KillerKu

The shower must have helped your voice. It is pleasant and definitely wouldn't offend anyone at karaoke. You're just a bit quiet and tentative.   But you did great keeping pitch, phrasing, and keeping up with the song. It's well above average for shower singing, but while you are here you might as well train your voice further. Expand the possibilities of what you can do and all that, maybe learn to project a bit more and see where the range limitations are.

I enjoy this yeah. You do sound more approachable without being generic.   I think you're approaching an area of your voice where there is starting to be more of a mainstream appeal. It's not smack dab in the middle, and is still shaded by some of your timbre.   How far you choose to go will be up to you, but you're at a point where more people would enjoy hearing you.

I kind of liked "This Love" back in the day.. That's about as big of a fan of Maroon 6  as I get... But I like your voice on this song.   I was curious about the backing vocals too. They work well with your voice.   Your voice sounds pretty controlled and relaxed on this recording. So yeah, spread your wings. Maybe you'll hit a hurdle someone can help you with.

I really like it. Great intonation and phrasing on the vocals. Didn't miss notes which is really impressive while hitting all of those jazz chords. My singing and guitar playing mutually suffer when combined.   The only thing I'd suggest is maybe setup the cam/mic in a position that you can glance at the guitar frets without turning your head, so you can focus a bit more towards the cam, when glancing for the chord changes. I had that problem myself.   You're doing great, man, keep it up. Seriously, really good.

Pitch is good, timbre is good, you've got good control and flexibility. My favorite was At Last, as you used a lot more dynamics.   The others were well performed, but were a bit subdued and sounded a bit polite. At Last seeemd more like the floodgates were opened and you were pouring out the sound. It's not just volume although that helped.   Lessons and technique could give you more power and range, but imo, you're already a skilled singer with a controlled voice and appealing timbre. Some people for whatever reason (nature/nurture) stumble upon an appealing way of singing. Did anyone in your family sing? Was singing a part of your culture in any way? I knew a girl who learned a bit through her parents growing up. Church is a good one. Lots of my favorite singers learned there.   But some people can intuitively pick up singing without any formal training. It happens, and happened to you. 

This sounds good. To me it sounds like it is in your range, you got the right timbre, pitch is good, and it is working for you. It's hard to tell you how to improve it in any way to be honest.   The only thing might be to make it a bit different from the original and put a bit more of your unique stamp on it as you finish it. You can sing this song well in the style of Kurt, but what if you were to do something slightly different with it?   If you sing a song that is 'outside your zone' I think we'd have more tech help. You've got this area covered and it's good.

Wow, no one responded at all? The singing is great, imo. One thing I noticed is the has a lot of cut in higher mid up to presence range frequencies which makes all of the instruments pretty clear, but is a bit cutting and feels maybe a bit crowded and 'pointy' on my ears. Like presence heavy.   The song composition is good in the style that it is written, but I tend to prefer more melodicly driven songs like the last one you showed, than more chanting kinds of choruses.   If you listen to a lot of modern pop music, there is a lot of room for chanting style choruses. So it's just a taste thing, and I'm glad you're creating music. You should keep going. I don't know why no one responded. It's good singing, it's a singing critique forum.

A bit delayed in response, but thanks Vats. I agree there could be a bit more seamlessness in that weird zone. I think I'm improving on it already. Part of it, is I keep discovering I can use more air than I would have thought back when I was having nerve pain. I've listened to Grace a few times from Buckley, and he's a great choice as he rides in that strange ambiguity.   Ronws, yeah if I were to include a cover on my album, I think this song is closest to my artistic temperament. It works for my voice but also my personality so that's a good observation and I'll definitely be thinking about including a cover.   From what I've read it's more complicated legal stuff though to deal with and supposedly I'd have to pay like 9 cents per CD or something like that. I'd probably be best off keeping things simple without a record label or lawyer to handle those kinds of details.

