Annoying vocal tone
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Posted on Jun 16, 2010 09:54 am
stratwizard
Member Since: Nov 19, 2008
Hi
My main instrument is guitar, but since I got into recording I have been trying to fill the shoes of other positions just to get my stuff completed (because its hard to find people who are talented and have good enough personalities to work with and committed to making music etc etc)... anyway; I have been trying to record some decent vocals but I find my own vocals to be annoying. I just wanted to ask everyone here if there is anyway to improve it (EQ ing, mixing, reverbs??) or just tell me whether I should pursue someone else to do the vocals... I wanted to upload the tracks to my profile here but it was asking things about copyright and the samples I wanted ask about are covers so I will be giving the link to my youtube page... Thanks for all the input, and forgive me if this was a dumb question :)
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HuePinnipedal Czar (: 3= Member
Since: Apr 11, 2004
Jun 16, 2010 10:16 am Quote:
(because its hard to find people who are talented and have good enough personalities to work with and committed to making music etc etc...
Amen!
Unfortunately, if you don't like your voice because of its inherent 'tone', there's only so much y'a can do. You can train yourself to sound like someone else, which in the case of cover-music isn't bad, or if you're doing originals: write within your skill-range, which will get better as you go. I can't sing myself that well, so when I come up with a vocal line for my singer, I'll record it almost as spoken-word-prose, and then let him do what he needs to it.
This comes from someone who has written for the same vocalist since '93, so... add some salt, eh? (: 3=
Be honest about your music... recording is a documentary-process as well as a means to express oneself.
CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
Jun 16, 2010 12:30 pm To me, everyone who is not afraid to sing usually has a range/style that they do well. Perhaps you have just not found yours as you are just starting to fill those shoes.
In my current band they ask me to sing backups, just by hearing what they want I can tell if me or the other guitarist is a better fit. I can sing low at softer levels but if they want me to project I have to go higher to maintain a good note.
MariusMember
Since: Jan 17, 2010
Jun 16, 2010 12:49 pm I don't think there's any problem with the recording it self, I think it's a great recording with reverb and everything, the problem would be your vocals. I'm not gonna bash you though, I'm a guitarist myself and can't sing for **** (though I want to). Try going up half a step or down half a step and see if it's easier for you to sing, cause you are way off sometimes and seems to be pushing your voice. Great job though, love the acoustic, It's my life - bon jovi.
Jun 16, 2010 01:51 pm Consider a few voice lessons. In my area, most of the teachers I've talked to or taken lessons from are more....well versed in musical singing styles. So don't take every word they say as a hard fast rule while singing rock. But just a few lessons will teach you a little bit about how your voice actually works. I didn't take enough to really learn, and on top of that to be a great singer, it takes practice and time daily to do warm ups and sing (which I've been blowing off lately...really outta get back on track). But.... having someone teach you the fundamentals about your voice allows you to grow as a singer over time and understand some of your flaws and work on them alone if you can't keep up with lessons every week for very long.
Just listening to your Bon Jovi cover, i think you have a pleasant sounding voice. It sounds like you're singing from your throat a bit too much, if you can sing from your diaphragm you'll get a richer tone, better control, more available power. aren't doing much with vibrato (that crap is tough to really control). Some pitch problems as well (also tough to control, and my ear isn't as sensitive as it needs to be, i often don't even realize where I'm having troubles with my voices intonation.)
Quincysanhttp://www.unitedmusicians.infoContributor
Since: Nov 11, 2007
Jun 16, 2010 06:34 pm I do believe confidence is key to a great delivery. There's nothing wrong with your voice at all, I'm 100% with CptTripps on this. EVERYONE has a voice if they commit themselves to it and it sounds like you have the most to gain from just singing more and playing it back for review. I might try matching notes for a while, play it on guitar and then sing it back taking care to only sing the note you intend to sing.
You might find it helpful to sing through a compressor. I had NO idea I could sing when I started, I just decided that I had to because I wasn't ready to give up playing live shows but I was also tired of the screaming genre's. The compressor might help you realize when you aren't getting to pitch fast enough, and by comparison with a dry version it could help you realize if you need to sustain notes differently. Think of your voice like a guitar that you have to pull into tune each time you play it, then practice that.
I hear what Frag is saying about singing from the diaphragm, but I'm not entirely certain this is something we can control. I'm a little confused because I felt that I could tell the difference between singing from the head, chest and diaphragm...but I recently took some vocal coaching lessons from a fellow that said this was backwards thinking from yesteryear. I don't know how legitimate he was but I caught him while he was in a couple years ago directing a few of Disney's Lion King performances so I at least listened.
I think the bottom line is practice. I am not the singer I was this time 2 years ago when I was playing shows regularly, and at that time I wasn't the singer I could have been because I was working 40 hours a week...it definitely takes some stick-to-it-iveness and daily conditioning. If you can identify what you don't like about your voice there's always something to practice...
