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looking for some more advice


Jrogers3350

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so that last blues song i posted up was one that i personally liked and how i like my voice, i would consider it my best singing possible even though i'm adding the grit and everything... this time i'm posting up more of my normal what i believe is horrible singing and i have no idea what i'm doing wrong. I've been starting to learn more about the theory behind singing like the registers and stuff like that and while it has definitely opened my eyes to how i might be able to get better, i'm not sure where to even start. and keep in mind this is one of the songs i feel "comfortable" to try and sing and I think it sounds a ton better then most other songs i try i'm sort of trying to ease myself into what will be some pretty harsh critiques i guess :) but i'm getting to the point where i want to hear what people have to say and why it actually doesn't sound right... if it will help at all to understand where i'm trying to get to is something along the lines of: jamey johnson, stoney larue, shooter jennings, drive-by truckers... i don't want to be a great classical singer or someone that is looking to hit every note, i'm more looking for the story telling aspect of writing songs and making them sound good enough that people would care to listen to... hope that helps lol.... thanks for any advice, tips, or anything else in advance!!!

 

http://soundcloud.com/rogers2w1/a-little-rain-will-do

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First of all, it's NOT horrible! In fact, I like it quite a lot. :thu:

 

But there are examples here of what I'll call splatty or perhaps flabby notes--where the vowel sound isn't secure and the note seems to drift. This kind of thing usually happens in the quick passing notes, not the held notes. I have the same problem, and I've found that two things really help. First speak the words through a few times, aiming for clarity and precision in your diction. Then start to move the lyrics into pitch, maintaining that sharpness. As you start to feel more comfortable (and hopefully more confident) you can relax some of the sharpness in your diction in the interest of style/interpretation, but be careful to do this only at points where you feel secure in your tone and pitch.

 

Second (and in some ways a different way of thinking about clarity), try to put some sizzle into your voice--by this I mean brightness, the sort of thing you'd get if you were to turn up the very high treble EQ zones.

 

By the way, with the kind of music you're doing, I'm not sure that expanding your range is much of an issue. I love Jamey Johnson and the rest of 'em, but I don't think any of them has more than an octave and a half, maybe (on a good day) two octaves. I think your issue is tonal stability, not too little range.

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I'm with JJ on this one, your first clip I turned off after about a minute (no offense) it sounded to me like a guy trying to fake a voice and not in a good way. However, this one here is not my type of music at all and yet I enjoyed it ALOT. So you were off key here and there, and some stuff as JJ said splatted around, it gave it character and sounded genuine. For years I fought with the sound of my voice because I always wanted to sound like someone else. A while back I posted a beginners attempt at a song thinking I would get shredded. Of course there were problems that were pointed out to me, but there was also a couple people that said I they could hear me singing Kid Rocks All Summer Long. Guess what they were right, I sing that pretty darn well for a hack, and they didn't have a problem with my tone. So he moral here I guess is, be yourself, get use to what you sound like and make it work for you.

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The best way to improve your singing is to understand how the voice works and train it through practice.

 

In my opinion I think you're focusing too much on singing style rather than voice quality. I noticed that a lot of singers with good potential seem to mask their flaws by relying on style to make themselves sound passable. I should know, use to be like that too. I think you should use start singing in "pure tones", with good resonance and support. You should focus more on improving your tone and support properly. I kinda get the impression that you're "under-singing". You should also pay attention to your body posture and make sure that you're not slouching, which a lot of guitar players do. Just work on the fundamentals, style and other things can come later.

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I tend to slouch when I sing. I slouch whenever I sit down in fact. And yet when I stand and walk, my posture is so good I've been asked by total strangers if I am a dancer and also told by my best friend that I walk like I have a pole up my ass. lol

 

Totally unhelpful thread #231

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so would you say having a pole up your ass helps your tone? if so i may have to look into a different hobby because that's about where i draw the line :)....

 

BFC99 - thanks for the advice and don't worry about admitting to shutting off my first clip lol, that's the kind of stuff i'm looking for... I'd rather people be honest then just say "o yeah it was good".. it definitely doesn't hurt my feelings at all, that's why I love the internet :)...

 

So overall so far it sounds as though i'm close to being on key and from what ya'll are saying is to focus on sustaining notes and consistency so i don't sway from it... only other question would be what are would be some good exercises or something i can do to start working towards that. I'm definitely recording alot more now and trying to listen to myself every day so i can try and improve, but everything record are just songs, would it be better to practice scales and such or could i get the same result from just doing songs?... and btw thanks so much so far, this has already helped me out immensly my wife already notices a difference in me trying to get better...

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