care to comment on my singing?

[darkclaw3000]

hey guys, i just learned this song and decided to try it out. this isnt my normal, warmup-ed voice as i just woke up and kinda 'lazy' sounding. i did try to put in the training that i did. mainly KTVA.

from what i hear about my own singing is, i think there's no 'power'? and certain spots i tend to go raspy. which i dont intend to actually achieve.

i donno if those high notes, im doing in correctly. i need someone else to hear it for me. (thx!)

oh yeah there are spots in the song where im not really sure of the melody so forgive me hehe

the song is House of the Rising Sun. played by Animals

http://www.box.net/shared/5cunovypc9

[ronws]

Sounds like you have better support on your higher stuff than you do your lower stuff. Like the beginning ..."There is a house in New Orleans..." That part, your voice sounded unsure, maybe a little pitchy. But you did better on the higher stuff. Good pronunciation at high pitch, you were wise to shorten and minimize consonants. Your accent is only really noticable at the lower pitches, closer to speaking phrases. I think your voice is suited for this song, even though you were not getting enough solid air at the bottom.

I've seen this song performed live with most of the original members, including Eric Burdon and it was a treat and I could totally see you doing it, too.

[darkclaw3000]

i was feeling abit of struggle in the higher parts. but i think its due to my just-awake-voice.. i should record another song when im fully warmed up.

about the raspy thing, is that a good indication of a good technique? its like there are certain spots in my range where if i dont control it, it will turn raspy. is that certain spot weak? and does it normally happen on the break area????

[ronws]

No, personally, I think the parts of your range where rasp is easy are the places you should allow rasp. Others will come along and help you with rasp in other parts of your range, if you wish. A few big singers only do rasp in the baritone end of things and sing their highest notes clean.

As for the rasp happening with less control, that fits in with how I get rasp, which is similar to how some of those big name singers get rasp. One of them, in fact, said that getting rasp was all about relaxing the throat and keeping it open and giving a little more support from the breath. That his clean notes required a slightly "tighter" control, on so many words. That is, for rasp, one should, in my humble opinion, be relaxed and not specifically constrict the throat too much. Though there are other singers who do constrict to rasp or distort and only do it at the lower parts of their range.

[darkclaw3000]

wow that puts me into a totally new light. i think i should just continue what i normally do then.. so does this mean i have a 'naturally' raspy voice?

i can easily do it with songs like hinder - lips of an angel or nickelback - how you remind me. will upload asap to get more opinions..

hope others put in their thoughts as well about rasp!

[jonpall]

Very good. Yes, it has power in it. You sound like a naturally good singer. I think you're doing almost everything close to correctly in terms of technique. You sound like you have a pretty balanced voice but yet powerful. I think you just need to slightly polish your pitch until it becomes almost perfect and then work on improving your confidence Your very, very slight rasp at certain places just sounded cool. It just happened because of the emotion you were putting in your performance. Nice! Now you have to ask yourself it that hurt your throat. If it did, try to see if you can achieve the same sound with slightly less effort in your throat. If that's tough for you, it's probably because of sub-optimal vowel choices and/or incorrect support, in which case you could just ask here for more help on that.

[ronws]

wow that puts me into a totally new light. i think i should just continue what i normally do then.. so does this mean i have a 'naturally' raspy voice?

i can easily do it with songs like hinder - lips of an angel or nickelback - how you remind me. will upload asap to get more opinions..

hope others put in their thoughts as well about rasp!

It could be that you have a natural rasp and stick with that. It is totally in line with my belief and the belief of others, such as Geoff Tate, Bruce Hall, Bruce Dickinson, John Bush, Lames Labrie, to name a few, that you have, within reasonable amounts of training, a voice unique to you. Is that unfair? Why it certainly is. Nature is not socialist. Equal results are not guaranteed for everyone. I would dearly love to hear your Nickleback cover. That guy has a unique timbre and, aside from work he does on breath support and note placement, I don't think anyone else will sound just like him, though they might be close.

