KillerKu

Oh man, all of our musical advice on teaching you improvisation is gone with the forum update, Joshua. If you didn't get it, let me know and I'll try to recap for you. Ronws, MDEW, and I all  were ready to give you enough information to build you into a jazz soloist on your piano while singing like a pro on top!  When you come back, let me know if you got any of our info. You're gonna surprise yourself.

I agree with the improvement. Taken overall I hear more consistency. But I just like hearing you sing this song period. I can feel the urge to sing this song growing every time I listen. I know Bzean has already started, so you might have started a 'thing.'   If you want anything to work on, there is melissma on the section "Spain is the best place, he's eh eh eh ver been' that sounds like if focused on this technique you could iron it out a bit more.   Personally, I sang for many years without any of melissma at all and when I would try it I'd have a huge uncertainty with it. The song that forced me to learn it All I've Gotta Do By the Beatles:     Some people don't count Lennon as a very technical singer (he sounds more emotional than technical to me personally), but I would say he had one of the most beautiful melissma's I've ever heard and he was technically more skilled at this than Mccartney.   So take a problematic section and just focus on it: Whenever I-eye-eye-eye-eye-eyeeee eye.... Want you around yeah. All I've gotta 'doo- oooh-ooooh-oooh-oooh-oooh.' If you're like me, you have a much easier time changing between different vowels (heading for Spai eee eh ain) than riding the same one accurately. I'm not a master at this yet, but made a lot of improvements. Here's a little practice clip from a while back. If I could make progress, I bet you can too. Just keep working.   https://soundcloud.com/killerku/allivegottado-beatles-melissma-practice   It was pure fail for some time, before it started sounding coming together.

I hadn't heard the original, so I took a listen for comparison. I second Ronws in that your rhythm guitar is swinging your voice man. I've got a cheap E-Drum Kit since I can't do 'real' drums in a pseudo apartment, and he's right, sounds like I could drum along to this flow, it's got a nice groove, not sure if it was click track or your natural rhythm, but it works.   Your vocal tone blends in well to the original and occupies a nice spectrum above the guitar. It sounds like the rest of the track could be built around it without too many EQ tricks.    I'm glad you're working on your voice, to my ears acouple notes sounded a little off key from time to time, so if that's something you want to work on, thats the best I've got. But there is an authenticity in the delivery. I can hear 'life experience' in your voice, which personally I hear as different from 'singing technique experience.' I'd bet you'd have a lot of stories to tell, and a really unique perspective from an artistic standpoint. It's part of what drew listeners into Johnny Cash during his renaissance. There's something special about voices that have 'been there.' There's no technique, no way I could possibly fake it. I've been different places, and for less time.   My feeling is there is an artistic peak you might be able to reach, with just enough polish, just enough of wear. I think you're heading towards that zenith. You get to pour your soul out, and it's a privilege to hear you.

For harmony you might want to experiment with intervals. These are the space between notes. Listen to the sound when they occur together. Each combination will have a unique 'tension' or release which can add character to a composition. Some combinations are darker (or even unpleasant), some are lighter and can convey different things. You have a guitar player in your band, or you are a guitar player, right? So you can cross reference with a guitar player and sing along to a guitar when composing. Like a G Major chord would have: G root note B 4 notes up or 8 notes down (creates a major harmony) D 7 notes up or 5 notes down (creates a fifth harmony, used in power chords, the rocker interval on guitar) G often an Octave (12 notes up or 12 notes down, is the same note, higher or lower) A G minor chord is similar but but would have an A# instead of of a B, which often sounds darker than major chords. There are thousands of chords, too many possible chords to mention but each combination of notes has a unique personality, some of which the majority of people find unbearable and others which the majority of people find upbeat or 'happier.' Any knowledge you have will likely have some impact on your sound, which isn't really good or bad, it just makes things 'different.' It's like the difference between primitive outsider art, versus college educated artists.If you want to retain a rawness, I'd focus more on sound than on the intellectual concepts though. I'd try to use the intellectual concepts to steer you towards really listening to and conveying sounds you believe in, rather than a 'rule set' that you 'follow.' Common ways of doing harmony is singing major or minor intervals, 5th, or octave intervals, but any interval can be done. It just might sound terrible. As for singing, it's extremely subjective. My favorite 'raw defiance' type of singer is Joe Strummer. He was pretty aggressive and I doubt he was highly trained in any way, but he sang from the gut with a tone like no other, and supported his tone well enough diaphragm he got away with it. For singing technique I do believe even if going for a raw approach, you should still focus on the basics, the breath support, and finding a comfortable position for your vocal tract to get the sounds you're looking for. If you're going hoarse or having pain, it's not a good sign and you should rest and rethink things. I'd still play around a lot with vowels and 'sounds' in general. Any singing concepts you encounter, twang, sob, vibrato, if the sound and character feels like something you can get behind, you can use them. Lessons are good especially if you find someone who is interested in helping you develop your sound. But if you're looking for harsher vocals, you should probably look into a teacher who is comfortable with them. As a good deal of teachers don't do that.