I enjoyed this and want to cover this some day myself. I can kind of hear what Jeremy is saying on that 'down' word especially in the first verse, but it's not horrifically out of tune. I still enjoyed it.   The siren imo took a bit too long to reach the top note and as a consequence was hovering on out of key notes a bit too much. If you sped up the siren it might have not fixated on some of the conflicting pitches in between.    Ronws is right that if you increase the resonance on a few of the more falsettoish sections, it would add more body. Overall I think if you just keep training you'll improve where you need to improve. It sounds like a good foundation and is already pretty cool.

  Neither can I or 98 percent of singers. You're good enough for parties dude. Go for it. I was just thinking of unleashing the Sexy Beast on the general public at large. You've got potential. Might even keep the moniker.

Yeah it doesn't sound falsetto to me. Sounds good too.   Kind of a Stevie Wonderish cry kind of vocal. Whenever I try to do this crysih thing up as high as you went in this tune it thins out a bit earlier. I've wondered how much weight has to do with this and how much is technique, but I'm a bit familiar with how it works when you take this voice up, it doesn't feel like falsetto or sound quite it either, but it is lighter than some other ways you can use the voice.   It sounds like you might be able to have a bit more twang if you wanted it to sound a little more defined to people's ears, but it isn't necessary. Anyway, Sexy, you're good at this style and it sounds good. Pretty much just keep training it. It will get better and better. I'll be looking forward to your tracks.   The only thing I'd mention, is it's a great performance, but since this is a highly competitive genre, if you were to make like a demo tape for a record company, you might want to comp an immaculate take. Your pitch is already better than I could do in this style. But like 1:07 through 1:09 are a bit flat on the irreplacea 'ble' part.   I'm only being a stickler cause you are poised to possibly have commercial potential on the billboard charts. For a lot of us, we have a lot more things to work on than 2 flat notes (like 50 flat or sharp notes) and may never find a commercial genre, but for you, when it comes time to send a demo tape or whatever, you might aim for actual perfection. It's what the industry wants right now, and I think you could possibly have what it takes to get a mainstream fanbase, 'then' do whatever you want.

You have great control over pitch and it is a good performance. Now I wasn't sure how to picture your voice during your first track, but you do have a naturally low voice. I heard you hit a D2 with no vocal fry which was stronger than my morning voice. So it's naturally a heavier voice than average.   That said, are I'd like you to go and listen to the section starting at 1:09 and compare it with the first section. The timbre 'lightens' a great deal. It's not just that it grows breathy, but it 'lightens' and shades of weight are lifted off. And it's still resonant with low richness. Like a lower Elvis maybe.    I'm wondering if there a place between those two extremes vocally? Cause on the lighter breathier section, at least to my ears, a it sounds like maybe the larynx is a bit more neutral. And on the weighty section it sounds like full bore larynx dropped and twanging.   Convincing low notes aren't an issue for you as a singer. In some ways lightening your voice might make you more accessible or commercial. A lot of people talk a bit lighter. I'm wondering if you were to make the voice in 1:09 - 1:50 less breathy, maybe 'some' twang (not truck loads), but save some of the big boom for the lowest notes or for words that need more thunderous inflection, if it might sound more natural to the average person? As is, it sounds like there is a gap where you might have room to be more conversational as an artist there. A lot of this kind of country does sound somewhat conversational to me.    Anyway, it's ultimately your art form and the current version is well done so either way I look forward to hearing more.

