Adolph Namlik

Hi guys, long time no see. I thought I'd post a very recent live recording of myself for the fun of it.
This is me joining up on vocals with an Icelandic band called Rökkur (translates roughly to "Dusk") last weekend in a pub called Bar 11. We did many 70s and 80s rock songs that night. This is one you all know - called Thunderstruck by AC/DC !
Let me know what you think
 

Draven, Dan... thanks for your help.

Manny!  It is great to see you in here again... hope you have been well.
I actually have been coaching this song the last two weeks with another singer... I also performed this before in a choral group once.
Your Review:
- The opening sequence is pitchy and a touch shouty. I like Dan's suggestion to cover to a mixed position more.
- Given the genre, I feel like you could be more articulate on the lower parts, "softly, gently, etc.."... its sort of a lost opportunity. 
- 3:51, nice /i/.
- The last falsetto "night" was flat... NO. make sure that last note is straight on.
Overall Manny, I think it was a nice performance. I would give it a B+. You have nice interpretations and expression in here that I think a lot of people would likely miss. But the biggest point of improvement in my view would be intonation. Many of the onsets start low and scoop. They come and go quickly, but for a public performance of a theater piece like this, I think you need to get straight in on pitch on your onsets. This is an easy thing to fix.. just pay more attention to it.
Good to see you back in here.

Jesse,
The skid row song:
- ? lacking any musculature. You have to ask yourself why this is so falsetto-ish. I get the feeling that YOU don't have to do this. That you have the ability to bring more musculature / TA to bare into this entire performance. You are choosing to sing on the edges of your vocalis which is a mystery. It says more about what is going on in your head then your capabilities... that is just a gut feel. There are some fleeting moments when the vocals connect better, but then you back off to this falsetto position.
- Dan is correct about resonance, but if you bring in more musculature support, resonance will suddenly "pop" better and "sit in", in addition to intonation. As well as so many other elements in your phonation package will come together. The singing is a mess because there is no framework, no musculature support. You can't expect to sing this song, or just about any song, in pur falsetto. So what do you do to fix that? You find a good training program and teacher if you can, and you begin to workout.
- What are you doing for training? ... What training techniques are you working with on a regular basis that can help you to strengthen your belt musculature, your ability to throat shape vowels ( narrowing ) and can strengthen your ability to maintain compression?  It sounds like you are not doing any resistance training to my ears. Are you just singing songs ONLY? If so, that isn't going to cut it for you... Very few people can get by by ONLY singing songs.  The purpose of training is to hasten your physical strength and motor skills required to support singing like this. If you were my student and were using The Four Pillars of Singing, I would be putting you on these routines right here. see the video capture.
 
The Scorps:
- Honestly... the same thing. It's a mess.
 
Make a commitment to TRAIN, ... practice some vocal training techniques or no one can help you. I am really just giving you the "tough love". Protecting your feelings isn't going to help you.  Being straight up, honest and telling you like it is, is the only thing that really has a chance to help you, provided that after you get that message, you take the steps that have been recommended.

I agree with Daniel. There's nothing specific to point out in any one part of the song. Overall, however, you tended to yell on the louder higher notes. Finding either a comfortable belt or strong mixed resonance for those parts (which were very prominant at the beginning), would make this song much easier for you to sing and tighten it up quite a bit.
As for not singing as long as you wanted to on the last note, if it's from running out of air, then there is one exercise you can start doing to expand your lung capacity. Breathe in by slightly tightening your abs and focusing the air into your lower back, kidneys, or glutes. This should naturally put most of the air into your obliques or lower ribs. Then make a very strong "sss" sound while pushing the air forward into your solar plexus. The "sss" is meant to be a type of compression that holds back most of the air you're trying to push out. This will compress your lung and open up all the tiny little pockets of air, effectively streching them and giving you more lung gcapacity over time. The idea is, with proper gottal/subglottal pressure balance, you should be able to sing a note at any strength for about as long as you can exhale in the lung capacity exercise. This got me up to being able to belt for 43 seconds. 
However, the tension you have in your voice on higher notes is an issue, and holding you back a lot. Focus on better placement, relaxing the tension in your neck, and solid breath support from pushing into the solar plexus. The breath support doesn't have to make you super loud. If you balance the pressure correctly, it will simply stablize the note at any volume.

It was good but pitchy in spots. I think if you could find mixed voice in a those spots it would be a little tighter.. 

