Steven Fraser

This is an engaging piece... lots of nice contrast of tempo, harmonic, rhythmic and melodic content. Kept me interested to hear what was coming next.

Andrew,

I agree with what everybody else said. One thing I'd like to offer in addition is that the way this song is written, the phrases end on notes lower in your range than those in the middle of the phrases, and so the intensity of the vocal tone is less on the last note of every phrase. Sometimes this obscures the intelligibility of the word you are singing on those notes.

In general, lower notes contain less sound energy, so they are less audible to a live listener and in a recording. If you care about this at all, one way you could compensate would be to crescendo down to the lower last notes of every phrase, making them just a little louder. Another approach you could take would be to allow them to be a little firmer... more toward the voice you use when you speak.

I thought the message of the song was attractive and interesting. The piano acc is well done, sparse enough to let the voice come through somewhat. And that will be better if you can separately mic the voice and the piano.

Ray,

Its really well done. Vocals are fine (liked the overdubbed harmonies), the band is tight, tasty arrangement of the parts, everybody's got the chops, and very well produced audio and vid. Good job!

Just a personal preference, but the 'singing breathy eating the mike' kind of solo vocal you sometimes employ in this...is not my favorite. I like to hear just a little more voice clarity in the sound... but that is just me. If you were to bump up the sung volume (not in the mix... your own singing), and then back off the gain in the mix, I think you'd get something a little clearer and not lose the overall effect. FYI, When you sing a bit louder in other places the tone clears right up.

But these are very fine points, and personal preference at that.

Keep 'em coming. Fine offering.

Thanks for your insights Steven. I used a pair of Fostex T-5 studio headphones for monitoring. Are you saying that I was off key slightly? I'm usually pretty good with my pitch but I'm sure that you have much more experienced ears that I do. I just played back the song and unfortunately I don't hear anything off pitch. That being said, I have been having a series of ear infections for the past 7 months that certainly might be affecting my ability to hear pitch as critically as I should. Man, now you've got me wondering Steven!

Snax: Its not off key, its just hanging on the low side of the notes. Sinatra used to do it all the time, too :-).

Here is a question and a suggestion: If you are using 2 earphones, be sure to mix your own voice into the earphones so you hear your voice in the phones with the track. If you are unable to mix your voice with the track into the phones, Use just 1 earphone with the track, leave the other ear open to the air when you do the recording.

Guitartrek: This was fun to listen to. First, the backing and guitar are outstanding work. Very professional, with very few issues.

Vocally, its very effective as well. Its working into your voice nicely, and with some attention to very fine details, will make an awesome recording.

Here are the picky things that I hear can be tweaked to add further polish:

1) Diction. As a general comment, some initial, mid-word and final consonants need about 10% additional energy to balance with the vowels in the same words, so that the intelligibility is always there. The way it is now is ok, but you can turn Ok to fab with just a bit of attention. A picky-thing... at 1:37 is one place where you replaced an R consonant with a W in the middle of 'spirit'. That stuck out, and something similar happened in the following word 'erase'.

2) Mix presence & balance. Overall, this mix is set just a bit back in the sound stage, reducing the thrust and edge of this performance. I think it would be more effective if brought forward just a little, but put in a larger space, as if the recording were made up closer, but in a bigger room. From time to time, there are balance issues where the voice is lost under the accompanyment. I'd like to hear a bit more of the voice in the mix in those places. As an example, the middle interlude guitar solo, when the voice enters at the end of the instrumental part, the instrumental covers up the text clarity of the entrance of the voice. Tweak the pots down on the accompanyment so that the voice rises clearly from the end of the instrumental.

3) Up-top openness. The top is strong, but the vowel colors are a little on the thin side right now, perhaps not as resonant as they will be eventually. I think this will get better as the piece settles into your voice over the next weeks, so don't make a change at this point. In a month, do another recording and compare. Even small changes in pronunciation on some of the most exposed notes will make a big difference.

Thats all for now. IMO, people would pay to hear you sing this in a concert. Time to get discovered. :-)

I thought the style was fine. You certainly have the range, too.

IMO, biggest thing to work on is the intonation. For most of the song, you are under pitch when compared with the accompanyment.

What was your monitor set-up for this recording?

Kelly,

I agree with Ashique. While there are many 'other' things you could do with your voice, the things that would define a 'next level' come from your vocal and artistic goals... from your own musical value system, your aesthetic, the relationship of the text with the melody.... all of that.

So, this takes us around to clarifying questions:

What do you want to do next with your singing?

What are the things or characteristics you'd like to add to what you can do?

Or, what do you have that you'd like to improve or even remove?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXwPrhjZIGQ

I just got home and recorded this while unpacking, I tried to record outside on my way home but too windy ;/

Anyway, this song is a testament to my truly not being a tenor. This song goes higher but in order for me to manage the "oh-oo-oh" before "baby, I'd die for you" I need to take a breathier approach or my voice cracks. If I do it overdrive, yeah, it cracks even worse at the narrow "oo".

Anyway. I decided to start being more active on the boards, hoping to improve my voice.

So, what do you guys think?

