The "Souls of Silence" Challenge by Robert Lunte

[Felipe Carvalho]

Finished it! Finally.

Awesome song, very hard to deliver, awesome study, I recommend that you guys enter the challenge too .

Thanks Rob for the oportunity, had lots of fun.

Here goes:

http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=12240538&q=hi

Everyone that listen thanks in advance! Those that write a few lines will be vastly rewarded with... more gratitude!

 

\m/_

[ronws]

I liked it. There were even a few places where you sounded like Robert. Good strength on the high notes, too.

[MDEW]

:) Sounds like a pretty tough song but you pulled it off.

[Gina Ellen Vocalist]

cool Liked your dynamics in this felipe. Tone was great too, nice job. Maybe I will give this one a womans twist at some point!!

[napoleonboot]

Nice work. No negatives from me

I might give it a whirl myslef.

[devaitis]

Really powerfull voice. I'm impressed.

[Jens]

Really cool! Ive never thought of it beforebut your timbre is very similar to Robs even if you use the voice diffrently

I think it was spoton however i would have liked if some of the highnotes would have had more edge or some distortion, coupled with that powervibrato. Think that would have been the icing on the cake, now they sound alittle naked compared to your powerfull middle

Cheers

[ronws]

Kind of riffing off of Jens' review, I have heard you, Felipe, do some these high notes before and they sounded soft. To hear those notes being strong in this song, when they need to be, was good, I think.

[Felipe Carvalho]

@ronx thanks man!

@mdew yeah! Took a while to get it going. Tnx man!

@gina so glad you liked that, to me its where all the fun is . tnx gina, I will surely listen!

@george haha tnx! Do so, its great!

@Owen Wow man, thanks! Yes Ive done it mostly in one take, 2 actually, before and after solo. But before that, quite a few sketchs that were all copy/glued were made as I studied it haha, as analog said, the zen-engineering thing. I do hear a few problems too, mainly inconsistency of a few things, and errors, but I thought it was sounding good so, decided to not tamper anymore.

Really glad for your words, it was very rewarding in many ways already, . Thank you!

@jens haha tnx man! Naked is more sexy . Kidding, I do get what you are saying, and I think it could be done, but I also think this was more honest to what I can do currently. Gonna take a listen to your version too man, missed it, saw it on the TVS thread.

@ronws last post, I did feel it fits the context well, not so sure I would change it if I could do what Jens propose.

Thanks all, and thanks Rob once more :)

[ronws]

I liked the "tamper no more" thing. One of the books I read on recording mentioned how, really, the recording part doesn't take too long. It's the mixing thing that takes a while. Because familiarity with the song causes one to lose perspective. You have let it sit a while, like a really good stew with spices.

Then come back to it with fresh ears. One guy said that he knew a mix was doing when no matter what adjustments he made, it was not improving. Which means, as finished as it will ever be, without re-recording (his words.)

Me, I'm the opposite. Hit record, first take, one take, live with the consequences.

One of these days, I will learn. One day, probably to surprise myself more than others, I will take time on a recording and treat it like I would a brisket. A long, drawn-out affair that simply cannot be rushed.

[Jens]

@jens haha tnx man! Naked is more sexy . Kidding, I do get what you are saying, and I think it could be done, but I also think this was more honest to what I can do currently. Gonna take a listen to your version too man, missed it, saw it on the TVS thread.

@ronws last post, I did feel it fits the context well, not so sure I would change it if I could do what Jens propose.

Thanks all, and thanks Rob once more

Nice gimme some comments on what you think, it was recorded very fast and i just let the song decide what would happen i usually dont sing tha heavy or distorted.

Ofc you could pull off getting abit more edgy/distorted your voice is already there, wouldnt be hard on your voice either if you play around with some unorthodox tongueplacements

Then on the other had thats just a stylistic choice i would like, wich is just because of taste it sounds good as it is.

It makes me wonderhow this would sound if you approached it as you record a proffesional recording and not sing it in a two take :)

[ronws]

In my personal experience, if whatever adjustments I make on the mix I don't hear an improvement, that's more a sign of ear fatigue and I should get up and go do something else not involving loud noise for a few hours then come back and consider taking a different mixing approach than what I was beating a dead horse with. I find this also means that I screwed up something in during tracking and I'm literally trying to "fix it in the mix" which is a big no no.

This applies to tracking vocals too. I don't just give up and live with a mediocre result like this guy does, when no matter what I do I'm not getting a better result. Instead, I call it a day, practice that song more, and come back to it later and try to do better.

One of my originals I've been working on, I've literally spent i think 4 sessions on it trying to get the damn chorus to sound right and it's still not happening. But the last thing I'm gonna do is push out another 5 hours of nonsense on a tired voice, negative mind, and underdeveloped technique, trying to get the thing perfect when it just isn't gonna happen. But that doesn't mean you're done. It means you have more work to do than you can finish in a single day, you need a change of approach, you need to work on your skills more...

I guess you could call that the "re-recording" he is talking about. But I think that re-recording needs to happen if it needs to happen.

Felipe has a couple of threads in the recording section. And said something so profound, and true, and simple. The biggest part of recording is not the recording, itself. It is the performance. Even recording is a performance, even if it is only you in the room with a mic, a computer, whatever.

Anyway, low tech, high tech, doesn't matter too much. If the performance is rock solid, then everything else is clicking on record and whatever mixing strategies you have.

Like you said, owen, fixing stuff in the mix is doomed to failure.

Me, I'm a one-take kind of guy, If I do a take and mess something up and try another one right after it, I foul that one up, too, fearing the "mistake" coming up.

So, I go to the store, do dishes, feed the dog, whatever. Come back later with a fresh head and fresh ears and do better.

