Who wants to laugh at my singing?

Drew_TNBD

This is me dipping my toes into the pool, and outing myself as a singer... in training at least!

I wrote these melodies and some lyrics for one of our songs, and I've been going over them for the past few weeks. This is only the 3rd time I've ever attempted to record it.

Don't be gentle. Rip me apart. I can take it. Although obviously constructive criticism is preferred!

The mix is probably boned. I had to do it on the laptop, so it's very rough.

[edit: link removed by Drew]

Sambostar

Not bad.  Very high.

samzadgan

Fuck...i so wanted to laugh...and laugh in your face...but damn! That was pretty good...shades of radio head...? Very soulful and hurt voice...i like it man, well done!

breakstuff

Pretty damn good Drew.Your voice isn't what I expected,though I mean that in a good way.

randomhandclaps

It was good and bad. The good was that it is really pretty good, the bad is that it didn't arouse me at all. 

 My only serious comment is to try and relax slightly (my wife always describes it as being on the verge of yawning) as on the held notes you can hear that you are slightly tight in your throat. The ability to hit the notes is there so just chill a bit.

PolarityMan

Sounds pretty good to me.

LastMantra

randomhandclaps said:

 My only serious comment is to try and relax slightly (my wife always describes it as being on the verge of yawning) as on the held notes you can hear that you are slightly tight in your throat. The ability to hit the notes is there so just chill a bit.

I'd agree with this. 

I have found that the first word of each line is tricky, because you've just taken a pause and you need to come back in on tune, which can be a confidence shaker. So I would work on getting those words a bit more punchy and clear. If that makes any sense.

Confidence, that's all. Sounds good though Drew, like it.

Jez6345789

Having a singing voice that can only be heard by deep water mammals and Leonard Cohen fans. And a disconect between the part of my brain that controls pitch and my vocal chords I am very jealous. Nice work

Drew_TNBD

randomhandclaps said:

It was good and bad. The good was that it is really pretty good, the bad is that it didn't arouse me at all. 

I'm not sure it's bad to not be aroused by lyrics revolving around death and despair, but hey... people bonk to Radiohead all the time!

 My only serious comment is to try and relax slightly (my wife always describes it as being on the verge of yawning) as on the held notes you can hear that you are slightly tight in your throat. The ability to hit the notes is there so just chill a bit.

Cheers boss. I do hear what you mean. It's something I'm trying for effect - trying to overdrive the notes slightly throughout the sustain phase, but this means the setup isn't always dead on. You can hear it sounds smoothest at the 2nd there's a sigh in comparison to the 1st. But as I say, still working on it and blahblahblahinsertexcusesformyselfhere.

samzadgan said:

Fuck...i so wanted to laugh...and laugh in your face...but damn! That was pretty good...shades of radio head...? Very soulful and hurt voice...i like it man, well done!

Cheers man. Yeah, I'm apeing Tom Yorke quite a bit here!

Drew_TNBD

breakstuff said:

Pretty damn good Drew.Your voice isn't what I expected,though I mean that in a good way.

One thing you learn pretty darn quickly when taking lessons (not that I'm a pro or anything, still feel like an utter n00b!) is that your speaking voice doesn't really bare much resemblance to your singing voice. I sound like much more of a retard day to day. c'est la vie.

guitarfishbay

This is a different draft to what you sent me the other day, right?  Unless I'm imagining it it sounds more controlled.

I really like the repeating guitar part on the left speaker.  The final sigh is pretty good for holding it too.  

Singing is incredibly difficult to get right on recording.  Do you have anyone with you while recording vocals or are you doing it all yourself?  I find it hard to be objective when there isn't a second person there, it always sounds slightly different in your head as you're delivering it.

I actually thought about posting up a 'show your vocal range' in octaves type thread for a laugh but haven't got around to it yet.  I was quite surprised at how high your range goes.  Personally I can't sing a high note without sounding like someone kicked James LaBrie in the balls, again.

Cirrus

Sounded good to me. Definitely towards the top of your range but since that's a deliberate choice to benefit the emotion of the vocal delivery it works. I think you can hear that you're still a little self conscious about singing, there's a certain restraint in your delivery where I think you could just let go a bit - your voice is fine, it's all psychological.

