Oh yes, how I dared to tackle Geoff Tate!

[Stan]

I recorded this 2 years ago... me singing "I Don't Believe In Love". Quite honestly, it's pretty bad, lol. But I would like to hear what you guys think of it. Thanks for your time, I appreciate it. http://www.box.net/shared/e9c831xxga

[jonpall]

I'm not sure that link is working. I think it should look like www.box.net/shared/<something>.... and not www.box.net/files/<something>... If you link to "files", that's your private, not public, folder, I think.

[Stan]

Thanks Jonpall... boy, I suck with uploading files, lol.

This one may work http://www.box.net/shared/e9c831xxga

[akarawd]

Stan, I liked your approach very much. There's a raspy edge to your voice (can you please identify what it is ? neutral with air and creaking ?) that I appreciate.

It reminds me of any pro singer who uses rasp (creaking ?) and gives that "hard rock" edge to their songs.

I won't stay at the pitch issues 'cause I'm pretty sure they could have been tackled had you paid attention to each note.

The only criticism would be the word "believe" at the 1st & 2nd chorus which you got right at the 3d one.

I think you did an excellent job and I'd love to hear about your singing approach (using air, creaking etc)

Well done - I think Geoff Tate would be proud,

Thanos

[jonpall]

Good stuff, Stan, as always! Maybe you personally want to fine tune your voice somehow but that's your own choice. It sounds very good as it is. I think it would be beneficial for you to ask about any specific problems you're having that might help you with this fine tuning. It was too much air, right? Have you tried putting your hand in front of your mouth and trying to feel heat instead of wind?

[Stan]

Thanks for the comments, guys!

akarawd: Thanks. Truth is, I don't know what I'm doing at all, lol. What is creaking?... The way I usually approach singing is that I would listen to the original singer and then try to replicate that same "spirit" rather than tone... all the rasp comes out naturally and I'm not sure what I'm doing, it just simply happens. The only thing I would do, as far as I am consciously aware of, is I would support my voice by pushing down and that's about it. The "believe" was kinda hard for me, I think I have a bad habit of pushing too much air.

jonpall: Thanks, man. I tried putting my hand in front of my mouth, and I feel hot air...but then when I increase the breath pressure but pushing down, it turns into wind. Breath pressure = bad? lol.

[jonpall]

Stan, it sounds very much like you're using too much air for those high notes, yeah :)

[Stan]

I have no idea how NOT to use that much air though, I should stop pushing or stop inhaling? lol...

[jonpall]

Start by re-reading all of the recent threads you've been involved in about support. Then, experiment a lot. You could also try to do Jamie Vendera's full voice sirens, but focus on keeping your ribs expanded instead of focusing on the downwards push. That's what I do.

[ronws]

Hey Stan. Good job and I enjoyed and I used to play and sing this song at the same time. Two things. Your chorus might go easier for you if you get into head voice for it. In fact, you might be surprised to find that Tate is one of those singers that bridges kind of early.

Second, and really minor, the phrase raison d'ete. It is french and loosely translates as "reason to be."

Example: for many of us here, singing is our raison d'ete. Phonetically, whether spoken or sung, it is pronounced rayz-ON det. The last e is silent and det is pronounced as you would with the word debt. Slight emphasis on the syllable of "on" when speaking, not so much when singing.

[akarawd]

It's "raison d'etre" - I don't have the symbol to use it on the 1st "e", you're right about the pronunciation.

[ronws]

Thanks, Thanos. Please, forgive my mispelling.

[dannybullis]

Hey Stan, are you warming up your voice before you sing? And how many vocal takes did you do in one sitting to get this recording? Your voice sounds kind of tired. I could be wrong, but it sounds as though if you were fresh (and freshly warmed up), you would have much better clarity and the 'believe' you guys are talking about would be easier to hit. In any case, I know I tend to get raspier if I don't warm up (...although I somewhat intend to have some edge to my singing voice, and I only recently started getting into the habit of warming up). I imagine you have a relatively lower speaking voice, and it could be you may be forcing this song as its in a higher range than is natural for you?

A good indicator of how much air you're using when you sing is how much air sort of 'spills' out when you sing the letter 'C' like the 'kuh' of 'come in' or 'camera'. try quickly easing from those abrubt consonants into the following vowel by slightly relaxing your diaphram for a split second to reduce the amount of air being pushed out, and then push the air out again (it's a very quick maneuver) as you roll into your vowel. Another way to say it is ease up on hard consonants, while still making sure you enunciate well. One more trick that I do sometimes is try to roll the 'kuh' along my palette.

Cheers, buddy and great singing!

[Robert Lunte]

Stan, this is my student, Randy Loran singing "Take Hold of the Flame"... thought you might like it... Let me know when your ready to get after it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YzfVBXnWCk

[Stan]

Hey Stan, are you warming up your voice before you sing? And how many vocal takes did you do in one sitting to get this recording? Your voice sounds kind of tired. I could be wrong, but it sounds as though if you were fresh (and freshly warmed up), you would have much better clarity and the 'believe' you guys are talking about would be easier to hit. In any case, I know I tend to get raspier if I don't warm up (...although I somewhat intend to have some edge to my singing voice, and I only recently started getting into the habit of warming up). I imagine you have a relatively lower speaking voice, and it could be you may be forcing this song as its in a higher range than is natural for you?

A good indicator of how much air you're using when you sing is how much air sort of 'spills' out when you sing the letter 'C' like the 'kuh' of 'come in' or 'camera'. try quickly easing from those abrubt consonants into the following vowel by slightly relaxing your diaphram for a split second to reduce the amount of air being pushed out, and then push the air out again (it's a very quick maneuver) as you roll into your vowel. Another way to say it is ease up on hard consonants, while still making sure you enunciate well. One more trick that I do sometimes is try to roll the 'kuh' along my palette.

Cheers, buddy and great singing!

Nah, I didn't warm-up when I sang that. Actually, to be honest with you, it was 2 years ago when I recorded this so I can't really remember but it took me only one take to do this. This song is actually quite fine for my range, I could do it a whole lot better now... I just didn't have any technique when I sang that, I knew nothing about breathing and support.

Thanks for listening, bro!

[Snax]

Let me say that you have an awesome tone! Once you get the little technical issues worked out there will be no stopping you! Keep singing and thanks for sharing this with us.

[Stan]

Thanks, Snax! Appreciate that.