aravindmadis

Thank you Rob and MDEW!! Rob, yes, I have heard your version.  In fact the first version of this song I heard was yours!  

Posting after a really long time.  Hopefully some of the old timers are still around.. Thank you to anyone who drops in a word or two.. 

You can learn a great deal of music by yourself without formal coaching, but you will never know until you take another person's opinion.  To all of us, especially singers, we always sound good.  A good teacher can add a lot of value.  Value comes from interaction, from a teacher being not emotionally invested and thereby being able to see flaws, from just having a different point of view possibly from coming from a different school of learning.  

You can never become really good until you invest time, energy and money.  For mediocrity, you have the internet and all the "free" material!! 

On 10/10/2017 at 6:57 AM, Rufus Rufus said:

Good job on this song, good quality. !  I love this song, too.  Last few times I have heard James sing this and other songs live it was horrible.  Something is going wrong with his voice.  It is very harsh sounding and off pitch.  Plus, you can't understand a word he is singing.  It sounds as if he is singing continual ah vowels to me. Maybe he will get it worked out soon.  I hope so because I love Dream Theatre.

James's voice is a bit of an acquired taste.  It can get very shrill and bordering on annoying.  I can understand the hate that he receives on forums. 

But in some of the band's earlier albums, the material is so darned difficult from a singers' standpoint.  The quality of their musicianship is extremely high and all members are incredible in their own repertoire.  This is simply one of the highest quality of musicians who have worked together.  La Brie's songs in the earlier albums are so demanding that it is difficult to do justice to them in the studio, let alone in a live environment.  Most armchair critics do not realize how difficult this material is even for professionals to pull off.  I have the highest regard for La Brie's work, even if it is in the studio.  It is borderline impossible to sing such a tough repertoire for decades.  The only exceptions I have seen are Dio and Bruce Dickenson.  

La Brie does modify heavily even when it is not required.  So yah, it can be very tough to understand what he is singing.  He is harsh sounding because his technique is toast.  He is off pitch because he is signing again with a wrong technique. 

Still respect to this man.. 

Thanks Rob for the kind words  

Yes I have seen both these videos.  The lesson I have learnt is to find a way to use our own voice.  I think my voice at this range sounds heavy, possibly both due to my singing and my voice perhaps being slightly higher.  Fabrico obviously has used a much lighter tone consistent with his voice.  I actually love Shigeki's version most musically and tonally, but I don't like his diction, possibly because it is his second language.  

James La Brie himself has a very light voice, lighter than mine for sure and he sings it very close to Shigeki I feel...  

If we analyze the same song sung by different voices, there is so much to learn.  I would love to hear a Baritone with a really heavy voice cover it, so yes, I look forward to your version.   

Hi Folks, 

This is one of my favorite songs.  I posted a version earlier, this is after I did some work on my musculature.  Now I am able to retain more of the muscular sound even on my high notes.  The verse as many will attest is one of James La Brie's finest performances. It has taken me several years to reach this level.  For now happy with the outcome.   Thanks to anyone who drops in a sentence or two.. 

Your tone is nice.  I like it. But whether it is operatic, I am no judge.  

You have two points that you need to improve 

1. Your pitching is inconsistent, there are many places where you sound off.  If you can't hear that you are "off", then it means your ears are not sharp enough.  You will do good to invest time in ear training.  There are many many good apps that will teach you to do interval training, but best way is to listen to a lot of music and listen very actively.  I can speak from personal experience, this is the best investment you can make in your singing.  

2.  Your tonal quality is impressive, but needs more work.  You need to sound more effortless in your high range.  Tonal consistency is what makes a certain singer pleasing.  Right now, as in right now, this song is beyond your current level.  Which is not to say that you will not be able to sing it.  It just needs more work.  Work of the kind that is consistent.  Keep on what you are doing for 6 months to a year, both on your ear training and actual singing.  You will see massive improvements. 

You are already at a reasonable base level.  The climb from here on will become steeper and steeper and will take time and effort. 

You sound like Bruce in his old age.. I mean this as a compliment.  The core of the vocal color is there, but there is a squeakiness in his high notes(just compare the studio versions to the live versions especially from his recent performances).  This leads me to believe that you have the basic voice character to pull off and come pretty close to his studio version.  Which is a big deal.  

You are pretty sound in the earlier parts, but the performance really tapers towards the notes.   Metal singing is not about being exactly at the center of the note, but there were a few places where you sounded off beyond what is acceptable for my taste.  

Cheers.  Keep singing and you will in due course sound like Bruce.. 

11 hours ago, Robert Lunte said:

One thing that blares to me is when you sing "arms". Your really pinching down on "arms". I suspect that is because your articulators are trying to negotiathe the /r/ controlled vowel there "ar"... its a killer. Modify the vowel there. Open that up. Try adding more /uh/ to your "arms" ...

Thanks Rob.  That is very valuable feedback indeed.  I had not noticed that.. 

10 hours ago, Musikman7002 said:

Hi, I thought you did a really nice job on a singer that very few are brave enough to tackle lol. I thought overall you did good work negotiating the passagio danger notes. That is always the trick with Steve Perry Vocals the man lived in the Passagio for most male singers haha. Always hard to slip in and out of those areas. I would suggest keep working on it. You seem to be hitting the notes fine and the pitch is there. The tone could be just a bit more supported I believe and it would help you sound a little more like Perry. That being said the lighter sounds can be used to show the vulnerability of the songs lyric. A great job on a super hard singer and like you Perry is a tough singer for me because of his timber and tone are difficult for me to nail.

