Beatles (Oh Darling) - Cover by Aravindmadis

[aravindmadis]

Hi folks..

I had a decent day during practice, so I felt motivated to record this song.. I have long been wanting to do this cover.. I have not heard this song a million times like other beatles songs, so I don't know if I have captured the exact feel that Paul brought to this song.. I got very good advice to try in this very forum to sing songs like they were written for me. So I did not try to do an exact replica and just took the song where my voice took me..

Please give it a listen and be as critical... I want to be really good, so please be harsh..

https://soundcloud.com/aravind-madhavan/oh-darling

[Javastorm]

I enjoyed this. There was some nice twang around 2:26-2:49. The only thing I really noticed was on the "darlings" it sounded like you were closing off the sound on the vowel- I think it should be an "Ah" instead of an "Aw/Oh". Really nice though.

[aravindmadis]

Thanks Javastorm..

Others, any other suggestions??

BTW, Happy Thanksgiving..

[MDEW]

I kind of liked it.(Too used to the Beatles) The low end was great. The high parts sounded good but alittle too edgy for me(just an opinion, personal taste thing) Maybe gear the vowels a little more towards Eh instead of Ih.

Wh-eh-n ya told Meh... Again just an opinion. You were nice and solid throughout. I did not really hear any Pitch problems. I am just too used to hearing the Beatles.

Good job over all. :cool:

[aravindmadis]

Thanks MDEW.. Could the edgy sound be due to improper mixing? Or is it a voice related issue? I am a much better at singing than at mixing!! :D

[MDEW]

Thanks MDEW.. Could the edgy sound be due to improper mixing? Or is it a voice related issue? I am a much better at singing than at mixing!!

It is not the mixing and it is not a bad sound. It is just a different sound than I am used to for this song.

It may just be a difference in the type of rasp between you and Mr. McCartney. If I wasn't so familier with the Beatles version I wouldn't have noticed anything.

I don't believe it is an issue with your singing. The issue is my perception of the song.

[Jarom]

I would recommend allot less nose on high notes and to open the sound a little more with vowel mods.

[aravindmadis]

How does vowel mods help reduce nasality?

[ronws]

I don't think the nasality is a deficit. I think it helps keep a certain registration going. In fact, you slipped once. On the first use of "when you told me," you flipped to what sounded like a falsetto, at that point, which provided a tonal disparity. Every other time after that, you held it through and solid and I liked the grit you had on this.

And that is something I have personally done, as well, by which I mean, going into a pre-chorus a bit wobbly and then I straighten up halfway through and carry on well enough, after that. It happens. And therein lies a hint, even for myself. Work on pre-choruses. Another way is to assume one vowel form through the whole phrase. "Wh eh n y eh t ah ld m ee (or m eh), using the vowel sound as a registration or anchor spot. It's okay to sound different when singing than when speaking. For example, you sound american in this, even if you don't sound american when you speak, whether English or your native language.

[MDEW]

Some vowels have a high back of tongue and direct more air to the nasal passage. Some have a low back of tongue and direct the air more into and out of the mouth.

In this song you are sing "Wh-ih-n Y-oo Told M-ee, Yoo D-ih-d n't N-ee-d......." Paul is singing "W-Eh-n Y-ah T-oh-ld m-eh Y-ah d-eh-d n't...."

Your version gives a narrow sound....Pauls gives a Wider sound.

But .... some voices are more comfortable with the narrow sound and some are more comfortable with the wider sound. IH resonates more in the upper passage. Ah resonates more in the lower.

I am not a teacher. So my explaination may not be exactly what is going on but the idea is the same.

[ronws]

And thanks, Aravind, for remembering the american Thanksgiving. We got back last night from my mother-in-law's place. She doesn't have internet access and I didn't feel like using my company smart phone for more than just checking threads. So, we went south Texas (between Houston and Austin) Thursday morning and got back yesterday evening. Thanks to traffic and a stop at the grocery store, it took 5 hours, rather than the usual 4 hours for 280 miles.

Roasted turkey, spiral-cut glazed ham. Sweet potatos, topped with margarine and cinnamon, mashed potatoes. Gravy made from turkey drippings but not as thick as a roux. Sausage and cornbread stuffing. We made cranberry sauce with cranberries, zinfandel, and orange juice, cinnamon sticks, ginger, and whole cloves.

Assorted vegetables. Dessert was pumpkin dump cake topped with chopped pecans and over that, vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, and I did both. MIL has 3 pecan trees and this year was a good yield, probably 50 lbs.

Iced tea, that you sweeten yourself to your desire. Iced tea is a staple of the diet in Texas.

I ate so much, I could not think anymore.

Even though her husband, my FIL, passed away in August of this year, his guitar is still there. He messed with it a few times. Otherwise, it only gets played when I am there. So, I worked some more on "Jaded" by Aerosmith and finished strong on "Leader of the Band" by Dan Fogelberg.

I think any of us should end a practice session or impromptu performance on something we are strong doing. It aids in the memory of muscle training.

[MDEW]

One more thing to add.... The vowel choice and interpretation is yours for your reasons. What you sang was strong throughout. Good pitch, Good tone...The accent was good also..... These vowel mods are to give you more choices and help you grow as a singer, not to say that how you sang the song was wrong in a anyway.

[Gneetapp]

I like it Aravindmadis! You did a good job with this song man. I think that in the high pitch parts, because you made it sound too Rock/Metal, it almost seemed that there were 2 people singing (the 2nd being a Janis Joplin persona). I liked it, but I get what MDEW and Jarom mentioned. To illustrate it, try to imagine Axl Rose singing Yesterday (by The Beatles). He would not have any issues singing the high pitch parts, but they would sound more aggressive and a lot less sweet and sentimental. Good job man! :cool: