Snejk

NP EVERYONE can learn vibrato. You will always be able to oscillate faster in falsetto/head than in your lowest chest simply because of weight =) Maybe that's why..? Falsetto/head vibrato is much easier to control as well.

Like you, I don't have a natural vibrato but after I heard Michael Kiskes well pronounced vibrato I decided to get it as well.. I quickly learned that you can't apply the same vibrato technique in all registers. I started with just semi-tonal wobbling that matched the songss rhythm and then I just tried and failed in other registers til I tried and succeeded https://soundcloud.com/archdementh/archania-rise Listen to this, the first half of the first verse I use two entirely different vibrato techniques. And as I play with bright tenor sound and fuller baritone sound I also have to adapt the vibrato technique accordingly. The vibrato in the shriek at 3:30 is entirely diaphragm as opposed to the simple larynx wobbling in the first strophe of the song. Learning vibrato is CRUCIAL in learning how to wail in a pleasant and controlled way simply because, well, a vibrato that YOU are in 100% control of means you can just wail it away through the octaves using the exact same technique but not just using it for semi-tonal oscillation =)

Exactly. Beyonce is one example of one who is skilled but still wails to such a degree it's detrimental to the song and seems more like a way to flaunt her prowess :/ I do it sparingly because sometimes it just catches an emotion that a straight melody line doesn't. But they are always improvised, never pre-written.. At least that's how I work EDIT: I googled it and it seems "wailing" as a term describing agile interval leaps is not very common in English o_O Weird because here you hear it all the time "att waila sönder en låt" (to ruin a song by wailing). It's not even a Swedish word, yet everyone who's watched Idol or The Voice here hears the judges using the term constantly when someone does "licks and runs".. The things you learn, heh... EDIT 2: "Wail eller vocal riffing, melismer eller licks som det även kallas, är sångliga utsmyckningar. Att waila är att göra små melodiförändringar, mer eller mindre förutbestämda eller helt improviserade. Soulgenrerna har gjort det till en egen konstart, men det är också ganska vanligt inom både rock och pop. Det viktiga är att veta när, var och hur mycket som behövs för att åstadkomma önskad effekt. Wail ska vara en krydda som förstärker det musikaliska uttrycket och inte stå i vägen för kärnan i musiken" "Wail, or 'vocal riffing', melisms or licks as it's also called, are vocal ornates. To wail is to make small changes in melody, more or less pre-written or entirely improvised. Soul genres have made it into a standalone artform, but it's also pretty common in both rock and pop. The important thing is to know when, where and how much of it is needed to achieve a desired effect. Wail should be a 'spice' that enhances the musical expression and not stand in the way for the core of the music."

That is what's known as wailing like I said in the second post.

Wailing would in the context be quick interval leaps. I am no expert at it but I'll show you what I mean (this is also an iphone recording, nice to see someone else using the phone for musical purposes! ) Around 1:20 or 1:30... https://soundcloud.com/archdementh/no-time-for-us It's a bit iffy but I improvised it on the spot (as I assume you did as well while recording).

Well, I'd say you're being way to harsh on yourself. You have the innate talent. I'd say that you're working from the wrong direction though. You have some agility in your voice and that is an awesome asset not many have/can control. However you wail and search for notes waaaay too much. This leads to many of the notes being 'sour'. I can only speak from my own experience (started singing in the shower at 22 years of age, I'm 29 now) and it was at around 25 that I started singing with my ears (if that doesn't get me into the funny farm..), being EXTREMELY attentive to every note I took and if I was just a wee bit off pitch, I would always acknowledge it and re-try. Pitch has been my biggest issue and the one I worked with the most and still continue to do. But to improve in that area, one must be willing to listen carefully to oneself while singing. Training your ears while training your voice. You're not tone deaf, but for acapella things you need to practice a lot by listening. Keep up the good work, because you have what it takes to be a great singer..ess.. Singstress.. Am I drunk?

