video of me practicing Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye (voice & piano!)

[Slow Start]

2nd day in learning the song... my first time trying to sing anything in the soul genre here, and I am a big Marvin Gaye fan.

This is my first time singing an actual song with a Bb4 and Eb5... never done that before this week, so this is kind of an experiment into seeing what it feels like to get up there in actual songs vs when working on thinner coordinations and other misc. vocalises.

Once in a while, I feel the first verse will fall into a certain pocket that is quite comfortable. I feel like that's when I tap into the Edge mode in CVT terms.. in other terms, just fully tilted twanged sound. I'm not sure if it happens much in this video, but somehow the notes still happened. Experimenting with mouth opening width and size and bite seem to make a difference along with trying to make sure my jaw doesn't jut out too far forward.

When I lose a little support is when I really feel the notes get more difficult, hence the moving around in a Ray Charles impersonation lol... it helps me make sure my lower back and rest of my core are involved in supporting some.

I love the way Marvin Gaye sings the word "baby" for some reason. No wonder he got all the ladies... I have spent weeks trying to figure out how to get the compression and support close to how he sings it haha... did I get close?

How is it to y'all so far? What should I keep working on, and any tips to help me find/stay in that pocket up there? :)

[Nicogratouille]

I think you got pretty close to Marvin Gaye's sound especially on those opening lines.

Your low range sounds a bit nasal to me, and somewhat different than your higher notes. Like you're using 2 different voices.

Good Job. With some practice I think you'll be able to nail this

Nick

[Slow Start]

Oh man, thanks! You give me hope!

I have been trying really hard to get into Marvin's groove... he was so smooth and dynamic!

I wonder if the nasality you hear is the mic distance or me... I back way down on the volume and the camera's pretty far away... or is it an open nasal port or the stuffy nosed cold kind of sound? I sometimes try to leave that nasal port open to lighten up the sound a little in stylistically acceptable contexts, but that is a different sound than the harmful stuffed nasality for sure, imo.

[ronws]

This was a really close cover. You sound like a black man from the South. I mean that as a compliment. You should do more of this and some Otis Redding, if you are in the mood. Now, if you do Otis, you need to do "Dock of the Bay" or I will hound you mercilessly until you do.

I couldn't think of anything to fix. Then, again, I don't pick nits incessantly and that's my bad. What's more important than how much like Marvin you may sound, and you do sound close, is the fact that you have the voice and the heart to do this genre, if you so choose. And that is a good thing.

[ronws]

I didn't really hear nasality in your voice, Slow. And I have learned the hard way that such perception is a combination of sensitivity to the idea of nasality, mic proximity, and recording strategy.

I am still sensitive to the sound of nasality, have sought to remove overt nasality from my voice, and hear it in others. And still others may say they hear nasality in my voice.

I think different genres allow different amounts of it. For example, opera and some forms of metal, eschew nasality. Genres like R&B and country kind of expect it, as part of the expression. I think you are doing alright, as it is.

[ronws]

Is telling a singer he is nasal like telling a girl her thighs are huge? Instant tears and slap-fight ensue?

:lol:

[Slow Start]

I really appreciate your compliments, Ron! Also, thank you for your input on the nasality front as well... I don't hear any glaringly bad nasality in this particular recording either... perhaps nico has a different sensibility regarding that.

I agree that nasality is a very touchy subject. I allow a certain amount of open nasal port when I sing pop/r&b, but it definitely is not the same as having a sound muffled in the nose.

Funnily enough, I didn't know I had the voice or the heart to do this before a couple days ago... I didn't know my voice could even the opening lines or his screams and wails! I doubt anyone thought I had a voice for Marvin Gaye as little as 6 months ago, when I couldn't sing above an full voiced F4 consistently in songs.

[ronws]

Funnily enough, I didn't know I had the voice or the heart to do this before a couple days ago... I didn't know my voice could even the opening lines or his screams and wails! I doubt anyone thought I had a voice for Marvin Gaye as little as 6 months ago, when I couldn't sing above an full voiced F4 consistently in songs.

And what has changed? Are you approaching a little easier, taking the foot of the gas, allowing some flexibility?

[MDEW]

2nd day learning the song? That was awesome for 2nd day.

I did not perceive any nasality. Some people may perceive nasality as a certain frequency or amplification in a specific harmonic.

To me there is a perceivable distortion on the voice when air is passed through the nose. Not just that the voice sounds bright or pingy. Same when voice is Denasal like Stalone in ROCKY a distinct sound. Not just extra frequencies in the low range.

If you are doing this good after 2 days just think how it will sound in a week with thoughtful practice.

Maybe someone else will be able to give advice on what went wrong but I am not at the stage where I could detect anything wrong with that clip.

[Slow Start]

And what has changed? Are you approaching a little easier, taking the foot of the gas, allowing some flexibility?

I've been working on a LOT of things, honestly... hah. Firstly, I built my thin coordination (which I did not really possess at all when I started working on it last year). While doing that I worked on breathing and being aware. Building the awareness of what is going on in all parts of the body and learning to increase the amount of support as I headed up my range helped. I used to get stuck at a certain level of support that would limit my range, and that seems less of an issue now.

I overcame the fear of my larynx moving at different pitches and when I use different vocal modes. I've also been making peace with the fact that as I learn to support, I don't have to worry about my larynx position going higher than my previous classical teacher would have found acceptable.

I'm also trying to focus on not leaving much stale breath in my lungs (making sure I release extra remaining air if I have any left at the end of a phrase). I work on support and anchoring often as well, which along with the coordination building to learn to tilt (e.g. the puppy whimper sound).

