Need some opinions..

[TheSkyline]

On some songs I've been writing. I'm no singer, but any advice/comments are welcomed.
myspace.com/calvinlauber

Thanks!

[Burn That Shit]

The instrumentals are pretty decent, it seems at times during "This City's Got Us Crazy" you were missing some transitions between verse and chorus. The singing was a tab bit sub par but as you mentioned you're not a singer, try singing down an octave though it seemed like you were straining your voice. And obviously if you want to take a little of attention away from your voice you can always turn the instrumentals up in whatever you're using to mix these songs.

[TheSkyline]

Thanks man. Yeah, I agree the transition needs to be worked on. And thanks, I'll try singing a little lower, it was staining my voice.
thanks!

[lew_1987]

The instrumentals are pretty decent, it seems at times during "This City's Got Us Crazy" you were missing some transitions between verse and chorus. The singing was a tab bit sub par but as you mentioned you're not a singer, try singing down an octave though it seemed like you were straining your voice. And obviously if you want to take a little of attention away from your voice you can always turn the instrumentals up in whatever you're using to mix these songs.

If he does that he'll just begin ignoring that he needs to improve his voice. If you ignore the problem, it doesn't go away.

[Tristan Needler]

You sound like you're trying to sound really really quietly. Put a little more behind it and it will probably sound a bit more natural. Try to sing out. It might sound crappier, but at least it will sound like you're confident about it being crappy haha.

Is it an acoustic/electric? Sounds like it. Sounds good for what those usually sound plugged in, even though I'm not a fan of that sound. You might try playing with the eq to take a little bass out of it, find some nice mid to high frequencies to make it cut/shine a little more.

Also, a cool way to make your acoustic sound really big is to copy the track a second time, pan one hard left and one hard right, and delay one of the track by 30ms or less (.030 s). It can be difficult to make that sound good on mono systems though, due to phasing issues. I wouldn't recommend trying that unless you sing with a "stronger" sounding voice though.

[TheSkyline]

If he does that he'll just begin ignoring that he needs to improve his voice. If you ignore the problem, it doesn't go away.

Yeah, Im trying to improve my range instead of just ignoring it.

You sound like you're trying to sound really really quietly. Put a little more behind it and it will probably sound a bit more natural. Try to sing out. It might sound crappier, but at least it will sound like you're confident about it being crappy haha.

Is it an acoustic/electric? Sounds like it. Sounds good for what those usually sound plugged in, even though I'm not a fan of that sound. You might try playing with the eq to take a little bass out of it, find some nice mid to high frequencies to make it cut/shine a little more.

Also, a cool way to make your acoustic sound really big is to copy the track a second time, pan one hard left and one hard right, and delay one of the track by 30ms or less (.030 s). It can be difficult to make that sound good on mono systems though, due to phasing issues. I wouldn't recommend trying that unless you sing with a "stronger" sounding voice though.

The problem is, I was singing out, but my voice is pretty weak. It wasn't that I was singing quietly, I was singing pretty loud, its just that not much comes out. hahaha
Yeah, it's an acoustic/electric. Thanks, I'll try messing around with the EQ, and that tip on making the guitars sound big seems really cool, I'll have to mess around with that.

[Tristan Needler]

Yeah, Im trying to improve my range instead of just ignoring it.



The problem is, I was singing out, but my voice is pretty weak. It wasn't that I was singing quietly, I was singing pretty loud, its just that not much comes out. hahaha
Yeah, it's an acoustic/electric. Thanks, I'll try messing around with the EQ, and that tip on making the guitars sound big seems really cool, I'll have to mess around with that.
Sometimes people do the same thing by double micing a guitar (probably optimal) or using both a mic and the electric part (you wouldn't want to pan all the way left and right for this though) or if you're good (which I'm not) play the part twice and pan to each side.

It does sound like you're not projecting as much as you could though, it sounds like you're holding back. Maybe you're not, but it sounds like it haha. "Sing like you think no one's listening."

[TheSkyline]

Sometimes people do the same thing by double micing a guitar (probably optimal) or using both a mic and the electric part (you wouldn't want to pan all the way left and right for this though) or if you're good (which I'm not) play the part twice and pan to each side.

It does sound like you're not projecting as much as you could though, it sounds like you're holding back. Maybe you're not, but it sounds like it haha. "Sing like you think no one's listening."

Yeah, that sounds really cool, I'll have to try it out.
Haha, actually no one was home at the time, so.. no one was listening! But I agree, I probably could have pushed it a little more. Do any of you guys have any good vocal warm ups/techniques?

[lew_1987]

Personally I just keep singing, and after going through the song 3/4 times (putting more effort in each time), your voice warms up and you'll be familiar with the song even more than before. It's also cool because you sometimes change the melodies slightly without thinking, sometimes making improvements to the song that you wouldn't have otherwise. As for actual 'warm-up' warm-ups... I don't do any. It doesn't really matter that much unless you're a) going from a 2 hour silence straight into singing as loud as you can or b) a professional singer (in which case you'd know warm-ups already no doubt).

