Gsoul82

Don't get worked up about it now. You paid and you're trying to get the help you paid for, so lets focus on that.
I listened to the recording in the quote above and the pitch is the biggest issue there, and it is an issue throughout. No worries though, because that can be fixed. Take Killer's advice up top and start looking into ear training exercises.
 

I think I see what's going on here, Simon. Never be afraid to take criticism. You can always get better and you're here to do just that. There are no bullies around here. Only people who will tell you what issues you have and how to fix them.
 
This should be helpful. Please read:
 

I was just replying to what you said below in bold.
 
 
If you meant something else, that just wasn't clear to me.
 
Can I ask what you mean by it being a more broad musical community?
 
If it's about commenting on your singing, we simply cannot do that. Review My Singing is a paid service. There are lots of people here who have studied the art of singing for years, including a number of performers and singing teachers, so you would be getting expert advice. I actually highly recommend that you purchase it, because, as I mentioned before, you are serious about singing.

I was just replying to what you said below in bold.
 
 
If you meant something else, that just wasn't clear to me.
 
Can I ask what you mean by it being a more broad musical community?
 
If it's about commenting on your singing, we simply cannot do that. Review My Singing is a paid service. There are lots of people here who have studied the art of singing for years, including a number of performers and singing teachers, so you would be getting expert advice. I actually highly recommend that you purchase it, because, as I mentioned before, you are serious about singing.

Then this thread would belong in the "review my singing" section.
 

I can't comment on your singing unless you've purchased a Review My Singing Plan, but about that part where you said you would not send the teachers anything new until you could sing decently enough, how do you plan to achieve such a level of efficiency? 
Sure, you could keep singing and eventually, it will sound better, but who knows how long that kind of approach could take? If you're as serious as you sound, you'll want to pinpoint the obstacles that are standing between you and the voice you want and decimate them. For that, you should be seeing a teacher regularly. Weekly, if you can.
Setting constraints like that for yourself when you're just learning about something can cause problems. It's just like I told somebody the other day. They want to develop an iOS app with all the bells and whistles on it but they hadn't programmed anything in their life. They wanted to set timelines for certain parts to be finished. How do you know how long it will take you to do something when you're just learning about the subject?
 
Better to have somebody lead you closely through things. Much more likely to happen as quickly as possible and you'll have more confidence.

Working on it. I can almost play this one Isley Brothers song all the way through. Could already sing it without completely decimating it, lol.
 
I don't know. Something about the guitar always attracted me. I think everybody at one point heard at least one song that made them go "Wow! I want to play that!" and decide to pick it up for the first time.
I never really listened to music that had that instrument in it, but once I started to, I knew I wanted to play. Something about those sounds it can make. 
 
 
Reminded me of Bowie at a couple parts.
 
 
 
 

Yup, I did. Trying to start singing over things with the guitar and it's moving along.
 
The stuff you and Ron have been saying is also stuff that's interested me. I had seen and read a few things since I started playing again. Doing more on a guitar than just playing a song, like making changes in a way such that you're compensating for only playing one guitar is amazing.

The recording and mix stinks but the playing was much easier when I scaled back the guitar part to just guitar.
"Rain Song" # 2 by Led Zeppelin

http://www.box.com/s/09def48d0af59a258e5b

 

Well, a perfect example of what I am talking about in simplifying is in playing and singing the "Rain Song" by Led Zeppelin. Having heard the song, I learned to play it from manuscript, which is a full arrangement, not just the guitar part. And the full arrangement is guitar, bass, melatron, drums, strings. I was tying my hands in notes trying to get chord voicings that accounted for everything.
However, another song, "Dust in the Wind," really is played with two guitars (a duet of Rich Williams and Kerry Livgren) but I had figured out how to play it on one and tend to keep it that way.
By all means, keep the rhythm and meter of the song in mind. In fact, I have re-arranged chord shapes around what the vocals need to do.
Another thing, change how you play a chord to fit the song. For "Highway to Hell," I play the A chord with just the middle finger across the strings at the second fret. this sets up my had to play the first inversion D chord that follows and alternate F# and G for what is essentially a harmonic bass line, though it is not the bass guitar playing this. In fact, the bass guitar only comes in at the choruses.
Normally, I might play A the way that I learned it from Mel Bay's Book of Chords, which was first finger on A, middle finger on F# just below, and ring finger on C# just above.
"Land Down Under," I start with Bm chord and use the pinky for the floating melody and move to A with the first finger across the second fret and the pinkie finger on the 5th fret and kind of arpeggiate the chord, just a smidge.
"Travelling in a fried out combie. On a hippie trail, head full of zombie."
(combie is australian slang for an RV or caravan type of vehicle and zombie was a slang for funny cigarettes.)