I work on rasp by twanging extra and sometimes reducing air flow to get a creak, I believe.

So basically... I work on everything as much as possible all the time. As I built up ability my CT-dominant coordination, I've been slowly working on bringing more TA-activity in and just recently reached the point where I can work on songs in that range--this being one of the first.

And thanks, MDEW! Thank you for your input and encouragement... I'm going to keep working on it. Been paying extra attention to using the lower abs to pull in even more (supporting extra) today and it seems to help keep me in that "pocket" I was looking for.

[Slow Start]

NEW FULL PRACTICE COVER UP! More feedback please! I've been working hard lately.

LOL Best vocal workout everrrr.

So my lyrics ran out like 2/3 of the way through the song... NOW I KNOW. also, sorry for the mic distortion, I was loud at some points and did not use good enough mic technique. Also, dancing around makes it difficult to sing into a stationary condenser microphone! Any tips on how to make that work?

I notice my rhythm and timing for this song is so much better when I actually dance with it... even if I look stupid.

maybe a 7/10? a lot of weird unplanned improv that threw off some pitch and rhythm here and there. also, there's a weird guide voice track that is barely discernible that did not jive with mah groove.

some weird vowel choices that i'll fix more... but making the mouth while maintaining the open throat sensation is helping. I have realized I needed to reducing spreading while maintaining the smile in my previous practice and it makes a difference for sure.

[Slow Start]

https://app.box.com/s/x0nj86q9mmztkmvte5ae

Raw Vocal MP3! I have no shame lmao you can hear ALL the mistakes lmao:)

[MDEW]

:) Sounds pretty awesome for practice session. The sounds you are getting and the feeling from them are great.

It still sounds like a practice session. Like you are not sure what you are going to do next. All of the elements are there. Now it needs to flow. I don't know the best way to say it. Smooth out the different segments?

Your voice sounds awesome. Lots of feeling.

[ronws]

"This F major has a seventh" "I've run out of instruments, Darling" that's priceless. That is how you do a live take. So, yeah, because of the pitch wobbles, it might receive a 7/10 for technical perfection. But I think it was great for a live take.

I don't like much of karaoke backing tracks either. For one thing, whoever records those puts guide melodies where they think they should be, and then autotunes it, along with the rest of the tracks.

No, you'll do best doing it like Marvin, on a stage with a band of jazz musicians, playing live. Now, that's organic. You will still hit some bum notes, live. That's because everyone gets bum notes. The difference between live and studio recording is that in studio recording, you keep patching that section until you do it right. Unless you run out of studio time, and then the engineer tunes the one or two bad notes that you had.

You really do have the right voice for this song, even this style of music (70's R&.

In an interview, Eddie Van Halen was talking about how there were performances where he made mistakes live on the very stuff he wrote. But he knew the show was a hit because the next week, he would wander into guitar stores, hearing the young guys playing his stuff from the show, mistakes included, as if that is how it was supposed to be played live.

Anyway, I liked it. And it was really good considering you were incorporating physical moves. It is one thing to stand or sit still in front of a stationary mic. It is another thing to actually perform the song, as if on stage, or actually on a stage. What works fine while standing like a statue is not the same as stepping over cables and monitors and errant roadies in front of however many fans.

At the Elks Lodge in Sherman, Texas, the little stage has a soft spot and if you don't watch your step, you will include an unplanned-for tumble.

[Slow Start]

Sounds pretty awesome for practice session. The sounds you are getting and the feeling from them are great.

It still sounds like a practice session. Like you are not sure what you are going to do next. All of the elements are there. Now it needs to flow. I don't know the best way to say it. Smooth out the different segments?

Your voice sounds awesome. Lots of feeling.

Thanks for listening, MDEW! Preciate the compliments! I still remember when I couldn't reach the notes in even the first line of this song before this June.

I agree that I am not solid enough with cohesiveness yet... it definitely felt too much like two disparate parts chasing after each other sometimes. That'll hopefully improve as I really get into the song further and have the lyrics properly memorized. Perhaps my brain will be less busy trying to play catchup at last.

"This F major has a seventh" "I've run out of instruments, Darling" that's priceless. That is how you do a live take. So, yeah, because of the pitch wobbles, it might receive a 7/10 for technical perfection. But I think it was great for a live take.

I don't like much of karaoke backing tracks either. For one thing, whoever records those puts guide melodies where they think they should be, and then autotunes it, along with the rest of the tracks.

No, you'll do best doing it like Marvin, on a stage with a band of jazz musicians, playing live. Now, that's organic. You will still hit some bum notes, live. That's because everyone gets bum notes. The difference between live and studio recording is that in studio recording, you keep patching that section until you do it right. Unless you run out of studio time, and then the engineer tunes the one or two bad notes that you had.

You really do have the right voice for this song, even this style of music (70's R&.

In an interview, Eddie Van Halen was talking about how there were performances where he made mistakes live on the very stuff he wrote. But he knew the show was a hit because the next week, he would wander into guitar stores, hearing the young guys playing his stuff from the show, mistakes included, as if that is how it was supposed to be played live.

Anyway, I liked it. And it was really good considering you were incorporating physical moves. It is one thing to stand or sit still in front of a stationary mic. It is another thing to actually perform the song, as if on stage, or actually on a stage. What works fine while standing like a statue is not the same as stepping over cables and monitors and errant roadies in front of however many fans.

At the Elks Lodge in Sherman, Texas, the little stage has a soft spot and if you don't watch your step, you will include an unplanned-for tumble

Thanks Ron! I agree about doing it live... I would totally karaoke this song at a bar somewhere once I get it down for sure!