Members PenguinPalace Posted July 28, 2014 Members Share Posted July 28, 2014 Hey everyone - I saw some other people on the forums making threads asking for evaluations on their voices, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to do something similar, since I have always had a lot of trouble with my voice. (please see the links below for examples) I think I know what the problem is - I can't hold a steady note for beans. I think this is a problem relating to breath support and generating a steady stream of air, because it becomes especially pronounced when I try to hold more quiet notes during which you can hear the breath more, and there seems to be a variation with the flow of air. https://soundcloud.com/penguinpalace/valentine-vocal-cover-originally-by-the-get-up-kids https://soundcloud.com/penguinpalace...l-melody-pitch This is especially troubling for me because I do a lot with making music in my free time, and it has always been my dream to produce my own songs, and I feel like I am right on the doorstep, as I am already fairly well-versed with Cubase along with several instruments, but the one thing that I can't do is sing. And I know that there are ways to manipulate the pitch of one's voice within programs on the computer (with Autotune, for example, or with VariAudio within Cubase), but I made a vow long ago to only use such methods as a last resort. In the past year or so, I have been under the wing of a couple of different personal vocal coaches, but I haven't really made that much progress with either, and I had to stop lessons with the last because of financial troubles. So I know that there is no substitute for personal vocal lessons with a real human being, but just in case the solution is something really obvious that the last two teachers just happened to carelessly miss, what kinds of exercises should I do to fix the problem that I have with holding a steady pitch? Would lip trills and other exercises on musical scales help? That's mostly what I did with my last teacher. I have been reading a lot online about incorrect palatal technique being the source of "pitchiness" when singing. Is that what my problem is? Or should I be focusing on some sort of breathing work? Or, more simply, do I just need to sing more songs and material? My teacher told me that I was over-thinking the entire thing and taking the fun out of it. I just was always under the impression that singing with my current flaws would only help me become better at whatever I was doing wrong, but maybe I was wrong all along. What do you think? The only reason why I am frustrated is because I feel totally lost - I would like nothing better to improve, but I feel like I have no idea what kind of a routine I would have to employ in order to start taking steps in the right direction. I have included some pictures below that I think add detail to the problems I mentioned relating to pitch - in Cubase, one can analyze the pitch of an audio file through time, which is what is indicated by the black line over the colored rectangles - each rectangle represents a single note, but the black line can be used to further inspect the pitch variation at any given time, with higher positions being higher pitches, and vice versa. I have done this with both my voice (the first image) and the vocals of one of my favorite tracks, featuring an experienced singer. The black line that results from my voice is without pattern, going up and down without any order (which is what I think causes the unpleasantness), while the line of the other singer takes on the characteristic of a sine wave, which I also assume is what causes the very pleasant vibrato of his voice. I forgot which song of mine I analyzed for the second track, as I took the photos in Cubase a while ago, but I don't think that diminishes the value of the comparison. Thank you for your time reading/listening to what I have posted - any help will be greatly appreciated! Thank you again so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members highmtn Posted July 29, 2014 Members Share Posted July 29, 2014 @PenguinPalace, Funny thing, but in your first demo, it certainly sounds like there is a pitch correction being applied when you do the "You-oo-oo" at 00:46. The notes sound quite mechanically shifted on that 3-note rundown there. What I am hearing in your voice is an unsteadiness in your breath. There is a very slight tremolo that is varying in your voice. It's like you're not sure what to do, vibrato-wise. Developing a reliable vibrato would be helpful for you. Then you could hold a straight tone when vibrato isn't needed, and add a steady-speed, moderate vibrato at the end of phrases. Not knowing how to apply vibrato can cause a singer to sound willy-nilly. Having a vibrato you can rely on can help to anchor your steady notes, knowing that you will release into vibrato when it is appropriate. You are singing most of these lines in a somewhat monotone-baritone. I think you probably have a lot more range capability than you are demonstrating in these clips. You need a solid exercise program to work out and build your voice. I hear no head voice at all. You're missing out on half of the notes you are capable of singing. If you are familiar with recording technology like Cubase and pitch correction, you must know that singing is both an art and a technology. Without knowledge of the proper techniques, you are like a ship without a rudder. You need to learn the basics of singing and practice those basics diligently, just like you would need to if you were trying to learn to play guitar, keyboard, or drums. It is a fact that you can study via Skype and get much better quality personal vocal lessons from the best teachers in the world as opposed to lessons you can get from your local voice teachers. If your local voice teachers are world-famous vocal coaches, well, that's different. If they aren't, then maybe you should look around a bit. There are also excellent home study courses that will help you to prepare to work with the world-class singing teachers. It's wasteful to go to a teacher and do scales for them while paying by the hour, when you can do all of that work at home, then show up for the lesson prepared and strengthened. Yes, you DO need to build support, as well as work on your tone and stamina. If this is something that you want more than anything, then you are cheating yourself if you don't seek a good program and a really good teacher. There are a lot of fakes out there, but you have to sift through them and find the real McCoy. I've spent a lot of money on a lot of programs before I found one that was really worth every penny. All the best! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kevin Pedini Posted August 3, 2014 Members Share Posted August 3, 2014 Hello PenguinPalace, As Bob noted, having proper breath support will help. In my opinion, breath support is one of the cornerstones of proper singing. One thing I do to prepare for breath support is fill up with air not just by raising your chest in almost a gasp, but by expanding your abdomen area in all directions. Like imagining filling an inner tube wrapped around your belly. And then when you start singing, propel your air by keeping a steady stream of pressure from your abdomen. It's not a clenched feeling, don't tighten up your stomach muscles, but rather treat it like a consistent and steady squeeze. A technique Ive used often to keep my breath support in check is called "buzzing the card". It's where you take a business card, hold the edge up it up to your lips, and use the breath support behind a tone to make the card buzz. The sound you're making is almost like a hum with your lips slightly open or pierce. Here's a short snippet of what it should sound like: https://soundcloud.com/user499366436/buzzing This will force you to move the air consistently up and out and will help strengthen your breath support. Bob also mentioned adding vibrato to your voice which would certainly be helpful although it's not the easiest technique to master. It took me quite a few years to develop mine but I have a good tip to help you on your way. Think of vibrato as sliding between 2 semi-tones over and over again. You can start out slow and over time increase the speed to where your voice will naturally fall into it. Here's another sound cue to demonstrate: https://soundcloud.com/kpedini/vibrato Good luck and keep practicing. Kevin http://bonfirebelly.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members highmtn Posted August 5, 2014 Members Share Posted August 5, 2014 @Kevin Pedini Your link to Buzzing the Card gave me an error message, but I found the file from your vibrato file. I think the link got a little bit concatenated, if you catch my drift ; ^ ) Here's where I found it: https://soundcloud.com/kpedini/buzzing Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members inversound Posted August 5, 2014 Members Share Posted August 5, 2014 just my thoughts on your valetnine cover, to me it just s ounds like you aren't feeling th lyrics at all....like your just singing robotically, i think you need to find some deeper emotions for singing, just my thoughts one ouyt of many, and it seems like you are a very technical type of person...very detail oriented.....with all the graphs and such, i think you're over-complicating singing.....yes you can learn technique but you dont want to make it too scientific, singing is an art after all....one of the arts..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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