aravindmadis

I've been quite busy on other things and haven't been singing (or posting) much, so I missed your thread here. I finally sat down and gave it a good listen. I agree with others it's not quite dialed in yet. This song very difficult as we both know. I gave it a shot live the other day and wasn't satisfied. I think we both could use more work on the song. Both of us had a few moments were pitch was sketchy and moments that sounded a bit strained.
 
As advice, I actually almost have the opposite impression to Elvis in adding weight. I don't think it will help much.  My take on this is you might want to experiment with using curbing like vowels as you were using in Let it Be as a central point, as opposed to belting, and 'lean into belting' vowels and twangier positions from there.
 
The reason why, is your approach to belting has a high larynx, and large amounts of twang. The twang may indeed be  increasing mass, and there are a few high notes here that are possibly with more mass than I might sing with, but twang and a higher larynx accent nasality which might be why your voice is more nasal on this track. If you use slightly darker vowels the mass may not be as heavy, but it might end up less quacky. It can add a darker more covered tone and 'round' you out some.  To my ears, the very first line, is probably the most 'balanced' sounding timbre in this cover.
 
That said, I've said before that people in different cultures have different ears for nasality. I have a friend from southeast Asia and their native tongue there is often very twangy and nasal and even can sound whiny sometimes and their singers often have some of this inflection in their timbre. I've noticed some in native music from India as well. Ultimately you may always sing more nasal than is normal in western culture but I feel like you have room to explore in between and maybe find a balance that is still 'you.'
 
This song is fairly high and constantly in first and second bridging areas with varying vocal masses, but it's not to the point in my voice where I 'have' to quack or shriek to sing it although I do have difficulty keeping a pure timbre 100 percent of the time. I think you're close enough to my voice type that you could probably do it similarly. 
 
All that said, this was a good attempt. I don't see many others trying this song. It's not just power, it's flexibility and a rapid fire endurance to even keep up with the song. You're constantly on your toes and can't miss a beat, and then the guitar solo section comes in and is almost, harder, cause it's the first time you even have a moment's respite, and by the time you come back. Keep training, and when I get a chance to sing seriously again here, I'll give a 100 percent live version, flaws and all.

To me this song is about freedom and the joy of it. Like it says im on top of the world and noone can touch me. I understand KillerKu likes alot of authors and singers with a more sense of emotion and depth to the lyrics, and i agree this song is kinda superficial and self obsessed but that what rock and roll is. Or was xD. 
Maybe aproach it with a mindset of a winner. Grab a mic and just let it rip. Aint nobody whose better than you

When well-known and successful singers cover a song, they don't strive to fit the genre, they make the song they cover fit the genre they are in, or the style of presentation they use. The best example, besides what I listed above that was in a movie, is when Ronnie James Dio covered "Dream On." He did not try to sing like or sound like Steven Tyler. He did it sounding like RJD and his cover became so beloved that a slew of new covers were based on his rendition. Just like a bunch of young guys doing covers of Shinedown's cover of "Simple Man." Although their style is actually kind of close, at times, to Lynrd Skynrd.
And professionally,  I could do that. Cover a song the way that I sing a song and make money with it. It's just not acceptable in certain places or instances. In some places, you must sound like the original singer and you must sing it in the original style. I think that is one of the reasons I have not shared my guitar-based cover of "All of Me." A kind of medium travis picking thing and of course, my non "R&B" voice. Because my own voice, even after 41 years of singing is just not acceptable on everything. 
Some may think, "are you comparing yourself to Ronnie James Dio (besides having the same first name)?"
Yes, I am. As I would compare myself to any other singer, a man made of flesh and blood and not a god or deity.

​Gneetapp, I din't think you said that! Yup, more practice and I think in a month or two I am ready for a repost

Hey Aranvind, you are improving a lot... both, singing and recording. It sounds very natural to me, also like your interpretation. However I think you can even achieve more depth in your voice... for example, in the first verse watch out the word trouble, you are putting it too much in your nose. Same thing with words that finish with ee: Be, me, agree... try to give them more space. 

I'm a fan of the original and I liked your version. You're gaining a lot more control in this lighter voice which is really important. I think you're lightly curbing on this. Welcome to my world.
 
You've had huge improvements man. There's nothing really to critique cause it sounds like it's placed pretty properly and you will only gain refinement if starting from a good place.

Giving up is for losers.  If you are really passionate, don't give up, but be ready to put in hard yards.  Nobody runs a marathon without physical preparation.  Singing is like that.  It takes time, effort and patience.  If you do things right, you will be surprised how far you can go.. 
 