Is this recent? Do you have a link? All I could find is this: She sounds pretty good there. Not really a Carey fan.

My favorite things about your voice are the dynamics in your timbre/volume and the variety of push/pull in your phrasings. I'd never listened to the original, but I checked it out and actually prefer your timbre as it sounds more dynamic to me, and I'm a sucker for this kind of singing (Amy Winehouse fan!). For people saying your low notes need more power, but I'm not sure that is correct. From the sounds of this song one of the core emotions expressed in it is vulnerability and the slight weakness adds to it in my opinion. Loud, buff strength is such a small fragment of the human experience, psychologically, artistically, emotionally, socially. People falter, that's how life is and that's what makes human beings relate-able and not thick and loud noise making robots. I'd probably get less out of it if you stripped any hint of weakness from the track.

You've got a nice deepish baritone. I feel like it was a bit stiff during the first few words and warmed up a bit more into the song into something a bit more swinging and emotive. Stylistically, while it might be sacrilege to suggest it on these forums , I personally feel like a very exciting direction you could take your voice might be to use and explore falsetto or more delicate tones from time to time. Not necessarily as your primary vocal mode, but potentially as punctuation and as contrast. What I mean is your voice is very masculine and it sounds good, but it's like black is a great color and white is a great color, but the spectrum in between the two has a whole world of beauty that can be very compelling. I feel like adding just something a little more 'delicate' or 'vulnerable' or even 'feminine' could add an element of unpredictability, and sexy 'audacity' to your performances, give you a bit more 'edge' right? Some great singers like Johnny Cash have made careers staying entirely in a relatively masculine area of voice. It can be done, but it's pretty tough. I know my lower end just doesn't have that 'Cash' factor to make it iconic enough to pull it off. I feel like you are closer, but even other singers who didn't use falsetto like Sinatra would often give very delicate readings to give 'push and pull' in the song. Plus, you and I are white guys too. Maybe it isn't pc to say it, but to my ears black blues guys like Buddy Guy have those velvety rich, smokey, leathery timbres, right? A lot of those guys have got a little something there. In that context it's a good thing Eric Clapton can play guitar. Now I'm not saying you can't make it work. I hear the potential for you to top Clapton, for my tastes, but keep digging deep into the blues and check out soul music. Listeners have a lot of great singers to choose from and if you found a little extra spice, some nuance that people identified with you it would help you a lot when you have to go up against those kinds of people.

Wow, I like the drawling sound of your voice. It has a depth of character that sounds almost otherworldly in the context of the music. It really fits the melancholy setting of the of the backing music. One of the things I like about it is how the words are kind of slurred. It makes the entire track sound distant, faint, like a melancholy but fading memory being worked through. The timbre of your voice is great. There is a murky richness that further adds to the other worldly nature. I also liked the picking patterns and harmonic structure on the guitar. The one thing I'd say, is if you're aiming for more mainstream audiences, try making the melodies a bit catchier and enunciate a bit clearer in other songs, but potentially keep songs like this as an album track for fans who would be aware of you. They say you need a hook to draw people in, you'd need your "Creep" so you could make your "Kid A". Once audiences have an intimate connection they will be more ready to go to these otherworldly places with you. Keep making art, man. It was good to hear.

I'm curious. Do you know how to sing with a bit more volume? If it's an artistic choice, I can understand the understatement. It's just quieter and thinner than would usually be done. If you try to open up resonators (something that helps me is imagining widening the back of my throat), experiment with vowel shapes (uh as in up, is a thicker one), and apply breath support, you could add a lot more volume or more 'fullness' to the sound. It might help a bit with pitching too, although you did pretty well for this style of voice. I don't know what your goal is, how much is choice and how much isn't. All things said, you emote fairly well which is good. Too many singers run through a song like it's a jungle gym, navigating the structure but not really feeling it. Whatever you do, keep that spark there, I can see some passion shining through and that can take you a long way.