Snejk: I'll be very direct. While I like this casual, lightly-registered sound for your mid voice, I can hear that quite often your glottal closure is not firm, and there is no appreciable amount of twang. If you want to sing up top with power, you need to address both of these, so that your true, clear upper voice appears.

I wish I could have written that in Swedish :-)

Very nice.

Sorry, Steve, I didn't mean to mispeak. The image I have in mind is contraction even if that's not what's happening. The reason being is that, to me, and I could be wrong but the image helps me mentally, is that a high not is a small note, properly resonated and supported. Most times, a contraction tightens things up. It's part of the guitar analogy, I think, that would make me think that. On a guitar, you do make the string shorter by pressing on a fret. But then, as I have mentioned before, I know the guitar is not accurate, our voices are more like variable reeds. Anyway, my bad.

Ronws: Oh, no problem. I know exactly what you mean about using contraction (the note getting smaller) as a a mental image or concept. IMO, It is very helpful thought when it comes to preventing oversinging/pushing.

Would you have the luck at say F4 that you had at high C, for example? That's a tougher question. There's a physical limit based the shortest length an adult male can contract his chords to and still make a sound. For lack of a better description, I think it's logarithmic. That is, the change from being comfortable finally at high C to being comfortable at F4 is going to be very subtle, I think. How do you get there? Sheesh, you could probably teach me about singing and technique. I just know what's worked for me.

Ronws: Just a quick point... the vocal bands are stretched, not contracted, to make higher pitches. This stretching action thins the vocal process, reducing the cross-sectional mass and increasing the tension... both of those cause the freqency to go up.

We recorded this song in 08, when we were in 3rd grade at High School, at Voss.

I sing the highest part (1st half), and my friend Oda does the lower part (2nd half)

Marilen: You both do this very nicely. It was enjoyable to hear such clear, young voices.

Marilen: The laid-back jazz style you are employing is just fine, however, I found myself wanting to hear just a bit more tone from you through most of the song. Right near the end, when the other voice (pianist?) joins you, you increased the volume to a level that seems more engaged and compelling. It made me wish that you'd employed that intensity of tone more often through the song.

??????????????

Don: Not sure I understand the question :)

Hi - I bought the CVT book and am starting to get a handle on "healthy" distortion. With this song I can finally produce distortion without my voice feeling bad afterwards. But it is still hard for me to control it "at will". Please take a listen and see what you think - it is not heavy distortion - but it is the most I've done in a single song. The vocals start around 00:39.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9094030

Thanks

Geno

Geno: I liked this alot, and when you wailed up into the top for a moment, you made me want to hear more of that. Nice rendition, dude.

I really like tracks 10, 6, and 5. You seem to have a great feel for this style. It was a pleasure to listen to. The only thing I didn't like about Leroy Brown is that I'm not sold on the vocal effects you're using on that song...

Yeah... not much of a critique here.. guys more knowledgeable about this style might be able to give you some tips, but... they sound really good to me...

Have a greeeeaaaaattt shoooowwww.. as they say.

I had the same reaction. 8 and 7 seemed either too present, and not present enough, and then things equalized out. Maybe it was a bit of time to get into your 'comfortable' zone. Anyway, the numbers 6-1 all sounded great. Good recording quality, balance, presence... the issues I mentioned in the post last week were all resolved.

One of the songs seemed just bit too low to be optimum, but overall, nicely done. I enjoyed listening to your casual, authentic club swing style.

hehe might wanna add the tracks?

Jens: I think he put them over on his page at http://www.themodernvocalist.com/profile/DonWilson431

I'm going to take a listen tonight.

What is teacup breathing?

Kalapoka: Small inhalations. For many musical phrases, only a small amount of breath is required. Just take what you need for the phrase at hand.

I would like some examination from a knowledgeable source. I would appreciate any and all feedback please. I live in LA, and am trying to make it.

Wooferine: You have a distinctive, very individual style, which naturally draws the attention of the listener. This is a very good aspect to have in a performing voice.

What was very distracting for me was the variation in pitch... sometimes sharp, sometimes flat.

If I could give you one thing to work on first, it would be that.

I hope this is the kind of feed-back that you were seeking.

I am singing since I was 12 and I have had some singing lessons along the way. I am 40 and still very insecure about my singing so I would love to hear from you out there who know about singing how my singing comes across to you and what I might be able to do to better it. The videos are home taped so no professional videos. I just ast week started to go to open mic nights and maybe my insecurity will go away

My style is mostly country/folk I think it suits best with my voice.

Jolanda: I listened to 'Crazy', and liked the rendition overall. You have the feel/style of the song down very well, and vocally you do fine.

There are a couple places to slightly improve the tone consistency. After the modulation, in the final section, there are a couple notes that are pitchy. Check those out. Also, the last note is suddenly softer. Make sure that it is as clear as the rest of that section.

For the benefit of your 'open mic' nights, I think there are two things, aspects of overall performance, that you can improve quite a bit, but they are not about your vocal rendition. They are about your two most prominient movements during the song.

