Gneetapp

5 minutes ago, Xamedhi said:

Hahahha, definitely, man!  I like the direction your voice is taking.

The thing about this improvising thing is that I personally go very physical and carried away. You can go as intense as you want, not caring about consonants, and just enjoying and memorizing the feelings of the voice in the throat haha  I love this pillowy feeling I get on the C4-G4 area on my pharynx/soft palate. 

Also, the mid range and first bridge must be like iron if one wants to sing around the second bridge, so hammering on the first bridge area on a high intensity, on different vowels ( OOs and EEs are VERY VERY important! I personally work on OOs as much as I do AHs ) is one of the best exercises you can do hahah

It really sounds awesome man! I will definitely try it. I noticed that once my voice is warmed up, I can easily vary intensity and add a beefy sound to my singing. However, the E5-F5-G5 barrier is still there mocking me... ;-p 

7 minutes ago, Xamedhi said:

Nice song, man!  It sounds really good. You seem to get the vibe and the feeling of the song very well. I haven't listened to the original, but I like your interpretation enough to not want to listen to the original, haha.  The only one thing is that I hear some consonant inconsistencies somewhere in there, like... a not well coordinated "L", so the word sounded funny, and something like that. And also, a bit of an inconsistency with the highest notes in the song, It doesn't matter that it changes a bit in timbre, its alright. Voices change throughout the range, we have all sorts of colors and spaces, BUT it didn't sound as reliable as it could be, but it could be due to not being that warmed up. In some of those high places it felt a bit shaky, or a bit chaotic, which I don't mind... but I think it was not the intention, right? That's why I'm making the observation. Overal, I like your timbre and the way you¿re using your voice, man. You have made a lot of progress  

Now, I know you don't like doing exercises, you like to get right into singing hahah  but singing this song as a warm up may not be the most efficient way I think. 
If you don't like doing exercses you could just grab the guitar and improvise some atmospheric stuff, guitar and voice, sustaining long AHs and other vowels, in different intensities, until your voice feels pumped up and ready to belt and take the pressure, hahah. 
I do this as a warm up, I don't do scales anymore when training ( unless I want something in particular ), but now I have more of a musical approach. I just do whatever note comes out, in the most comfortable pitch, usually around the B3-C4, in mid-high intensity, and start improvising melodies around that pitch. 

The area of pitches starts expanding, and when I feel very comfortable sustaining long G4-A4 in high intensity then I know I'm ready to sing and my voice can take the load of more chaotic stuff, like the songs I find hard.

I'm just mentioning this to you because I know the feeling of wanting to sing right away, haha, but really really it is always best to sing very warmed up. Because it sounds better and it FEELS so much better. Imagine how it would have sounded if you had warmed up before    So, I hope that doing something like this might make you enjoy warming up a little more.

Letting my voice do whatever it wants to do and whatever feels more comfortable, cranking up the intensity pretty fast. From the middle of the voice first, to the extremes. At least for me is far more interesting than doing scales. And if you improvise along with another instrument it definitely will train your ear too.

Hi Xamedhi, thank you so much for listening, the review, the kind words, and the tips, man. It really means a lot to me. Dude, I really liked your warmup idea using the guitar and improvising with melodies. I am definitely going to try it, hopefully this weekend. I agree with about the shaky notes. That was not the intention, just the result of lack of warmup, or more precisely, the song being the recording of the warmup itself. I think I am pretty happy with this song and my voice, and will try to record a polished/finished version, and maybe post it here again just trying to get praises. ;-p

Cheers,

Hi guys, this is my last attempt to keep this file online. I just moved it to another server, I hope you are able to listen to the voice Soundcloud wants to quiet... ;-p

https://app.box.com/s/02mvgco9msle61ttb55vx9xqflv7xzz3

3 minutes ago, MDEW said:

  I always thought that it was Fair use for educational purposes and Commentary or parody..............Gneetapp, Maybe you are just too good and no one will want to hear the screeching of Axle anymore after they hear you.

Hey MDEW, you may be on to something! ;-p

I always thought so too, regarding the fair use for educational purposes. I think it may be time to stop posting works in progress and do finished/polished recordings and post on youtube :-p

56 minutes ago, MDEW said:

 I always add another word to the title or Just give a description instead of using the exact title of the song. If you had it listed as "Sweet Child of Mine" - Guns and Roses............... Yeah you will get busted. I usually would title it something like "Sweet Child of Mine  Practice". Cover of "  ".... something like that.

