gsoul82]

On April 21, 2016 at 5:13 PM, ronws said:

Good job, Jeremy. Only thing I could suggest, as I really did not hear pitchiness but a few pitch scoops (where you ramp up to the note) and a few wobbles (which can cause the scoop) is your accent. Watch the vowels. My or eye should be mah or ah. And you suffer the southern man's curse on "love." Something that used to hobble me, too. For now, make it either lahv or loov. The southern US accent on that word is atrocious. But you got everything else right in there, as much as I could tell.

Yeah, pitch scoops. That's like exactly what I said, Ron

[Jeremy Mohler]

Thanks for the tips guys, and also I listened to your cover Killer and really dug it.  Has a good distinct style to it that separates it from being just a tribute cover.  Hard to pin who your voice sounds like to me but there is definitely an influence in there that I can't really pin down.  I do hear a bit of Lennon on the "aint got you" parts though.

And to all else.. please don't hesitate to add a cover because I'd still really like to hear all of you.

[MDEW]

This is just a draft. It is late I am tired and it is what it is. I just wanted to give proof that I am working on something.

 Be kind give tips................ Thanks.

 

[Rosa]

MDEW, I remember I once said this is one of Bee Gees' songs I can sing. But that was before I really tried.  Good Job!!!  

[Rosa]

19 hours ago, Jeremy Mohler said:

Hard to pin who your voice sounds like to me but there is definitely an influence in there that I can't really pin down.

I was listening now to the "Oh Darling" vocals version of Paul McCartney you linked, and I thought "Hey Paul McCartney sounds like KillerKu a bit".  

[KillerKu]

I really like that song for your voice, MDEW. It gives it an earthy dimension and made me appreciate it more.

I've been thinking about it though, and I think there might be something you could work on to make it easier in the bridge. When I tried to imitate it. It felt a bit closed. I remember you mentioned you had difficulty with connecting falsetto smoothly, and one of the only ways I know to reproduce that is to close my throat into a kind of tight EE. 

So if you were to experiment, what helps me is to start with of an oh/aww/uh, and then lift the back of my tongue until it becomes an EE.  That puts me into a posture that is much easier to bridge where I can still navigate closed vowels without scrunching/tensing. This is an example:

https://app.box.com/s/aufbggekxexardnd260krg84m86h6c7c

I also sang the song using more of that coordination:

https://app.box.com/s/igrdk6mfzfvqbnv6361j1x5wf3ugi2op

But I'd like to hear your finished version, cause I feel like you have something really different to offer this song. If you could keep the personality and character, you have the distinct timbre/accent, but maybe lean towards an easier position. I think there could be a best of both worlds in there. It might help to exaggerate a cartoon position. But then lean back into your accent to find the spot that is easiest and distinct.

[Gsoul82]

On April 25, 2016 at 7:01 AM, MDEW said:

    Jeremy, Souded pretty good man. I would keep this in a list of songs to play out for a one man show. If you haven't already, MAKE that list and practice the songs often so you can just grab a guitar, keyboard or whatever and sing when the opportunity strikes.

      Killer, Good to see you back. I have been wondering about you. You should also keep that in a list. It is one of the songs I was going to record for this Challenge.

       I have sat down at the recorder several times over the past few months to record for this challenge and each time was struck by either Red Light syndrome or interuptions. I still plan for a recording but do not know when I will be able to. Until then I hope others will continue to post songs here. Looking forward to hearing more.

      G,  You still out there? I have not seen a post from you for awhile. Do not give up on us. These challenges are still a good idea. It is getting the time that is a problem.

 

I haven't given up on anything. Just got overrun with stuff. Full-time Grad School is no joke, LOL. That's ending now though. Yeah, it's the time. We'll have to find a way to fix that. Maybe longer deadlines.

[MDEW]

21 hours ago, KillerKu said:

I really like that song for your voice, MDEW. It gives it an earthy dimension and made me appreciate it more.

I've been thinking about it though, and I think there might be something you could work on to make it easier in the bridge. When I tried to imitate it. It felt a bit closed. I remember you mentioned you had difficulty with connecting falsetto smoothly, and one of the only ways I know to reproduce that is to close my throat into a kind of tight EE.

So if you were to experiment, what helps me is to start with of an oh/aww/uh, and then lift the back of my tongue until it becomes an EE.  That puts me into a posture that is much easier to bridge where I can still navigate closed vowels without scrunching/tensing. This is an example:

https://app.box.com/s/aufbggekxexardnd260krg84m86h6c7c

I also sang the song using more of that coordination:

https://app.box.com/s/igrdk6mfzfvqbnv6361j1x5wf3ugi2op

But I'd like to hear your finished version, cause I feel like you have something really different to offer this song. If you could keep the personality and character, you have the distinct timbre/accent, but maybe lean towards an easier position. I think there could be a best of both worlds in there. It might help to exaggerate a cartoon position. But then lean back into your accent to find the spot that is easiest and distinct.

Thanks Killer, This is the first chance I had to listen to your tips. I am going to try this later on. I don't think that Barry even sang that as high as you got in your example.  He just sounds like he got high because of his timbre and singing light. Some of the background harmonies may have reached that high.

[KillerKu]

58 minutes ago, MDEW said:

Thanks Killer, This is the first chance I had to listen to your tips. I am going to try this later on. I don't think that Barry even sang that as high as you got in your example.  He just sounds like he got high because of his timbre and singing light. Some of the background harmonies may have reached that high.

I know the lead never went there. The backing harmonies did in a few places so if you want to do them it could be useful. I was just showing the coordination is flexible, the more open posture can go from the lowest notes to falsetto and to whistle.

You've had the higher larynx thing for quite some time. I noticed with my mother as well. She grew up in the south. She was doing the high larynx kind of like a closed EE sound and she couldn't bridge into the falsetto.

I got her to open up by starting with an open vowel. Kind of sob at it. If you lift primarily the tongue the larynx can stay more stable and the pharynx can be a bit more open. Once that feeling of stability is there, you can creep back up to a point that is more 'you.' But yeah, let the larynx stay neutral or down, the throat stay somewhat open, and use the tongue for as much as you can. Once the larynx starts jamming and the pharynx starts collapsing, bridging smoothly first starts getting difficult for me and then impossible where it's like a full on jam.

Come to think of it I think this would have also been useful for Jeremy. He was getting a cut off point on his bridge for awhile there with his larynx shooting up. A way to think of it is twang with the tongue but not the larynx.

[Jeremy Mohler]

Yep, that's still me man haha.  Making some progress though for sure but anyway, well said advice.