Drew_TNBD

guitarfishbay said:

This is a different draft to what you sent me the other day, right?  Unless I'm imagining it it sounds more controlled.

I really like the repeating guitar part on the left speaker.  The final sigh is pretty good for holding it too.  

Singing is incredibly difficult to get right on recording.  Do you have anyone with you while recording vocals or are you doing it all yourself?  I find it hard to be objective when there isn't a second person there, it always sounds slightly different in your head as you're delivering it.

I actually thought about posting up a 'show your vocal range' in octaves type thread for a laugh but haven't got around to it yet.  I was quite surprised at how high your range goes.  Personally I can't sing a high note without sounding like someone kicked James LaBrie in the balls, again.

Yeah this is a different draft to the one I sent you. I had a vocal lesson last night, and came home and put this down. As I say, it's only the 3rd draft.

Currently I'm just recording on my own at home, but if/when I record for the album version I'll have my engineering buddy with me, so he'll be a good wall to bounce things off.

RE: Vocal range. The notes aren't really THAT high to be honest - Eb3, D3, F3, and G3. What makes them sound high is that I'm doing (or attempting!) a mix voice with plenty of head resonance. It's the top end of my 2nd register, going into my 3rd. There are some higher notes I can hit, but not cleanly and not consistently. The great difficulty for me right now is maintaining the mix without flipping to falsetto.

Drew_TNBD

Cirrus said:

Sounded good to me. Definitely towards the top of your range but since that's a deliberate choice to benefit the emotion of the vocal delivery it works. I think you can hear that you're still a little self conscious about singing, there's a certain restraint in your delivery where I think you could just let go a bit - your voice is fine, it's all psychological.

You're definitely right. I've only been singing just over a year, and I'm still riddled with insecurity, self loathing, and lack of confidence.

Humanity huh? We love a good crisis of faith!

guitarfishbay

I don't have perfect pitch so was just going off how it sounded.  Yeah transitioning registers is hard.  I'm trying to improve and would like to start lessons after summer when I've got the time.

I think you should stick with this Drew, what you're writing fits the music.

Drew_TNBD

guitarfishbay said:

I don't have perfect pitch so was just going off how it sounded.  Yeah transitioning registers is hard.  I'm trying to improve and would like to start lessons after summer when I've got the time.

It takes a while to get it. I'm still not 100% there, but way better than I was before taking any lessons at all. I've only been doing them since Feb 2014, and most people who know their shit will say it takes a few years at least to really "get it".

I think you should stick with this Drew, what you're writing fits the music.

I intend to. My future creativity kinda rests on it to be honest, because Tacoma aint going to continue forever, and I'm not sure I'll want to join another band afterwards.

randomhandclaps

Drew_fx said:

randomhandclaps said:

It was good and bad. The good was that it is really pretty good, the bad is that it didn't arouse me at all. 

I'm not sure it's bad to not be aroused by lyrics revolving around death and despair, but hey... people bonk to Radiohead all the time!

You've clearly read my wife's blog then. 

I didn't realise on first listening the lyrics were about death and despair,all I was hearing was "All women are evil, burn the bitches", then I realised it was playing backwards.

Drew_TNBD

) ) )

Sambostar

Jez6345789 said:

Having a singing voice that can only be heard by deep water mammals and Leonard Cohen fans. And a disconect between the part of my brain that controls pitch and my vocal chords I am very jealous. Nice work

Lol, this is me too.  Perfectly put.

@Drew_fx. Do you normally sing that high?  It sounds alright, like it's not just you head voice and is flowing through.  Amazing that you can sing that high.  Is that at the upper end of your range?  When I try and sing high I can barely make Baritone, yet my bass voice is shyte as well.  So well done for you for sounding like a girl.  Sounds good.  A bit pure though.

Can we have a singing thread.  I'd like a singing thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxAKFlpdcfc

randomhandclaps

Sambostar said:

 When I try and sing high I can barely make Baritone, 

Does that impinge or your drag act?

Fretwired

Thought it was good .. I think you need to practice and relax a bit (as has been said) and practice so you stop being self-conscious when you hear yourself. PM Tony Rath of this parish .. he's a vocal coach and has loads of tips for aspiring singers.

How was it recorded?