Alter bridge - Watch over you

[Sethis21]

Hey guys! I made this cover and I need some advice! I actually kinda hate my voice right now but I'm not sure why... Still, I'm probably not objective enough so I'll leave the comments to you. lol

Also Myles Kennedy is one of my favourite singers and I'm trying to understand his style. So if you got any pointers they are welcome too. I think he doesn't really use curbing on the high parts right?

[Chavie]

I've always loved this song.....You have a very nice tone to your voice.

Nice job moving from that heady tone into full voice in the chorus, that's my favorite part of the song :)

[Keith]

I like it. Miles closes his vowels more on the high notes. (he sings whoooooo, not whaaaaa) for instance. Anyway, great tone and interpretation. I used to STRUGGLE with this song lol.

[Sethis21]

I've always loved this song.....You have a very nice tone to your voice.

Nice job moving from that heady tone into full voice in the chorus, that's my favorite part of the song

Thanks. I'm still working on my head voice but I feel I've improved quite a bit.

I like it. Miles closes his vowels more on the high notes. (he sings whoooooo, not whaaaaa) for instance. Anyway, great tone and interpretation. I used to STRUGGLE with this song lol.

You're right. I listened to the studio version now and he does close them more. I was listening to the live acoustic version before and I think that's where he was opening them more.

Actually, that's also one of the reasons why I was wondering if he was in curbing or if he was just going against the more natural overdrive vowels. But I tried a lighter approach and it seemed like something was missing. So I just belted it..

Thanks!

[ronws]

As much as I can hear, Sethis, you have nothing to worry about. You totally nailed this song and it was good as the original and you are just going to have to live with that, sorry about your luck.

Myles is a smidge lighter in the voice than you are. You are a bit fuller, you have a bigger voice than he has. That's a good thing. Please, do not try to diminish your voice to match his. I think you had the same phrasing and feel that he had, just that you have a "fuller" voice. That's supposed to be a compliment.

[Felipe Carvalho]

I think it still needs quite some work, specially on the chorus when it goes higher, scooping and the registration is too obvious/splatted. Also on the verses and low parts, relax, its cool that you bring some of his "thing" but its too exagerated.

Aim for what you did on 2:53 - "Easy your pain". That was perfect, does not sound forced and fits the song. Also later on "gone away". If you can center your voice around that you will nail the whole thing.

GL!

[Sethis21]

As much as I can hear, Sethis, you have nothing to worry about. You totally nailed this song and it was good as the original and you are just going to have to live with that, sorry about your luck.

Myles is a smidge lighter in the voice than you are. You are a bit fuller, you have a bigger voice than he has. That's a good thing. Please, do not try to diminish your voice to match his. I think you had the same phrasing and feel that he had, just that you have a "fuller" voice. That's supposed to be a compliment.

Thanks Ron! Yeah Myles is a bit lighter indeed. But see that's one of the problems I've been having...I'm not always sure which things I should just accept and move on and which are the things that just need more work. So for now I'm just pushing my boundaries to see how far they can go.

I think it still needs quite some work, specially on the chorus when it goes higher, scooping and the registration is too obvious/splatted. Also on the verses and low parts, relax, its cool that you bring some of his "thing" but its too exagerated.

Aim for what you did on 2:53 - "Easy your pain". That was perfect, does not sound forced and fits the song. Also later on "gone away". If you can center your voice around that you will nail the whole thing.

GL!

Yup you got me! hehe I can usually deal better with the scooping these days but masking the registration is pretty hard. Especially the quackiness thing. These nasty frequencies still creep into my voice now and then. Speaking of them I found out a few days ago about the compressed tongue instead of the usual flat tongue. I find that it does make the tone quite a bit rounder. I wonder why it's not recommended more often. :|

I'll also try the tips about the lower parts. I bet part of what seemed "wrong" is that I don't accept my voice yet and I probably should.

Cheers!

[MDEW]

I had the chance to listen to this today. Sounded pretty good. In the first post you mention that you kind of hate your voice right now. If you were thinking that before you recorded this, that was part of the problem. Thinking that you are going to suck will bring about the fulfillment of your prophecy at least in your own mind.

Over all you had a good sound. There was no obvious difference of sound in your voice between the lower parts and the higher parts. The pitch was pretty much there.

It seems more like a lack of confidence in your sound than a lack of ability.

I have not heard this song before so I have no need to compare it to the original. I liked the way that you presented this song.

[Sethis21]

Thanks MDEW. I have the bad habit of comparing myself to other singers to check my progress.

