The singing thread

Sambostar

Revelation of the century.  I've just realised that to get better at singing, you sing and sing along to albums.  Err.  Just like guitar really.

Amazing.

Sambostar

Right...who is it..who listens to my Mmmm on soundcloud, it's not even mine and the singing is awful, so obviously you want the chords or picking.  If you want I will teach you the chords, it's very easy.

It's like trying to lose weight or incorporate fruit and veg into your diet.  Can't lose the momentum with this one.

Anyone else got any basic singing fallacies they would like to post?

Drew_TNBD

Did this a week or two ago:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/630473/Exegesis_Drew_Firsthalf.mp3?dl

Practicing breathiness and shouty yell stuff.

Cabicular

you're back!

hello matey

Drew_TNBD

Hi fella!

hobbio

So, I've committed to including some vocals in collaborative project. I need to write lyrics (not too important really, it's just a fun thing) and sing. I can sort of carry a tune within quite a limited range, and other people have said I sound pretty ok, but I dislike the sound of my own voice and I'm really nervous and self conscious about doing it. I've only rarely sung in front of people during my life, and never once have I done it in the last decade. People have overheard me singing when I thought I was alone and said it was ok but I assume they're humouring me.

I can pitch ok with my head voice and falsetto, but I have zero power and I don't even know how to break into my chest voice. I'm borrowing a mic tonight so I can record vocals. it'll probably be tomorrow before I do though, I've got a mate coming round tonight.

How can I get over this fear? I'm thinking step one will be to record something and post it here for comments. Would it be better to post a bit of a known song so people have a reference?

Drew_TNBD

Yeah post something hobs!

randomhandclaps

@Hobbio- TBH virtually all the singers I have ever worked with hate listening back to their own voice to some degree or another, it seems like a natural human response.  The key is to be able to learn to listen back to 'the' voice as opposed to 'your' voice.  You need to create a bit of distance because not only do people judge themselves more harshly, you also you tend to make judgement calls based on your psychological mood at that moment. 

Never delete anything in the moment (unless it's like you farting and saying "Fuck, missed my cue!") as storage space isn't a priority nowadays.  Firstly, as I said above judgements are usual best made with a bit of a break or distance.  Secondly listening to earlier versions where you were struggling and then seeing improvement not only helps reinforce some much needed confidence but it also reminds us of the fundamental of giving your best performance, which is knowing the piece inside out.  This is most easy to forget with original compositions because it's very easy to think "I wrote this so of course I know it!", but hammering it home takes so much of the stress and strain out of the performance and vocals in particular start to suffer when our brain is straining to remember where the song is going.

hobbio

The mic I was after borrowing isn't functional any more so I'll get something recorded with my iPad mic and see how it sounds. It's a big step for me to post it, but I will.

Drew_TNBD

hobbio said:

The mic I was after borrowing isn't functional any more so I'll get something recorded with my iPad mic and see how it sounds. It's a big step for me to post it, but I will.

Mate, I shit myself every time I post things. You lot owe me some pants - not the Lixarto Crotchless variety please. I can't wear 'em.

randomhandclaps

hobbio said:

The mic I was after borrowing isn't functional any more

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bgw_LAzQPI0/maxresdefault.jpg

Yeah I think I can kind of see where you are going wrong.

hobbio

Ok, I should be able to lay my hands on a different mic tonight. I'll try not to eat this one.

Sambostar

I went to a funeral yesterday, thought I'd make the most of it and in church tried singing my bestest.  I came away a bit enlightened, but two or three things struck me really.  The first is that the temptation is to sing along with the women is strong as you can hear that frequency easily and it covers all the notes of the melody.  The second is that can't hear myself sing bass amongst the crowd in a choir, the bloke behind me was a true bass and had a powerful chesty voice but struggled with the low notes and the tunes which often spanned a couple of octaves , which I could reach even though I couldn't hear them but feel them.  The third is that Basses don't sing a true melody, so I had some fun making some up harmonies up or going up when the melody went down etc. 

The other thing that struck me is that I think I'm more of a low baritone rather than a decent bass, although I struggle with power compared to the bloke with the 60" chest behind me at least anyway.

So that as interesting.  Hopefully I am more normal than I thought.  Great that in death things can still be inspiring.  Good o.

So I might crash some more funerals in future to get some more practice eh.

So being a shite bass/baritone-baritone, as that is what I can do powerfully, that is small victory eh?  Still a bit confused though, like learning bedroom guitar when you are 13, thinking you are ace and then trying to play along and fit in with others for the first time.

Whole new instrument eh.

As has been said repeatedly, I reckon I just need more practice on the transitions, exercises would help a lot if I could be arsed.

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

Drew_TNBD

I've hit a B4 a couple of times - actually the B4 in that Karnivool tune I posted before:


@1:13 "Who WE are... I fear... most of the time..."

That's a B4, and it's fucking hard. Not consistent with it at all yet, but I am getting there.

PolarityMan

I can only get to f4, might have maybe stretched it a semitone or 2 when i was doing lessons but ive  definitely deteriorated.

Drew_TNBD

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/630473/Horizons (puscifer cover).mp3?dl

Thoughts??

hugbot

I just listened to the original because I've never heard that song before. It's a very challenging song melodically it sounds like, lots of movement. To go on a tangent Maynard Keenan's voice in general is great because there's so much going on in so little apparent effort, his skill Is transitioning smoothly from syllable to syllable picking out each note with them in a way that's very flowing and precise. With that in mind I think there's an opportunity to learn something there. You're kinda singing it in a way that sounds like you're putting a lot out, whereas Keenan's technique is gentle, His tone comes from its even, humming quality, like a chant. I'd recommend you could try as an exersize humming through the song initally without trying to project it out or do the words. Just trying to feel the notes through your head and body and land on them as precisely as possible.

hugbot

Fucking iPad can't paragraph.

Drew_TNBD

hugbot said:

You're kinda singing it in a way that sounds like you're putting a lot out

Would you say that's true even for the uber-quiet bits at the start and during the middle? Those are my favourite bits I think. The louder stuff does indeed seem a bit pushed and not very 'singy'.

whereas Keenan's technique is gentle, His tone comes from its even, humming quality, like a chant. I'd recommend you could try as an exersize humming through the song initally without trying to project it out or do the words. Just trying to feel the notes through your head and body and land on them as precisely as possible.

Yeah good idea. I do do that sometimes when practicing stuff. Another tip is to occlude your mouth with your finger so you can sense when you're pushing too much air.

hugbot

Yeah the beginning sounds better, as the song progresses it sounds like you're getting caught up in it and bringing up the volume to esculate the drama, but the original song is very even in dynamics the whole way through.

Also regarding the melody, I had a listen to it again and I realised the thing thats so striking and challenging about the original is how rigidly hes sticking to the pentatonic scale, which is what gives it that odd feel - somehow quite bluesy yet quite alien at the same time. The initial hook ('dust devils kept you') is a series of rapid jumps between 1st and minor 3rd, He threatens to land on a 2nd and occasionally does but only sparingly,  ("swirl and sway, without **me**"). Your version you're kinda getting caught in the diatonic minor scale rather than minor pentatonic, touching on the 2nd a lot rather than clean jumps from 3rd to 1st.