I like some of the rhythmic flow. It's a bit rappish without directly being rap. Your vocal attitude is a bit punk rock in that it sounds defiant and I generally like defiant things. The lyrics would be offensive to some, but I'm not easily offended. Some of the looping of the vocal rhythms in the opening section section could be tightened a bit Guitar composition has a bit of a Franz Ferdinand or the like: choppy, rudimentary rhythmic drive. For my tastes I prefer a bit more harmony on average in music, but this is definitely a matter of tastes. If the White Stripes can get by with 2 people jamming, you can certainly go in a really stripped down direction. Overall, I'd say it sounds like you have a compositional style that is poised to evolve naturally as you gain more experience. It's not overly similar to my style so, I'm no in the best position to evolve it. I think it's really primarily up to you to put in the sheer work it will take to be everything you can be as an artist and songwriter. Vocally, from a technical standpoint, it's raw, dirty, and just gets the job done. But the song is raw and dirty. If you got Celine Dion to sing it, people would be baffled. It is extremely possible to use traditional vocal training techniques to make a more polished vocal. For my tastes, I think you have room to grow this way without sounding stereotypical or sounding overly polished, but whatever you change is going to affect your baseline rawness on some level. It is probably most important to ask yourself, what direction you're going in? What means something to you? People can probably better help you, as there are as many directions as there are people, right? What kind of voice are you looking for?

I love this song, and this is a really great cover. You're good enough, dude. Use your voice for the sake of the arts.

Well, you seem to have pretty good emission. You don't overblow. You seem to bridge registers fairly well with a good range. You seem to have pretty good pitch. You support well enough to be able to sustain some pretty powerful notes. You've got some musicality and you've got some mobility. That's a lot of things a lot of singers here don't have. Those are things I didn't start with. There's just something about vocal placement at least to my ears, where I think you could tweak to a more mainstream sound with the style of songs you're doing by pulling away a bit of the isolated nasal (twangish) and shifting a bit darker. Have you heard of CVT? Anyway, there is a mode they call 'curbing' in CVT that centers the voice around 'uh' and 'ih' vowels. It's really what Stevie Wonder does. Jonpall is a fan of it. Geno here uses it a lot. I use it some as well. It sounds like the style of music you're doing is traditionally done using this sound, right? But your sound is kind of 'errrrrrrrrr' in places, and sounds a bit. It's not bad, it just sounds slightly strange, like it's off center from what I'd expect. Here buddy. I'm on meds today and my voice is behaving 'enough.' This is something that seems to be a consistent thing, where people are kind of going nasal/twang/isolated. So I'm taking a shot at a lesson idea: http://soundcloud.com/killerku/errrrvoicelessonidea I'm not making fun of you, you're actually doing pretty good. And I'm exaggerating the nasal for a reason. Trying to show some extremes so maybe you or others could find a middle ground.

I think you improved since I was last here. Gotten a bit boomier and resonating in the head voice/falsetto (even harder to specify for female voice, heh). Feel like pitch control, support, and breath management has solidified as well. Nice Job. Keep going and keep doing what you're doing. I think my favorite still remains your cover of Lady Gaga's "You and I" live. Somehow even after a year I still had that sound/visual stuck in my head. Not technique wise your strongest vocals, but I'd love to see you cut loose a few more times. There found it: http://themodernvocalist.punbb-hosting.com/viewtopic.php?id=3296

You sound surprisingly close to me. Range isn't a problem. Pitch is mostly good. Sometimes it sounds like the support is getting a bit weak during the low notes. It sounds like bits of a vibrato are slipping through. I like interesting vibrato, but yours could use a bit less of like a random wobble in the lower chest voice. That used to happen to me too. Somehow listening to baritone singers, like Frank Sinatra, Elvis, I found taking the vowel 'uh' while twanging a bit helps me place a bit darker. Your placement sounds a bit better to my ears. Trying to think of how to describe it, but it still seems like the vocal placement is like you've got very little resonating and the voice is placed where the soft palate is kind of low and the pharynx isn't very open? It's kind of like if you a pure Ee vowel the throat likes to close down. The 'a' (as in apple) tends to want to go nasal as well. The soft palate tends to close at least in my dialect (United States). It sounds like you are twanging pretty solidly as well, but the motion of the tongue when twanging, doesn't have to coincide with the rest of your vocal tract kind of 'elevating' with it. I dunno man, take it easy. Take it slow. But my honest opinion is you're really surprisingly close. That what makes it so frustrating. I wish I had the right trick for you. Only thing I can say is think 'uh.' Give that a try.