Dear all,
It has been a while that I have visited this forum. I have been very busy with my studies—having completed my BA in Musicology and currently finalising my MA in Applied Musicology. I did keep on working on my singing, however. Yesterday, “The Music of the Night,” a song that I auditioned with at the Conservatory of Rotterdam over a decade ago and that I had used for my singing lessons with many different teachers, was one I had never actually performed—until now!
Indeed, there appears to be balancing issues with volume between me and the piano. On the other hand, I asked several attendees whether they felt there were problems with it, but they all did not notice them live. While I do think we could work on balancing our instruments, I believe the recording is augmenting the issue quite a bit.  
I am really satisfied with the performance—especially my acting abilities, intonation, enunciation, and stage presence. I could be more confident with the fermata notes just doing them as long as I want, rather than thinking I might do them too long (I think the “soul”-note [2:32] is great, the “be”-note [3:44] is just about right, the ”night”-note [5:20] is executed pretty well, but could easily be five seconds longer). I could also definitely stabilise and pronounce my “ring” more.
Manolito Mystiq

I'm hearing the same thing as Daniel. I especially hear a drastic difference on the higher notes. It's as if you're trying to relax by modifying your placement a lot more towards head voice, and the end result is actually causing even more tension and instabliity on those notes. Edge it forward just a bit. Focus your vowels either right at where your hard and soft palates meet, or just behind that (depending on the sound color you want). If you're feeling a lot of tension in the neck, then you need to be transfering that extra pressure to both your soft palate and pushing into your solar plexus. If you really want balance your air rpessure, relaxation, etc, try singing the song through a cocktail straw while holding your nose andrelaxing (not pushing extra air through the straw). I don't suggest doing it more than 5 minutes at a time, perhaps a few times a day, because it stretches out every single muscle you're using too. But it can be an amazing asistant to singing a great vocal balance.

Sounds like your searching for different voices. Its kind of all over the place resonance wise. With some work keeping it "in the pocket" i think you would have an easier time

Hello! So I just recorded 2 tunes (first takes, lots of mistakes, but i just wanted to record something) Im looking to sing with my band and would like to know if im on the right track (since this is a type of register i've never used in a live/public setting so i dont know if the vocal placement for these songs is correct). These songs are somewhat outside my singing comfort zone and what we usually play (in terms of vocal range and registers), but i would love to expand my repertoire. To give an idea my most demanding song right now is toxicity (SOAD)(with some chest pulling here and there). I've been a musician for 11 years but only been singing for 5 years now, and only had proper vocal training for about a year (not currently) mostly focusing on pitch, correct breathing, chesty high notes, etc... but nothing of this kind, so there is this desire to get into these types of songs.
Also, the "technique" im using for both songs feels (in my throat) the same to me, but it somehow feels more suited for the high notes heard in the scorpions tune, than in the skid row one. so I would love to know (if someone can give some input on this) why do i get two seemingly different results with the same technique?
Feedback is greatly appreciated!
Thank you 
Jesse
 

Avinash,
Your kid is cute.
And I can confirm for you that she has a gift for singing. You are not delusional or just the "over zealous parent". For her to even DARE to try to sing this song at 9 years old, and then actually ... sort of pull it off, is impressive. 
It does need a lot of work, but that doesn't hide the fact that for her age, there is something here that is promising.
For example:
- Here pitch is not perfect, but for her age and the difficulty of this song, not bad. About 80% in.
- Notes such as at 1:40, are very nicely resonant and pretty. Foreshadowing what she could do with a more mature voice , more consistently. 
- She seems to have a rather darker tone to her voice which is unusual for girls. Girls tend to be very shrill and it is nice to NOT be hearing that ear piercing shrill from a little girl, but some more warmth from her sound color. Again, another hint at potential here.
As far as competing for talent shows are concerned, I think she could be competitive IF she trained and got serious. Does she have a voice coach? Without professional coaching and someone to really raise the bar to prepare for auditions, she would not be competitive. I believe she can do it, but you and your family are going to have to make a decision to commit to hard work and serious training, not just singing songs for fun. Is she ready to make singing her "job" and study it like she does homework at school?  If so, she has a chance.
I am available to help you and your daughter if you are looking for a qualified coach. I have a training program that would do a lot to clean things up and get her stronger and more serious about what she is doing. Feel free to give me a call or send me a private email.
I hope this helps.

Hi, 
My daughter is 9 yrs old, likes to sing, she tries her best to take part in any singing opportunity that she gets.
I would like to get some valuable and honest inputs from experts here about her singing.
what can be done to improve here singing ability and voice quality. 
What kind of songs should she be singing  when it comes to competition / performances, specially the songs that  can increase her chance of securing better position in  singing competition.
Looking forward for your valuable inputs.
Thanks,
Avinash
 
 
 
 

Speaking as a big fan of Dio, this does not sound great at all. Take lessons!