If you want to improve, the best way is to purchase a copy of the Pillars and spend time on this forum.  There are amazing teachers here.. 

AWESOME Aravind! You did the verses well, although there is room for improvement, but you were killing in the choruses, man! Really good! I think, as this is a "one-take" recording, you were not "in the zone"in the first 1-2 verses. But after that you were rocking! May I humbly suggest you something? Keep doing the "one-take" routine, for it is the best practice for live singing, but add a loop during the recording, so it will replay the backing track as soon as you finish singing, and you can re-sing the beginning, or the whole song again if you feel like it. This way I guarantee you will nail the beginning of the song in the same way you do the middle and end. Keep on rocking man!

This feels very authentic to me. From phrasing to your timbre. Very Lenonish. I like it alot. Truly i do!
 
I dont really hear nasality so i think you got that down! Also this sounds great already, studio might polish it a bit but thats marginal!
 
Also that preety awesome light phonation. Truly this is something that i cant do at ALL. This song is right up there in my range but i sing it alot more powerful (which is bad). I sound more like Coverdale singing this song instead Paul Mcartney. Kudos A!

Nice work A.... stay supported.
 
 
Good point Ron... 

To sing hard songs without any flaws is something best left to the virtuousos So don't think so much about it! Haha!
Generally, your "ee" och "oo"(?)-sounds are great (words like "gleaming", "betray", "beauty", "day" and "you", "true"). The vocal line "mystified by her beauty. Does the hunter pity his prey?" sounds really nice in regards to timbre, and gives me an opportunity to come with a few pointers:

1. When singing "does" use vibrato! You're a bit sour on that note, but by using vibrato you will negate it. Vibrato is a nice way of masking a sour note At the same time, from a compositional point of view I can see why you kept it straight, seeing as the other sustained notes in the phrase was sung with vibrato. Unfortunately, technical restrictions and artistic freedom counter each other.

2. "piTy". As a fellow swede I feel your pain haha, but it's supposed to be pronunced somehwere between t and d. Swenglish is a bit of a problem through-out the song, but I have the same problem. I can't sing words like "pity" correctly either. Bork bork bork!

The whole chorus sounds very nice as well, with the exception of "paradise" which sounds like it constains a bit of vocal fry. Sure, it's hair-splitting and nitpicky, but then you might understand how nice you sound when I say you sound "very nice"
You've got a warm typical "I'm in a professional band selling thousand of albums"-voice, which probably turn a lot of people green with envy (me included). You remind me of Daniel Gildenlöw; the vocalist of Pain of salvation.

Lastly, your distortion is not there yet, and your high notes sound strained, but in the grand scheme of things that's nothing. It will come with practice.
However, from my personal, non-professional experience, I've found that distortion and range go hand in hand. By applying a nice amount of distortion on a high note you're able to create the illusion that it's an easy note. BUT, I'm no vocal coach (and have never even visited one) so I think you should take this with a grain of salt. It might conjure a thought process about it at least

I really like it! : )

I agree. What I meant by tone was about getting the best version of your voice. As an engineer I like to understand physics and maths behind sing. My understanding is like this. When your tone is good you have an optimal mix of the lower mid and high frequencies of voice. In my practice over last year or so this involves a delicate combination of right volume, open throat, right laryngeal position, mix of chest and head resonance etc. I am more evolved in my singing to be ble to apply this concept to relatively easier songs. Now if you want the same tone in a song with fifth octave notes the skill levels are far higher. Even in posts here I do a mix of easy songs and tougher songs. For easier songs I seek validation on tonality and on tough songs I seek suggestions on my technique. It really helps me to compartmentalise this way.

This is good man. I don't have any critique for it. It has a really polished delivery in the timbre and just works.

Thanks. I agree, there is a kind of balls to the wall approach to what Freddie did. I'm glad someone posted the acapella instrumental track. My practice regiment for this song was literally
 
1. Listen to the song one time to get it in my head
2. Record for 2 to 3 takes
3. Post.
 
I think a really hard song like this could benefit from some very specific and isolated practice rather than just winging it. I'm the king of winging it, but a really hard song like this could really benefit my technique to train more seriously.
 
So I'll be joining you in training it. Maybe a couple months down when you're ready, we can compare notes and help each other out.

Killer I tried this and posted a wip version. This is a crazy difficult song. Your version is quite good. If you keep at it you will certainly improve your quality. I think to sing this like Freddie there is a brute strength quality that I fell may require strength building in addition to actual practice. As awe inspiring as Freddie was, he had nodules and I am not sure he could have sustained this.

