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Original song + stylistic question


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Hi everyone,

I'm really into r&b, but sometimes I feel like my voice is better suited to alternative music. I'm curious what people think. I'm looking for some advice on what direction to go in, stylistically.

Here's a very rough draft of the chorus of an original song that I'm working on.

And here's me singing "Respect" (kind of a bad recording, but you can see how I generally sound on that type of thing)

And here's an a-capella recording of me singing "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt.

Thanks so much for any feedback :)

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Sounds really nice. I really like the first jazz tune - sounds excellent. As far as the stylistic direction, there are a lot of options. You could go in many directions with your voice. What style are you drawn to the most? Who are the artists you really identify with?

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Sounds really nice. I really like the first jazz tune - sounds excellent. As far as the stylistic direction, there are a lot of options. You could go in many directions with your voice. What style are you drawn to the most? Who are the artists you really identify with?

Thanks :)

Well, I would say that I really love the downtempo jazz/r&b/hip-hop like Erykah Badu, etc., but at the same time I love Michael Jackson type of stuff...just really kickin' dance pop music (although he does so many other styles within his own music, like the downtempo, r&b, rock). I really like singing rock, as long as it's funky! :) The main reason I asked that is because I was nervous that maybe because my voice was one way, that I could only go in certain directions with it. Like, could a country singer switch to gospel if she worked hard enough? You know what I'm sayin?

I think I will get more comfortable with this idea once I get some breath support training. I can sing very loud with little effort in the classical realm, but when it comes to contemporary styles I feel like I sound a bit light and lack depth when I listen back.

Thanks so much!

OH, and I love your singing, songwriting and the recordings...rockin!

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I am reminded of something I read in the memoirs of Marie Osmond, "Might as well laugh about it now!" The title comes from her belief. People will say "One day in the future, we'll look back and laugh about this." And here response was, "Why wait? Might as well laugh about it, now."

Anyway, though she had some voice lessons as a child, she and 7 of her brothers (total of 9 brothers) had natural singing voices and excellent relative pitch. And could sing rock and country without too much coaching.

Then, she decided to do broadway and had to learn some classical singing to perform that. And realized, for herself, that if she had classical lessons at first, it might have made her "too trained" for country.

But you can sing what style you want to sing, within limits. But you could totally do R&B or country. And your version of "Respect" was gospel-inspired, as far as I can hear.

As for funky rock, I can think of Steve Miller or Steely Dan for a smooth jazz rock. And Foghat for a more grinding funk. Even Wild Cherry. Fros, hip-hugger bell bottoms. Double lapel jackets. It was groovy, man.

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