Original jazz song

[AndrewWu]

Hello everybody,

The song I would like you to listen to is 'Years from now'. You can access it on my webpage:

http://www.reverbnation.com/#/andrewwu

Or if you would prefer, you can also listen to it on my facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Andrew-Wu/111133162267822?ref=ts

It's my first attempt at adding a jazz flavour to my songs. I haven't used any jazz techniques vocally in this piece, but I have always fancied that my tone suits the style. I'd love to hear your opinions. And please, don't be afraid to criticize (as that helps me learn more than anything else).

Thanks

Andrew

[VideoHere]

nice sweet sounding vocal and...

[ronws]

I liked it. By the way, is that a muted tenor sax for the bridge solo and fills?

I also liked your "Hallelujah" cover.

[AndrewWu]

I forgot to mention that its a free download from my reverbnation site.

And ronws, the saxophone part is being played on a keyboard (since I can't actually play the saxophone). It's actually an alto saxophone patch (from memory).

[ronws]

I forgot to mention that its a free download from my reverbnation site.

And ronws, the saxophone part is being played on a keyboard (since I can't actually play the saxophone). It's actually an alto saxophone patch (from memory).

Well, it sounded good. Well done.

[kalapoka]

Hi Andrew, I liked the song. Your voice sounds nice and sweet. Liked your use of falsetto. Nothing to criticize really. Keep up the good work!

[gno]

Sounds really nice. Your voice sounds nice and free of tension. The vocals need to be louder compared to the piano as the piano is overpowering the vocals. You might want to put compression on the vocals if you don't already have it and then bring it up.

[chele1000]

Hi,

I agree with Guitartrek. A wee bit of reverb to make it sound a bit "bigger" would help it a bit as well (my opinion). Keep up the good work. Just some recording advice really.

[Steven Fraser]

Andrew,

I agree with what everybody else said. One thing I'd like to offer in addition is that the way this song is written, the phrases end on notes lower in your range than those in the middle of the phrases, and so the intensity of the vocal tone is less on the last note of every phrase. Sometimes this obscures the intelligibility of the word you are singing on those notes.

In general, lower notes contain less sound energy, so they are less audible to a live listener and in a recording. If you care about this at all, one way you could compensate would be to crescendo down to the lower last notes of every phrase, making them just a little louder. Another approach you could take would be to allow them to be a little firmer... more toward the voice you use when you speak.

I thought the message of the song was attractive and interesting. The piano acc is well done, sparse enough to let the voice come through somewhat. And that will be better if you can separately mic the voice and the piano.

[AndrewWu]

Thank you all for your feedback.

@GuitarTrek

After listening back to the song, I have to agree with you. The vocals are too soft. I usually mix my songs straight after recording them, so ear fatigue seems to play a part. This is one of those instances where the mix sounded fine when I was editing, but sounded ordinary when I listened to it with fresh ears.

@Steven Fraser

Very helpful and detailed analysis. Thanks! I have to admit I haven't taken any notice of the pitch that I end each line on. Now that you've brought that to my attention, I realise that I do tend to finish my phrases off with low notes most of the time. It's what comes naturally to me as a songwriter, and I think it sounds nicer ending a line with a note at the extremities of the voice rather than in the midrange. Now I guess I need to work on adding more energy to my lower notes so that they stand out.