On The Backs of Angels Cover

[Keith]

This songs timing is pretty crazy. Started working on it today, and this is as far as I have gotten. Sorry in advance about not coming in at the right time - if you are unfamiliar with the song, then you won't understand why its a pain in the arse.

http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=11658384&q=hi&newref=1

[PollyGoPop]

This is a nice job - the tone you had on that 'fa-ding fa-ster' phrase is really nice and open.

You have a great supported finish to your longer notes, it sounds pretty comfortable and you have a nice bit of vibrato coming up from the diaphragm.

The only teeny pointer I'd give is to try and really focus on keeping the throat really nice and open and relaxed heading up higher into your range.

Great work! :)

[Guest]

I liked it and not knowing the song, I never noticed or would even know you didn't come in at the right time :)

[Keith]

Thanks for listening :)

[ronws]

Excellent, as usual. I wish you would mess up just one time so that I could be assured that you are, indeed, human.

I have never heard this song but the melodic runs in there remind me of Jethro Tull, such as from the "A" album, an underrated album and I am probably one of the few that bought it. On cassette tape. I need to find a cd of it. But I digress.

This suits you very much in both style and a musical arrangement that really highlights your voice. Don't get me wrong, "Drop Dead" is a great album and virtuostic in its own right but I hope you can write some stuff like this for the next Drop Head album.

You are in the pocket and you have a niche.

And you want to talk about tough timing? Try the start of the beginning lyrics for "I Don't Believe in Love" by Queensryche. Drove me batty trying to get that one right.

[Keith]

Thanks ron. I have just realized my need for decent studio headphones. There are some pitchy spots in here that are annoying me to death. I should try using my ear monitors next time lol

[ronws]

In the books I have read on recording and mixing (and yes, I am still crap, especially since I need to upgrade to a suite that allows real time adjustments,) earphones are fine for mixing but their downfall is their near-field monitoring limits. The guerilla home studio guy points out that, even for himself, singing with headphones on makes him sing a little flat. Two options. Sweeten the playback mix while recording vocals. Headphones tend to produce a "bassy" sound and this will draw you down precisely because your body is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. You are matching the pitch of what you are hearing. And if what you are hearing (which may not be exactly what was recorded) is bassy, it will in essence be flatter, and you are following that.

Second, speaker monitor and place that monitor in the dead field behind the mic. There might be some bleed-through and that is the draw back with "live monitor."

Live recording rarely produces flat notes. When I record "live" (guitar and vocals at the same time) I am almost never flat because I am not listening through headphones, I am recording without any monitor other than being to hear myself acoustically, as it were.

I don't know how it would go with IEM because I don't have one.

[Olem]

Good job, Keith! It was a joy to listen to, just a few pitchy spots and it was not that bad. I can hear that your voice has improved in the upper range, congratulations!