Thanks.. Steve Perry is by far the most difficult singer to emulate.  All his songs lie smack on the passagio. It is easy to imagine everything going terribly wrong if not sung with the most perfect technique. You cannot force his songs in a manner that you can do wth a lot of other singers.  He sings in a very high range with a light character with a lot of dynamics.  That is what makes his songs so difficult.  He is not monotonous in the high range.  That takes a lot more skill I suppose.  I guess this is where having a high tenor voice helps, since you can sing with less effort and still retain the weight.  I am not sure if I can support anymore than what I am doing currently.  Perhaps another two years and maybe it will sound better indeed!  

Hi Folks, 

This is a song that I have wanted to sing for a very long time.  This is as you all know, an incredibly difficult song on the passagio.  I don't think I sound anything like Steve, so it makes it way more difficult for me. It is a bit of a Mount Everest for me this song

This is a work in progress version. There are some pitching issues, please ignore.  I am curious to hear what you think about my tone in the chorus

Thanks to anyone who can drop in a few words

Rob.. The link that you shared does not have the backing track.. 

15 minutes ago, Robert Lunte said:

You are very welcome Arvind. Thanks for sharing your feelings about the TVS program, I appreciate it. ... the community here I have built. We enjoy having good people like you in our community.

This may sound funny but, do you have The Four Pillars of Singing? 

 

Yes I do.  Bought it 2 yrs ago I think.  Helped me a lot to understand concepts.  I am lazy to do exercises.  Always prefer to sing songs to scales. The community is awesome and like I said, I am both inspired and humbled to be in midst of so many great singers and coaches.  It always pushes me to do better. I am 38 years old.  I started singing when I was 34.  I have been around in these forums for nearly as long.  So yah, it has been great for me. 

Kudos to you Rob and the wonderful bunch here.  I know it takes a lot of effort to set up a community like this and you are all really making the world a smaller place. 

Thanks Rob.  I have to give a lot of credit to "The four pillars of singing" and the amazingly talented and knowledgeable singers here who have inspired and helped me over the years.  

Hi Folks, 

It has been a very long time since I posted.  I have made some jumps in my technical skills and so thought I should post a song again.  This actually I did about 2.5 years ago.  Unfortunately I don't have the older recording to do a Before-After comparison.  but the old version was around the time when I started  to learn to bridge but had still not learnt how to smoothly connect to the chest voice.  I had lot of issues then with nasality and "Quacky" sound.  I think since then I have addressed some of them.  

One thing that I would like to share in my experience is how important it is for us singers to keep pushing the boundaries every single time.  When you become better in singing, it reflects not only in your ability to do tough songs at an acceptable level, but it really improves the way you can sing "simpler" songs.. 

Awesome Felipe.  Singing is amazing.  But something is missing in the mix to make the track jump at you.  Maybe a touch of delay, not sure?  

Kudos..

I want to try.. Rob, where did you get the backing track. Not able to find a decent backing track.

Got the track at www.karaoke-version.com .

I have had a mickey mouse voice for several years.  Only very recently I learned to get over this problem.  It will disappear when you trust your true voice and fully start believing in the capabilities of your voice.  Then you can start with almost a conversational tone in your voice and bridge to stratospheric highs without "thinking" about it.  You will also sound more like yourself across your entire range.  

Needless to say, it will involve countless hours of singing, recording, listening and rinse and repeating this process over and over again.  

Very nice.. You sound like Bolton.. Very tough to pull off the weight in the high range.. Awesome

On 7/26/2016 at 6:24 AM, ronws said:

I also like your version. And, I think, between you and Felipe, you have more of the compressed sound that Bruce has. Your articulation is spot on and with no accent. Brilliant.

I noticed that you have an MXL in the stand, just like the one I have. How are you liking it?

Thanks Ron. Love the MXL.  It has a warmer tone than the AT2020 which I used earlier and goes well with my bright souding voice I think.  Great value for money.  

Very nice.. You sound very close tonally to Joe Elliot.  I guess that helps in sounding very good.  Your bridging has improved a great deal.  This sound it sounds very smooth for the most parts.  So keep doing the good work my friend.  You have come a long way....  BTW, Joe Elliot's voice also has a whiny quality which I love  

This kind of singing is in your sweet spot and you may want to pick songs like this(unless of course you want to experiment and improve in which case the more diversity the better!)

Have been meaning to cover this song for a while now.  Bruce's tone is amazing in this song.  What makes it so difficult is the number of closed vowels, especially in the chorus.  Someday I would love to do a better version of the song, especially in the chorus.  But for now I am very happy with the outcome for my current level.  

A big thank you to folks who give this a listen and drop a sentence or two... 

Great Job Felipe.. Love your tone.. I have posted my own version of this song!! Check it out

13 hours ago, Felipe Carvalho said:

Thank you aravin!! Its helpful to know, the songs are similar in many ways. I think I will change Clairvoyant this weekend then, looking forward for your opinion.

 

BTW bro.

You remember the Raga's theory you sent my way right? I am looking for some manner of experimenting more with that, but other than my voice I don't really have an instrument capable of producing a quarter step like some of those modes need. I was thinking of some virtual instrument but honestly I don't know where to start looking, do you have any tips in that regard?

Felipe, that is flattering, but I am a rank amateur not qualified to give any "opinions" that actually matter!  

I don't remember what I sent you.. Can you send me a PM, perhaps I could pull out something for you.. 

Hi Felipe.. I listened to both this song and the clairvoyant again.  I absolutely love your interpretation of this song.  Perhaps this is closer to a heavier sound that we associate with Maiden I don't know.  But this is soooooo perfect for your voice!!!!