Hey, my version was inspired by the late, great Paul Williams' version. He was the first lead singer of the Temptations and rather underrated, imo. It was recorded in 1967: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Temptations_in_a_Mellow_Mood Actually released a year before Stevie's Version 1968: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Once_in_My_Life_%28album%29 It appears our versions are about a fifth (five semi tones) apart judging by the starting tone. I believe the highest note I sang was a G#4, but that was deep into my bridge and still using a chesty kind of configuration. As to your broader question about bridging into a head voice. It sounds like you tend to slip into falsetto, but to be honest, I don't really know how much of my voice is falsetto or how much is head voice either! My opinion is I bridge into falsetto(ish) out of a mix past about B4. If you want another interesting version of another Stevie Wonder song inspired by David Ruffin's version: http://soundcloud.com/killerku/heavenhelpusall Up there I'm in a similar place, where I have no idea if that is supposed to be falsetto. If it is it's a rather thick/reinforced thick falsetto. I just think it's cool. At the end of the day, I think it doesn't matter head voice/falsetto. You try to get to the sounds you want. Try to get them comfortably. Take your time in the process. Try to make them sound good and try to not hurt yourself! I'm one of the members here who is a bit proud to not really care that much, but I realize the process in getting there is rather difficult.

Glad to hear you've been getting some lessons. I understand they are expensive and not everyone can afford it at all times. You shouldn't stop singing just cause you don't have lessons. As for my problem, it's basically a malfunctioning relationship between the nervous system and the muscles in my throat (tongue/hyoid region) that isn't something I can consciously control. Think of if you get leg cramps? Like I'll just be laying in bed, and suddenly have it go off. Now imagine them lasting for hours, and coming back for days at a time in your throat. Having untreated spastic muscles can result in muscle contracture (permanent shortening of muscles). If you've ever known anyone with like multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy, there is a complicated relationship between the nervous system and muscle spindles (which have both sensory and motor nerves), where malfunctions can occur. As to how I got it, I spent years asking that question and I don't think it's really answerable. There was a month stretch prior to developing it, where it could have been any number of things: overuse, bad/ignorant vocal exercises including a tongue stretch, unfamiliar SLS exercises, laryngitis, reflux, or it could have simply been random. I sang fine for 3 years prior with no problems, but during the course of a month my voice was lost incredibly quickly. Successful treatment options thus far have been muscle relaxers. I was given a high dose of muscle relaxers during one of the worst spasms I've ever had that stopped it in it's tracks. Taking more muscle relaxers gave me back more of my voice immediately than I had in years and reduced pain in speaking and singing, while gaining function. Other options are botox (if they can find the defective muscle they can paralyze it, but I'll lose any functionality) and physical therapy/training which can't really fix a spastic muscle or a contracture, but can supposedly help 'manage' them to prevent further contracture. Final option would be surgery to simply cut the spastic muscle and lose it forever. But I'm in between doctors at the moment. I am going to see a neurologist next as I've been barking up the wrong tree, seeing laryngologists who specialize in laryngeal function and visibly physically damaging things like 'reflux', when the problem isn't really my larynx per say and it's not something you're going to find with a scope looking at the vocal cords. It's the feedback loop between my muscles and central nervous system which is causing particular muscles to malfunction. My vocal cords, or my 'larynx' itself can actually function pretty well if I can reduce the malfunction of supporting muscles. Off them, there are times I can't even talk. So yeah, long story short, it 'could' have been technique. So that's why I tell people to be careful. People can help, people can hurt. Always stay in charge of your voice. Right? ________________________________ Edit, I'm going to take off again, get focused on my health problems, so I'm taking my singing clip links down. Thanks to all who listened. I appreciate listening to your music here on the critique section as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_resonation Quick note. Using/opening up more resonators in the voice. Or even being able to control the amount a bit of each. A lot of people kind of stumble onto it. I can kind of intuitively change things. I can imitate different styles of singers? Get things thicker, thinner. But I don't think I could fully explain how and just sit you down, explain each one and how to access it and change it. But... Someone probably can. I've got vague sensations at best.

