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Help, I'm boring - how can I improve?

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  • LastMantraLastMantra Frets: 3822
    I think you're being a bit negative tbh. Unnecessarily. 

    I'm pretty socially awkward but even I have collaborated with guy's online and got a big buzz out of it. Never even talked to the people! Including a cool drummer from American. In the end life took over and I had to pack it in. Might try again in the future. 

    Point being if you want to do something enough you'll find a way.
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  • thecolourboxthecolourbox Frets: 9654
    edited August 2019
    I am a negative person it's true but not just for the sake of it, there is method to the madness

    I've discussed with some people away from tFB too and the main suggestion is to give up on the performing aim completely and focus instead on playing and singing technique privately (ie seek literally no feedback whatsoever to learn to trust my own noise), in order to do arranging instead of existing songs, and sack off trying to do my own as it's a waste of time that is causing frustration. Rearranging songs (albeit without the vocals) might then find me a common style or a bit of crossover that works so that if it suddenly clicks like that, I'll have the ability technique-wise to act on it then if I want to. But even if not, it'll pass the time a bit at least until something else comes along

    Cheers for the input here guys, think as a thread it's possibly best to bring it to a close but your advice and opinions have helped a lot. Genuinely, thank you
    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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  • @thecolourbox ;

    There are things you can do with your voice. If you're struggling to get the brash abrasive sound you want (I'm extrapolating a bit there) then you need to tweak what you're doing. Here are some ideas:

    - Spread your lips a bit more. Smile.
    This encourages you to change the shape of your
     embouchure.

    - Lift the back of your tongue.
    This encourages more nasal resonance, which is where the harsh and abrasive sounds come from.

    - Change your vowels.
    Certain vowel shapes encourage brighter sounds. Take the word "mask" - you could sing it "marrsk" or "maesk" and get completely different sounds from it.

    - Learn to belt.
    What you're after can be found by combining belting with some gritty distortion. This is a skill and does not come naturally. People have to learn how to do this.

    Finally... get rid of the notion that "it wont sound like my voice" because what you hear on a record or in a live performance is very rarely someone's natural voice.

    Different genre but take Maynard from Tool, back in the Aenima days. When he'd do those really loud belts like at the end of Eulogy ("good byyyyeeeeeeeeeeee!") - that is completely and utterly not his natural voice.

    Same with Bruce Dickinson or any of those metal screamer guys.

    Nature is not your friend in this situation. Don't embrace it. Fight it.

    Bye!

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  • Revolting1Revolting1 Frets: 295
    It strikes me that you have enough skill but lack confidence.
     Particularly with your voice-you mixed it down so far in your song it amost dissappeared in places.
       Your voice is a lot better than Bob Dylan's.
     Reminded me a bit of early Neil Young.
      Try doing plenty of open mics.
     You may have to search a bit because some are run to make the people running them look good at the expense of visiting players.
       Happily a lot make an effort to get everyone to sound good.

     Pm me if you want help with confidence..
    When logic and proportion
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  • It strikes me that you have enough skill but lack confidence.
    Precisely this. 

    I shall write nothing more at this moment for fear of frankness looking like a personal attack.

    Revolting1 said:
    PM me if you want help with confidence. 
    Looks like a good offer. Be bold, TCB. Seize the opportunity.

    Be seeing you.
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  • It strikes me that you have enough skill but lack confidence.
    Precisely this. 

    I shall write nothing more at this moment for fear of frankness looking like a personal attack.

    Revolting1 said:
    PM me if you want help with confidence. 
    Looks like a good offer. Be bold, TCB. Seize the opportunity.

    Thank you for the kindness, both from you and others offered here.

    Unfortunately my confidence is going to have to wait a bit to be peaked as a work qualification assessment (or at least the preparation for it) is taking my time and energy of late.

