Sexy Beast

Hey Aravind!

I'm not weaving in and out of falsetto haha... I sing it full voice compared to Chris Brown who does flip for the higher notes... I'm more at a medium intensity with some higher intensity in places but unfortunately it doesn't seem like the recording captures that especially the higher intensity...

Also my voice is light. I'm not Michael Bolton  

If you wanna hear my falsetto listen to this: https://app.box.com/s/poqumunhfx8hxye5lwblsryl3pmi45af

@ 0:04 "you were there" that's my falsetto, @ 0:34 "over you" and @ 0:39 "to do" is falsetto as well.

Been singing for maybe 6-7 years now.

Thanks for listening

Just recorded it again! I think it's better what about you guys and gals?

https://app.box.com/s/snp2n22y25gkcnujqjgv4emvzf915pv5

I think it sounds very good overall

Now for the critique:

Sometimes you will back off too much on a phrase approaching a high note and that will cause you to grab. "And darling I will be loving you till we're seventeen" You are basically singing unsupported and falsetto-like here and when you need energy for "seventeen" you grab from the throat because you are disconnected from your body to start with. Singing at low volumes but supported at the same time is a very difficult skill...

You are often loosing closure in the higher range like @ 1:20: "Take me into your loving night"

A little tip for 2:16 "it's evergreen" - It's a little chopped up. Don't pause but try to connect "it's" and "evergreen" like it's the same word I think that would help you hit the higher note better. In other words keep it legato, chico!

Sometimes you overly modify your vowels maybe due to your SLS training? Like @ 2:35: "People fall in love" becomes "People fool in love" not the same thing haha

@ 2:50 "same mistakes" - I hear you going into a whiny "nay nay nay" kind of sound. It's not bad it's just that you are losing the natural quality of your voice here... but it does help your closure. Maybe progressions like "nay nay nay" to "no no no" or "nuh nuh nuh" would help you keep the closure and bite but with a more neutral larynx position.

Hope this helps

haha Bono that's very nice of you! I think I will record something in better quality soon

 

Where is the file???

Sorry Bono I deleted it. Was not very good

 

So, get over it. Your avatar is of a guy with enough confidence to wear a speedo. Live up to that, just a little.

Yezzir!

Vat's thanks for listening. I posted an other one the runs are better there!

I really like your voice!! I wonder when are you going to récord yourself on a better quality along a bed track

Thanks Bono

 

Says the first one (The Way Love Goes) is removed, but I listened to One Last Cry. Sounds great man, I like all the riffs and runs you got going. Very pro. I'm not so much into RnB and soul, but I'd say you got this style by the balls. Great work!

Sorry I had to remove that one for security reasons haha. Was my second maybe third time singing the song. I have to sing it some more, especially since I like to improvise I better know the song well. Maybe I'll post it later

 

But that movie "Sexy Beast" was just nuts.

That movie's the bomb!

 

Most people would hear a raw recording on a lame mic and assume the singer is worse than a produced singer on a good mic. As singers, hopefully we know this isn't the case, but I really do think you're good enough that 'showing your voice in the best context' could be at least equally as important as training.

You are absolutely right... The thing is I hate recording myself as soon as I put headphones on I freak out!

Second verse:

 

And I like your articulation. Crisp without being over-done. Sounds like toast, huh?

Sounds sexy thank you!

 

Some of the runs will get more polished in time if you keep practicing them,

Actually when I sing light like this I have a hard time controlling my voice. My runs are much better when I'm singing more full on.

Just started working on this song today: https://app.box.com/s/vne5gtxoxfe5ln8rpo85g6knbytu9kci

What do you think?

I'm recovering from a cold so be nice!  lol

 

Nowadays, I take an honest look at where I first start getting uncomfortable (around C#4) and make sure not to push for notes that I don't truly have.

Most men have a little trouble around C#4... Actually before you hit the passagio around E4 some ajustments need to be made. Some people call this upper chest, it's important that you don't start spreading the vowel there. If you get this area figured out the passagio will be less of a problem.

 

Your scale advice rings true to me for that reason as it reinforces the idea to keep the intervals where they are comfortable.

The main idea is to even out your voice in your lower/mid range and be able to sing there with consistent quality and set your voice up for the higher range. That's easier to do with a teacher but if you have a good ear and maybe record yourself it is doable.

Hey KillerKu thanks for listening

I'm not trying to copy those guys. I just wanna know if this tone sounds good that's all

 

But yeah, I'd definitely experiment with starting almost falsetto (very light tone), and then add some of those other ingredients (cry, twang, nasality, etc) if you want to sing on the softer side of RnB.

Never learnt to control the voice like that... This sample feels like a restrained full voice. It's a little hard to control for me since I'm used to singing full out or in a totally disconnected sound. But maybe this is more my medium than my soft volume?