At first I was kind of like...   But then I listened to it more and it started getting more badass. There's a swagger to the rhythms and voice is coming from a really unique place. It isn't bad, it's even in tune pretty well. It's just different it's like I needed a double take.   You have a bit of a vocal fry timbre, which means you probably aren't singing with much air and aren't projecting much. You have a bit of a short 'e' sound kind of like Stevie Nicks gets that gives it kind of a 'beh' sound. There's a bit of kind of nasal thing, that sounds a bit stuffy, but it has a lot of personality.   It's actually a really interesting and cool starting point for a voice to be. If you want to achieve a broader audience you'd likely need to modify it more towards conventional singing, but how much, I'm not sure.   It commands attention, and isn't bad. Some things I could suggest would be maybe to try projecting more. Like you're calling out a bit to someone across the room. You might also be able to open some resonators to project a bit more. I helped my friend open a resonator, by having her imagine a 'swelling of a balloon' in the back of her throat/mouth. It would need to be relaxed.    You have room for more air in your tone, so if you feel comfortable with an invisible H it can work, but when you sing quietly with vocal fry it kind of uses very little air anyway.   I'm not sure what happens if you sing with more projection, so I'm not sure how your support is working yet. The exercise I give people just in case, is to inhale through a real or invisible straw until you are relatively full, then exhale an 'ssss.' You'll feel engagement the area above stomach and below rib cage. If you keep that feeling of engagement that you get when you do the sss sound there is a good chance you're supporting.   Overall, I think it's filled with potential. It's got a lot of character and you could end up with a really unique and intriguing voice, but I'm already growing to appreciate it for what it currently is. I love the passion, the phrasing, and the quirkiness. But if you add some conventional voice training you might be able to blend the character with something more accessible. I'm excited to hear more.

It's great. I am glad you solved your mic overloading problems. You can record all of your favorites with more timeless sound quality and build up a legacy of your voice this way.   There's no real technical help. It's good you have a more raw vocal track so store that one for later, if you're going to add more reverb or whatnot.

Yeah, the break could maybe have a repeat of the instrumental section prior to going into it as it is a bit abrupt.   The backing track would be nice. I originally intended to make my own backing track but my bass is broken. The output jack is busted so the sound is maybe 5 percent of what it should be. I'm also getting crazy sounds through my sound card when I try to plug guitar into my mix. So a lot of tech problems are going on which are frustrating me and could be potentially expensive to fix.   When that gets sorted more, I'd like to go back to it and try to finish a backing track, maybe even including drums if I can figure out an appropriate interpretation on an e drum kit.

So I worked on this cover here a few days ago, but didn't want to spam the forum with it:     This is the more tender lilting side of my voice I'm woring on. It's kind of the yin to my yangish David Ruffin esque in your face style.   Does anyone have any technical advice on kind of improving this kind of half falsetto/half not style? I really like the style and feel like it is going somewhere but it's pretty tough to navigate. To keep it soft, fragile, vulnerable, but defined.

  I don't know if strained is the right word. But it sounds a bit more tensed when you say 'same' mistakes. It's a pretty loud vowel and you're on a G4 there, it sounds pretty held back. if I let that vowel go all the way, it can go pretty crazy in volume. I think there as a G#4 on 'pain' in a recent cover I did, where I didn't hold back volume.   It still sounds good to me, so if you're comfortable with it in your throat I wouldn't worry about. At best as I can describe it, it sounds like you cry a lot harder to hold back the volume.   Which is cool, but if it feels tight or uncomfortable you can keep working on it. Something you could try is experiment with modifying towards other vowels. CVT recommends uh (up), ih (in), and the weird one in 'woman' if you're plaintive/restrained which you are. I like the vowel in 'book, took, cook' too. Anyway if I try to make a pure 'ay' sound plaintive and high, it can feel a bit weird. The vowels don't all work the same. Finding the most comfortable positions that achieve a desired sound can help.   I think it's more about you than any methodology.

  Yeah man. It is much improved. For the time being I'd pay a bit more attention to the voice until it becomes more of a habit.   I actually need to do the same thing when playing guitar and singing at the same time. Old habits are re-appearing from many years ago when I used to sing and play vs when I sing without having to multitask.   Make sure you practice without the guitar too from time to time. It helps you pay extra attention.

