MDEW

I recorded this again, keeping in mind some of the suggestions. I changed the chord progression. It is not as easy as it seems to transpose a piano arrangement to guitar and had a few chords wrong. I left a little more room between lines in the second half of the song. It may match a little better than the beginning. Let me know which gives a better feel. if any........ Thanks.

Thanks Draven, You are spot on with my R sounds. My Tongue flips up and my bottom lip curls in with the top teeth resting on bottom lip. I have been aware of the problems for a while but knowing the problems doesn't always lead to a direction to fix them. 

In those times when I think that I am adding flare or excitement more of the accent kicks in and everything starts heading towards an "Ih" center.

I like the Idea of using movie and cartoon characters as a reference to sounds.( I had to look up the priest from Princess Bride)

 When I was told too many times that I sang through my nose with a raised larynx (After getting the advice that there should be nothing in the throat, resonance in the head and movement in the abs) Everything should be free and easy......I decided to be an ass and present the same song with the most constricted and manipulated low larynx sound I could think of.....A combination of Bullwinkle and Grandpa Simpson......The responce from the forum was "Whatever you are doing right or wrong keep doing it.".  My conclusion was that the definition of Free and Easy is something different from "Free and Easy". I do not try to use that sound all the time. Maybe a little of it at times.

The result may need to sound free and easy but there is manipulation involved, even if the manipulation is suppressing movements rather than initiating them.

Thanks for listening. You are spot on with the groove thing. Elton plays this a tad slower..

   I have not been able to lose this accent, It pulls me sharp on the Ah's and Flat on the Uh's.  I have been thinking of vacationing in Minnesota for a while, maybe that will subdue this accent.  Maybe that is a bad idea..

3 minutes ago, 2 cats in a dust bin said:

you saying this is a rhythm issue?

No, It is a pitch issue. Singing in tune is staying on pitch. If sing a note too low or too high you are off pitch.

Hello Gedas, One of the problems is that you are not singing in tune with the music.

    The music sounds pretty good and because you wrote the music I would I would assume that you can hear when instruments are out of tune or that a Bass line or piano part does not fit with the rest of the music. If I were you I would play the sung melody on the piano and then practice singing to match the pitch of the piano.

I thought I would have a go at another Elton John song. Let me know what you think.

   Of course you are correct, avoiding the problem will not solve anything. Did the problem area sound any better in the first recording? Perhaps lightening on the mid areas will help lead to the G4. Or did I just end up with the same issue?

   I am still struggling with my Accent also. Words like Round and Clown mess with me while speaking.  I am not sure whether my lips are trying to shape the vowel or if my larynx is the problem. I always tend to put an "Ow" in there. Like the sound you make when someone hurts you. Modifying the vowel/dipthong sounds wrong to me. 

  Thanks for the responce Keven. Yes, I was sitting down while playing guitar and recording. Another problem is that I make these recordings around midnight while others are trying to sleep.

 My break is slightly below G4 and that is the note for "Fall in Love". I play this in the Key of G By the way.  I have been having a bit of success by modifying to "F-Ah-L" rather than "F-aw- L". If I am going to go ahead and sing in M2 on that note I might as well raise the key to be further in my head voice rather than right on by breaking note.

    Just to be straight, do you want tips BEFORE you practice with the band? Kicking it with the band is the best way to go first. You and the band need to be in sync. Not you and your imagination or you and Karaoke. Record the band with you singing and without so you can practice at home with the recording.

    Or is the band not even going to work on it if they think you cannot sing it? Changing key is also an option if it is too high for you at the moment.

     What you presented here does sound like a solid starting point. 

Great to see you are back. One thing though, you forgot to link.the video.

It has been a while since I have posted anything. If you have any comment good or bad let me know. Thanks.

 I finally had the opportunity to record this again, Let me know if I did better or worse. Thanks.

1 hour ago, Draven Grey said:

I've never heard this song so light. Very cool!

Watch your diphthongs in your accent. If you focus more on the main vowel to sing out, then pitch, accent, and timbre will lock in more often. Another thing to watch out for is anticipating the next note or over-relaxing at the ends of your phrases, both causing the note to fall. Again, that will start to go away when you focus on singing out your main vowels. What Robert mentioned, singing with a bit more weight, might also help stabilize the issues I mentioned.

 

   Thanks Draven, I have embraced my identity more as a story teller than a singer. Jim Croce, James Taylor, Jackson Browne along with Dylan and John Prine. 

I dropped the key from Bb or B to G so the highest note as I sing it is G4 staying away from the dreaded passaggio.  As I mentioned above after watching other people perform this on acoustic I thought I had been singing it a bit too heavy. With any luck I will be able to rerecord this evening with the suggestions that you and Robert made along with my original approach before being influenced by the way others have presented this.

  I have been trying to get a handle on my dipthongs for some time now.  I grew up with Bluegrass/Country gospel. Part of their appeal is a thin piercing sound. It goes well with the Banjo and fiddle but leaves a little to be desired for other types of music.

2 minutes ago, Robert Lunte said:

MDEW,

Nice, soft acoustic version. Kinda reminds me a bit of Bob Dylan, but I dare say, your a better singer then Dylan.

At this light and soft approach, there is little risk and therefore, little to critique. 

But I would say this... Why are you allowing your sound color to be so thin Joe? It sounds like there is no larynx dampening and/or added warm vowels to your resonance. I would like to hear this again, same approach, but conscientiously try to "man-up" and warm the sound color. Let's get more beefy modal voice behind this. It is kind of thin and tinny. I don't believe it has to be.

Shoot again Joe.

Hope this helps.

