Olem

Hello, singers! This song is one of my favourites, i love this song, it has everything, soft parts and aggressive parts and some stunning singing from James Labrie. I think Labrie is at his peak here, and that i even try to give this one a shot is so ridiculous but i only want to sing songs that give me an emotional boost so... . One thing that struck me when i sang this song was that i didn´t stand a chance when it came to hold my tone as long as Labrie does. I also couldn´t sing the whole song without sooner or later running out of support so i divided it into parts and mixed it together. There are many other things i fail with i guess and i would appreciate some feedback here of what that might be according to you, everything that comes to your mind is welcome. I couldn´t find a backing track so Labrie is lurking in the background but i hope you can hear my voice well enough. If not i can send my vocals only. http://www.box.net/shared/sy2fksu786 Thanx in advance/ Ola

Cool posts, Akarawd, i didn´t know about this Bruce story and thanx for your tips also, i am sure they are valuable.

Sorry for my bad writing skills. Adding to that i am a little drunk:D tonight. English is also not my native language.

Thanx for your advice, Ron. I was wondering though, why not use the diphtong "ai" in "lives"? It feels to me a more open resonant vowel than "eh"and it´s also easy to twang.

Thanx for your answers Martin and Ron. I totally agree with you, Ron, you analysed the song like i did. I am a little uncertain of my twang calibration here, i beleive i should twang more on all my samples to have a more pleasant sound, but i don´t want a too bright sound if you know what i mean, i don´t want to sound like Axl Rose in "run for your lives", i have nothing against Axl´s voice it´s not that of course. I will search more for twang, i am not 100 % sure of which vowels are the best to twang. "Ee" and "Ih" i know work because you could put the back of your tongue against the molars which is good for twanging on those vowels, but is there another technique that allows you to twang on all vowels? Ok, Martin, then i am on the right path i guess and that´s a releif. It feels like i am pulling chest, but maybe it´s just a normal tension going on when raising the pitch. Raising the soft pallate instead of lowering the larynx makes sense, higher notes require a higher larynx, especially when you deal with D5 and E5 as is the case here.

Maybe i have bitten off more than i could chew when i try to imitate Bruce, he´s a fantastic singer, but the higher goals you set the higher you reach people say I have sung "Run To The hills" for some time now and i could have taken on a more easy task, i know , but i like big challenges. To sound close to Bruce, i have heard that dark curbing, or a high mix with a lower larynx something, is what you aim for here. I have practised alot the crying sound with restrain but i feel something is wrong, i feel like there is too much weight ( i am getting paranoid with this pulling chest thing) behind it even if i lower the volume and it sounds kinda choked. If i add rasp (better adduction?) to it it sounds better i think. I try to lower the velocity but even if i do i can feel the larynx shooting up, maybe there is still too much breath presssure. I could lower the larynx but then it sounds too dopey. The solution is to add twang i have read, but i am a little uncertain if you could do that to all the vowels on this chorus. Which vowels could you twang? It´s pretty easy for me to add rasp and i like to add alot of rasp. Is it safe to add alot of rasp, i feel like i can´t avoid some air coming through the cords, i try to support like hell but... well, now it feels like the post has become alittle incoherent . Ok, nevermind, i give you some examples and then i would appreciate if yould could share your thoughts with me. Curbing? http://www.box.net/shared/5ezahd7l11 http://www.box.net/shared/179xg2gunb Dark curbing? http://www.box.net/shared/18gumg84ze http://www.box.net/shared/ahorlc7iqn Overdrive with rasp? http://www.box.net/shared/mvh9hmtobe http://www.box.net/shared/c6hlpufqr9 http://www.box.net/shared/rtz4jkdnfc Thanx in advance/ Ola

Thanx for your answers, guys. Snax: Thanx alot for the tip, the breath pressure is a fine line for me, i´m working hard on it, it´s very easy to either run into falsetto (if you put too little effort) or pulling chest. Jonpall: I am practising phrases and i was focusing epecially on the chorus. Douglas and Jonpall: Are there any particular phrases you think of? Take care/ Ola

Awesome as always Snax! You are ready to go to the big metal scene, if you find some great musicians you could be a big name.

Thanx for your replies, Ron and Ronron and Jonpall. Ron and Ronron, are you related, maybe father and son ? Jonpall, are there any specific phrases you think of? I can hear that the first phrase in the chorus is a little off pitch and i can also hear that there is a little too much vocal weight in it so i will correct that. By the way, in what keys are the final phrase in the chorus? Do you know that Jonpall?

At my last effort i received some critique that i pulled chest too much for this song . I have been working on that, remade the verses and some parts of the chorus. I have tried to get high curbing or metal like neutral for the chorus and also added some growl on the verses. So, what do you think and what could still improve? Thanx in advance/ Ola http://www.box.net/shared/n2t1kn89q1 EDIT. The "Run To The Hills" phrase in chorus altered and volume for music. http://www.box.net/shared/jpu2s65rqi

Thanx, for your help, guys, i really appreciate it.

so the next task will be to find the mixed voice or curbing. By the way, i am not sure i know the notes for the chorus. Could someone help me with that. C5 to E5 or something?