Well, the difference on stage in such a setting is making it all sound coherent and all instruments blending into a unity, which you do. There is nothing amateurish :3 Then of course, we all want to keep developing our voices until our last breath, right? I know I don't ever want to say "Nah, I'm done now" First year? Well, then it's not complicated at all; you were born to be on stage :)

Kinda cool to hear your middle register, sounds very confident and you have made clear improvements to say the least :3

Ah so Trent was not as humble as I had hoped Thing is, to be honest (I really do not like this arrogant side of me), I think I -sing- the song (the original post one that is, not 'hurt'). I sing it with emotion, because, well.. I hated the song from the moment I heard the 'singer' first note.. BUT, the girl who showed it to me did so because it described our relationship... Shortly after she was put "behind bars" and I had no contact with her for many months. With an IQ of 158 and a total sense of estrangement from everyone due their cognitive simplicity... I immediately took notice of her not being 'mentally ill', but just so extremely intellectual that she couldn't handle the banality of the people around her. I was the first person she ever felt equal to but due to our age difference she had to suffer. So I heard the song a year later and my heart exploded basically and I just teared up.. So I went home and made up a simple piano arrangement and did my own version while the feelings were so extremely tangible and present... I think that the original has no emotional breadth or depth whatsoever due to the singers lack of any form of dynamics, pitch, rhythm or diversity in how to express phrases that are so extremely different in weight, but bound by the overall theme... That's why I did the falsetto thingies and made my own melodies because that was the feeling I got out between tearing up like a sissy. Yes, I'm that conceited...

I so did not expect this! I had no idea what you were singing whatsoever, but I was okay with that, because you were singing so well xD and.. Well... You are clearly a professional. Thanks for sharing this!

Haha MDEW, funny you should mention that... That was the first song I learned on the guitar, and the first youtube-video I have of me... I keep it on the tube simply because when I doubt myself, I look at it and get reminded that I actually have improved (yes, I oftentimes doubt my singing ability and any form of development) I heard the JC version first and the video brought me to tears (Yeah I'm a sissy like that). I recall Trent Reznor saying something like "It's not my song anymore, it's JC's" or something along those lines... In this case I surely appreciate one more than the other, but I could never deny TR's musicianship...

That is some great insight Felipe and I think I get what you're aiming. I started growing as a singer the moment I stopped imitating other singers and about two months ago I could actually look at myself and confidently admit to myself that I actually have some sort of talent - something that I would laugh at when people told me. For me, I want to go my own way and evolve based solely on what my intuition dictates. BUT, I am not really there yet, where I can disregard people's criticism entirely. I still question myself at times "maybe I just overestimate myself and should have a reality check"... But when I get goosebumps from listening to my own songs... I try to let that override my need for external validation. I don't want one voice. I want a hundred voices because I know I can't confine my emotions to "one voice". Maybe that will be detrimental to success and feel dissociated.. Maybe it will not, I don't know, but I do know that if I smile when I listen to my own singing, I am on the right track :3

