Talks to Angels

[Quincy]

I’m working on doing some more aggressive type songs. Not sure what this sounds like to other people’s ears…if it is shouty, constricted, off pitch etc. I don’t get a chance at much feedback (my own insecure fault) . I started out with SS and later MM but have explored CVT to some degree. What I felt was holding me back the most was breath control but CVT and a lot of the discussion on this board has helped me get a better grasp of it.

Any comments are much appreciated.

http://www.box.net/shared/yzcpburqy2

[chele1000]

Hi,

If you're not playing an instrument, maybe tap your foot to the beat to keep in time with the song. You're a bit ahead of the song in the beginning. The only other thing for me is putting a bit more edge to help it sound more like rock.

Otherwise, pitch sounds good to me and the singing is very good! Keep working! :cool:

cheers!

[ronws]

I like the way you sang it clean. I didn't really notice timing issues as I gathered this was your own, slightly jazzy (timing-wise) version. Your pitch was good and your intonation/inflection was your own, unique. I value that highly. Always sing a song like you wrote it.

[Quincy]

To Michele;

Thanks for your comments! The timing is difficult for me, especially in the beginning where the music is not continuous. It’s good to know my pitch has improved as that is an area I’ve had comments on in the past. It is still off in some places I hear. I want to learn more effects in the near future as I’ve been mostly trying to sing clean with out constrictions. Think I’m about ready to dive into some of the CVT chapters on effects.

To Ron;

Appreciate it! It’s a new song for me and I didn’t really burn into memory all the nuances Chris Robinson uses. I do love the way he sounds and would like to develop a little more of his emotions. But you are right, we should try to keep it our own and just capture the feelings that we really like. I did try to do it fairly clean but think I’m ready to try out some different effects. Getting my breath pressure in line with the changing registrations has been a real challenge for me but I’m slowly getting a handle on it. Thanks man!

[ronws]

To Michele;

Getting my breath pressure in line with the changing registrations has been a real challenge for me but I’m slowly getting a handle on it. Thanks man!

That has been the big challenge for me, as well, and I have been doing this a while. The air pressure thing is quite subtle.

[Reid355]

This thread is just superb !

Regards

Reid355

[mvrasseli]

It doesn't sound agressive to me, It's a light song :cool: .

[tubagod]

Get the right notes. The ones you sing are in tune, unfortunately they are the wrong notes. Tip: The ones you are looking for are much higher...

[Quincy]

mvrasseli: Is that because it was without effects or were you just expecting some death metal screaming at ear piercing pitch? It might be a while before I can try that.

tubagod: Thanks for your tips. It's new territory for me, but I’ll work on copying the original a little closer and see how it goes.

[ronws]

You're so polite, Quincy. Thing is, I think you did this version your way, precisely because you were not trying to sound like a carbon copy of Chris.

[Quincy]

Thanks for your comments Ron.

I know I keep harping on this, but it seems like you never quit discovering that fine balancing act between vocal fold thickness/thinnest and the changing dynamics of breath pressure and air flow. I guess it’s always that way when you find something majorly new and working for you. That sensation of feeling like you are breathing inwards and could change on a dime with the direction of the airflow gives me way more options of different expression. Whereas I used to have a much more limited way I could express a song, I’m at the beginning stages of being able to try whatever comes to mind. Not to say I’m anywhere near mastering this new concept, but I can tell I’m going to be busy for sometime to come experimenting and trying to develop it. Seems the more you learn the more addictive it becomes!

Tubagod: I went back and listened to the original and didn’t hear any higher notes over those two sections I did. There were a few beginning phrases that started with a higher note but still within the notes I was using. I’m not sure what you were referring to.

[ronws]

Thanks for your comments Ron.

I know I keep harping on this, but it seems like you never quit discovering that fine balancing act between vocal fold thickness/thinnest and the changing dynamics of breath pressure and air flow. I guess it’s always that way when you find something majorly new and working for you. That sensation of feeling like you are breathing inwards and could change on a dime with the direction of the airflow gives me way more options of different expression. Whereas I used to have a much more limited way I could express a song, I’m at the beginning stages of being able to try whatever comes to mind.

I'd say keep doing what you are doing.

[jonpall]

I liked it! Very cool.

[analog]

Get the right notes. The ones you sing are in tune, unfortunately they are the wrong notes. Tip: The ones you are looking for are much higher...

No idea what he's talking about.

Very original interpretation(your phrasing sounded intentional and unique.) Imagine if John McCrea(Cake) was knocked down because his timing was "off."

[jonpall]

Imagine if John McCrea(Cake) was knocked down because his timing was "off."

Some singers with unorthodox timing throughout their careers, even in their prime: Robert Plant, Bono, Sam Cooke, etc. ....

[jonpall]

Btw. just noticed that you have 10 too few reputation points, analog, so I started to fix that, dude ;)

[Quincy]

Thanks for your input! It really helps me to understand what you guys are hearing.

[g0dvollie]

It's a bit too staccato for my taste. I couldn't tell if I liked the whiny sound or not, but it's definitely your style. Pitch sounded good, I just didn't like how you cut the notes and punched the words out. Just a little too abrupt for me to enjoy it. I WANTED MORE! Instead of thinking like . . . . . ., maybe the phrases should be like ----\_____/----- instead of so dotted. That's my .02 though GL man, brave of you to put that out here ^^

[Stan]

Whoa, nice singing there! That's great stuff man. You sound like a really nice jazz/country singer. Good job!

[Quincy]

Thanks for taking the time to listen and comment guys!

godvollie;

One thing I’m finding out with the limited amount of critiques I’ve heard from my singing is I don’t get a lot of universal approval or universal disapproval; I seem to be controversial. I’m still trying to figure it out. Evidently I have what I would call a “Willie Nelson” style of timing and phrasing. Not that I’m anyway similar to him but that has been a somewhat constant theme I’ve received in the past. It either turns people on or off. I guess that is good and bad. It is probably because I don’t spend the detailed amount of time working out the phrases of the songs I sing as much as most people do. At this point I’m just singing and things keep changing, so I’m not trying to fight it.

Stan;

Thanks for the compliment. I think you did pick up on the country singer influence. I have a somewhat mongrel background in influence. I’ve lived in Texas all my life and grew up from a baby onwards with my dad playing mostly older country music in our house. He was and still is a big fan of mostly old country music. Plays and sings himself in some local get togethers. Funny thing is when he hears me do a George Jones song like “He stopped loving her today”, which I think I had the phrases pretty close, he’ll tell me it sounds bluesy. Ha ha. So I don’t know. I’m also a big fan of blues, southern rock blues, old Elton John, Beatles, 60’s and 70’s music. Maybe that creates my different sense of timing. But I’m having fun and things seem to be evolving faster in the past year than before. Maybe I’ll post up an old country song and see what kind of reaction that gets. As Lennon would say, “I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round”. :)

[ronws]

Quincy, it's quite alright to have the Willie Nelson sensibility in a totally different avenue. On more than one occasion, Axl Rose has mentioned Sir Elton John as a major influence in song-writing. Yet look at how different Guns and Roses sounds from Elton John.