I don't think it's horrific man and I'm serious in that I was getting some spirited vibe. Your phrasing and timing, and you seem very musical to me. I think aesthetically if you could work on it, it would probably make it more palatable. The way I see the voice, it can do loads of sounds, and some are more 'mainstream' than others. You ever hear that Puddle of Mudd guy, he makes your nasality sound like childs play. He's like a walking nose, but somehow he sold a lot of records. Thing is, me I'm just a guy with a really unique history associated with singing. I was a singer for a few years, got a spastic throat problem either via sheer accident or via ignorant self injury that took me out of the game, right? I've got a lot of random singing knowledge that I can apply only to an extent, cause well, no matter what technique I've ever tried my throat is spastic now. At some point, going to an expert is wise. In the mean time, give yawning a try. I find it damned near impossible to make a really nasal yawn. Try to feel the way it opens up. Try to sing not anything too high or serious in that posture. And don't sing on a full yawn (that's actually constriction if taken that far), it would just be more open, relaxed open. It's kind of amount, I think. I think there is also a 'nasal' port. That when open and closed changes nasal resonance, where it can sound quite a bit different (stuffy, or pinched). Seems to be related to the soft palate, which raises when yawning. Now this website could be total BS and be pseudoscientific but it touches on the issue: http://www.vocalprocess.co.uk/nasalityandthesoftpalate.htm I'm kind of bringing that up, not cause I can tell you in words how to 'open and close your nasal port' with precision. But someone, an expert really might be able to get right down to business and might have a really cool exercise you could do off the bat. They might have to be there in person to make sure you do it right. Someone like me, I can try to help a bit, but it's always with a grain of salt. That's probably the biggest lesson I ever learned from having a voice problem. At the end of the day, it's your voice. It's internal mostly. Most of what we feel are sensations. You can give something a try. But if it's not really working. Or if it doesn't feel right. Or if people tell you to do really weird stuff. Toss it or get help.

I was digging that. Love this song. I liked the breathier sections where you softened, it gave it a unique vibe from Stevie Wonder. I think your voice could be a bit more commercial if the nasality could be reduced slightly. If your voice is comfortable in this style and isn't fatiguing or having problems, a slight EQ tweak might do the job. I'm not really familiar how to vocally precisely change this with a simple tweak, or a bit more reverb as you already have something kind of going on here and a totally dry vocal, sometimes comes across a certain way. I will usually reverb, sometimes compress, but don't EQ. A slightly more covered tone might be interesting, but it's style man and I personally don't know how to in words achieve a covered tone. There are darker and brighter tones. Darker feels more 'open' to me. Brighter is like twanging and higher larynx. Voice feels placed higher. Can't explain it well, there are resonating cavities that are more or less open. I'd keep working on the vocal runs too. I hear them coming along. I like loose, emotional runs but a few of them were a little wild. If you would pick something more precise, slow it down, and keep speeding it up you'd probably get a bit closer. That said I've actually heard Stevie do some sloppier ones live. It's the passion man and sometimes you've gotta improvise. It sounds like you're feeling it and you have a bit of his spirit. I liked the scat section too. Keep going man. Keep recording. Take care and glad to listen to it.

You'd be best off with an expert to go hands on, imo. Also to have clear articulated goals of the type of placement you're aiming for (more body, more piercing clarity, darker shading, lighter shading, range) etc. I think you're beyond the point where friendly amateurs can help you and there are so many elements of this. A huge part of the problem is stylistic divide. Someone could say, 'use Ronnie James Dio's placement' that's the 'good technique' but... Well it's 'a' good technique and it's popular here, but it might not be too helpful. If I remember right, and I'm not a huge Pink fan, only heard some of her stuff she uses something similar to mix voice/curbing (in CVT Terms) however. You might be interested in looking into those concepts if you want to gain a bit more power or body in this 'style'. That's not really the 'right' way to sing though, nor is it the 'wrong' way to sing. Something that I find useful for getting into mix voice is to take an 'uh' vowel, yawn slightly, and simply ascend from a medium pitch staying comfortable all the way up, thinning the tone as you ascend it will kind of want to cry/whine out. I find it bridges pretty high with more body and gives a different taste. If you can keep some of the feeling from that into your other vowels you can do a lot of things. But in the end the song might sound worse than your current vocal placement and you'd be better of with a teacher, imo. People can toss around random technique ideas of how to place the voice differently, but A. They really don't know what you as an artist want and have subjective biases B. There's no way of being sure you as an artist can get there yourself without some help and supervision safely That's what it all comes down to. I screwed up my voice, potentially by taking in way too many point As from random people on the internet, random singing books, and not factoring in enough B. Always keep point A and B in mind, every single step of the way, whatever you do. And always stay comfortable. Take everything with a grain of salt and stay in charge.

