emme207

23 hours ago, KillerKu said:

I'm a huge fan of human timing, human pitching, and vocal originality. I dislike arbitrary rules taking precedents over human expression. That said, Smells like Teen Spirit is a bit over the top for me. I think locking into the rhythm and pitch a bit closer would connect with me more personally. However, I hear a kernel of an identity in there that is distinct and could be polished.

Sweet Child O Mine is closer. I think the yodeling is a great vocal quality for you to develop. The pitch is much better, but the phrasing is consistently rushed. Think of rhythm as a give or take. It helps if you rush to lag a bit later. I think of it kind of like borrowing time.

I have to say I'm very excited to see where you go. I already know these are more stylistic than technical hurdles. You're fearless and willing to try radically different forms of expression in order to find yourself and you emote very clearly in music. Like rhythm, style is often a question of how far away you can get from convention without alienating.

Singing for me in itself can be very bland and vanilla. Voice goes to note on rhythm. Woo. But you've got the spark and the passion for something more. The searching and yearning so that really excites me.

Thank you for the advice! I am definitely taking everything you said into consideration. I am working on getting decent recording equipment, which I know would greatly improve the quality. I appreciate that you like my style! I am still learning and still very experimental, but I'm determined to find my way and make a place for myself in the music world. I'll get there with more practice and the right tools I am sure. Trying to remain positive.

2 hours ago, Rosa said:

@emme207 I've been listening to versions of "At Last". Beyoncé has one, Cristina Aguilera another. I can see that it is a very difficult song that you make look easy.  I am appreciating more and more the style in which you sing it. It's lighter and sweeter. Different! 

Do you know Sarah Vaughan? You might like her songs.

 

Rosa, I have never heard of her but you better believe that I am heading straight to Spotify to check her music out now!

On 2/28/2016 at 4:58 PM, KillerKu said:

I really, really liked At Last. It sounded gleeful, eager, anticipating, earnest and yearning. The Coldplay song was pretty good, but your voice sounds a bit bigger than that song to me and fits more in a jazzier place to my ears. I've said before a big Sinatra fan, and a big Beatles fan, but Frank often sounded a bit 'confined' when covering Beatles songs. . 

I admire your desire to have a unique vocal style. I'm exactly the same way and the singers that engage me most have strong identity and unique characteristics. I've had a preference for strong character singers over vanilla traditional singing from a very early age. But none of them rolled out of bed at 3 years old into these characters, it is developed over a life time. 

I do have a question though, what kind of microphone are you using and what sort of recording setup are you using? There is a mid range boost that sounds a bit karaoke to me. Your diction is not particularly pronounced but certain compressors can eat consonants  and certain mics can lack articulation. I'd suggest a condenser mic of some kind for recording. A lot of singers I like have mushy diction (Thom Yorke, Joe Strummer). It can be a stylistic choice, but getting any technological barriers out of the way could help you hear best what you sound like when developing your style. You're more than good enough at singing at this point to justify getting an accurate representation of what you sound like. It's not just for our ears, but for yours.

Thank you, KillerKu! Your post was very encouraging for me to read! I am about to purchase a nice condensor mic, but currently I do not have any real recording equipment. I know it would sound a whole lot better if I got decent equipment, which is why I'm saving up. I'm a college student and money is tight right now. I will definitely repost a song when I get my mic, which will be very soon!

8 minutes ago, Rosa said:

emme207, I am going to explain what I meant before because I think you didn't understand what I mean: if you change famous songs very much, some people won't like it at all and can even perceive it as off pitch. Some others will see it as personal style and like it. This same thing can happen with the jury of the Voice and you'll have to analyze the risks carefully and make sure it is not perceived as off-pitch by people.

Having a personal style is a great aim to have. It must be easier to achieve with your own songs than with others' though. It still can be done with famous songs, but working them very carefully. 

Yes, I totally get that and you are definitely right!

6 hours ago, ronws said:

Now I am confused. Are you sure you are the same singer as the rock thread? Because in these, the pitch and timing was great. Granted, like MDEW, I would have like more clear articulation on the Cold Play song. But you did Etta James right with your voice and your style.

So, I don't get it. Was the other thread to throw us off so that you can show that you actually have some chops? It would not be the first time. A "sleeper" like the 68' Mustang I used to have. It had body panels replaced by my step-grandfather who did not do a good job with his home-grown paint job. But the 289 small block and Holley 2 barrel would punch and run like a scalded ape. I smoked a BMW and a Cutlass 442 with that. In fact, the only person who beat me was a college mate and she had a '69 Mustang El Grande with a 302 Cobrajet. But I digress..