Hi MDEW, that is exactly what I always do too: name it as song title vocal practice. They got me once. Then, I re-uploaded the file with a totally different name (Vocalpractice HardRock Mar2016, and they still got me. So, from now on I will be posting my cover songs on the Box server. Cheers

Busted! Soundcloud is getting clever! They took down my Sweet Child o Mine cover again! 

9 hours ago, MDEW said:

 Yeah, At 53 as far as health goes, I am in the PINK, Pretty much all day I am "Comfortably Numb".  No need for meds.......... Life did that to me.

9 hours ago, MDEW said:

I got a weird sense of Deja-Vu when I clicked on that link......... I am not sure what I wrote in the last timeline but this  time there was some pitchiness around the 3 minute mark. Did you see the video Felipe made about the "Ultimate tip to high voice"?

I cannot remember the exact name of it. Look through the threads in Vocal technique section. He says something about breathing through the nose and a dopey "Hong" kind of sound............Really look up the thread, I suck at explaining things. Anyway, Axle is a perfect example of what Felipe was talking about AND Witches Cackle sound. Be cartoony and "IN the Nose". I think you are allowing a little too much of your natural full voice into this instead of allowing the Honk and Twang take you up the scale.

   This is one instance that you want to copy the sound of the original singer.........  At least to help you strengthen the upper notes enough to bring a fuller sound into it later.

Hi MDEW, thanks for commenting man! Sorry but you lost me regarding the deja-vu. Do you mean I got the same problem as in the "I can't make you love me" cover? Or are you referring to another attempt of sing Sweet Child? Because this is the 1st time I post this song. The link to Soundcloud was broken because they identified my file as a probable violation of copyrights. So, I renamed the file and re-uploaded it. But it is the same recording.

I completely agree with you regarding the twang, or in this case the lack of it. And I noticed how the 2nd verses became so different than the 1st one. I think it could be that I used even less twang in the 2nd verses, and maybe less fold compression as well. Additionally, I am still working on my distortion to make it more readily available when I need it. Because now, I can do distortions (not the hardcore types) but it varies from song to song. So, I still need to get how I am producing it, so I can use it whenever I want to. 

I will definitely check Felipe's thread oh high notes, thanks for mentioning it.

Cheers

19 hours ago, reisbro said:

Sorry for reviving this topic but could you tell me what softwares and equipment you used to record this? Did you play the instruments as well?

Hey Reisbro, I cannot say for certain hoe Mivke recorded his cover, but the vas majority uses backing tracks (instrumental tracks) or karaoke tracks to provide the accompaniment for singing. So, in order to start recording you will need at least a backing track of the song you want to record (if you don't play yourself any instrument), a decent basic microphone, mic cable, an audio interface (a piece of equipment that will convert the signal of the microphone to your computer, and a recording program, or DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). I think you can find lots of useful info in here http://www.themodernvocalistworld.com/forum/9-home-recording/

Cheers

I liked Javastorm. You got such nice tone in your voice that it is a really good match for this song. I think you sound very good and pass on emotion. You might be straining just a little bit on the high notes, but it could be just a matter of putting more time on this song until the coordinations become more natural for your body. Hopefully the more experienced guys will give you better technical advice. Cheers

14 hours ago, David Mitchell said:

Hello! So I've decided I wanna sing, and I need some help. Though I'm 18, I have a relatively high, young sounding speaking voice. What's odd about that is my range feels most comfortable singing the full range from bass to soprano. I know I have the potential to hit the higher notes, and I can, but when I do the notes sound really, REALLY flat, and I really want to learn to correct that. I found some tests online, and I can easily (without strain) go up to c6 but when I do, the notes between c5 and c6 sound so flat ;_; Can you guys give me some tips to help make it sound better?

Hi David, it is nearly impossible to identify what the problem is without listening to you singing a song, or parts of songs where you do well and not so well, or at least some vocalizes, although singing a real song would be the best way for the very experienced guys of this forum to give you a genuine help. Cheers

Hi guys, as Soundcloud took down my file, I am posting an alternate link. I hope you like and can give me some tips on how to improve it. Many thanks in advance, Rock on!

10 hours ago, aravindmadis said:

This is a great song for your voice.  You have the right tone and range for this song.  You may want to experiment with the following 

1. More support and compression in the way you render the mid upper range.   
2. Get some distortion on the high notes like 3.03.  You will need to do support and compression for the same and it will have the rocker sound! You do these same sounds in 4:48 for e.g. It will be great if you can get this kind of sound in the high parts of the voice..  

All in all great effort and kudos to take on such a tough song.. 

