aravindmadis

I feel I have made some improvements to my singing to post a second take of this song.  I feel like I have more "easy" power in my higher notes and my singing in the passagio has improved from the last time.    This is a very very difficult song for me.  I had to really work on each note and use vowel modifications to sing this song.   I think I made a zillion takes before I felt happy and would never attempt to sing this song live!      The mix I feel is frankly not good at all, but I am really lost on how to improve it.  Any suggestions will be appreciated  

  Thanks Mrloud, yes, that is the part of the song which always gives me trouble.  If I have understood you correctly, the dipthong would be like l-ah-ohn-ley la-ay-fee.. Correct?  

  Thank you for your kind words Rob.  I am happy to tell you that the Pillars is my first attempt at taking formal training for singing.  I have always sung based on my instincts and having spent a lot of time in these forums over the last year, I made the long pending leap to buy the pillars.  My experience has been very very good.  I am still familiarizing myself with the terms.  For e.g. I don't know what a "twang compression" means in your comment, but I guess since it sounds like it, I must be doing something correctly.  That was my motivation to buy the Pillars.. To learn the actual science that goes behind vocal production and I must honestly say that even with the limited time that I have been able to spend over the last week, it has been money put to very good use.  I have started the workouts(generally do them in the car during my drive to work), and I fully don't understand how it will actually help with specific spots while singing songs.  But it helps a great deal from a mental standpoint.. For e.g. when I go wrong in a particular place, I am obliged to think that it is likely an onset issue, so perhaps I could try a different onset.. You understand what I mean!   I am sure you have heard it many times before, but I will say it again.  Fabulous work on putting a training program like Pillars and kudos to you for getting this exceptional forum to connect singers across the world.. 

Wow!!!! Love the clean tone on the D5s,, so refreshingly different from the way Freddie sings the exact same notes.. 

  Hi Khassera.. Which one is this?? I just got the pillars last week!  

Hi Folks..  This is one of my favorite songs.. I think this song is well within my range, the A4 is not an issue..    I seem to have an issue with the start of the song.. Where it starts with "Can you remember" and again at the point where it says "I am returning" & "A strand of Silver".. I am seemingly sounding like I am shouting and losing integrity of the note.. I am using a mix voice(or as Robert would say a covered head voice) throughout the song.. Please check if you can spot anything and let me know what I can do..    http://vocaroo.com/i/s1hR97EWCNtS http://yourlisten.com/aravind.madhavan.90/perfect-strangersallconverter   Getting a copyright issue with soundcloud so trying a couple of other websites..     

@Ronald... Thanks for your patience for listening to my soundcloud songs and secondly for taking the time to give a detailed feedback. This is very valuable to me as no one has put their opinion about my singing in this fashion.   I have evolved a great deal in my singing over the last 1.5 years.  Some of the songs are from my earlier attempts and I am pretty sure I can do the same songs much better now(like Faithfully) and possibly employing a slightly altered technique..  I started early with a much chest heavy approach and over the last year and a half have morphed completely into a head voice/mixed voice style.  I am finding that I am capable of employing this style to reasonable effect in both Rock(like Iron Maiden) or Pop style(like Let it be), both are work that is relatively recent.  What I am definitively not is a chest puller/Belter(a la Bon Jovi), but this is something I have consciously stayed away from, because of fear of damage to my vocal chords.  My head/mix voice has become quite strong and I am actually using the same technique in both "Bring me your daughter" as well as "Let it be", which is a combination of Head voice + Support + Mixed voice belt. I am finding that I can use this to sing Michael Jackson(will cover "I just can't stop loving you" one day as well as Led Zeppelin(To me it sounds like I do a mean "Babe I am gonna leave you") and do them reasonably well.. The trouble for me is that this is very complicated way to sing.. It gives me a lot of flexibility, but I still haven't found a conclusive way to bring it all together.. The other big problem for me is doing lower-middle range(third octave notes) in my chest voice.. This is the weakest part of my skill set and I haven't found a way to connect when I sing like this..    It will take me another 6 months to a year to put it all together, till then I can only practise.  About what I like to sing? I love songs across genres, and sing songs that I love to hear and ones that challenge me..    Once again thank you for your detailed feedback.. 