To tell you the truth song choice is a highly individual thing. Emotional connection, how well it suits a voice both style wise and technical ability. What songs do you love? We could maybe take a look at some of those? Me I'm a fan of soul, 60s pop, 70s art rock, pop standards, probably predominately, but I like to sing a lot of different styles of songs. And if a song is out of your range, you can transpose a song. You can even use falsetto/head voice to sing parts that are out of your range or female parts once you get them working well enough. If people don't like it, too bad. Basically you gotta start off with music that you enjoy, and whittle it down. If I were to give you a song you didn't like to begin with. I could keep offering more. If you're more of a modern pop guy and I'm more of and old school pop guy. It could be pretty tough. Try to get us in the ballpark. I've personally never listened to a Bruno Mars song in my life.

Well problem is there isn't much technical to critique and that might be why people have trouble commenting. Singing is well done, technically solid without being mechanical. Are you the singer here? I'd like to ask him how he's feeling on the track. He seems like he's into it or a good faker. Songwriting is pretty tight. Production is pretty solid. How's your band doing man? To me it sounds like 'it' factor and luck is what it's going to take to break out more. Your music engages, doesn't offend and I have a more positive than usual response to this style of music, which I've been a bit burnt out on. It's high quality music in this genre. But I don't know about breakthrough. How's stage presence? To me it's gotta be like marketing and 'it factor.' You seem to be amassing a fanbase already which is good. Keep at it.

You actually remind me a little bit of a close friend when she was starting singing. It's not 'unpleasant,' it actually makes me smile, but obviously it's near the start of the journey. I think Ronws is offering a lot of helpful insight. I have a quick question. Are you a native english speaker as in first language or is it a bilingual thing? I seem to detect what sounds like a bit of an accent. I find the accent cute, but in the singing process in order to get more 'formal/proper' something like that could slip away. So I hope a tiny bit stays. I also agree that asking whether we can sing is kind of pointless and self defeating. People may not like how others sing, and it may not meet cultural/personal standards of technical excellence, but it's still singing. You were singing right here, and you'll find more and more to improve in as you keep singing, training, learning and/or receive lessons. Certainly you'll please more or less people as your voice goes through various singing phases. But are you singing for yourself at the end of the day? That's honestly enough without satisfying random people. If you want to satisfy random people, getting strategic and calculated can help but you still won't satisfy everyone!

I didn't get to hear your first man. Something that jumped out to me immediately was sound fairly focused on the nasal and the 'ng' of kinds vocal production. I hear some musicality in some of the phrasing. I think support is an issue, I think a bit of the pitch issue is stemming from this. I'd suggest doing some diaphragmatic breathing and slow air release exercises. My favorite one is to inhale on kind of a silent 'w' shaped mouth posture, and inhale really deep. Don't allow your shoulders to raise and try to feel your core expand. Release on a silent hisss.. Slowly, steadily. For as long as you can. You really want to try to get in touch with your support system. If I were to suggest, I'd look for some more open sounds. Maybe even step away from singing songs for a bit, and try to get some rich, resonating open vowels sustained. Ahhhhh, as in 'saw' is the most most open to my knowledge anyway, and while you may not want to center your voice this wide, it might help. See if you can get your voice ringing and resonating outside of the 'ng' which involves a pretty closed off posture. I like beginning of a yawn for open feelings. Once you get a feel for more open and feel for more closed, you can find something comfortable that is suitable for the sound of a song and you could try to add a bit more ng if that's a stylistic preference. To me it sounds like you might be a bit 'stuck' there in this posture. Keep at it. People have started from less and gotten further than I ever did. Never give up. But take care and go slow.

I like it. It's raw. If you're comfortable, I don't know if I would change it 'drastically' from this style. Polish, tweaks, basically breath support and placing it slightly out of the throat as Tommy said, while keeping a kind of similar flavor would basically polish you off, imo. Your tone tends to sometimes thin out into kind of weak fry. I think he's spot on there.