Thanks a lot for listening Aravind. Regarding tip 1, do you think that is what happened in the 2nd verses, because I noticed it sounds different than the 1st. I'll have to start experimenting with distortion, because sometimes I can do it and don't even know exactly how. I think it depends on the song. In some songs distortion comes more naturally than in others. Don't know why. Thanks so much for the tips my friend.

10 hours ago, ronws said:

Su tienes Cajones grande, bato loco.

Really good effort. You have the range and a great tone for this song. I think the only thing that is causing you some strain is over-articulation. You sound quite a bit more american on this one that you did the Bonnie Raitt song. Mainly because your vowels were cleaner. In fact, the only weak part I could hear was the lowest end. You don' have to sing that low just because Axl does. Sing where it works for you. And did you know that a lot of the singing on the songs, especially harmony parts, was Duff McKagan? He actually started out playing guitar and singing and got into playing bass later.

And, like Duff, you've got a great punk feel in your voice, which I think is cool.

Muchas gracias amigo! lol

It is always those "blessed" vowels! Yeah, that low "were do we go" is a killer. I am under the impression that in the 2nd verse I sounded different than in the 1st, maybe with less twang or compression. I didn't notice while singing, only afterwards. I knew that Duff did the backing vocals, and although I wasn't sure, I always thought he did the low parts. But I had no idea he started as a guitar player and singer. I saw him on TV (Rock and Roll hall of fame ceremony) with his new band. Thanks again man!

4 hours ago, aravindmadis said:

Gneetapp.. I like your voice in the higher octave.  It sounds more natural for your voice.  I must say that I like Rob's version in the lower octave coz he has got that effortless low notes that create the more signature Rob sound!   

Quite a big task to want to sing same song in two different octaves, but great effort!

Thanks a lot Aravind! I totally agree with you man. And this was so much harder than to sing it in the original key. But on the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised with the results, although not near the attempt in the high key. I had never imagined that I could do it, not only because like you, I got a higher pitch voice, but also because I tried only once before recording, and it was way worse than this. LOL. I actually did this for fun and experimentation, as I knew there was no way I could do it well. Cheers

10 hours ago, Robert Lunte said:

Gneetapp,

Way to go, making an effort at this... I admire your hard work and effort to experiment. Real deal.

This is sharp.

A lot of sharp intonation in here... not sure why, I think it is a resonance situation... you may need more practice feeling resonance on these lower notes. 

Something assures me that if you did this a few more times, you would tune this up and make it work. It is not ready at this octave... but with a few more tries you could make it work. 

If you like I could work on this resonance with you over a skype lesson... we could work on the song together... 

Hi Robert, thanks for checking this out! Yeah man, as I said before, really unstable. Although I didn't think I could even pull this off, not only because of my natural voice feels more comfortable higher, but especially because my lack of time for training in the last 2-4 months. To be honest, I tried this song in this key last week, when I mentioned that I would give it a try, and last Saturday when I recorded it. You mention that I was sharp in several places, that could be my voice instinctively trying to go back to my comfort zone LOL. I agree with you regarding putting more practice and thought into this version to make it work, and thanks for the tempting offer, but unfortunately my free time has been scarce lately. I even had to put my band on hold. Thanks again Rob.

10 hours ago, ronws said:

Yeah, there's some off pitches but I think that is from pushing a little too much. I think, the key to the low end is the same as the high end. Manage the breath and let the folds do what they will.

Hi Ronws, thanks for checking it out man! It was so much harder to do this lower octave version than the original, although the version in the original key was not perfect either. Yes, managing the breath and the resonance too. Thanks my friend.

Hi guys, this is my attempt to sing Sweet Child of Mine (Guns n' Roses). I would like to get some tips on how to improve it, besides more practice, of course. 

Hey guys, and Robert Lunte, here is me practicing the same song 1 octave lower. I noticed how unstable, and even off pitch the lowest notes were, but to be honest I had no idea if I could ever do it, anyways... cheers

On March 2, 2016 at 5:52 PM, Robert Lunte said:

Gneetapp,

For sure,... let's hear the lower octave version. That would be an interesting study.

3 hours ago, ronws said:

Compressor functions

ratio: how much the sound in decibels is reduced in volume

threshold; The level of loudness at which point the compressor will then "compress" or reduce the level coming out

knee (soft or hard) - how sudden is the change to compressed signal

attack - how fast, in time, usually milliseconds, a compressor begins to act

release - how fast, usually in milliseconds, a compressor releases or quits compressing

option (make up gain after compression) - the compressor increases gain after compressing the signal or track to a usable volume.