Uh,...Ya, ... its not better.
One of the things you learn as you evolve into a conscientious singer that is serious, is you get a lot of practice shelving your ego and exercising the courage to humble yourself, especially when you get feedback you don't want to swallow. Being humbled from time to time is part of the lifestyle of being a singer. For everyone, at all levels. Until you can be open to this, it won't happen for you.
At the moment, you are sort of... pretending to be a singer. To be clear, If you sounded exactly the same, but were being accountable by taking our advice, you would appear to be more real to me. Your attitude, not your singing, is what weakens your credibility at this early stage.
Either you are a bit delusional or this is a joke. Maybe this is a joke? I suppose its possible, but I fear it isn't.
I don't feel like protecting your feelings. I feel like giving you the tough love truth, because that is what you are going to need to make any kind of progress. I did my part.
Good luck on your journey.

Draven, Ellise joined our community about four years ago and from the get go, was posting songs of her singing. She's our little sister here. We have literally witnessed her growth and maturity in the forum.
We've watched you grow up in this forum Ellise. From a girl with potential to a young woman who sings great. It's pretty cool.
Ellise is a good example of what can happen when you work hard at singing and never give up. Ellise is the real deal.
Congrats to your family, your coach down there and to you.

I watched it several times this week and have yet to find anything to critique or help with. This is amazing!
The only thing I oculd offer constructive criticism on is your performance. I coached bands (signed and unsigned) across the world in their performance and career for many years. You lose yourself in the music quite often, which is absolutely perfect. When you lose yourself, you give the audience permission to do the same. Work on your actions following the lyrics rather than anticipating them. For instance, before you sang "It's the only thing that's in my mind", you pointed to your head and had already lowered your hand by the time you sang the line. The emotional impact from the visual can greatly enhance the performance when in sync. This can also be expressed by letting your entire body flow with the music. HOWEVER, I still felt the song, it didn't take away from it at all. 

They brought in Piano two guitars and drums. It was recorded in a full studeo

Thanks Robert I really appreciate your feedback. I have also followed yours and Georges advice. I have just recorded my first single currently going through final editing
 
kind regards
ellise

I wrote the tune and it has been produced by Black Pearl studios. Also getting a professional video done

The Four Pillars of Singing now available as a one-time purchase for lifetime access. https://thevocaliststudio.com/the-four-pillars-of-singing/
 
 

Nice effort. Keep going ... if you continue to work on this it will become great. Id give you a B.
One thing that blares to me is when you sing "arms". Your really pinching down on "arms". I suspect that is because your articulators are trying to negotiate the /r/ controlled vowel there "ar"... its a killer. Modify the vowel there. Open that up. Try adding more /uh/ to your "arms" ... 
 

Thanks.. Steve Perry is by far the most difficult singer to emulate.  All his songs lie smack on the passagio. It is easy to imagine everything going terribly wrong if not sung with the most perfect technique. You cannot force his songs in a manner that you can do wth a lot of other singers.  He sings in a very high range with a light character with a lot of dynamics.  That is what makes his songs so difficult.  He is not monotonous in the high range.  That takes a lot more skill I suppose.  I guess this is where having a high tenor voice helps, since you can sing with less effort and still retain the weight.  I am not sure if I can support anymore than what I am doing currently.  Perhaps another two years and maybe it will sound better indeed!  

Hi, I thought you did a really nice job on a singer that very few are brave enough to tackle lol. I thought overall you did good work negotiating the passagio danger notes. That is always the trick with Steve Perry Vocals the man lived in the Passagio for most male singers haha. Always hard to slip in and out of those areas. I would suggest keep working on it. You seem to be hitting the notes fine and the pitch is there. The tone could be just a bit more supported I believe and it would help you sound a little more like Perry. That being said the lighter sounds can be used to show the vulnerability of the songs lyric. A great job on a super hard singer and like you Perry is a tough singer for me because of his timber and tone are difficult for me to nail.

Hi Folks, 
This is a song that I have wanted to sing for a very long time.  This is as you all know, an incredibly difficult song on the passagio.  I don't think I sound anything like Steve, so it makes it way more difficult for me. It is a bit of a Mount Everest for me this song
This is a work in progress version. There are some pitching issues, please ignore.  I am curious to hear what you think about my tone in the chorus
Thanks to anyone who can drop in a few words