Why does my voice sound way higher then the original artist's?

[mrno1324]

Bit of a weird question, but I'm quite confused with this. When I try to cover songs that the artist seems to be singing in a range around their spoken voice it's much harder for me and I'm straining to hit relatively low notes like g1. I'm attaching a little sample, just two lines from a Rolling Stones song. g1 is actually the highest note I'm trying to sing there, and as you can probably hear I'm straining and I'm on the verge of going into falsetto. But when Mick Jagger does is it seems natural and around his spoken frequency. Not that I'm trying to be Mick Jagger, it's just bugging me why this is the case and it sounds so much different although I'm singing the same notes as him.

At this point I'm not even 100% sure I was singing in the same octave, maybe I was singing an octave higher, so in my recording I did it first in an octave I believe Jagger's singing in and then an octave lower, for comparison. So I guess I'm trying to ask which one of those two little two line performances is in the octave of the original. 

It also happens with other songs. I tried to do the Jeff Buckley version of Hallelujah and again during the highest notes he seems to be comfortable but when I try it I feel like I'm trying to sing an opera aria (it's on the same soundcloud account if you're interested). Pleas help me suss out what's happening, it's really annoying that I can't.

 

here's me: 

here's the original (the link is to the line I'm singing):  >

 

Thanks a bunch guys

[Gsoul82]

Bit of a weird question, but I'm quite confused with this. When I try to cover songs that the artist seems to be singing in a range around their spoken voice it's much harder for me and I'm straining to hit relatively low notes like g1. I'm attaching a little sample, just two lines from a Rolling Stones song. g1 is actually the highest note I'm trying to sing there, and as you can probably hear I'm straining and I'm on the verge of going into falsetto. But when Mick Jagger does is it seems natural and around his spoken frequency. Not that I'm trying to be Mick Jagger, it's just bugging me why this is the case and it sounds so much different although I'm singing the same notes as him.

At this point I'm not even 100% sure I was singing in the same octave, maybe I was singing an octave higher, so in my recording I did it first in an octave I believe Jagger's singing in and then an octave lower, for comparison. So I guess I'm trying to ask which one of those two little two line performances is in the octave of the original. 

It also happens with other songs. I tried to do the Jeff Buckley version of Hallelujah and again during the highest notes he seems to be comfortable but when I try it I feel like I'm trying to sing an opera aria (it's on the same soundcloud account if you're interested). Pleas help me suss out what's happening, it's really annoying that I can't.

 

here's me: 

here's the original (the link is to the line I'm singing):  

>

 

Thanks a bunch guys

 

 

Well, you may not be able to sing every song just like the original artist sings it. At least not right away. This is why we work on range. I have a singing voice that's on the deeper end, and when I cover a song by someone with a naturally higher voice, I may not be able to hit the same notes using the same part of the voice that they do, but I can hit the same notes 99.9% of the time

[MDEW]

    The first one is on pitch with what Mick is singing. You are singing light and soft, the sound is thinner. Mick is singing louder and more of his vocal folds are vibrating.

     Edit:   It is a natural thing we all have gone through the same issues. Training and building our voices will get us there.

[Artist Anthony Flake]

Sounds pretty good to me , But I do agree with MDEW about the first part..

[mrno1324]

Thanks for the replies guys, very helpful.

[ThePowerOfOne]

I think your first line is indeed an octave higher than Mick's original whereas the second one is on pitch but you're not approaching it with the proper configuration so it takes you more effort.

[MDEW]

I think your first line is indeed an octave higher than Mick's original whereas the second one is on pitch but you're not approaching it with the proper configuration so it takes you more effort.

    I would like a third opinion on this. I can definitely be wrong and if I am it could explain some of my own problems but I do believe the first attempt of mrno1324 is the proper pitch only using a lighter phonation. The second attempt is an octave lower.

    Any else want to chime in?  Please if I am mistaken explain why so myself and mrno1324 can understand the difference.

[Real]

    I would like a third opinion on this. I can definitely be wrong and if I am it could explain some of my own problems but I do believe the first attempt of mrno1324 is the proper pitch only using a lighter phonation. The second attempt is an octave lower.

    Any else want to chime in?  Please if I am mistaken explain why so myself and mrno1324 can understand the difference.

Ask and you shall receive, my friend. You are correct in asserting that the first demonstation is on pitch and the second is an octave lower.

[ThePowerOfOne]

    I would like a third opinion on this. I can definitely be wrong and if I am it could explain some of my own problems but I do believe the first attempt of mrno1324 is the proper pitch only using a lighter phonation. The second attempt is an octave lower.

    Any else want to chime in?  Please if I am mistaken explain why so myself and mrno1324 can understand the difference.

It's entirely possible I'm off on this MDEW, maybe I'm hearing the OP's ultra light phonation as higher than it is? Won't be the first time.

[Gsoul82]

    I would like a third opinion on this. I can definitely be wrong and if I am it could explain some of my own problems but I do believe the first attempt of mrno1324 is the proper pitch only using a lighter phonation. The second attempt is an octave lower.

    Any else want to chime in?  Please if I am mistaken explain why so myself and mrno1324 can understand the difference.

 

I thought the Soundcloud recording was higher than the guy singing in the YouTube video.

[KillerKu]

MDEW is right. The first is a lighter phonation of the same notes. I checked with my own voice using a light phonation compared to a heavier one and checked an octave up and down. Jagger doesn't sing an octave up from there or speak an octave down.

 

This confuses people a lot. I'm pretty familiar with it as I can sound more a baritone or more like a tenor depending on how I phonate. A lot of pop vocalists use lighter configurations. My favorite example is to compare this:

 

 

Which is George lightening his voice so he sounds comparable to the lighter tenors who you might hear, but if he phonates more like Stevie Wonder, you'll hear he has way more weight than someone like Stevie:

 

 

Really skilled singers can choose between light and heavy on a gradient and sing in areas between. I'm not quite there yet, but have a lot of shades I've been developing so far.

[KillerKu]

Hey guys, this topic really interests me so I made a sound clip of 3 different octaves with various shading. The lowest octave lightened as much as possible could even confuse me.

 

https://app.box.com/s/9dqbbh3ipfub8zu891hyvu61tqphvj5o

 

When in doubt, I sing an octave above and below the pitch in question with various shades. If others would like to illustrate various illusions of pitch, I'd be really interested. I'm wondering how far people can take this concept.