    Thanks again though to all who commented above, cheers
    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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  • If you are short on confidence, try substituting arrogance. Worked for Sting! ;)
    Be seeing you.
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  • If you are short on confidence, try substituting arrogance. Worked for Sting! ;)
    Ha I'm not in short supply of that :)
    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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  • "Even with a turkey that you know will fold.
    You may be stranded out in the cold.
    Still, you wouldn't change it for a sack of gold.
    Let's go on with the show."
    Be seeing you.
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  • Ryan adams cover is brave these days. I like the original and your original. Just go with your instincts. Don't over think it 

    Instagram is Rocknrollismyescape -

    FOR SALE - Catalinbread Echorec, Sonic Blue classic player strat and a Digitech bad monkey

     

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  • Ryan adams cover is brave these days. I like the original and your original. Just go with your instincts. Don't over think it 
    Had forgotten about this thread. Yes the Ryan Adams one possibly isn't very good PR for me now but at the time I recorded that, there wasn't any such association!

    By way of update, I have actually done a public performance in the inbetween-time. Somebody I half know had a 60th birthday party and wanted a sort of Open Mic Night type theme to it. I did about 25 minutes, with acoustic guitar and my whining voice. I worked on some of the suggestions from this very thread with fairly mixed results, but nobody died and nobody complained. 

    Thoughts on it were as follows:
    - I got my voice to go fairly high, by what felt like an unusual "breathing in and singing out" technique. I did I Shall Be Released and that version goes up to the C# the octave above Middle C and I didn't die, even considering I had tonsilitis.
    - I don't like acoustic accompaniment, i'm doing electric if I do it again
    - I need a monitor speaker or IEMS, I really struggle to hear without. 

    I've been practising a few Jeff Buckley covers to really learn how to spread the vocal sounds out, and doing exercises to get those techniques cemented in. Doing what I used to do on piano - really over exagerrated styles to learn it then reign it in until it's acceptable. Seems to be working, I've managed passable versions of Grace and Mojo Pin (either playing piano or guitar, or using a backing track) so hoping now my work assessment is out of the way I can do some open mics with the results. Even better if I can find it within myself to get somebody to accompany me with playing so I only have to sing, but I'm not holding my breath on that 

    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14323
    thecolourbox said:
    I did I Shall Be Released and that version goes up to the C# the octave above Middle C and I didn't die, even considering I had tonsillitis.
    How did you manage the three-part harmony? (To say nothing of the different vocal nuances of Richard, Rick and Levon.)

    The song is in E. Buckley capos up four frets. 
    Be seeing you.
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  • thecolourbox said:
    I did I Shall Be Released and that version goes up to the C# the octave above Middle C and I didn't die, even considering I had tonsillitis.
    How did you manage the three-part harmony? (To say nothing of the different vocal nuances of Richard, Rick and Levon.)

    The song is in E. Buckley capos up four frets. 
    I've no idea who those chaps are, I'm afraid, I only know the Dylan and Buckley recordings. I play it in A, I learnt it with no capo but my noodling around the chord changes was harder to do without looking so I too just did it with a capo but on the 5th fret. So essentially same place on the fretboard but with the bottom two strings played open more
    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14323
    Funkfingers said:
    Richard, Rick and Levon.
    I've no idea who those chaps are, I'm afraid.
    Manuel, Danko and Helm of The Band. <facepalm emoticon>  Boy, are you missing out. 


    thecolourbox said:
    Buckley 
    Well, you could certainly learn from his example by performing with conviction. If you play live as if you don't give a flying one about the material, why should the audience give one?
    Be seeing you.
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  • thecolourboxthecolourbox Frets: 9654
    edited November 2019
    Funkfingers said:
    Richard, Rick and Levon.
    I've no idea who those chaps are, I'm afraid.
    Manuel, Danko and Helm of The Band. <facepalm emoticon>  Boy, are you missing out. 


    Ah my dad has tried to get me to listen to The Band thinking I'd like them if I liked Dylan, but I was unfortunately rather bored by it all because it's Dylan's voice, lyrics and accompaniment I like and not the musical arrangements!

    Buckley 
    Well, you could certainly learn from his example by performing with conviction. If you play live as if you don't give a flying one about the material, why should the audience give one?
    Yes that's what I'm going for, as I feel there is plenty to pick up on from his efforts and I have an affinity with his style of stuff and his influences certainly so it's good learning material. The problem being, as with anything, in order to have the conviction/confidence one does need something to be confident about, so it's as important for me to improve ability-wise as it is confidence-wise.

    But there's definitely more scope in his musical direction for me if I'm singing and playing, than when I'm just playing (however I'm close to a passable reworking of White Stripes' Black Math once I can source some accompanying rhythm)
    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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