Adele - Rolling in the deep (help me to improve my vocal skills!)

[qz]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/42362276/Rolling_in_the_deep.mp3

I want to sing in a rock band and I want to improve my vocal skills, so I will be grateful for any constructive criticism :)

[KillerKu]

The tone is already pretty good to start with, better than most people without training.

For me, I always suggest getting lessons, both because it's a safer and because it will likely get you to your goals faster. You have enough of a musical ear, you could probably train a lot of this stuff yourself, but the voice is a pretty finicky instrument and I injured mine from too much ignorant experimentation.

The one thing I'd advise for this current phase of voice development, is pitch exercises, that involve instant leaps to the next note. Voice scales. Your voice is not tone deaf or anything, but you are quite bendy getting to your destination, which is cool when used stylistically (I always loved bends myself) but I think at this point it's in need of polish.

When you practice scales, I've heard it describe like darts, you shoot a dart at each pitch. Schwoop!

I've been giving out a similar scale to everyone, but basically a good one to start on is just a major chord ascending and descending in arpeggio though if you can learn to play this yourself instead of having some super fast video on youtube that would help:

What you would do is take some vowel, or consonant vowel for example (may, me, my, mow, moo) also short vowels, ma, mu(ndane), me(n), ma(p), mi(nute) and sing along to the jumps. The absolute key in any of these kinds of exercises, is if it feels tense or bad, just stop or go falsetto. The goal is to learn to sing with greater accuracy over your comfortable range without gaining tension in the throat.

Anyway, I really wish you well and I think you're starting off ahead of where many are starting so good luck to you. .

PS, If you need any further suggestions, on breath support, emission (breathiness vs note ratio, also known as vocal cord closure) let us know. Ultimately, nothing can replace a hands on, educated teacher.

[qz]

Thanks for advice. I will do this pitch exercises for sure.

Some people say that my voice is to weak for singing rock. Is there any way to make it sound stroneger?

And by the way, sorry for my poor english, but it isn't my native language :P

[KillerKu]

It depends on what kind of rock singer you're trying to be, but gaining more control over your voice will be important regardless. There are most definitely ways for strengthening the power of your voice, but it probably isn't always in ways you'd expect (E.G. shouting can be dangerous, so be careful there, try to use the least amount of air necessary) .

The kinds of things you'll likely be learning are a few:

1. Breath support: Using the diaphragm rather than the upper chest will give you more power. When you breath in, try to feel the area at your lower ribcage expand, while not feeling your shoulders raise. The breath should feel low and moist and the breath should feel as if it's being metered out from down below!

2. Breath control: A breathier sounding voice, will be quieter, weaker, and when taken to the extreme can be dangerous or damaging. So try to use tones that involve less air in the sound.

3. Resonators: You'll learn to use various resonators in the body. Pharynx, nasal cavity, sinuses, etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_resonation As a starting point, a general good rule of thumb for a beginner is to try to sing with the sensation of a comfortably open throat. Say very beginning of a yawn. Part of what this does, is it helps both with easing constrictions (throat tension is bad), but also opens up some resonators.

As a beginner you'll probably be ok so long as you follow comfortable sounds and don't push towards extreme highs or lows with maximum power. Take things slowly and probably get some good lessons when it comes time to make a transition into the more advanced stuff.

And don't worry about the english not being native language, that's the case for a lot of people here, many of them more educated than I.

Like I said, best advice I have is take things slow, and get help when you can. If anything ever feels bad or strained, just stop, and try something else the next time. I'll be wishing you well, qz, feel free to keep us updated on your progress.

[jonpall]

Very promising voice. Try relaxing more on your inhales and keep your throat more relaxed. Cheers.

[Kingrvs]

Like your voice,

Tip: Try to build the song up as you sing it.. because otherwise it'll start sounding monotone..

at this one your voice is at the same tone from the beginning to the start of the refrain. Try starting a bit softer and when the high refrain starts you build it to the top of your voice.

Here you're already very high before the climax of the song, meaning you have to push your voice to reach the even higher notes..

Hope you understand what I'm trying to explain.. I'm no expert, just throwing what I noticed. Goodluck with getting in that band and whatelse ^^