Also, I think this style of torchy ballads works for you, especially with your penchant for creaks and glottal stops that are so popular in pop music today.

ronws, I understand what you are saying and I am definitely the same singer. I think the reason for this is that I am very experimental and I am still trying to figure out "what works" for me if that makes sense. I have so many different sounds I can do and still trying to find myself musically. So when you say that you like these two covers better than the rock ones, that helps me get ideas on which direction to go towards. I myself have always been drawn to singers with very unique voices with memorable tones that cannot be mistaken for anyone else. I guess I am just trying to develop a memorable sound because that is what draws me in personally whether I'm listening to a professionally-recorded track or a webcam cover on Youtube. I'm still trying to find myself musically and trying to figure out what works. I have never had lessons and that is part of why I decided to join here to get an idea of how much work needs to be done since I am aiming to get professional vocal training in the near future.

7 minutes ago, Rosa said:

She didn't sound off pitch to me in the other songs either...  emme207, there's an important lesson to learn in all this since you want to go to the Voice or similar: many people (singers included) are going to see you as off-pitch if you make the song too much yours, so there is a risk in it. Making it yours is something to strive for in my opinion, and I liked that about your style very much, but we can see the risks.

I've truly seen you as a fantastic singer all along, but I am afraid I don't have the tools to help you more. That's something Robert can do. So take the criticism as a possibility for improvement.

Prepare something for the Challenges! I believe you still can sing something much much more difficult, something everybody can understand it is very difficult, like Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston...some great song.

Rosa, thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words! I also believe you are spot-on correct in what you said about how this is a lesson to learn. I think what I am realizing is that the highly trained, professional ear will notice all the flaws (which is expected, since they are of course experts) and the average person tends to not pick up on these things as much and kinda just appreciates the raw talent and not all the technical things in a performance. The feedback I have gotten from other people, friends, etc. who are not professionals tends to be extremely positive and they all swear up and down I could go on The Voice with a lot of success. My boyfriend (obviously biased of course :P) fell in love with my voice long before we were dating. I keep telling these various people that I need improvement and further training for sure before anything like The Voice happens, but they all think I could do it now. Haha. Now, I am not at all naive and I plan to train a lot more before that happens because personally I know I need work because I've done research and I realize I don't sound professional. I just say all this to demonstrate that your point, and that I think you are dead right.

So with all that said, I'm definitely going to start going for a more professional route but still keep my unique style and tone, because that's what my family, friends, and the average untrained ear seem to love about my voice. I just need to polish it up and work on technicalities with the right tools and professional teacher.

9 hours ago, Robert Lunte said:

Question... at 3:54 , where the "hello"s start... These are a good example of not being in rhythm or pitch. Are you aware of this? It is important to know for me and for yourself?  Are you aware that you are radically taking the "hellos" WAY out of their intended position as Nirvana wrote it, but more importantly, it is way out of any sort of symmetry of time or pitch with the bed track....

Yes, I am very aware that the hello's are out of sync. I actually wanted to re-do it because of this issue, but it was getting late into the night and I decided not to do it over again for the time being since it wasn't a professional recording by any means. But I do intend to re-do the cover sometime soon and work on correcting this issue. I was aware of this even as I was singing the song.

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I wonder, were you trying to be creative in this moment, or were you trying to sing it like the original. I would like to get an answer to that question, it will reveal a lot.

To be honest, I have always been the kind of person where I don't like to do things exactly like the original singer. But not to an extreme. However, in this particular moment with the "hellos" I was trying to be creative but definitely did not sing the notes in rhythm with the original, and I can't really give an exact reason for the why the timing was off. I didn't do it on purpose for sure, but I was aware of the problem and it irritated me while I was singing. It kinda just came out if that makes sense. LOL

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Are you taking lessons?

I am not taking lessons. It is a goal of mine to start though.

 

 

12 minutes ago, MDEW said:

   I did not mention this on the other songs but we as an audience really need to hear the words in the song. You have a lovely tone and good pitch but the words are muffled or garbled. It is not because of an accent and not because of the microphone. Maybe you are singing in such a way that the consonants are too quiet. While it is true that we should sing on the vowels the consonants still need to be articulated.

 

 

Thank you for the advice! I appreciate any recommendations in which I can improve.

39 minutes ago, Rosa said:

I had given you the Like before I heard the second song, which is my kind of song!   (only saw one at first) You have a great voice. In the second one what fails is the mix between the music and your voice. I would like your voice a bit louder in the mix. But it doesn't matter...it still sounds good and I can see what a good voice you have despite the little technical inconveniences.  