 

     Thanks for listening. To be honest I ran through this song quite a few times trying different things. My first approach was heavier and more matter of fact rather than soft. I viewed a few covers by other people to get a handle on the acoustic guitar rhythm. Most of the other singers used a lighter approach and I guess I let myself be influenced by them. I will rerecord this and see how it goes.

 It has been a while since I have presented anything. I still have not found time for true practice but I have improved since receiving the FOUR PILLARS OF SINGING. 

Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks

  Singing is hard to write about, especially when it is about tone. I do not really hear anything wrong with the tone, but then again it all depends on what style of music is behind the singing.

   In these examples you are singing word for word with distinct stops between each word, like each word is a separate note. In some styles that is good but with others it is bad. Think of singing in terms of phrasing. There is not a hard stop between words but a continuous flow, unless of course if the song calls for that.

  The voice is another instrument. When you are playing a lead on the guitar do you stop each note before you play another? or are you playing four or five notes in succession with some of the notes sustaining? At the same time you are also expressing an emotion with your voice. Using dynamics to express the feeling. When you are happy and expressing love for someone do you yell at them like you are mad? Not if you want them to return the feeling. You use a soft tone when expressing love and a Harsh tone when expressing Pain or anger. Phrasing can be thought about like that also. Slow and melodic for expressing love and quick and blunt for anger or pain.

   These are just guides to give you a different way of thinking about singing.

12 hours ago, 2 cats in a dust bin said:

Well there I was again; singing scales as you do.

But today and a bit of yesterday my voice cracked when singing at this range; I can normaly sing these notes in my head vocie with out a problem but just now I can not!

Anyone know what has caused my voice to start cracking?

https://app.box.com/s/ukl64k9kxnsqrxfwuu4oq7vtfmpb5ubb

 

 

Thanks

2CIADB

In a recent thread you were asking about TONE or TIMBRE, A change in tone or timbre will require other changes to your singing. Before, you were allowing your voice to do what was needed to get the pitch without being conscious of the tone.

Sounding good Javastorm. Nothing to say as far as tips go except to keep singing this and add it to your set list when performing for an audience.

Sounds good Jeremy, I have to agree with everything Robert said.

Just use a single vocal line(unles adding harmonies of course).

The character thing he was talking about is adding prosody or rather when the lyrics are making a statement sing it like you are making a statement and when the lyrics form a question sing it like you are asking a question. Add emotional content to the singing.

In a song like this you are telling a story AND acting out the lyrics with voice. Vocal technique is only part of singing and performing.

Keep up the good work. I really like your singing. Add this one to your list. Soon you will have enough to perform two or three sets in public...........then the fun really starts.

Great Job Ellise.

You are singing Y-ah-ee like Y-eye- ee.  Do not do that. use something like M-eh do not add ee to the end of it.

6 hours ago, Rockstar said:

@Daniel, I wanted to read whatever you posted but something's wrong with the forum. 
Here's my siren: 

Here's me singing without cry (upto E flat) after that I have to cry or add support to go higher and hence cannot carry the 'pretty' clear tone up. 
 

Sometimes the meaning of words gets us confused. For your second song, consider it this way, You are crying out to some one across a field or to the back of the room. Even the lower notes are still cried out as if to get someones attention from far away.  Not Yelling but Calling to someone.

1 hour ago, Gneetapp said:

So, in the first clip you sang up to a C5/C5#. And in the 2nd clip it sounded like a light head voice to me. I think this is a classic example of the difference between singing notes or sirens and singing songs with words. So, the guys might be right, and you need to strengthen your chest voice up to your passaggio.

6 hours ago, Rockstar said:

@Daniel, I wanted to read whatever you posted but something's wrong with the forum. 
Here's my siren: 

Here's me singing without cry (upto E flat) after that I have to cry or add support to go higher and hence cannot carry the 'pretty' clear tone up. 
 

I agree with Gneetap and Jonjon.

In the second clip you said yourself you are singing without cry or support. You need to start off with support. Rather start of with enough Volume and Air pressure for the notes.

Singing is very close to controlled yelling or Calling. Soft singing takes more support not less support because you still need the same amount of energy in the sound but holding back loudness at the same time.

21 minutes ago, Draven Grey said:

Bravo! This is exactly my intent from my words. @muffinhead, I see you working hard in TFPOS. I have no doubt you can do whatever you want with your voice as long as you stay determined to do so. Don't let "I wish I could..." or "If only..." ever stand in the way of knowing you'll reach your goals because you will stop at nothing to do so.

I don't want to hijack this thread though. So to relate that back... I've had a lot of pleasure teaching an SLS student how to belt. They have amazing control of their voice. Sadly, I've yet to meet one that has the strength to sing in a full voice after a few notes above their bridge.

They Do teach strengthening the voice. It is just that the students do not realize that is what they need to do. SLS will teach you how to get closure with Goo and Gee, then they will have you add mass by opening towards Ah or Oh. The student is supposed to see that you need more air and pressure to maintain the closure  when adding mass. I do not think they come right out and express that. I guess the student is supposed to make that connection himself. What SOME of the SLS teachers fail to realize is that the student may fail to make that connection or maybe the teacher himself is just following the program.

   But what is expected is that you add volume and mass over time without using enough pressure to lose the connection.

Long story short. A hooty OO will get you into head resonance. You can do a Hooty OO like a baby owl thin and small or like a Giant owl Big and deep. Small sound is high larynx. Big sound is Dropped larynx or as Roberts puts it Dampened Larynx. With SLS's Goo's and Gee's you default to the Small Owl. With Roberts Formant tuning, Dampened Larynx, Lift up and Pull Back,  you default to the Big Owl.

    The big owl will allow Volume and stability, The little owl will have you flip into falsetto.