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Rich - I like your arrangement - very nice. Singing lightly in curbing up there is not real easy. There is still intensity to it even when done lightly because the TA and CT muscles are working against each other. When you sing in falsetto or neutral it is mostly just the CT muscles so you can sing as quiet as you want to. If you want to learn how to do sing this way - the fastest way is with a DVD instructional video or by taking lessons from someone who knows how to teach it.

Validar - Thanks for your comments! Yes - as I love Dream Theater I take it as a big compliment! anonimuzz - Thanks for listening and commenting. ronws - "as mixed by Kansas" - Funny!

anominuzz - I'm using Sonar X1 as my DAW software. For vocals I'm using a KSM24 mic with a pop filter. I've also got a reflexion filter which simulates a vocal booth without taking up so much space. The reflexion filter gets rid of the effect of the room. The natural sound of a room can be good or bad. But when you record the sound of the room along with your voice it is there forever - you can't get rid of it. I prefer to record my voice as dry as possible and then add different kinds of reverb to simulate different kinds of rooms depending on the song. I use a UX2 pre-amp that the mic goes into, and it connects to the computer through USB. The UX2 is nice because it has phantom power and headphone output. It alows me to monitor my voice with reverb while recording completely dry into Sonar. While my setup is fairly inexpensive compared to other people's, you can go much cheaper than mine and still acheive great results.

Ok - that makes sense. The piano part was very quiet in the recording compared to your voice. If that's the same balance your hearing during the recording it could explain the slight pitch issues. You may not be hearing the piano at times because your voice may be masking the piano. There are also some very complex chromatic / intervallic melodies which would be tough for any singer to sing perfectly. I don't mean to over-emphasize the pitch issues because for the most part you are right on. On the equipment side, if you want to make recordings in the future, it may not be bad to invest a couple bucks. I do a lot of recording and have found it to really help my singing. I've used it as a development tool. It's always good to get know how you sound on the "outside". A teacher can provide that feedback, or you can too, through critical listening of your own recordings. However, for a long time I would record in a bad environment where the room and mic were giving me false readings - like a weird midrange quality to my voice. And for years I convinced myself that I just didn't have a "good" voice - it was depressing. Of course that was wrong and everyone has the ability to develop a great voice.

Nice job on that one. That is a big song with a difficult melody and a lot of dynamics. Not an easy one for sure. Your tone is nice for this tune and your vibrato is just about perfect for it. Not heavy and it comes in at the right spots. There are a couple pitch problems here and there - If you usually hit the pitches with no problem, it may simply be a result of inadequate monitoring during the recording - not sure how you were monitoring?

jonpall - Here is the new version: http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=9925494 EZdrummer is good - I've got it. Superior Drummer 2.0 is it's big brother - both created by Toontrack. I upgraded from EZD to SD2 for $99 when they had a special last fall. I had been using Addictive drums which is also good. Sounds like you've got a very nice setup. The quality of recording you are doing is excellent. A couple years ago I bought a large diaphram condenser for vocals - Sure KSM24. Your mic is more than adequate. Yes - that's me on the guitar on Carry On. The original Solo was pretty short and they also had an Organ solo. I start out playing the orginal solo and then keep going with my own solo through what would be the Organ solo. I'll try those distortion ideas. I would like to be able to turn it on and off at will - safely. Thanks for your ideas. analog - thanks for the comments! I really appreciate it!

jonpall - thanks for your comments! I was actually putting some finishing touches on a new version of Eleanor Rigby when I read your post and thought I better update my web page. I've got all new drums / bass and I changed up the 3rd verse with a Drums / Vocal only section. If you get a chance please check it out and see what you think. On mixing - thank you - yes I've been putting in a lot of time especially the last month as I've been switching out all my drums from Addictive Drums to Superior Drummer 2.0. I'm searching for ways to practice distortion and your recent post is a good example of how to do it. I'm so paranoid that I'm doing it wrong that I haven't really developed a serious practice regimine for it yet.

Josh - It sounds really good and can I can hear the slight out of tune but it isn't that bad. Sounds like a little bit of the constrictors are getting involved making things a little tight and then slighter harder to control. You've got a nice thing going on with the distortion. I agree with jonpall on the curbing. Sounds like you are in curbing but maybe not in the center. If you hit the center of the curbing vowels it is going to help release that tension.

That was so fun to listen to I played it a couple of times! Nice job Jonpall. I love the improv and it was nicely produced.. I like that slight delay or reverb you're using. As far as the distortion - it sounds great. Where do you feel it? How high in the throat do you feel it? Above the larynx? Back of the tongue?

I left a comment yesterday, but I see it never made it to this thread. Marcus - Your voice sounds great on these songs. Really nice screaming high notes in the second song. Please extend my compliments to your guitarist friend for the spectacular guitar playing.

Ron - nice job! Good recording too. You've got a great tone for this song. I used to play that one when I was younger too. Back then I couldn/t do the high parts at the end.

Nice job Ron! Your voice is nice and consistent and free thoughout the passagio range which is difficult to do. Nice resonance up there too.

Hey that's great! Big Power Ballad - I love it. Nice arrangment - like the guitar work. Vocals are top notch. And I really dig the lyrics - great chorus and hook with the lyrics. I like the high screaming background vocals. Excellent job! How did you record? Same studio or send files back and forth?

Thanks Mike!

Ron - that new mic makes all the difference! That sounds good - it is a very high and difficult song to sing. I like your G#5 Scream at the end! Are you monitoring with headphones and reverb when you record?

Chavie - Thanks for your comments! I really liked your song too! Jens - Great to see you! Thanks for listening!

Thanks a lot Ron!

Chavie - that sounded awesome! Nice recording too! I'm using a Sure KSM27. Large Diaphram Condensers are commonly used for vocals, although you can use dynamics or ribbons just fine too. Be sure to get a pop filter if you don't already have one. One thing that is critical for me is how you monitor yourself during recording.

That sounds really good! Nice support and phrasing. Good job!

Ok - here's a song I finished a couple months ago. I start out with the lightest curbing I can make up in the E4 - A4 range. Most the time above E4 I'm curbing - except 1:33 which is Overdrive on G4. Paul McCartney and the rest of those Beatles guys had great control up in that range. I think they were curbing most of the time. They knew how to do it really lightly, which is not easy. It always amazed me how natural sounding they were up there. http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=9925494

I think you did an outstanding job. The vocals are very good, in and out of head voice nicely.

Mike - that's a pretty difficult song to sing. Not much below B4 and a lot of sustained B4's that are sung well. You've got a great thick head voice. I remember you said you learned a really efficient way to sing high - glottal compression or something?

Hi Janet! Good to see you here on this forum! If you want to get better at singing you've come to the right spot! The folks here are very helpful. Your voice has a nice quality to it. I would say that in addition to breathing, if you brightened up the tone a bit with a little twang, and trying the smile thing Ron mentioned, you'd be headed in the right direction.

Great job overall. You have great control over those high notes.

Mike - that sounds excellent - I like hearing these different styles from you.