Marcus

I love Kamelot, with both Khan and Karevik on vocals. This sounds great. Your voice sits well with this type of singing, nice vocal timbre. The word "widsdom" on the chorus have a tendency to get a little splatty, so I'd watch that. Otherwise it sounds pretty perfect to my ears. Good job! Maybe some more mixing and editing to get the vocals to sit better with the music could be done.

I actually liked this big time! I like this kind of music, and your voice fits this very well. Nice to hear you use the lower part of your voice a bit. It sits really well with this type of music. Yes, it's a bit rough, but this makes me really want more from you guys! I'll keep on eye out for more demos and a coming album. I don't think the guitar riff is too repetivie, but I agree that the guitar sound need some tweaking.

I've been working on my distorsion lately. Jens, my old friend and also member of this forum, had a session with me on distorsion and it feels like it payed off big time. I feel like I have better control over distorsion, and can also ad smaller or bigger amounts of distorsion at will. And now I don't blow up the volume big time when I ad distorsion either. I've always been a very clean singer, and always envied singers who had an easy time on distorsion. In this song I really wanted to work on and incorporate the distorsion techniques I'm finally getting pretty solid. Tell me what you think, and if something could be improved! https://www.dropbox.com/s/g9j9b8nznd3neq3/Marcus%20-%20Grenades%20%28cover%29.mp3 Thanks in advance / Marcus

Generally I think it sounds really good, and I think you have the notes within your range. You just need to work on getting some more compression going on the top notes. Karevik, like Kahn, have sort of a light an smooth voice, and I think you're well on your way in the same direction. Would it be possible for you to add a bit more twang on the top notes to get some more compression? And one small thing - you sometimes rush the tempo a bit (I thought about it most in the first verse), you could try to "lean backwards" a bit more tempowise and I think you'd be spot on.

Damn you sound great! Nice singing, nice feeling. Real professional! If I'd change anything, I'd hold those notes by the end a little longer, if possible (from 02.55 when you sing the word summer). That's the ONLY thing I could think of to improve it (wich ofcourse means it's a flawless performance). I like the mix of the music better on this than I Love Rock And Roll

Flawless singing man! Vocals really rock in this one! I love the slight constant grit you have going. High notes sound supe. Could agree with others that the music could do with some mixing, but that's just on a sidenote.

I also fancy the acoustic version, really good job on that one! The first track was a little strained on the top notes, at least I thought the second one sounded much more relaxed and comfortable for you. I liked the vocal colour you're getting at with this one! (Off topic: for me this song is so much School of Rock with Jack Black. Maybe 'cause I've seen that movie so many times )

Thank you very much guitartrek! Will immediately tell Kristoffer, I'm so glad I'm able to work with such a talented guitar player!

Thank you very much for the nice comments ronws! Glad to hear you like it! :D

Alright, here's a speedyshare upload if you can't access the myspace page! http://www.speedyshare.com/files/26414241/Optimum_Minimum_-_Princess_Of_The_Night.mp3 http://www.speedyshare.com/files/26414242/Optimum_Minimum_-_Galaxy_X.mp3

Hey people! Just recored two new songs together with my guitarist friend. Usually Jens is also singing in this project, but since he's not in town it's only me singing the ballad "Princess Of The Night" and the mid tempo "Galaxy X". http://www.myspace.com/optimumminimum Any suggestions for vocal improvement would be welcome. Cheers / Marcus

Very good! Crazy and cool, I really like the way you use your voice! :D

Thanks people! Feels good to be writing some music again. Have been performing other peoples songs for six months now, and although I love performing it's nothing like writing your own music.

It feels good to be home, if only for a few days. I think we did a good job on this song We actually did a myspace for this too, being a new band constellation and all: www.myspace.com/optimumminimum

Wow, thank you very much for the nice words! Two years ago I couldn't sing that high For me James Lugo's program Vocal Asylum made me discover my belt voice/tenor register. I have some education in musical theatre (2 years) before starting to work out with Lugo's stuff, but back then I was a basso/baritone. I've been doing some Singing Success (Brett Manning), and Raise Your Voice (Jamie Vendera), and Singing For The Stars (Seth Riggs), and reading up on Complete Vocal Technique (Cathrine Sadolin, I think everybody should at least read it, it's amazingly good knowledge). The key for me was Lugo's stuff though, some methods just seem to klick easier than other approaches, so you have to find what works for you. And I must say that all you people here on the forum have really helped me a lot! Without you guys maybe I wouldn't have mustered the energy, because it takes time with vocal development. And when I've been feeling stuck you have given me new hope. And I'm far from done, I think you never really are. A singer always have to strive for improvement. I want to get better, so if you have any suggestions please let me know. Nowadays I don't really think so much about the moving around stuff, dancing and singing simultaneously seem to work out most of the times Uploaded a clip on Youtube, from our show Welcome To The Circus:

Hey peeps! One of the guests from the Blue Village Hotel I've been working at all summer seson posted a clip on youtube. It's from our Eurovisionshow. Some comments and critique would be appreciated. I'll see if I can make some more clips to post, I have some nice recordings from our rock show and a show called Viva Nordica as well. I have three days off before going to the next destination, and if I have some spare time I'll try to throw them together and post them. Here's the clip with Fairytale

Thank you so much for the great advices! Now it was a bit more than half a year since I recorded the song and I've been working a lot more with my tenor range since then, so a lot have happened with my top notes (the TMV forum song is a more recent example of me singing). Articulation is always good to work on, so I will think some more about that! Daniel, I will try your excercise with a finger between my teeth! Right now I have no oppurtunity to record anything new, but I will be posting more when I come back home to Sweden in october/november. Thank you Chele for the compliment!

I think Singing Success is really good, it helps a lot with a smooth high register. I personally believe you should read and listen and watch as much as possible conserning voacal research and methods of training. And then you put together something of your own that suits your needs. But a program like Singing Success is easy to get into since the excercises are all there to just sing along with. A good compliment would probably be Complete Vocal Technique by Cathrine Sadolin since there's a lot of good writing in it about healthy vocal use and breath support. It gives you a good overall perspective of the voice. Where I live you can borrow CVT from the local library, so check that out where you live too! Try to do some of the SS excercises, a good thing to keep in mind is that it should never hurt to sing. Listen closely to the examples and instructions. When you can afford lessons with a vocal coach I think you should take some, most of the work you do at home when practicing but a coach can set you in the right direction and tell you how to properly do the excercises.

With vocal weight I mean that your voice is bigger in the bottom of your register. If you try to bring all that big voice up to the top it will be very hard work for you. So imagine you're unloading some of that weight as you ascend a scale or singing a song thinning it out more and more as you go up. This way you can stay in chestvoice much longer, and later make a smooth transition into headvoice, the break being less noticable or not noticable at all depending on how much training you put into it. Don't thin it out too much though - you still want to sound chesty. Eventually it will become more like a blend of registers in the area around your break. Listening to your clip I don't really think you have a problem with bringing too much vocal weight up to the top, but it's just a thing to keep in mind. Do you do any vocal training on regular basis? Any particular programmes or methods you're training with? Sorry for the late reply! I have been traveling and been busy with work.

I like the tone of your voice, it really suits the music. And I like the song! But as you said it is bit pitchy. I think it would be easier to give you some help if you recorded something where you sang as you normally would and took the time to make a take that you're satisfied with. But here goes - don't reach up for the high notes - imagine everything at the same "level". This will make you strain less. Work on adding more twang, and lay off some vocal weight as you go higher up in your range. Pulling up the heavy chestvoice isn't really healthy. As for this song I think you're almost there with the notes, it isn't that strained so just lay off a little more weight and you got it. The pitchy parts are the ones where you're holding on to a note for a longer period of time. Treat them as you treat the short notes, just hold on to it a bit longer. You obviously can sing on pitch, so don't worry about it. Is this a cover song or a song of your own? 'cause if it's your own creation - consider rewriting the melody on "three words for you" to make it easier for you to manage it when singing. I know from personal experience that you sometimes write things that's a little too hard for you, and you SO want to be able to sing it. With practice you will get there, but it may take some time and devotion. So in the meantime, rewrite it to an easier melody and devote yourself to vocal excercise until you can sing it as you want to sing it. Hope it helps!

Hi all! I've added a song on my myspace, would be glad for some constructive criticism on the vocal parts. www.myspace.com/marcuscarlen So much have happened with my voice in the past year. I've gone from being a low baritone/bass with a strained chestvoice up to F# above middle C to being able to hit tenor high c in belted chest without straining too much. This is much thanks to Vocal Asylum by James Lugo (and I've been doing Singing Success excercises too). Still I think there's more to improve and it's hard to hear everything yourself. Anything from technique recommendations to pronounciation and feeling would be gladly accepted. / Marcus