First, I found the continuous motion of your left hand and arm to be not expressive at all of the song lyric... just a distraction. My recommendation would be to only move that hand when the particular motion reinforces the communication of the lyric or the emotion being sung.

As an approach/exercise to work on this, try singing the song with your left hand holding on to the mic cord at your side the entire time. Just let it be still, except for the one place that has the most intense emotion in the song... wherever that is. There, and just there for this time, let go of the mic cord, let the hand rise, hold it somewhere out in front of you, and shape it/move it in a manner that is expressive of the emotion you wish to convey at that moment... pleading, hope, 'go away', pain, rejection ... what ever that emotion might be, and then let it return to your side or to holding the mic cord. Repeat the exercise for the 2nd and 3rd most intense places in the song. After a while, you will get comfortable to moving that hand and arm in a manner that amplifies your meaning.

You can go another step further with this idea if you get a mic stand, and sing the song hands-free.

The other aspect of performance that I believe you can re-think a bit is the dancing, though you look just fine doing it. If you were singing this song in front of a band while people were dancing, what you are doing is just fine. However, when you are singing it for people who are only listening and watching, as in a concert, karaoke, or whatever, the dancing will be a distraction at the current level of motion.

As a way to approach this, try 'dancing on the inside', that is, move with simple weight shifts in time to the music, rather than by taking actual steps/footwork as you are now.

I hope this is the kind of feedback that you were seeking.

I'm still hoping Steven Fraser finds some time to give me some feedback

Fahim

Fahim: Well, gee. Since you asked...

I can give you lots of feedback on multiple levels. However, first a question: Who does your PA work? Your guitar is way too loud for the rest of the mix, covering both of your voices, and overshadowing the rhythm section, too.

Now, to your singing.

Overall, pretty effective. I can understand most of the words, even with the balance issues in the recording. You've got the notes, reasonable range, and you don't sound or look to me like you are straining. Good so far.

Since you start out this song for the band, I think you should, at a minimum, start it standing up, and only use your stool when you are not singing. Preferably, not sitting at all thoughout. Your voice will automatically work better. (worst position to sing is crunched over a guitar). This may mean that you need to learn to play your axe more by feel than sight... deal with it. Its what the pro's do almost always.

The only singing guitarists that I know who play sitting for long periods are the blues players... BB King (ancient), Buddy Guy, sometimes Clapton. So, stand up, learn to sing to a mic on a stand without craning your neck out, and engage your audience from the front of the band. I think your audiences will pay better attention to the good things you are doing.

If you want additional feed-back, I think you'll want to record something fresh, with minimum accompanyment, or even without it. Ever hear 'House of the Rising sun', as recorded by Eric Burton and the Animals? It has simple guitar accompanyment, and really shows off the male voice expressive contrasts. If you don't like that song, record something else, and I will be happy to tell you what I hear, and make recommendations for changes.

I hope this is the sort of thing you were asking me to do .

I know I need to start taking lessons and the sooner the better but really just looking to see if my raw "talent" is worth training.

Thanks for reading / listening

majestyvengeance: I listened to 20 seconds of the first song. The answer is YES. You already have a lot going for you, and training will help you go to the next step. You have natural musicality, sense of rhythm, pretty good pitch and an open, easygoing style.

GO FOR IT.

Thanks everyone... your words are too kind and very accurate (especially about the top.. I need to relax more)

I just hope to be able help create some beautiful music. From Angra to Maiden, from Rhapsody to Priest, it's all good to me...

I'm a huge fan of operatic tenors.. and have pretty much a 0% chance of ever doing that hahaha.

aldertate: If you ever have an interest to know how an operatic tenor makes those sounds... post a query here. We have some folks that could tell you.

Don: These other posters are right... you have this tunes down very well. Its enjoyable to listen to. Nice swing style. I'd be surprised if anyone here would be cruel with the pipes you've got.

There are some things that I'd like to hear you add to these recordings... a little bit more presence in the mix. They are just a leeeetle bit too mellow. It may be that your amp EQ is just a shade soft in the 2800 to 3200 range, but 6 or 9 dB boost there would bring some sparkle to the mix, and also would bring your voice just a bit forward from the accompanyment.

Alternatively, you could accomplish the same thing by adding just a smidgen of twang. Not much, just a touch will add the boost that I think would be benficial.

At any rate, this is good stuff. I know the original recordings (David Clayton Thomas, Sinatra, et al) and you sing them at a very professional level. Congrats, and welcome to TMV. Post some more, would you?

I'll echo what the others have said. Your tone quality is easy and free, and just slightly on the breathy side, which is fine for this song. Its pleasant to listen to.

I see from your pix that you may be recording while sitting. I'd like to suggest that you try this song standing up, and with the accompanyment separately mic'd. Singing while sitting, especially while playing a guitar, tends to crunch the body forward a bit, which puts a bit more air on the voice than would result if standing. Give it a try, I think you'll find that your tone quality becomes clearer automatically.

When performing this song for a group of people in a larger room, when there is no amplification, I think you will want to add just a bit more energy to the consonants, and use a slightly firmer tone. Soft consonants tend to get covered up by the reverberation of vowels in a room, which will affect the clarity of the words.