I actually took Felipe's advice and watched out for any splatiness. I was looking for a bit darker tone, something along the lines of slightly operatic/rock hybrid. I think that was part of the reason it didn't sound right in my mind. So I tried singing most high parts again and reuploaded it, same link. Also removed that random belt towards the end which was clearly out of place. :lol:

[Felipe Carvalho]

Sethis21

Yup you got me! hehe I can usually deal better with the scooping these days but masking the registration is pretty hard. Especially the quackiness thing. These nasty frequencies still creep into my voice now and then. Speaking of them I found out a few days ago about the compressed tongue instead of the usual flat tongue. I find that it does make the tone quite a bit rounder. I wonder why it's not recommended more often. :|

I'll also try the tips about the lower parts. I bet part of what seemed "wrong" is that I don't accept my voice yet and I probably should.

Cheers!

I see!... Its not so much the "quackiness", that can even be very usefull later on, but notice how when you release it, the pitch waves and you have the scoop, and how its the change in the "core" makes it evident. If you listen to the moments right before the register change, your voice is comming lighter/quackier but still adjusted and with power.

Its a matter of finding your way to not have to let it change anymore, and then dealing with the "quackiness" in the best way for your case/goals. Depending on what you are doing when you do "tongue compression" you may solve both things together, giving a bit more room but not letting the larynx sink down, still without seeing/hearing and working with you, really no way to tell man... If you work alone, use what feels right and above all, patience. The goal is to make this natural, and well... If it was easy, where would the fun be?

About the lower parts, I think your perception is correct, "your voice is not interesting so you try to do what you find interesting on his". Cant blame you, Alter Bridge is awesome . Still, give a few tries with a "less is more" approach, you will see that you can still use a few details pulling towards his sounds and they will become much stronger than an overwhelming use of it. Plus, you will make the interpretation much more personal and direct.

Cheers!

PS: Really hope you dont take this wrongly, the song needs improvement, but your voice IS nice man, keep studying and you will kill this on a near future.

Edit: Oh Ill check the update later

[ronws]

Well, now, I like the updated version even better. Gone are some of the wobbles. Do it like this, always.

[Sethis21]

@FelipeCarvalho: Cool advice Felipe. I'll keep these in mind! What I meant by tongue compression is when the tip of the tongue moves a bit backwards and touches the bottom of the mouth. I am thinking that if I train a bit with this and get used to the bigger, more open feeling it gives then perhaps I won't have to use it as much anymore.

@ronws: Thanks Ron. It still requires quite a bit of conscious effort to get everything right but I can tell there is a difference.

[ronws]

@FelipeCarvalho: Cool advice Felipe. I'll keep these in mind! What I meant by tongue compression is when the tip of the tongue moves a bit backwards and touches the bottom of the mouth. I am thinking that if I train a bit with this and get used to the bigger, more open feeling it gives then perhaps I won't have to use it as much anymore.

@ronws: Thanks Ron. It still requires quite a bit of conscious effort to get everything right but I can tell there is a difference.

So, it's an alignment issue, after all? Makes sense. The cleaner the vowel, the better, I think. And I also thing that open is not so much a structure thing as it is a sound and feel thing. That is, a well-tuned singer producing a full note at whatever, you actually see the pharynx narrow a smidge (singer's formant, twang, goosenfrabe), so not exactly physically open but sonically, "man, that guys sings open throat." which gives others a mental image of the wrong thing.

Anyway, good luck Sethis and, again, I really liked the second version. I could hear a few wobbles in the first that I let go because I am a bad man and you were doing so well with a difficult piece and you do sound like the guy, somewhat. But the second one is better, more solid. So, whatever you did differently, that is something to keep in your bag of tricks, so to speak.

[Felipe Carvalho]

Im honestly surprised man, what you found there does not come easy. Study it for a while and let it settle, the song is sounding really nice now.

[MDEW]

I just listened to the new version. I didn't think my advice was THAT good. Just kidding!

Whatever you changed it worked. It now sounds awesome. Keep it up.

[Raze]

Hey guys! I made this cover and I need some advice! I actually kinda hate my voice right now but I'm not sure why... Still, I'm probably not objective enough so I'll leave the comments to you. lol

Also Myles Kennedy is one of my favourite singers and I'm trying to understand his style. So if you got any pointers they are welcome too. I think he doesn't really use curbing on the high parts right?

I know nothing about singing but I can tell you that I have never heard the song you are covering, and if I heard your cover version on the radio I would assume you have a huge record deal and were getting a ton of air time on radio stations across the country. Your voice and singing is that good. I can't pin point why (as I said I know nothing), but I really like it.