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Enander

TMV World Legacy Member
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Everything posted by Enander

  1. I'm not sure where I should put this as I don't know whether my problems stem from bad vocal technique or pure technical/recording/producing problems. Judas Priest - Painkiller is a typical song to sing, but I've always felt it was a bit too low for me so I pitched it up. I'm still not comfortable singing it, but when listening to the recording my voice sounds very "grounded" (as in: being placed far down in my throat, as opposed high up in my throat). However, the recording sounds worse than what I experienced and heard (with my own ears) when I actually recorded it. But, if you're listening with headphones and really crank up the volume those high frequencies pertained to "placing the voice high up in the throat" start to show up, and it sounds like it felt when I recorded it. It might just be my mic/mic placement as well other non-vocal problems, but it seems weird how such things would make such a big difference, so I feel there must be some vocal-technical issue as well. So, do you have any tips on how I can "lift my voice" from the lower part of the pharynx to the higher part of the pharynx? If that's the right way to go. I might be waaay off! How it sounds: https://soundcloud.com/rednane-kirderf/painkiller-test
  2. I recognise your voice so much! That's both a call to remind me and meant as a compliment. Your voice is very special and I really like your phrasing.
  3. It is, as you say, a very difficult and beautiful song! I can't listen to Donny without getting a bit teary-eyed, so I was listening with very judgmental ears, and you did great!
  4. Ah, cool! I guess the pakistani people I've met wasn't a good measure then. Absolutely, but you shouldn't worry about it! My ears are just very nitpicky, but: "Giggle", "disapproval", "should've", "mouthpiece", "say it", "is when I'm alone with you" and then some I'm not sure of, but I think you get what I'm getting at. Now, don't get me wrong, the performance is really great! I don't think most people will hear it; they will probably just percieve it as authenticity (that it hasn't been tempered with and that you're pouring your feelings into it). It's just that I've been listening for sour notes for years and probably been "damaged" haha!
  5. Great job! I don't mean to be rude, but your pronunciation is incredible for being from Pakistan! I've got a few pointers concering the chorus though. 1. Since "so take me to church" is a crucal phrase (it's the first thing the listener hears in the chorus and in some way sets the mood) it needs to be on point. Sadly, it's a bit too off pitch to really give it the right impact. Sure, with your timbre and the overall feeling of the song a bit of "pitchyness" just adds some authenticity (which is the case of the verse; really nice!), but I don't think this particular phrase is not something to take lightly. Just record it until it sounds spot on, and maybe try to emphasise the consonants a bit more. It might blend in better with the following phrases (which are rather distinct), but I'm not sure. Hard to say without hearing it for real. 2. "I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife" sounds lower than the previous phrase. You should adjust the volume so it feels like the whole chorus is one single take. 3. "And offer me that deathless death" lacks the reverb that the previous phrases had. I realise it's the same thing with "I was born sick, but I love it" in the verse, but it feels like a natural way to descend into the silence, whereas you probably should keep the reverb all the way through the chorus. Speaking of "I was born sick, but I love it"-phrase, if it were me, I'd keep the reverb during "I was born sick" and cut the reverb at the "but I love it" part to give it even more impact Just a humble tip!
  6. Haha! Sorry! I tend to put very short, random clips on private when they're "played out", but you should be able to access it now
  7. Ah, I see! I just sang it, and I think it will sort it self out quite easily for you once you relax your jaw a bit. I think different vowel placement might do the trick; try open up a bit more. Yeah, do the full cover!