Thanks for the input Felipe, it makes perfect sense. Yes, that version was the one that people were refering to, not the live one. Thing is, when I record I can't sing the same thing twice because it bores the crap out of me and ruins music for me.. Improvising while recording, just acting on the spur of the moment is what is important to me. It's what conveys my emotions into the music... The falsetto part for example.. I had a feeling I needed something to follow the "I will never see her again" but I didn't know what and then the falsetto-thing spontaneously blurted out of my mouth and I kept it as it were, no re-takes (it's the simplest of chord structures so improvising is easy)... But that is music for me. If there are two verses and the melody is the same for both.. I get thoroughly bored... I can only explain it like this; emotions are not as simple as love, heartbreak, happiness etc. When I think of something I have a hundred of feelings running through me simultaenously which all would fall under, say "sunshine". The only thing that really conveys emotions for me is melody. Whatever I do in life, wherever I may be, there are hundred of melodies inside me and sometimes I am lucky to grab one and it contains the hundreds of feelings that people place under one wordt. That's why I very seldom have a pre-written melody when recording, I prefer making them up as I go... Melody conveys such a vast emotional response in me that not even the most profficient wordsmith could match in less than a novel. Music to me is melody. Melody is my heart, soul and reason for being here. But of course, this is a learning process for me, and will continue to be a learning process throughout my entire life. I agree that it doesn't sound "connected" throughout, but that keeps me wanting to find the right melodies within me even more... https://soundcloud.com/archdementh/my-horse For example; this one I improvised entirely (not a cover) while recording, which is very notable on the silly lyrics... I just sang words that came to me and tried to make some sort of context out of it. I did one re-take of the whistling part because the first one was too pitchy and a second take for the shitty harmonies in the second verse. Improvising melodies is the truest and purest form of music for me. </pretentiousness>

Thanks This is pretty much the only time I've used grit (like.. fragility) when singing. But that's what I felt because of how hopeless the situation with the girl was I edited it with another video with the same song.

Wow thanks a bunch Benny If you liked that one, you will probably like the note at 0:30 in this one; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyYTNLtIw88 Tell me what you think Ron; I hear that.. Pitch accuracy is, for me, the most important aspect. The world's very best song is ruined if sung pitchy... Hopefully I can manage to appeal to people on a larger scale someday...

I want your really honest opinions. I have been flamed to bits and pieces for "totally butchering a masterpiece", "showing us that bad singing ruins good music" et cetera in about 25 comments scattered across several community sites. Now, I have responded diplomatically with "everyone likes different things. This is my interpretation and I skipped technical singing in favor of just singing with the emotions the song gave me". I've got two positive comments on it. One was from the girl I recorded it for. The other one was from another girl who had the hots for me. Why I ask you guys is because, am I really the definition of the Dunning-Kruger-effect or is the rest of the world wrong? I've found that usually, when the rest of the world is in agreement, that kinda says something... Here's the original; Here's my version; https://soundcloud.com/archdementh/no-time-for-us

Doubling solves! Best technique in the book for everything, including migraine and chronic chronism.

Technically speaking, I would say the vibrato needs some work so that you can control it better and make it sound connected to your voice because it sounds like you put ALOT of effort into every vibrato part, pronouncing oscillation discrepancies. Why do I always feel bad when giving critique? T_T It's all in the good will!

Hey, sounding good man. I like your calm low end; you got a cool confident/nonchalant vibe to it, I like :3 Your mid/high, while you have improves TONS, doesn't really have body/attitude. Maybe it's a stylistic choice?

Damn Ron, that pretty much made my day and most of next week When (not if xD) I become the rock star I was born to be, you are half the reason I got there :D

Hey MDEW and Validar, thanks for the comments! It's a stray from the heavy metal things I usually do, so it feels good that all the experimentation is not only appreciated by myself (hey, one should be one's biggest fan right?) xD Some level adjustments in the harmony department and it should be as good as done I think :3

Hmm, I guess it's because it's the critique section and most critique would be personal opinions on aesthetics rather than technical flaws. I improvised the harmonies and much of the melody line so I always had full control of what I did as opposed to when I butcher Helloween or Sonata Arctica songs where I'm way out of my league and in no control at all xD

No takers or haters? :(

A collaboration with a musician from across the globe. I really liked his instrumental; so I wanted to give it my best shot. I experimented a lot and was surprised to find that I had such a bright timbre that day as well as effortless access to notes well above the ones I struggled with even after a good warm up. I'm confused as to why my voice acted like this, I only experienced this twice over the years I have been singing and I always keep a neutral larynx unless I aim for a rich/thin color. I'm excited about the final mix, but here's a raw one. As always there are some pitchy moments that I always notice too late. Damn ears EDIT: Better mix https://soundcloud.com/archdementh/no-more-of-this