  Isn't it just an ear worm? And in a good way. Not in that Katy Perry way that makes me want to cut off my ear like Van Gogh.   This song has been in my head ever since she brought it here. I keep singing this song with fake words. Ni no cana batch ee nya! If I could sing korean I would be all over this song.    Thanks for introducing us to it Lola. I like the original singer too.     But Lola does it buffer. She has a bit more of a husky toughness. You should definitely cover more Ailee, Lola. She is cool and you sound fantastic singing her.

Hey, thanks everyone.  Jeremy, my phrasing can be pretty unusual. I sang to Frank Sinatra for a lot of years and do jazz drumming. So in simpler pop songs sometimes it stands out as weird. Bzean called it the Tom Waits phrasing effect. It's always nice to hear people's take.    Bono, my voice problem isn't gone but reduced. It's more nerve pain so it doesn't have to affect the sound when the pain is reduced. I saw a pain specialist and he pretty much diagnosed me with glossopharyngeal neuralgia: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001636.htm   It's basically a malfunctioning in the nerves of the tongue where it can send enormous amounts of pain. Mine is often triggered by speaking. On my current meds I've been able to sing (and speak) more and more.   Marcus, I haven't been able to sing live on stage, as I had no voice for over half a decade. Due to the above mentioned health problem, singing live is pretty intense, as it can trigger one of those pain blasts and send me out of commission. The idea that 'the show must go on' is pretty scary. I have taken your words to heart though, and I gave singing live 'at home' a shot yesterday, of David Bowie's Rock N Roll Suicide:   https://app.box.com/s/uv7c1hc6fbh3jxru0u3biew2k8pa7xyj       Good news. No horrible pain blasts. Bad news, very wobbly singing and playing at the same time after so many years of dormancy. I have to retrain those skills as there are things both in the voice and guitar that would be done differently if I had the brain space to focus on them. 

  I think you have the best philosophy here. Share your weaknesses with people who can help you. Share your strengths with the general public.   I like your voice, honestly. It has energy. But I like Bob Dylan more than Ronws does too.   There are folks with a lot more expertise on C5 in a fuller sounding voice. I have ways of doing it, but most involve lots of moaning, rasp, twanging, weird vowel stuff, super support, I can't sing consistently up there like with my guitar in a real context and all that and even then, I think I might be faking something.   I don't know if you could take your punkish tone that high though. Most punkish singers tap out before then. Should be interesting if you can get some really good technical help and hit a punk C5.

It's really good. Your accent is a bit stronger on this one in a few places, but I like it. I love your timbre. It's got vulnerability but isn't without texture and weight. Come to think of it, i can't think of any other singer with your tone. You always sound like you're feeling it too. 

Fantastic. It's near spotless, but with loads of energy. The best part? It doesn't feel clinical at all. It just rocks. You guys have serious chops all around. I really enjoyed that one.

That one sounds even better. It sounds like you're approaching a level of polish that is definitely gonna be marketable. You might need to be thinking about mics, production, and mixing if you intend to market online. Lets say you get  your voice in a really polished context, and someone hears it in that context, it could help you gain visibility.   Most people would hear a raw recording on a lame mic and assume the singer is worse than a produced singer on a good mic. As singers, hopefully we know this isn't the case, but I really do think you're good enough that 'showing your voice in the best context' could be at least equally as important as training.   By the way, its' been on my mind for awhile. But that movie "Sexy Beast" was just nuts. Ben Kingsley's performance was insane. If anyone here likes weird, intense movies that are totally out of left field with great acting. Check it out.

I'm digging this. I never got into Kiss much at all, but I like what you're doing with it. Good groove, good time. Singing is great and you never lost a beat. If you spruce up your youtube videos with a bit of fanciness, you might gather a youtube audience. Some artists have gotten started this way by building up a fanbase there.   If you want to try this approach though, I'd recommend doing a pro mic recording with mix (reverb, compression, EQ) and add a few fancy camera angles, with fancy lighting, cause it can be hugely successful.