Rosa, thank you! And yes, it was a raw recording with no editing. I just wanted people to hear my raw voice for the purpose of critique. I agree with you though that it should be louder for the best sound.

Also I am aware that I need a better mic. I am currently saving up for a professional one and will definitely post a cover when I get it!

Hey guys, so last time I posted rock songs and this time I am going to show you more of a romantic side and see what you think. I know I need a good microphone and I am saving up for one currently. Looking forward to your critiques!

http://www.smule.com/recording/coldplay-green-eyes/350287919_289191568

http://www.smule.com/recording/etta-james-at-last/350287919_231097263

2 hours ago, MDEW said:

   Hi Emme, Welcome to the forum. You have a real nice tone. one suggestion I would have is to learn the words like a story. Singing is like acting with your voice. It is not just providing words and a melody, it is expressing an emotional plus musical idea. Timing and pitch improve when you do not have to read the words.

   If you were not reading the words then you are focussing too much on the camera and letting that distract you.

  You have a very good sound and lots of potential.

 

Thank you for the advice MDEW! I am going to post a more romantic, emotional song here in a few minutes. Let me know what you think.

40 minutes ago, ronws said:

First off, you have a really good sounding voice. A nice tone.

As for the look, I think the "rocker chick" definitely works for you. Kind of like Brittany Spears and Lita Ford had a love-child born with the heart of a lion.

Of the two songs, "Sweet Child of Mine" works better in your tone than "Smells Like Teen Spirit." But I applaud you having the desire and heart to tackle that song.

I can tell from your pronunciation that English is not your first language so kudos to you for singing in what is a foreign language to you.

Simplify vowel sounds. For the word "ounce" in the lyric "see an ounce of pain" you sang ah -oh-oo-nz. It should be ah-nz.

Places here and there where pitch was off. It was more forgivable in the Teen Spirit because Kurt Cobain was pitchy. Kind of like, I could not complain of someone being pitchy on a Lou Reed song when Lou Reed is pitchy. 

You can also expand your range but it is going to take the effort of controlling how much volume you put out in the lower end of your voice. It is too much now, making the transition to the higher notes a more obvious flip to falsetto. If you hold back a little in the low end, then the high end sounds more balanced with it.

When you sing, think of the voice as a musical instrument. Don't try to sing the same way that you speak. Again, keep simple and single vowel sounds, ah, ee, oh, oo, eh. Doing that will, oddly enough, make you sound more american.

Performance wise, pretty good. I would suggest that when singing a line, don't move the hair out of your face, let it go. Between lyric sections you can do that. During singing, it is distracting.

Also, timing. Your timing is off because you were getting excited and losing your place in the song. I have also done that. I did a cover of "All of Me" totally botched one passage in the middle because of timing. Get the pulse of the music in your blood. Forget the camera is there.

And I can't wait to hear you on a real mic. I assuming you are singing into the inline mic in your phone headset. The squealing distortion from that is a give-away.

You definitely have a good voice and a great look and even a natural self-confidence that can take you places. Just need to tune up and align your instrument, which is your voice. 

And your pitch is good in some places, so I know you can hear and match pitch. That's way better than 90 percent of humans on the planet.

Thank you ronws! Yes, I am Irish so that's where the accent is from. I agree with you on the pitch part. I was wondering if the pitch issue could perhaps be related to me using lots of embellishments. I have realized lately that I tend to overuse the embellishments, and I believe this could be related to my pitch getting thrown off. What do you recommend me to do to improve that aspect of my voice? I hate sounding "plain" if that makes sense, but I realize simplicity is better in some cases.

Also, I was wondering if you think I need to sound more American in order to succeed in a contemporary signing career. A lot of people have said they really like my tone, but if you think it won't work as well commercially, then I definitely will do whatever it takes to get to that point.

Hi guys! I just signed up for the premium membership and I am so excited to get advice and critiques from you all. I am very serious about my singing and I would like complete honesty when it comes to critiquing my voice. It has has always been my dream to be a recording artist and I really want to go on The Voice or a similar show. Over the past year or so, I have really been trying to develop a unique tone to my voice and I would like to know if it working for me or not and what can I do to improve? I can sing several styles and do different things to my voice for different effects. For the purpose of this post, I have a certain singing style that I would like critiqued, which is my "rock voice." Please be brutally honest and I would like a critique on both videos below. Thank you!

http://www.smule.com/recording/nirvana-smells-like-teen-spirit/350287919_289787967

http://www.smule.com/recording/guns-n-roses-sweet-child-o-mine/350287919_289762473