I agree, singing is about tone, also. It happens to me and can happen to others when you sing a song for which you are NOT a tonal match, that can cause problems for listeners. So, it helps to decide how you are presenting the song. As a cover or as a tribute? To me, a tribute is where you are trying to sing as close to the original as is humanly possible for you. I phrase that most carefully. Some singers, you could work for years trying to mimick their sound and never make it. Not because that singer is unobtainable but because your voice is just made different. But you might get close, close enough for a tribute. This was that close, you sound so similar. So, how many decades did you train to get this light sound?
 
As opposed to a  cover, where you may change arrangement and melody line to suit your voice, singing and performance style. Like how Ronnie James Dio changed "Dream On" to fit his voice and it became iconic and singers started covering a cover.
 
Just like Shinedown did a really good cover of "Simple Man" by Lynrd Skyrnd and now you have singers covering the Shinedown version.

My current audio setup has a quarter second delay on the audio loopback, ASIO drivers are misconfigured and I can't be bothered to try fix, so I haven't been recording for weeks, but was thinking about this quote:
 
 
So I decided to take a song that is a bit out of my league and comp a couple of tries per section. 
 
https://app.box.com/s/fsrb6rwio0zh6tf5c8z8eperikxgp30t
 
This is probably a current snapshot of where my technique would be going if I had less error in live performance.
 
I've been thinking snapshots like this might be useful for singers to see where they are currently headed in training and how this direction might change with experience/education.

i do a lot of queen covers and what really helps me is to listen to freddie's isolated vocals tracks: 
 
not to say it shouldn't be your own take on it, but it REALLY helps to hear the intricacies of his voice and how he approaches it.  they don't call him the best for nothing, so i find it really helps to study how he would handle certain vocal runs/notes etc.  you'd be surprised how much detail is lost from freddie's beautiful vocal takes by putting instrumentation over it.
 
me and jeremy were talking about your cover and we agree you gotta work on more legato and delicate phrasing.  i find it helps to first sing the song softly at a more comfortable volume and once you have all the interval leaps and runs down, build up the chest and gradually turn it into a real vocal.

Thanks for your kind words. Took me a while to realise singing is as much about tone as it is about pitch accuracy. This I well within my range and a much easier song for me. At lleast here I post songs "just" outside my abilities.

Holly Shizzz! When you started singing, I swear I rewinded the song twice and cranked up the volume to make sure it was you singing Aravind! AWESOME timbre man! I never heard this song before, and if you told me you wrote it, I would believe you! Great cover! Pitch wise I think it was pretty accurate. Beautiful rendition, man! Keep rocking!!! 

I like this, very smooth and beautiful. You sang it very good

I'm going to reply to this one since you made an updated topic. It's good that you joined a choir. That's going to give you a commitment to keep singing. What's really going to help you to sing beautifully is daily practice. As I was starting out, I was told one thing that really stuck with me. Voice majors in college are always praticing. When they wake up, they're humming. When they're in the shower, they're singing scales. When they're walking down the street, more scales. They want the best voices they can have, and so they're always practicing so that they will attain that. Now, you shouldn't be doing that much at the start. Your voice will be fatigued in less than an hour of continuous practice, and once you get that fatigued feeling, it's best to stop for the day. Also, if something hurts or feels uncomfortable, stop it immediately. Get in that mindset though. Practice with a sense of purpose. You're going to sing beautifully one day if you continue to practice.
 
Now, like I said, it doesn't have to be one block or practice at one point in the day (example, practicing for a half hour from 8:30 at night to 9:00 at night). It can be done throughout the day. The point is to commit to getting the practice in.
 

Hi Aravind, when I say decrease the power on the high parts, it is just until you figure it out how to do it properly, or get the muscle memory, to sing the way you want. I agree with you, this song is all about the power, after all, "we are the champions of the world...". But the way you are currently singing it (struggling and shouting) will make this song be the only one in your set list, because it is going to kill your voice and drain your stamina. Believe me, I've been there, and singing in a rock band with poor monitoring still makes me do it. Keep rocking man!

Somethign to think about is Freddie didn't start off with this kind of song or singing. My favorite Queen Album is Queen 2:
 

 
The vast majority of his vocals sound top down to me. He started light, and built the coordination into the heavier belting sound as far as I can tell. So it's not either/or but trying to force the belt above a certain point at least for me has been counterproductive.
 
So you'll be able to get it and sing it like a super hero, but you might want to train a bit like your hero seemingly did.