  8. Haha! I find it funny that you've hated your timbre when it is so great! Now, to the matter at hand, great rendition (no surprises there), but I've got a question: are your jaw relaxed when you sing up there? I can't put my finger on it, but it sounds like you've got a tense jaw and trying to hold your voice down. It is most noticable during the word "made" (as in "chains made of steel"). I can picture your tense jaw when you sing that. If that's true, it is probably the root to your problems. I can't help but feel that you sing too well for it to be just a matter of short range. Honestly, I think your "I've always hated my timbre" is stifling you a bit. I think you know pretty well that you need to have a relaxded jaw and place the note higher up/in the back of your mouth actually, but that it creates a less great-sounding timbre which makes you reluctant to do it. I've been there myself; refusing to do the right thing because it will reveal how "ugly" my voice really is, or perhaps I'm reading too much into it Just a thought that might get things going though... Also, don't take the "easy" way out of the phrase "so bless me" like you do now with that whiplash approach (referring to your "bless") I know that's how Dio did it, but he can do whatever he likes haha. You should sustain that note and shorten "me" instead so you can practice. As of now it sounds like you're just throwing it out there and hoping for the best, and that's a recipe for pain. Sorry, if I'm hard on you, but you're a diamond in the rough; I want you to succeed Also, I feel like i have to put my money where my mouth is and sing this song as well, now that I'm in two different threads about the same song acting like I'm a pro, but I don't have the time I can record that particular phrase though haha! Yeah, I will do that, just for the fun of it
  9. Chest voice I'd like to distinguish practicing and testing out. You should test notes out in different ways, sure, but not actually practicing it (i.e doing it over and over again). At this moment you should only practice tones in the line of "life's not a wheel", but not too often. Do it often but shortly, with warm-up of course. I'd say you should warm-up, sing something you're comfortable with and end with a short session of "life's not a wheel". Since you're unaccustomed to this kind of singing you should keep it short, but still do it rather often to keep it up. Again, keep it at "life's not a wheel" level. It sounds bad in the wrong way when you try to pull chest above that. At 2.36 I can hear that scary creaking sound, which you should avoid! That sound is very different from when a voice breaks (like 1:33). You need to learn to recognise that creaking sound, which means you should stop immediately. Also, I think there are times when you need to let go of the idea of effortless singing. Especially in a hard rock/heavy metal context. Sure, it shouldn't be straining on your vocal cords, but keeping the proper amount of support and achieve a nice compression is tedious if you're not used to it. It's very counterintutive that any metal vocalist is utterly relaxed when singing a really heavy song. My point is, I don't think you should be afraid to put some power into your singing. The problem with applying power is the increased necessity of control, which I why I recommend you to keep your practicing to "life's not a wheel" because you obviously can handle that pretty well. But, when that's easy you can start approaching "chains made of steel" with chest if you like. I'd like to point out that I might be biased about this though. I'm an advocate of singing with power; and lots of it, because that's how I sing and love to sing. I'm well aware that many people disagree with my way of singing, and you should know that, but I believe I'm quite good at it so I think there is merit to my words. You should probably view my advice as a bit of a counterweight to other advices you might get The dialectic approach is always nice if you can handle some cognitive dissonance (sorry for blurting out nerdish haha). Head voice/Mixed voice I think you can sing "chains made of steel" in chest and head voice, but both needs work. The chesty approach is kind of evident from above, and when it comes to head voice I guess you're already doing it kind of (these terms are bit blurry to me), but if you want to "meat it up" you need to use a mixed voice. It is what it sounds like: a mix between head and chest, and to me it's as vague as it sounds like For me, chest voice is pretty straight forward, whereas mixed voice is more complex. Mixed voice can be sung with different ratios (at least that's how I do it). Depending on the song I can have like 30 % chest and 70 % head or 70 % chest and 30 % etc, so there are loads of ways to doing it and I don't know where to begin. However, the way I see it, if you can't handle one of the two "ingredients" (chest and head voice), you probably can't make something out of it. My best bet is to take it with a vocal coach, but as far as I'm concerned the mixed voice is an advanced skill which probably shouldn't be on your agenda just yet
  10. Great! You might not believe it, but I think you're on the right track! You're just not used to it yet, which makes you crack and feel like you're straining, but singing doesn't just happen. You're working your muscles differently and you need some proper support (which I believe is your biggest problem at this point) to pull it off well. If you keep practicing this it will start to feel better, easier and more natural. Compare "life's not a wheel" in your last try and the same phrase in this try; it sounds way better this time! You used chest voice this time, whereas you used falsetto the last time. Falsetto is not bad, but since you wanted to make it a bit more "meaty" chest voice did the job, as we can see/hear here Now, you did enter into falsetto above the notes in "life's not a wheel", but one step at a time! You went from doing "life's not a wheel" with falsetto to doing it in chest, and it sounded nice! I do think you can pull off "with chains made of steel" in chest nicely later on, but at the same time I don't think you need to. It sounds to be in a nice spot for you to sing it with head voice.