You can try ascending or descending 5 tone scales (C D E F G F E D C) in your comfortable range (up to about C4 or maybe D4). Lip rolls and other semi occlusives will allow you to balance your airflow and closure but when you do them you should also focus on keeping your tone even. After that, try different vowels or consonant/vowel combos that work well for you, make sure the vowel doesn't change as you go up.

If your chest voice is more centered you will sound more professional/polished and also more in tune. That should also help you with your passagio troubles.

I like kind of flat singers, like Lou Reed.

Lou Reed is not flat he's just all over the place pitch-wise haha

Jeremy, I think I've said it before but your voice really fits that kind of music. On the technique side there's still some things you need to figure out in your chest range. You need to be able to sing with a consistent tone quality even if it is just in your chest voice. That means your tone should not change noticeably whether high or low in your chest voice, your vowels should be more equalized also airflow and closure must be in balance. Once you can do that you can begin to color the voice for style but you have kind of a "middle place" you can work from if that makes sense?

Hey Bono!

First off, watch your diction on "Shining, shimmering, splendid". I could not understand what you were singing.

You need more legato in there. The phrasing is a bit chopped in places...

0:34: "Wonder" - that's pretty much the only place you tapped into your full voice. And you still got more! You generally tend to back off your voice too much (like many SLS singers do). Especially the chorus is too light.

Sorry if I seem harsh. Some of it sounds really good

 

One of many routes:  Get yourself a hand held tuner from a guitar store. The clerk can help.

Snark guitar, bass, tuner and metronome is about $25.  Be sure and get one with a

microphone built in.

Seriously, his pitch is not that bad.

Only listened to the 1st example... You don't know how to use your voice. What you need to be focusing on is learning good technique, not pitch. Your pitch will most likely improve as you learn how to use your voice better.

Aravind,

 

Sexybeast(awesome name BTW). It has been pointed to me by others in other songs that I may have a low soft palete/low larynx issue. You are right in saying that the "whiny" sound was easier to help me reach higher notes.  I have been trying to shed the nasality and I am practicing singing now in front of a mirror.

Ok. In my opinion raising the soft palate is not the best way to go about this. Also, if you think about raising this, lowering that, tilting this etc... it all gets a little too complicated and you could easily end up with a sound that is fabricated and unnatural.

I would simply try to get the sound more relaxed and closer to the way you speak. Most likely you can just take the same exercises you are used to doing and move them one step closer to "normal". Let's say that on one extreme you have the very witchy and bright sound on the other the overly dark "dopey" sound. In the middle of those 2 there's your natural, "spoken" sound.

You could also exercise on vowels like "oo", "uh" and "oh" since those will tend towards a less forward sound. As a matter of fact I will often use "g" and "b" as consonants together with the "oo" vowel for nasal students.

Simply speaking the lyrics before singing them could also help. You should use the same voice for singing as you do for speaking. A lot of people go into "singing mode" and sound completely different.

 

It is not easy to get vocal coaches in India who can teach me the way I want to be taught(especially the genres of music that I like to sing)

You could also look for a good classical teacher? Since for males the technique is basically the same.

Hi Aravind,

This is what I hear: you are singing it with a whiny high larynx sound which might have helped you in the past thin out your voice and get to the high notes but the thing is this sound is tense. At least some of your pitch issues will be corrected as you find more relaxation in your voice. So maybe it's time for you to find a more relaxed sound closer to your speaking voice?

Do you work with a teacher?

Hey KillerKu,

I sing pretty comfortably in the E4 to G4 range with various styles (creaking rasp, chesty shouting, super twangy and witchy, falsetto, extremely heady, crying stuff (guess it's closer to a mix voice). So I've hit G4s in like maybe 20 different ways now.

 

I just wanna clarify that I am not talking about style, genre, sound color or anything like that here... In my opinion he could retain more of the beauty of his voice in the chorus when he's singing "and like a flood". I really think he would like that.

 

Some singing schools have a 'sound ideal' and some don't. SLS works for you so you should use it. But have you looked into some other vocal study programs intellectually as a curiosity?  Even the one that seemed the least emphasized on sound ideals (Complete Vocal Technique) has had to revise things, cause they were too limited in the amount of vocal modes the voice could produce and had to create subdivisions in modes between their origin concepts. The voice could do too much.

Also I don't want to start a debate on SLS vs other schools of singing... Yes I do know Estill and CVT. To me there's just good technique and bad technique...

KillerKu, if he sings this way by choice but at the same time knows how to sing it "correctly" we are fine. In that case it is a stylistic choice. But I'm not sure this is the case.

A lot of singers sing with bad technique and some people call it style. In my opinion it is still bad technique... Bono, I'm not saying you have bad technique btw

If he was to sing a song that lies more heavily in the E4-G4 range with that same approach it would not feel comfortable to him and not sound good to most people.