etekiller

Have you tried bending notes? The sooner you learn how to bend a note, (it sounds like a slide) the quicker finding pitches will be. You know those siren exercises everyone does here? Give those a try, not necessarily for volume reasons, but to get your voice moving freely up and down.

 

That way if you can't find a note, you can slide the pitch up and down with ease, until you hit it. Even a low volume near falsetto slide, can be really useful in getting the voice accustomed to being 'moved.' Once you hit the notes, it becomes easier and easier.

Is this sliding a good habit? I usually just try again, I don't try to slide because I'm worried that I might get a bad habit of not hitting the note and then sliding into it.

You're actually improving quite a bit. You may not notice as much as an outside listener. Pretty much just keep going for the time being. I don't want to interrupt current progress too soon.

 

When you get ready, you might want to look into other vowel sounds a bit later (James Hetfield loves long A, like hey) and experimenting with consciously opening the the throat ever so slightly, (5-10 percent of a yawn) just as a beginner to try to ensure you don't constrict too much.

 

I'm of the opinion if you throw the kitchen sink at someone too soon, it might not always help as much, cause right now you're training a mind body connection to the singing voice in general. It's a lot like other skills and your brain needs to wire the connections to work with the body fluently. No one becomes a concert pianist overnight. 

 

The good news, is you are not in a bad starting point to my ears, and you have progress to be made even from this point.

Thank you very much. My biggest problem is the fact that I am unable to be on pitch from the beginning to the end of a song, I have to repeat parts and sometimes look for the note to start off well. I have to improve my skill of matching what I hear with what I sing.

Currently if you played a note on a piano I wouldn't be able to just hit it right away (well, sometimes I would, like 50-60% of the times). I would hear that I am off pitch right away though and would hear when I am on it. I seem to have trouble with feeling which tone to produce.

Thank you, rowns. Yes, I am aware that it's a cover , I am using the Metallica version, because as I am a beginner it is easier for me right now. I try not to push myself too hard before learning more technique.

Hey guys, sorry for another Metallica song, but I started it so I thought I might try to do the whole thing.

Right now I have just the beginning before the chorus and I am not sure what to think about it. Could you please check it out and tell me whether it sounds at least okay? I have some pitch problems here, I suppose I'm off pitch at the beginning of that aggressive part (too high).

But I would rather like to listen to you instead of giving my biased opinions.

I'll be very grateful If you check that out.

Thank you guys!

The recording:

https://soundcloud.com/pe-ter/ttp3/s-oNQDH

It's weird, you are okay on the lowest and highest notes but the middle had a few flat spots. Your vowels seem okay and choosing ee as a center vowel is certainly a good choice.

 

Then, again, how long have you practiced this song? That can make a difference.

Thank you for your opinion. I've practiced this song for about 1.5 hour (this particular part, I was repeating it during recording) before recording that final version. I had trouble with the endings of each line. They throw me off a little bit, I'm not skilled enough yet to nail them. I'm pretty new to singing to instrumentals though.

To be honest, I would start with just 'generic vocal technique' prior to jumping into the serious aggresive and angry styles for at least a bit. I know some singers here, even with a really long history of singing, tried rasp advice from other singers, and it didn't work out. I think it was Ronws. So you really need to take that stuff with a grain of salt.

 

There are multiple ways of getting that anger/aggressive tone. Some of them like twanging with a lot of compression in the voice, have been measured to occur more likely at the false folds of the voice. Others seemed to potentially come more from the real folds. The ones that come from the real folds can potentially be damaging if done incorrectly.

 

It's not that it can't be done healthily, but it's pretty tricky and having a good solid foundation of the vowel placement, breath control, and tone is an easier baseline that doesn't tire you, strain or anything is a good base line without having a teacher.

 

I get rasp in a way that doesn't tire me and I also like the sound of, it's kind of like a weird vowel shift that I hit (I'd recommend playing around with vowels for everyone), it helps to twang, it helps if the larynx is a bit higher, there seems to be an alteration in compression or air flow, and it sounds best if there is a bit of plaintive thing too. For me it's a complex interaction that I probably couldn't articulate for an advanced singer that skillfully, much less someone who isn't highly experienced in a way that they could safely apply.

 

So when you are ready to pursue it. My best advice, is to not brute force it. If it hits you wrong, change your approach.I've had rasp sensations that felt plain bad. The key would be to not repeat ones that feel bad. And search for something that doesn't cause any hoarseness or strain.

 

One of the qualified teachers like Rob, Daniel Formica, or also Felipe would have better skill and advice and if you don't find something comfortable that works for you. Someone with a proven history of teaching rasp would be really good to seek out. I know how to do it in a way that feels bad, so I know it's possible. And I'm trying to help you while looking out for you too.

 

For me at least, there seems to be more than one component involved and the stars align in a way that I don't go hoarse. There's a little bit of a buzzing sensation above my larynx. Even with a teacher, you'll have ot listen to your body. If I know how to do it in a way that feels bad. It doesn't necessarily 'sound' that different from the one that feels good (feels higher in my throat, rather than lower). Even a trained expert, might not be able to judge your body. You've got to be really aware of it.

Great, thanks for warning me too, it's a crucial piece of advice. One thing that helps me out in understanding what you say about those feelings you get is the fact that for the last few years I've been using my voice in various ways, that was always my passion. Singing, rapping, being a radio host. I've even been a telemarketer for a year. I used to do some voice-over work. I worked in dubbing. That job requires you to change your voice very significantly. So that no one would recognize you only by listening to you. It made me aware of my vocal cords.

This might make it more safe for me to try the things you're talking about. I'm very grateful for your tips. You and MDEW really help me out on these Forums.

Thank you very much. I try to copy artists first before creating my own style. I need a base, few styles that I can use and later mold my own style from them. I did that in rap because it was too hard to start with my own style right away. So I am keeping an eye on that and I will try to kill any noticeable influence as soon as I get a good grasp of singing techniques.

Can I ask you whether you know any tutorials on youtube that could instruct me on vocal techniques used in Rock? I've heard that there are some little tricks that help people develop that angry/agressive voice.

Hi guys,

In one of the threads I've posted that I have a lot of trouble in singing to instrumental/karaoke versions of songs.

I said that I will post a sample of my singing for you to tell me how can I improve. Instead of posting it there, although I got amazing support in that thread, I decided to do it here, maybe more people will be inclined to leave a tip or two .

I know that I am sometimes not in key, I will have to work on that. What also bothers me is the fact, that it sounds a little bit artificial. Without life.

Here's the recording (singing starts at around 0:26):

https://soundcloud.com/pe-ter/wimr/s-8lUF9

I will be grateful for some tips.

Thank you!