Silent Lucidity

[benny82]

So this song gets mentioned so much and how Geoff Tate is a quite low voice type so I had to give it a first try. Some text problems (don't have it in my mind yet). This is really the lowest-mass approach I can do, but I still have some change of tonal quality after the upper passagio, which you can hear quite well at the high note (A4) of the song. Any idea what I'm doing wrong there?

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/69231116/silentluciditytest.mp3

[MDEW]

I like the deep voice you were getting in the lower parts. I did hear the tone change you were taking about.

I'm not a teacher so I do not know what you were doing wrong. Maybe you were anticipating the high part and let your larynx rise too much. It did not sound bad just a different tone.

Maybe by practicing that shift there you can smooth it out. Over all it sounded pretty good. Much better than my week attempt.

[Keith]

I think you really need to listen to the song a few more times - you are missing a lot of little nuances throughout the entire song. Also, you are flipping into falsetto in the high part (you'll hear and see a magic new dimension). Keep in mind that I do not think you should try to sound like Geoff Tate at all, your voice tonal qualities are great - I just need to hear the song sang correctly in order to be sated after listening to it. You will need to do sirens through your passagio in order to clean up the high part. Maybe other exercizes as well, but the sirens are what did it for me.

[ronws]

I agree with Keith's comments. However, how you want to phrase the line is fine. The high part (for you) is quite change in tonality, which yes, can be a bit of cold water, but you are just starting out with this stuff so, you will enter a magical new dimension as time goes by.

It is, to me, harder to sing than most people to realize because it does start so low and then goes up so high. Most people are comfortable settling into one area and this song does not let you rest. Especially as it is a slow song with softer timbres than most rock songs. Slow ballads can be more challenging than some screaming rocker.

Also, and it's tough, even for me, to not compare to the original, especially with such an iconic singer as Geoff Tate. I think you hit a number of good points. And some of the phrasing did surprise me. So, really, it's just an aesthetic thing, for me.

Bless you for having the chutzpah to take on a song I am still working up the courage to do.

[benny82]

Yeah. I just heard the song a few times and then just sang over the backing with the lyrics in front of me. Don't know the exact phrasing yet.

As for the high note. Yes it really seems to be falsetto. That is probably what is making the sound different. Seems that I have to work on a little more compression.

I mostly listened to this live version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXrTykyHMtc

... which I think sounds even better than the studio recording. Really awesome singer!

On a side note: While listen to Geoff I noticed that he seems to be bridging even earlier than Robert. He just leaves out the belting that Robert suggests on the notes C4 to D#4 and goes straight into M2 at C4.

[ronws]

... which I think sounds even better than the studio recording. Really awesome singer!

On a side note: While listen to Geoff I noticed that he seems to be bridging even earlier than Robert. He just leaves out the belting that Robert suggests on the notes C4 to D#4 and goes straight into M2 at C4.

I think you are right. And, it would be, to me, an artistic choice, as well as one that works for one voice better than another.

I once saw the Turtles performing live and they covered "Stairway to Heaven" but did the high parts in falsetto. Some might not agree with that stylistic choice but at least they were on pitch. And I found it more of a valid performance than if they tried to emulate Plant and failed. That would have been more noticable.

[Felipe Carvalho]

benny Ive juts heard your silent lucidity version.

The beginning is full of problems and Im yet to hear all this depth you think you have.

What I do hear is an attempt to round on the higher parts. Although the idea is not necessarily wrong, if its not done to allow resonance all you are doing is muffling and sending your voice back.

You are basing consistency on attempts to mimic sounds. Does not sound good at all and application of the fachs in this state is a total waste of time.

Before thinking of this, learn how to sing one song, without tampering with your voice and without problems with phrasing and melody. Your voice is all backwards, closed, chest voice has a tongue tension going on that must be released.

Orientation and trainning, forget all this non sense. If you want to do thigs alone, just sing and aim for quality.

[Foreinger]

Your low notes are rich and they sound natural. To me the song is sung great! But there is one place in the song where tho voice seems about to break into falseto or smth a bit squeaky. I am sure you can easily correct that.

On the whole the song is well done and I'd give an exellent mark for it. Sorry if I happen to repeat smb's words here I didn't read the posts....

[Scotty D]

Your tone on the low passages is crazy good. When you get to the higher parts, it starts to get a bit nasal. Try working up and down scales to try and maintain an open tone supported from your diaphragm.