  11. Anthony, I read your last comment, and I understand! That clip was great from a learning-standpoint! I'd love to see more like this here! Anyway, I'm no vocal coach, but it sounds like you're using what's usually called head voice on the higher notes, and just like chest voice it has its limits; both lower and upper. It sounds to me that you're on the lower limit of your head voice, and that's like trying to sing very low with your chest voice; the notes are very hard to get a hold of. At this point you can either work on the lower end of your head voice or work on the upper end of your chest voice. It's a matter of preference, but for this particular song I'd suggest working with your chest voice as I'm almost certain it would be easier for you to work with your chest voice than your head voice at this point (but Elvis is correct here too; if you manage to use a nice-sounding head voice "down there", you've gained a lot!). Now, we distinguishes screaming/shouting from singing, with every right, but when you're working on the upper limits of your chest voice I've found that's it's nice to have the thought of screaming/shouting in your mind. Not so much as you start screaming like a madman and destroying your throat, but sort of in the way you'd shout if you see a friend at a distance (but he hasn't noticed you) haha! 1:04 is the crucial point: "but life's not a wheel", where "but life's" is mostly chest voice (it's positioned quite far back in mouth though and gives it a heady touch), "not a" is in no man's land and you squeak, and "wheel" is pure head voice. Try to bring the phrase forward in your mouth instead of back and up, if you know what I mean, and you do that by shouting just a little bit. Don't focus too much on "just a little bit" though. I'm just afraid that you start screaming and hurting yourself, but I don't want you to be afraid either. You want to sing so people, 20 yards away, could here you well. So, take the phrase "but life's not a wheel", but instead of placing the resonance in the back of your palate and going up into head voice/falsetto, try to shout it a bit. You might squeak and crack, but keep at it. If it hurts and you get hoarse, stop doing it, but (and this is where a vocal coach probably would tell me to shut up) wait a few days and get back up on the horse and shout some again. It will take some time getting used to and grasping, but you wont learn a thing unless you keep on trying. I'd very much like it if you uploaded a clip where you take a more shouty approach!
  12. Elvis is right! If you don't acknowledge your shortcomings you might never correct them; nothing to feel embarrassed about! Everyone here knows how hard singing can be at times. When you described the clip I expected havoc, but that was not the case at all! You have a very clean and beautiful voice, and if you want to add some power to it: don't let fear hold you back If you do something wrong your voice will recuperate, unless you keep on doing it on and on every day. From my experience, the harder you sing the more rest you need, and warm-up is a must to obtain longevity! Don't cheat on that! As a young hothead I skipped the warm-ups, and today I regret it badly! In regards to your movement; it's not nearly enough! Haha! When I see your posts and some of your YouTube clips I see an emotional, smart and soulful guy stuck in his rigid shell. I obviously don't mean to be rude, but I know that kind of people well and once they shake off that rigidity they're awesome at whatever it is they want to do. That's why I decided to post this. So, stop trying to not embarrass yourself (sorry for the double negative haha) and sing (with your whole body)! Looking at your clip "Insane Shred Lick 1" I think I'm not far off with my assessment
