ronws

"Space Oddity" by David Bowie

https://app.box.com/s/833kbbutu5ygsbr66sbp

 

"Space Oddity" by David Bowie

https://app.box.com/s/833kbbutu5ygsbr66sbp

 

Great Job Bzean and Gsoul.
I was working on a Glenn Fry song and may upload it later. Too much thought going into it.
This is more the way I work. Remember a song, look up Lyrics and chords and just record it. The melody may be a little off and there is no embellishment. Just my way of interpreting the story.   Here is one for  Merle.

Did a first short take of the song by doing the first verse and chorus. I'll be doing this challenge gradually by working on things and posting them over time =)
 
 

video blocked by copyright protection.
RJD is smiting you from the grave.

To me, it sounds like a belt, whether you are actually belting or not. It is possible to use head voice and have it sound like a belt. This requires you to let go of physical ideas of what is belt or head voice and instead, go for the strength of sound. And that is mental, which is the hardest thing of all.

Bravo, Bzean, bravo.
 

Sounds like you are on the right track, good and solid. I could pay you the compliment others have paid me. You have an A4 that sounds free and easy, like you live there.

As we just about come up on the halfway point of 2016, we've unfortunately lost several big names in music. Prince, David Bowie, and Maurice White of Earth, Wind and Fire, just to name a few. This is a challenge where we will challenge ourselves by selecting a song from the catalog of one of these great artists and attempting to sing it ourselves.
The only requirement for this challenge is that the song must be by somebody who passed away in 2016.
As far as time limits for this one goes, I was thinking about 45 days but suggestions are welcome.

Good song Javastorm,  Write more songs. For a first attempt at writing you did great.
Song writers need only worry about lyrics melody and basic chord progression.
Sure if you plan on releasing this yourself and playing all instuments and such, then maybe thoughts on percussion and musical composition, points and counterpoints should be considered. BUT, most of the time drum patterns, bass lines and background embellishments are left to the studio musicians. They are given a chord sheet and a tempo. They do not get the whole composition writen for them. They use their own discretion and their sense of musicality. If things do not go as expected they are then given a basic direction.
Do not stop writing because someone thinks that it should have drums or bass lines or other embelishments. The original composition is basic. Chord pattern, tempo and melody and lyrics. Write songs, Let the arrangers worry about where to put a snare tap and a cymbol crash or maybe more cowbell.
    Let your Guitar and voice provide the tempo, intensity and mood. You did a good job.

When I read the thing about songs for cities or states, I immediately thought of "Fool for the City" by Foghat.
 

And not everyone is going to have the same ease with this stuff that you do. And I know because I have dragged and dropped and it takes a while. That's why it is easier to play the casio because at least that is like drumming on a desk top with my fingers.
I guarantee if he had come up with even a basic 4 on the floor boom-chuck, others would have pooped on that for not being expressive enough.
Nor do people have to be multi-instrumentalists to be good musicians. There were and are other good musicians besides Prince in the world. Just to trust me on that, I have been around just a little longer.
Last, maybe he really did feel that this song is best without percussion. And now, all I see is  talk about is how it needs percussion. I thought we were going to be supportive of songwriting. Or is this because not enough people give kudos to good songwriting, so it is easier to pick apart the one thing the song does not have?
For example, one favorite song of my wife and mine is "Leader of the Band" by Dan Fogelberg. Not a drum or anything but guitar in there. Even live, the rest of the band actually will leave the stage for a potty break while Dan would do that one.
I really do promise, it is okay to do an acoustical guitar song without drums on it, really and truly.

Hehe, thanx Ron. You are kind as always. I, myself, am not totally pleased with this cover, it is a damn hard song, the phrases sung goes so fast. I twist my toungue when i for example  sing "the horse he sweats with fear...". Sometimes the phrases are stuck in my throat especially on the first verse i think.
 
 

As for programming drums, it is one thing to have ez drummer or something like it, it is another thing to know how to use it well. If someone, like Killer, already actually knows how to play drums, then it is not so bad. But I would not expect a singer here just picking up the guitar to play as well or as easy as I do since I have played guitar since 1974.
I can play drums with my Casio LK-165 by hand, on the keys. And guess what? It sounds like someone who doesn't normally play drums is trying to play drums.

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I just had an audition last night and nailed all of the songs better than I've ever done before.  I thought my voice would deteriorate the older I got, but it's better now than it was when I was 20, thanks to Robert's program.  I'm super stoked at the possibilities since I've only begun with the foundation building routine.  I can't wait to get more in depth with the program. It's like I've had blinders on all of my life and was too afraid to admit I could learn a thing or too. 

Listen to an opera singer and hear how they do ah, eh, oh, ee, and oo. Then, do that.
 

When I read the thing about songs for cities or states, I immediately thought of "Fool for the City" by Foghat.
 

Quit speaking the words and sing them, You hung way to long on the r sound in "girl," for example. Listen to Brandon. He is not reciting, he is a musical instrument.

Get well. Whatever your doctor says, do that.

Rock on, brother from another mother.

I've been teaching a lot of new students lately, so haven't had time to dive into the course as much lately. Granted, I've been teaching the onsets in more of a TVS way now, and have noticed a big improvement on helping my student's get results even faster than before, not just that but pinpoint issues extremely fast too. For myself, it has given me a lot more control over my voice as well, but in ways I didn't know were even an issue. This is exactly the type of program I've been looking for, since I feel I'm already pretty advanced in my singing.
I'm writing this just to say thank you for one thing in particular. After learning the lift up/pull back technique, using TVS coordination onsets, and even contract & release (although I overused it at first, ouch, lol!), my opened up my voice more than I thought possible. Before, I could easily sing a C5, even up to an E5 while belting, but only for about 30 minutes before feeling some fatigue. I could even belt up to a G#5 for a very short period. With the fatigue, I figured I was pushing too hard, but didn't know another way. So, with the new album being written, I simply started writing and altering my songs to stay lower in pitch than that.
After practicing TVS methodology, I quickly realized just how much a belt is truly just head voice with TA being added. With this realization, I could suddenly control the volume and pressure of my belting much more than before. I can belt the E5 for hours now. To be clear, I know the difference in sensation and sound from a true belt vs. falsetto with twang or added harshness. I haven't ventured much above that, since I currently still fight the urge to push. The last time I belted the G#5, I was teaching a soprano a certain song, and didn't realize how high I was singing until it started hurting 15 minutes in. Then it was too late, I had pulled a muscle and it took me 3 months to recover. Needless to say, I'm overly cautious about belting above the E5 now. Not that I normally sing anything that calls for anything higher than that anyway. 
I'm very excited about this discovery, and I'm looking forward to the lesson on belting to refine it even more. Thank you for taking the pressure off my upper belt range. This will be extremely important as The Silent Still begins to tour our Rock Circus Masquerade production at the end of this year.

thanks, part of it was leaning towards a Roger Waters vocal sound
 
Klaus would be REALLY hard to duplicate lol

I liked it and I thought I would have a challenge hearing it because I am so used to Klaus' voice. But I like how your voice sounds on this.
 

Most any video with a good quality soundtrack is lip-synched. it is the nature of the beast. And at least you have some brasilian heart and that's what counts.