  Thanks Ronald.. I don't listen a lot to R&B.  Do you feel my voice will suit a particular singer or song?  If so, please let me know.  I will attempt it first and then try to see how I can apply that style to this particular song.. 

Hi Folks..  Wish the readers and the forum moderators a merry christmas..    I did a version of this song a few months ago.. I had a lot of technical issues then and I have corrected some of them, primarily singing with proper breath support and using appropriate vowel modifications.  What I am finding with improvements is that the ear becomes trained to spot all minute pitch errors.. . So to make that 1 to 2% improvement becomes more and more difficult... I now understand why professional singers take a long time to record songs in studio   and more importantly why they dedicate their lives to self improvement..    Please flag off any inconsistencies and errors..   

  Thanks.. I now feel motivated to try "Hallowed be thy name"!! 

As a poster on these forums I actively seek feedback and I will be honest to admit I don't know enough to give a detailed technical feedback.     I think most of us subconsciously expect a certain degree of encouragement and if we do get criticism, we want the criticism to help us improve.  In one of my earlier posts, one of the reviewers pointed out that I had an issue with shallow breathing and unsupported voice.  This was one of the most important things that was suggested to me.  On an another occasion, there was a really good feedback that I got on cord closure, specifically on low notes.  This was again a very good feedback and something concrete I could work on.  I try to make an effort to take any feedback well and I honestly know very little compared to folks on this forum.     There are other occasions when I get feedback on the lines of not suiting my voice for e.g. I have had the same song which have been appreciated by certain folks and others do not find it good at all.  Feedback honestly depends upon the level of knowledge of the reviewer, the goals that a person seeks for themselves and stylistic choices. Because of this, feedback tends to be very diverse from folks.     As a person who wants feedback, I tend to take a more philosophical view on things that I cannot explain or things that I don't understand.  It is perfectly fine for people to not like my voice or my voice on a certain style of music, or my interpretation of a song or simply anything.  We all have very subjective tastes when it comes to us.  Why should the same not apply for our music?  We can't please everyone, at the same time, we must seek out things that can help us improve.  

Interesting that you should say that Ron.  I always wonder what defines the "right songs" for a voice.  Is it the timbre or is it something else.  I sing songs that I love to sing, but ultimately it is upto the audience whether they like it or not, irrespective of whether the song was delivered technically perfectly.      Thank you for sharing the link... I definitely want to try this song, but I would've never identified this voice style with mine.. I think I have a deeper voice, and so am intrigued as to how I will sound singing this.. At the moment, I don't even know what is my style.. I just keep experimenting singing really diverse styles....I plan to do some pop next time and I do sing traditional Indian music reasonably well.. What do I sound best singing? I have absolutely no idea..    What areas do you think a training program like Pillars will help address?  There is so much I don't know about singing, so perhaps you can be specific about what I need to expect, it will be great. 

Hi Folks..  I feel confident to take on monstrously tough songs..This song is one of my favorite Iron Maiden songs.. Any comments/suggestions on improving the song will be appreciated.. I feel my hard work is beginning to pay off.... I hope I have been able to capture the energy of the song in my interpretation..      I bought the Four Pillars program earlier in the week.   I am really excited to see what tips/tools I can learn..     

  Most Indians in large cities speak decent english, including cab drivers.  Also, India has several hundred languages, including dialects, and some of them believed to be 10000 years old.  My family speaks in English all the time, because my wife comes from a different part of the country and English is indeed our common language.. My kids are growing up primarily speaking english at home, which was not the case with me.  We also watch a lot of english sitcoms and therefore understand the American accent well.  Of course we do not sound American when we speak.  We tend to emphasize a lot on consonants during speaking in India.  I "sound" more American when I sing probably because I relate to this accent more.  Of course I won't sound like you for e.g. if we talk to each other!    It is probably the vowel mods that I have been working on!