I think the same applies to the post-recording editing process. Sometimes, you just have to let a mix set for a while and approach it, again, later.

A few of the recording books I have read mentioned using a sound ideal. A pro recording that has the sound ideals that you like.

Keep plugging away until you have approached the ideal.

All of this leads me to believe that the hardest part of recording is what happens after you click stop on the record function.

I use Audacity. Whatever function is applied, is applied to the whole track. So, if I am doing the editing, it only works out on my "live" recordings where I am singing and playing guitar at the same time into one mic.

When it comes to singing a vocal track against a karaoke track, I try to convince a friend, such as Keith, to edit it for me.

Like I did with "Child in Time." I knew that I would botch the mix, myself. So, he mixed it for me.

[Felipe Carvalho]

Owen, mostly registration and the details. The last chorus is where there is more work for me. Easy to miss one passaggio point and shout it. So I mapped it all, had the lyrics printed and with arrows pointing up and dow, no surprises this way.

Its a great study of pretty much everything.

On the recording/mixing thing, the tracking is the only thing that matters for someone recording at home. If its well tracked, you can do something good from it, and it will be actually hard to mess it up. If its poorly tracked, you will need a lot of experience to deal with the material and try to make it acceptable. And if you had this experience, the tracking would not be poor to begin with .

My only tip is that, melody and tempo/timing are the two most overlooked things, and it just so happens to be the core of this thing we know as music . Remember that we sing on vowels and record paying close attention to bass and drums. Follow their lead.

[Keith]

Wow bro. Amazing job. No critique from me, this has it all.

[slstone]

Hey bro, that's what I refer to as Recording Syndrome. I have had quite a few friends who are afflicted with it. They could play a song flawlessly many times...until they record, then they make every mistake known to man and then invent new ones.

What happens is that one thinks, oh crap, I am recording now, can't screw up. So therefore, we screw up.

What you have to do is remember one thing. That's why they invented to rewind button. If you get frustrated after

doing it a few times and messing up, then you need to learn some patience. Remember that even the well known pros make mistakes, otherwise a band could go in and record an hour of music in one hour.

Have you ever seen the documentary, 'A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica'? it was filmed while they were making the black album. Take a wild guess on why the title is what it is.

That's why I make the point of taking the extra time to show people what you can do when you work hard on something, not just throw out the first thing. Also remember, if it was easy, then everyone could do it.

And the other point was also right. Performance while recording. Your developed technique mixed with your audio performance to give you track its awesomeness.

What my wife and I do when we listen back to my stuff, we ask a simple question. Is it good enough? if the answer is yes, then it really isn't good enough, it's average. We don't settle for anything less than the wow factor.

I had this debate with a couple others last year, and was told I was wrong.

It's just that I don't settle for mediocrity. Hope I don't insult anyone, just stating my opinions.

[benny82]

Awesome Felipe, where do I get the backing track ? :P

[napoleonboot]

Robert posted the challenge here:

http://thevocaliststudio.com/vocal-forums/#/20120114/the-souls-of-silence-challenge-1180535/

including the participation rules.

[napoleonboot]

...we ask a simple question. Is it good enough? if the answer is yes, then it really isn't good enough, it's average. We don't settle for anything less than the wow factor.

I had this debate with a couple others last year, and was told I was wrong.

It's just that I don't settle for mediocrity. Hope I don't insult anyone, just stating my opinions.

You were right. I have the same attitude to recording.

[Consumingfire39]

Just a tremendous job here Felipe... excellent work!

[Felipe Carvalho]

@Keith \m/ Tnx man

@benny thank you!! Take a look at that thread george pointed.

@Consuming Tnx for your words man :)

[Keith]

I got the backing track today! I'm gonna try and learn it an record it today.

[gno]

Excellent job on this Felipe. The performance was great. You have a lot of control over your voice.

[ronws]

Hey bro, that's what I refer to as Recording Syndrome. I have had quite a few friends who are afflicted with it. They could play a song flawlessly many times...until they record, then they make every mistake known to man and then invent new ones.

What happens is that one thinks, oh crap, I am recording now, can't screw up. So therefore, we screw up.

What you have to do is remember one thing. That's why they invented to rewind button. If you get frustrated after

doing it a few times and messing up, then you need to learn some patience. Remember that even the well known pros make mistakes, otherwise a band could go in and record an hour of music in one hour.

Have you ever seen the documentary, 'A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica'? it was filmed while they were making the black album. Take a wild guess on why the title is what it is.

That's why I make the point of taking the extra time to show people what you can do when you work hard on something, not just throw out the first thing. Also remember, if it was easy, then everyone could do it.

And the other point was also right. Performance while recording. Your developed technique mixed with your audio performance to give you track its awesomeness.

What my wife and I do when we listen back to my stuff, we ask a simple question. Is it good enough? if the answer is yes, then it really isn't good enough, it's average. We don't settle for anything less than the wow factor.

I had this debate with a couple others last year, and was told I was wrong.

It's just that I don't settle for mediocrity. Hope I don't insult anyone, just stating my opinions.

Absolutely awesome post, and not because we're brothers.

Especially, the first part, because that is what happens to me. Live, in front of people, I always nail it.

I have the red light syndrome.

I know a lot of people are the opposite. They don't mind doing take after take. And the "light" does not bother them.

So, really, what I need to do is have somone record me without my knowledge when I am performing for an audience. I would make a lousy studio singer.

[Felipe Carvalho]

Keith cool man

Geno thank you! Can be better, but things surely are more interesting now.

Haha on the recording/live thing, not sure I understand the point, do both. Its not a dicothomy, and the first has an awesome positive influence on the later.

[Keith]

Ok, this is an absoulte MONSTER of a song to sing. Robert and Felipe make it sound so much easier than it is. Gonna take me a few days to get it.