Wonderwall Cover (piano)

[Elizax]

It's been a while since I posted here and I've gone away since my last cover and practiced a lot, I even started Singing Success about two weeks ago!

Anyway, I'd like to hear what you think of my new cover and hopefully give me some helpful critique.

http://www.smule.com/p/86614364_12809997

Thanks! :)

[Owen Korzec]

Sound good overall. My only critique is you are doing something with your voice that's creating this fast shaky faux tremolo vibrato thing. Unless you like that sound, I'd recommend you try to get rid of it because otherwise it may become a habit and it will be hard to rid of. I would suggest learning how to sing straight tone instead for now, and adding a real vibrato later once you figure out how to do it correctly.

[ElWin]

Hey Eliza. I think I mentioned on a previous post a similarity with Florence Welch and that is what I hear again hear -particularly in the "shaky" affectation that Owen mentions.

So I can see why stylistically this might be an option but I think it wouldn't suit all styles of song and Owen's right that it is important to be able to choose when and when not to use that where it suits.

I liked this though - good arrangement.

[Elizax]

Thank you both, I do get Florence Welch a lot from family and friends which is a massive compliment. Just wish I had her range! Haha.

Yeah, the bad vibrato is a habit I'm trying to cut out but it feels like I'm singing flat without doing it but I suppose I've just got so use to hearing it back it would sound weird

Ill definitely work on it, thanks guys!

[Elizax]

http://www.smule.com/p/86614364_13015181

Is this any better? It's hard to control now I've got into the habit of it and I'm working to cut it out and then moving onto the vibrato disc on SS

And another where I try to find a natural vibrato.

http://www.smule.com/p/86614364_13262258

[Owen Korzec]

Yea those are better.

Just keep working on cutting out the shaky vibrato habit and getting some nice smooth straight tone singing. Some things that might help:

-practice sustaining individual notes, no vibrato. this will be easier in a comfortable range at first

-think of singing as more like sustained speech, as we don't speak with vibrato.

-work on sustaining an "s" or "z" with no vibrato.

If you have trouble with it on "s" then you can be certain that that shaky vibrato is created with the breathing musculature and nothing to do with the larynx, just keep working on smoothing out the "s" and that should be something you can practice whenever you want all day and make great improvements on but of course stay focused on keeping it smooth.

If it's fine on s and kicks in on z then you probably need to work on balancing the air flow and cord closure a little better, the lip rolls and tongue trills from SS should help you with that. Also practicing individual notes like I said.

If it kicks in only when you sing, it's probably more of a mental thing where you're trying to sound too singer-y, if that makes sense. Thinking about singing as sustained speech should help.

Hope that helps, I'm not a vocal teacher by any stretch of the imagination, this is just how i'd personally address the problem if I had it. I actually gravitate more toward straight tone and never had any kind of vibrato until very recently and i'm still barely in control of it. But I did do some work on smoothing out my straight tone and it was very much an issue of removing unnecessary tension, relaxed focus of the mind, and being in better control of breath management

[Felipe Carvalho]

Sounds really nice Eliza, both the piano and your voice to me sound quite good.

Keep working on your technique and keep the singing comming :)

[ronws]

Eliza, I liked your "Wonderwall." I liked it better than the whiny original. Not only do you NOT have an overt nasality, but you used cleaner vowels. Your ah sound is true. Keep doing that.

[Elizax]

I'll make sure to keep practising that Owen, thank you very much!

Thank you Felipe and Ron, I thought that having never had lessons I might have had a lot of problems but its nice to hear I don't sound as bad as I think I do! Haha.

[ronws]

I'll make sure to keep practising that Owen, thank you very much!

Thank you Felipe and Ron, I thought that having never had lessons I might have had a lot of problems but its nice to hear I don't sound as bad as I think I do! Haha.

Some people just have a natural gift, causing envy in others. Just take your natural gift and use it wisely. Practice good technique of breathing and natural production of tone. Do what it is your voice can do, don't do what it cannot do.

That's not just me saying that. Others greater and more respected than I am have said that.