  13. Haha! You come here showing off your vocal prowess and tell us to keep the faith. Love it!
  14. So, I recently made a thread where I tested out Iron Maiden - Children of the damned and got some good critique on my timbre in the chorus. Thanks for that! I think I might have done something slightly better this time, but I've uploaded a short clip where you can hear the old chorus and the new (improved?) chorus and tell me what you think. I've lowered the volume on the instrumental so you can hear my voice better. Also, since "damned" is the interesting part, don't care about the end; I was just fooling around
  15. As I've said before, it doesn't matter if you're sour, you're still captivating due to your timbre, but I understand you wholly! I think it's mostly because you "feel like a retard" when you're recording, but it will fade away. I'm experiencing the same thing, but it's way better than before. Just keep on recording and it wont feel as awkward and disruptive as it does now. Good work!
  16. It's exactly the same vocal line as in the actual song; a carbon copy. I don't believe this for a second, but if it's true, you don't need any of us to believe you. Just do your stuff
  17. Sounds really nice! Just one point that almost everyone seems to have problems with (me included): the ee-sounds. You either under-do it (and it sounds more like an a-sound like 0:47 "malfeasance") or you use a large amount of distortion to compensate it. Gritting it up is not bad per se! Your "duty" at 0:57 is a great example of how it's used propely, but it's soo easy to make it sound to gritty (I do that as well when the melody is too low for me) like your "Into" [the pit]. The trick is to grin like a madman (http://th09.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2013/107/e/f/biker_grin_mask_by_skinz_n_hydez-d6214pf.jpg) and push the resonance forward to the palate. It will probably take some time getting used to because the "distance" from the other vowel placements (which are back in the pharynx) is so big, but it works fine and dandy to me.
  18. You've taken a HUGE step forward!! Very well done, Olem! Det är så en slipsten ska dra's haha!
  19. First off, I've heard people sing waaay worse than you!   Secondly, why would you give up something you enjoy doing just because you're bad? If you like doing something even though you suck at it, you know you've found something you truly like.  
  20. Killer tone! I envy guys like you Even if you sing sour it still sounds awesome! Will be very interesting to hear how you will develop your higher register. My guess is that you will end up sounding something along the lines of this: > Great potential!
  21. To sing hard songs without any flaws is something best left to the virtuousos So don't think so much about it! Haha! Generally, your "ee" och "oo"(?)-sounds are great (words like "gleaming", "betray", "beauty", "day" and "you", "true"). The vocal line "mystified by her beauty. Does the hunter pity his prey?" sounds really nice in regards to timbre, and gives me an opportunity to come with a few pointers: 1. When singing "does" use vibrato! You're a bit sour on that note, but by using vibrato you will negate it. Vibrato is a nice way of masking a sour note At the same time, from a compositional point of view I can see why you kept it straight, seeing as the other sustained notes in the phrase was sung with vibrato. Unfortunately, technical restrictions and artistic freedom counter each other. 2. "piTy". As a fellow swede I feel your pain haha, but it's supposed to be pronunced somehwere between t and d. Swenglish is a bit of a problem through-out the song, but I have the same problem. I can't sing words like "pity" correctly either. Bork bork bork! The whole chorus sounds very nice as well, with the exception of "paradise" which sounds like it constains a bit of vocal fry. Sure, it's hair-splitting and nitpicky, but then you might understand how nice you sound when I say you sound "very nice" You've got a warm typical "I'm in a professional band selling thousand of albums"-voice, which probably turn a lot of people green with envy (me included). You remind me of Daniel Gildenlöw; the vocalist of Pain of salvation. Lastly, your distortion is not there yet, and your high notes sound strained, but in the grand scheme of things that's nothing. It will come with practice. However, from my personal, non-professional experience, I've found that distortion and range go hand in hand. By applying a nice amount of distortion on a high note you're able to create the illusion that it's an easy note. BUT, I'm no vocal coach (and have never even visited one) so I think you should take this with a grain of salt. It might conjure a thought process about it at least
  22. Your timbre and phrasing are impeccable as always
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