Well said Ronws! If I just may add something: as compressors decrease the difference between loud and soft parts of the audio, you would want to use the lightest compressor in soft singing, such as ballads, and probably stronger settings in hard rock type of vocals. Cheers

5 minutes ago, Xamedhi said:

Oh, I had no idea that term existed. Looked it up and is very similar to what I do. EDIT: haha   http://www.homestudiocorner.com/a-case-against-riding-the-fader/
What that guy says he does ( Clip Gain ) is more like what I do, though.

Aravind, I think you could practice some more on the timing and phrasing on All of me. The music has very clear accentuations, and you can really use that to your advantage to make your singing more interesting. People like the dancy rythms of this pop stuff a lot  

I've read in some recording tutorial that you can also normalize your vocals or song, but instead of doing it in one move, you actually identify the different parts of the song and normalize each part in separate. This way you don't lose the dynamics of the recording...

14 minutes ago, Xamedhi said:

I don't know if I'm an obsessive, perfectionist or what, really... I have a compression setting for everything I sing, and then change it when I want to do some backing choruses, or whispery effects and stuff... But the main thing is almost always static.
What I do, is shape the spikes, or the vocals that stand out more compared to the music. I amplify by 0.2dB and -0.2dB for example, select parts, giving shape to them, like drawing on the DAW, until I'm pleased with the sound and how it mixes with the musical track. Am I being too hands on with the thing? lol Is this a common practice?

It is almost like what people call "riding the fader" throughout the song...he he

1 minute ago, YouCanSingAnything said:

Eeek! Yes get out of the kitchen!! Apply reverb in your DAW not from the room!! That's a big part of what is giving a lot of the harshness to the vocals! Reflective surfaces like you'd find in the kitchen are a bad idea 99% of the time! I like my bedroom better than my closet =p. Every room has a different sound, even a closet. It's all about finding the room/position within that room that sounds the best. Good luck!

Hey Tristan, the kitchen is only for acoustic and acapela practice, never for recording! haha 

Even I know that I have to avoid the natural reverb of the room in recordings. Cheers 

3 minutes ago, YouCanSingAnything said:

Ha my name is Tristan =p.

Your distance/EQ really depends on the microphone. There's no solid answer I can give... Just know that you can do things like changing the microphone's position in relation to your mouth (what angle are you singing into it?), change the microphones position in the room (I have Xs taped on the floor of my bedroom where I think the microphone sounds best.) When you consider all of these variables plus the fact that every singer needs to be EQ'd different... using presets isn't a great idea!

Rather then rant on here I'll send you some links to channels you can check out for more info =). It seems like a lot at first but it's not as bad as it sounds =p

Yeah, I got you Tristan. I know that using presets is not the best way because every singer has a different voice, and also because of the song style, it is just the quickest. ;-)

I promise to start paying more attention to that, as taping an X on the floor would be out of the question because when I record I do it wherever I can . Usually, when I practice singing while playing acoustic guitar, I do it in the kitchen because is wide and has a natural reverb. But for recording, perhaps I should try my closet. I would just have to endure the endless jokes about singing in the closet... LOL

Cheers

1 hour ago, YouCanSingAnything said:

FYI what I would do to fix the vocal track is record closer to the microphone. You sound way too far away! Getting closer to the mic would (like less than 1 foot away) would add in some much needed bass/mid frequencies (proximity effect) and cut out some of the highs (room sound.) Check the distance Rob is standing in his video! This is ideal for most of us who don't have a $10,000 treated room at our disposal.

When you EQ cut off some of that high end and add in some low end. There's also way too much "air" in the sound, which is typical of a condenser microphone (sounds like that's what you're using.) For some reason I tend to mix in a similar way as well; wanting the vocals to pop out by emphasizing the highs. It's a mistake! Even though you're a tenor, emphasize the fullness of the vocals and leave in only a little bit of the high end for flavor.

Thank you so much for your review/tips YouCanSingAnything. Dude, what a long login name, can I call you You for short? ;-)

Yes you are right about the condenser mic, but I think I was about 1 foot away from the mic. I will definitely remember to "eat the mic" in my next attempt. Additionally, I think my mic was acting out during my recording, as I got a few dropouts in other takes, or perhaps was a faulty cable. Regarding the EQ, I have no idea of what to do, and as I'm a lazy arse I just pick a preset for lead vocals or rock vocals (I use Logic Pro X) and listen for the result. But I'll try to be more active about EQ in my next recordings. How would you suggest me to proceed, what type of EQ to use, the frequencies to cut or boost, etc.

Many thanks again "You", Cheers