Happy Birthday America!

[Guest]

I know there are many cultures here on this forum and we are all from different places around the globe, and I respect that and everyone and culture here. But, well you know I dig Ray Charles And with that in mind and in the U.S. this being 4th of July Weekend I decided I wanted to do this song. However my plans didn't workout as I wanted. Here are the liner notes:

I always knew about Ray Charles' version of this song but it fell to the back of my mind. A few weeks ago I heard it on the radio and decided I wanted to do it for the 4th of July. But I had to order a backing track. I just got it last week and so now I had to learn it. I didn't have time due to work and only had Wednesday to do it. But managed to record a version last Wed. That was the first time I've ever done this song. That was a rough draft. My ultimate goal here is to sing this on my next cruise at karaoke in September. I sing a lot of songs here and I practice a lot but I don't sig out anywhere. I have only sung live 3 times in my life all on cruises. I cruise once per year. So my next public singing will be this coming September.

I am preparing this song for that cruise and this is how it works for me. Last weeks version (which only one person heard) I consider a rough sketch. This version which I did two days ago, is me starting to get a little more detail into the picture. By September hopefully the work will be finished and full of detail and color. I really would like to have worked on this more before posting it but I have no timer left. Wednesday was my last chance to sing and record for maybe a week or so. So I had to get it out now since the holiday is Wednesday. I'm not happy with it but so be it. It's a work in progress and you get to hear me practice...

So here is " America The Beautiful."

http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=11736714&q=hi

[ronws]

As I mentioned in the email, this is my favorite Ray Charles song. And I am also patriotic. I'm sure there's people out there that might have an issue with something Our country has done. Even I do, sometimes. But I still believe in this country. Especially in the people and the veterans of wars, foreign and domestic. Everything but lying sacks of politicians. And I hope I can be forgiven for using the curse word, politician, in this private forum.

Your voice is great on this one. You have that thick blues sound that fits so well. You might fine tune here and there as you see fit, like you were mentioning in your original post, but don't do so at the cost of the tone you've got here. Personally, I don't think it needs much of anything. Articulation was a little fuzzy and I could tell that was an eq or mixing thingy, rather than a singing thingy.

[Guest]

What I have been having a problem with on most recording is it is hit or miss. Sometimes it comes out good after I record it. Then when I save it to MP3 the vocal changes in volume. Sometimes it gets too loud or sometimes too low...

Then when I load it to Soundclick it changes again. In this instance it is too low. Also, I have no idea what happened but suddenly my Audacity program has stopped saving the vocal and music as separate tracks. It mixes them down to one.

As far as fine tuning the song I'm not talking about my voice per se. It's a comfort level with the song. A feel thing. Right now it feels like a song I'm learning so I'm thinking through it. I need to get to a point where it just happens and I'm just telling a story. Also I'm working on runs. Not right yet. And I wasn't completely satisfied with the falsetto near the end. things like that. Mostly phrasing.

By the time September comes and I sing it at karaoke on the cruise I want a standing ovation

Thanks Ron.

[ronws]

Well, see, that's the thing with sound files.

Playback sounds one way in Audacity. Then, you export to mp3. mp3 is a file compression format and some data will be lost, good or bad. Then, we u/l to a fileshare, such as soundclick, box. Those sights have their own mp3 player, as opposed to dropbox, which makes you open your computer's own media player. So, whatever values and algorithms soundclick or box.com use for mp3 decoders will change the sound once again.

And so some might say, Ron, what were you thinking in mixing this or that? Well, it sounded okay in Audacity. By the time it's playable on a box link, it's been through the LAME (that's the actual name) mp3 encoder to export from Audacity. Then, when played back through box's mp3 player, it becomes something different.

In addition to that, it's a mathematical fact that you lose 50 percent of an analog audio signal, such as voice, when recording into digital, requiring the use of compressor to even the dynamics of the recording, which change the dynamics of the sound of your voice. Basically, introducing artifacts that aren't actually there.

Not to mention that we introduce eq values of use some equalization.

It's a miracle that we can actually what each other sounds like.

[ronws]

In fact, I'm going to send you an email of a song I did and using the same tracks, eq and effects two different ways.

[Guest]

Ron, that post is like reading about all the germs you get from restaurant bathrooms!! I feel like washing my hands after recording now!!! :lol:

[ronws]

It made me feel dirty, too. But, since I am on the highway to Hell, dirt and me are friends.