Well, i must say, this is amazing stuff. I like your raspy tone. I don´t think you failed at all even though i haven´t heard the song "wicked", but it sure sounded good. I just heard some minor flaws in the "Jesus christ pose". One thing i especially noted where you seemed to be out of breath after the high part in the line "in your jesus christ pose" since you skipped the beginning of the phrase. Sometimes you could hear Chris Cornell in the background and that makes it difficult to evaluate your voice there. But i must say, you really got talent and i hope you sing in a band so people could hear your fantastic voice. Cheers, Ola!

Thanx for your replies, guys! Well, i am pulling chest to get a fuller, more chesty, tone and i know it´s not a good thing to do, besides it´s not sounding so well either. The thing is, i can´t go to head voice before A4 without getting a tiny falsettoish tone. I have practised alot around passagio, but i guess i am doing something wrong and maybe i have to contact a vocal teacher. Well someone was asking for a chorus in mln (metal like neutral), so i´ll post two examples with head voice or falsetto, whatever you want to call it. Please, tell me what you think. In my opinion it´s not very connected. http://www.box.net/shared/qit3fqj8g7 http://www.box.net/shared/mxrg8tqr2m

Hello! Please ignore the fact that i sing out of time. I sang with the original song in my ears and later found out that the backing track was a little slower, i will try this song again in a few days and then sing after the backing track. To get the Dickinson sound was difficult, i tried very hard to get a strong hold in the chorus. I also sang with MLN, but skipped that because i thought it sounded a little weak. Maybe i am way out of line, that´s why i ask for your opinions. What do you think, how do my vocals sound here? http://www.box.net/shared/tbvvsjgvae

I posted this thread some time ago and was a little surprised to see it grow significantly these last couple of days. But i see some good points here. Firstly, i was looking for a backing track without any vocals but couldn´t find it and i can see the problems with not fully hearing my voice. From now on i will not sing to a regular song anymore, i thought my voice was distinct but clearly it isn´t and also as someone pointed out it could effect my performance with timing. Eleet, you have some good tips there, i am a litte unpatient and just like to sing songs right away without any profound preperations but i realize now that i need to do some "homework" before i put out a result. Thanx, all you guys for taking your time to answer my post.

Sounded very similair to Robert Plant, you and your band did a great job and you will have a great response from the audience when you pull this off on stage. Cheers!

Thanx for your reply Akarawd! Yes, i am doing it for fun, when i have had a boring or stressful day it´s just such a releif to go down to my basement and release some frustration .I can hear that i´m out of pitch on many spots of this song. I will do another take and try to be more on pitch and also work with the timing, i think one reason that my timing is a little bad is because i´m focusing so hard to stay in the twang/distortion mode, when it´s more easy for me to stay in this mode i think my rhythm will be better because then i can pay more attention to the rhythm.

Hi, there! This is not an easy song but you made it justice. You have obviously a very strong head voice, that´s your strong part. Your pitch is fluttering a little in some parts and i would also prefer a little more twang like Ron. But overall, a great effort.

Well, another AC/DC tune here. I practise alot around passagio now and trying to have that full voice but sometimes i just want to sing something that i can do fairly well namely reinforced falsetto. So, what do you think? Am i alot off pitch here, pitch recognition is something that i have problems with. Any tip are most welcome. I can add just vocals if someone has problems hearing my voice. http://www.box.net/shared/jn40slnkle Thanx in advance/ Ola

Great effort, Geno! I especially liked that you put your emotions into this song. Flawless, only one with a very trained ear like Steven could hear any flaws i guess :/

Great singing and great recording sound quality. I didn´t react to anything that sounded strange or misplaced, i just listened and enjoyed. It was so good that i actually could buy it if it was out on a record store. Keep up the good work!

Hello, mvrasseli! I listened to your Queen cover and i liked it very much, the more laid-back version of this song worked for me even though i prefer the more rockier style. You have a very clean, strong voice. The thing you could and should try to improve is, as you said, your pronounciation. By the way, i have a brasilian wife, i am swedish and we live in sweden. My wife´s residence when she lived in Brasil was Rio de Janeiro. Where are you living?

Hello, Ron! Please, fix your sound quality issues . What i could hear you sounded great on this track, but i think your voice deserves a better outcome. Maybe your economy doesn´t allow it but if i were you i would save some money and buy a new mic or computer or whatever it is that is quenching your voice in your recordings. You have propably heard this before so sorry to mention it again if that´s the fact.

Great singing in a genre i also love to sing in. You have a very powerful voice and with some slight adjustments which Jens, who is an amazing contributor on this forum and others if you love to sing, especially metal, helps you with here, you will sound perfect in this area. Keep ut the good work.