One of my personal favorites... Recorded this as a dedication to my wife on our anniversary.. Am I a cheesy guy or what    https://soundcloud.com/aravind-madhavan/eight-daysaweek   Paul's songs are all so difficult to sing.  He sings quite high in a clean tone.  This is the style of singing I like to emulate.. 

One of my personal favorites... Recorded this as a dedication to my wife on our anniversary.. Am I a cheesy guy or what    https://soundcloud.com/aravind-madhavan/eight-daysaweek   Paul's songs are all so difficult to sing.  He sings quite high in a clean tone.  This is the style of singing I like to emulate.. 

Lussfabu, thanks   KillerKu, thank you for your really insightful feedback.  You are talking about "recording a single".  I take it as a huge compliment.  Fact is that I am in my mid-thirties with a full time job as a technology salesman and two small kids .  I have never thought about my singing seriously till last year and I want to give my best shot to see if I can become a professional singer.  I have had no formal training ever.  I took the first steps last week when I bought myself a the web edition of the TVS Pillars program having been hugely impressed with the knowledge of posters on these forums.  I am really surprised & happy at how far I have come by self-teaching, but I feel I absolutely had to get formal training to realize my dream.  To be honest, I have not thought about interpretations and emotional and mood swings in delivery so far. It has been a lot of hardwork to get to these stage to sing these very difficult songs in tune whilst also bringing in originality in the interpretation.  I can relate to your explanation on why these are very important when actually recording singles.  I will keep it in mind in my future recordings.. 

  I have a 5 year old who sometimes listens to my recordings, so I wanted to keep the recording "clean"... Thank you.    Ronws, cool cover by Jim Carrey.. Thanks for sharing

Thanks Gneetapp.... I see what you mean... I hadn't realized it and it probably wouldn't have occurred to me. This is the reason why I post and seek feedback.. There's always something to think about and work on when others comment on your voice..

Hi Folks, I love this song as a male.. What appeals to me about this song is the lyrics and is something all males can relate to.. Am sure we have all been there :cool: Except the A4, the song is quite straightforward.. I think the original singer uses more falsetto in the portion where it goes "She's running out again".. I just couldn't get that tone and decided to go for a more full tone which I think suits my singing better.. I also skipped the lowest notes in the verse.. https://soundcloud.com/aravind-madhavan/creep

How does vowel mods help reduce nasality?

Hey MDEW.. Not familiar with the song but I am always a sucker for rhythm guitarist singers.. Used to play guitar and sing when I was younger. I don't know if the profile pic is you in person.. If so, and I mean it like a compliment, you have the voice of a much younger person Clint makes a very interesting point about repetition. I guess he is referring to improvisation. This is something I am trying to improve in my singing.. There are two ways to do it, either in the beginning of the phrase, or more easily in the end of phrases.. I have started listening intently to great singers.. Listen to Freddie sing "Too much love will kill you" or from a totally different genre, Michael Jackson sing "You are not alone".. Pay attention to the way they end phrases.. They improvise and always take each phrase in a slightly different direction. Sometimes it is a breathy tone, sometimes it is gritty, sometimes something else, you get the point.. I guess this can only come with feeling the song in your heart and just "letting go".. That way you don't sound repetitive.. Do you play guitar while singing, or record the guitar separately? The latter may really help with this portion.. There is a limit to which humans can do different things well at the same time..

Thanks MDEW.. Could the edgy sound be due to improper mixing? Or is it a voice related issue? I am a much better at singing than at mixing!! :D

Thanks Javastorm.. Others, any other suggestions?? BTW, Happy Thanksgiving..

Hi folks.. I had a decent day during practice, so I felt motivated to record this song.. I have long been wanting to do this cover.. I have not heard this song a million times like other beatles songs, so I don't know if I have captured the exact feel that Paul brought to this song.. I got very good advice to try in this very forum to sing songs like they were written for me. So I did not try to do an exact replica and just took the song where my voice took me.. Please give it a listen and be as critical... I want to be really good, so please be harsh.. https://soundcloud.com/aravind-madhavan/oh-darling