Some of my most recent submissions where I have used rasp, I didn't think about it, I didn't "practice" it, it really was a matter of relaxing, almost to a creak at the end of a note. Didn't hurt a bit and my voice is fine right after, and the next day. I call it leaky air but I might as well call it letting off the gas. Backing off the compression of the folds and even backing off air pressure an extremely subtle little bit. Other times, I do get a rattle but it is in my upper baritone. Or, I end a note and it is actually an exhalation with rattle or growl. Short, sweet, but it puts a flavor on the whole thing and all you might remember is that "grr" at the end and in memory, the note seem distorted but that is a perceptual illusion because it's human nature to remember the last sound most.

Rock on, my brother.

And, also, jonpall's post was right on point.

[darkclaw3000]

heres my take on How You Remind Me by Nickelback

http://www.box.net/shared/veoed448jm

for some reason I dont like how i sound here... hahaha.

im recording using Zoom H2 recorder.. i think its juz too damn raw. but then im not aiming for perfection. still my freshly awake voice. and just ate something spicy..i know its not good to do before singing. but yeah, just wanted to show that rasp. it feels very easy and light.

i think im gonna do a 2nd proper take.. many times i cringe while hearing myself. or am i juz comparing to the original singer..?

[jonpall]

Spot on with that Nickleback cover, man! Very cool, raspy sound.

[darkclaw3000]

thx jonpall! this helps me alot in being comfortable wit my own voice.... i think the problem now is, my stamina. i seem to have a problem staying on extended sets.. just last friday i had an audition to play few songs for 3 sets. the 3rd set was the hardest. last song i was really struggling......

i wonder if its because of my technique (too much air), or juz lack of stamina..?

[ronws]

I agree with jonpall. you hit it good in this song. You sound like him without sounding just like him, which is what I hoped for you. That is, you have the ability to sing like he does with your own timbre. You have a slight tighter voice with a bit more treble in it, as you are probably more of tenor to his baritone.

You sounded relaxed and probably were. Stick with it. Keep this sound, as far as distortion goes. First, it is easy for you to produce. Second, it is a great sound. Well done, Darkclaw. And your diction is excellent. As good or better than the original. And that is another thing about that singer that I admire, that you can do. Which is to annunciate clearly while doing distortion.

[darkclaw3000]

wow thx a million guys. u really made me even more confident with my singing now! i will want to put up some higher range songs, since how you remind me if somewhat ok range for me.

i got to thinking though. and wonder how will be if i sing journey songs with that kinda rasp/distortion.? will it be ok regards to how well steve perry does it? because somehow in the back of my mind, i feel the need to 'copy' the original singer. and its somewhat wierd to the point of scary to do it my own way. this may be just my mindset i think.....?

[ronws]

I totally understand, Darkclaw. It's kind of like me doing "Live like you were dying." I don't sound like Tim McGraw. My arrangement is on one guitar only. The recording I put up is only the second take, live. The only thing did a second track for was the guitar solo at the end.

But when I sang the song, I sang it as if I wrote it. And that's what you must do, whether you sound like the original or not. In fact a good example of doing it your way is to listen to cover tunes by Iced Earth. They don't sound like the original. They sound like Iced Earth doing versions of other people's songs.

[darkclaw3000]

i will follow your advice dear ronws. now i get it. thats where a singer's uniqueness comes from. believing in ones voice, and have a blast with it. thank you guys, you made my day.

[ronws]

i will follow your advice dear ronws. now i get it. thats where a singer's uniqueness comes from. believing in ones voice, and have a blast with it. thank you guys, you made my day.

And the clouds part, the sun shines, and the angels sing, "Amen ..."

I've been trying to get that across, here and there. And it is echoed by the singers who's interviews I have read. You do what your voice can do. Granted, training can refine bits of it but each person has a unique sound. In the end, after all the wonderful technique you have learned here and abroad, it comes back to the feel. And what your voice can do, naturally.

Believe in yourself. I believe in you but belief in yourself is the most powerful thing. You already have the voice that you need. You're just fine-tuning it, here and there.