I first got a guitar 8 years ago. During that time, I had 2 teachers and attempted to self-teach myself several times. My first teacher was good, but took too much time off. We'd have a lesson, he'd go out of town the next week. We'd have another lesson, he'd go out of town for the next week. We'd have another lesson, he'd go out of town for 2 weeks. Second teacher, which was one of my last attempts, was actually my piano teacher who had given me lessons for 2 years, but school got too busy, so I had to make the decision to drop the guitar for the moment. That piano experience, by the way, is why I'm much more confident that I'll be able to stick with it this time. Between all that, I attempted to teach myself and never really learned more than around 20 songs and a bunch of chords. I had no direction when I was on my own. Now I know much more about what I'm doing and why.

Oh I meant I can't play it properly, as in if you gave me a guitar today, and asked me to play a few songs with your band, I can't even wrap my mind around what I would need to do to prepare for it. I would not even say its being humble, I can see how I am just terribly naive on it. I've mentioned that because if you use this technique with someone that is more experienced on the instrument and can play with a good sense of flow, rhythm, etc, it really sounds great ( I will record something in this setup soon with the help of the guitarrist that works with me).
But you know what, mdew said something in the lines of begin from the basics, and I've been doing that , its part of my daily routine now to pick the guitar and study something on it for at least 30 minutes. Let's see what happens a few months from now!

Well, believe it or not, I'm doing that as well (on about the 9th attempt to learn the guitar). About 3 weeks in. Turns out I never really knew what I really wanted to do, or how to go about it, when I decided I wanted to "learn" it, until I had already tried to learn it 7 times.
 
The more I thought about it, the cooler I thought it was to be able to make music with what's inside your mouth and what's in your hands. Singing alone is incredible, but being able to do it while accompanying yourself? It's much more complete. You're a one-man show. And now, beyond that, being able to create whatever comes to mind with an instrument other than your voice? Very powerful stuff.
 

Well, believe it or not, I'm doing that as well (on about the 9th attempt to learn the guitar). About 3 weeks in. Turns out I never really knew what I really wanted to do, or how to go about it, when I decided I wanted to "learn" it, until I had already tried to learn it 7 times.
 
The more I thought about it, the cooler I thought it was to be able to make music with what's inside your mouth and what's in your hands. Singing alone is incredible, but being able to do it while accompanying yourself? It's much more complete. You're a one-man show. And now, beyond that, being able to create whatever comes to mind with an instrument other than your voice? Very powerful stuff.
 

I'd never seen a post from you before o:
This is a momentous occasion!
I'm a little late to the party though. MDEW already covered what I had to say.

Hahahah man you are crazy.  All this talk of Greyhound buses and road trips is unnecessary.  Surely an event that included two TMV moderators would justify the use of the official Modern Vocalist Private Jet.  We'll just have Adolph leave us the keys for the weekend.  We can all get together and back home in under 12 hours.  

Cool, 2 songs in one day. Somebody's working hard(Or playing hard). Sounds pretty good. It seems in this on as in the other...you have the notes but not confident in them. Perhaps practicing this one a half step higher for a little while and then bringing it back down to the key you are now playing in.
 It still sounds pretty good but you asked for tips on improving it.

Wow, what a change of pace! Is this one easy to play?

Does it help you to get into the mood when you stand on the outside like that, before it's time to start singing? I notice you do that in a few of the videos you posted.

Really?... Mine's done...
 

Here we go!

Ron's got some insight, for sure. He mentioned Prince to me, completely out of the blue, a few months ago.

Loved it, Killer. Can always hear the passion with you, and you always implement a subtle accompaniment. Exactly the way I would do it, if I could play
 
 
Always so hard on yourself, lol. Another one I haven't heard. It wouldn't be a challenge if you chose an easy song to sing. Feel free to polish it in here.

What?! I remember I just saw you start posting like a year ago and now this is what you've pulled off! I like how this sounds too. Congratulations!

Take number 2. Starting to figure out where I want the embellishments now. Timing was a little quick in one spot. It's coming along. Gotta figure out how I'm going to do the part where I cut things off at.