I've just re-read that post and it makes little to no sense. Ah well.

[TheSkyline]

Personally I just keep singing, and after going through the song 3/4 times (putting more effort in each time), your voice warms up and you'll be familiar with the song even more than before. It's also cool because you sometimes change the melodies slightly without thinking, sometimes making improvements to the song that you wouldn't have otherwise. As for actual 'warm-up' warm-ups... I don't do any. It doesn't really matter that much unless you're a) going from a 2 hour silence straight into singing as loud as you can or b) a professional singer (in which case you'd know warm-ups already no doubt).

I've just re-read that post and it makes little to no sense. Ah well.

Haha no man it made plenty of sense. Thanks.
I totally agree about how singing it through several times can help you accidently come up with some melodies. I try to do a bunch of takes so I can mess around with different ideas.

[Burn That Shit]

If he does that he'll just begin ignoring that he needs to improve his voice. If you ignore the problem, it doesn't go away.

You're absolutely correct, you should always be striving to improve whatever you can. Just throwing him a suggestion though, singing can be pretty tough at that age when you haven't fully grown into your voice yet.

[TheSkyline]

You're absolutely correct, you should always be striving to improve whatever you can. Just throwing him a suggestion though, singing can be pretty tough at that age when you haven't fully grown into your voice yet.

Yeah, I feel thats my biggest problem. My voice (although for the most part is done changing) is still in puberty mode, haha. I'm hoping if I just keep it up when I'm older I'll sound a bit better.

[lew_1987]

You're absolutely correct, you should always be striving to improve whatever you can. Just throwing him a suggestion though, singing can be pretty tough at that age when you haven't fully grown into your voice yet.

Oh, definitely. If he's worried about showing his songs to people, then maybe he should bury his voice in a mix a tiny bit, but not totally... If it's buried too much, then no one will hear the mistakes. Just saying for himself, he shouldn't try and ignore the problems.

[TheSkyline]

Oh, definitely. If he's worried about showing his songs to people, then maybe he should bury his voice in a mix a tiny bit, but not totally... If it's buried too much, then no one will hear the mistakes. Just saying for himself, he shouldn't try and ignore the problems.
Yeah, I'm not totally down for the idea of burying my voice into the mix, I would prefer to just have people here it as it is. I don't want to trick myself into thinking I'm good. haha

[Tristan Needler]

I'm not a singer so it's hard for me too. I just try my damnedest to sing out, and I keep recording it again and again until it's as decent as I can do.

[TheSkyline]

Yeah man, the vocals for that one song you put up on here were pretty good, definitely keep it up, I really liked the song.

[OveriseFan]

I'm baffled and disturbed by some of these responses. Burying your voice in the mix? Bad. "Try pushing harder"? Really?

Those are very bad suggestions. And Lew, I'm disappointed that you believe warming up is only for "professionals". That's pretty ridiculous. If you're recording - don't you want to sound your best?

For warm-ups, just sing simple scales.

For example:

Do-Re-Mi-Re-Do (as in C-D-E-D-C, in C major for example.)

Then raise it all up a half step, and keep going until it's uncomfortable.

You can then do something like Do-Ti-So-La-Fa (C-B-A-G-F, in the key of C major), and go in half steps DOWN. Go until it's uncomfortable, or no sound is produced.

DON'T push, and DON'T strain. Always keep your chin level - raising your neck or lowering it as you go higher or lower only strains your neck muscles more, and actually makes it HARDER to sing. It does not help you reach high notes or sing lower.

Relax. Breathe. Breath is the most important thing in singing; in fact, it's what singing's all about. So breathe, let it feel like its filling your whole body down to your toes. You want to breathe from your diaphragm. Here's a good check:

Place your hands on your back sideways. When you breathe in, you want to feel your back really expand, and push out.

When you approach a high note, don't back away, really just sing into it.

Think of a melody as a line, and give it shape. The peak of the phrase (probably the highest note) will want to be approached, and be the strongest. Sing through it.

I hope some of this helps you, if you have questions, please ask. Always warm-up; breathe properly; don't strain.

Join a chorus at your school, if you can. You should be able to join no matter what. It will make you a better singer, trust me. Also, if you can afford a teacher - that's ideal. Other than that, just keep singing. Try to be healthy. Drink lots of water, stay hydrated.

Note: I can't get your songs to play - so I can't give you any specific advice. Sorry. Hopefully they start playing soon.

[Tristan Needler]

I guess push harder was a bad choice of words. When you hear it, you'll know what I mean. It sort of sounds like he's half-singing; the same way most people sing when they're nervous. I mean to sing out loud, rather than kind of holding back.

[lew_1987]

Those are very bad suggestions. And Lew, I'm disappointed that you believe warming up is only for "professionals". That's pretty ridiculous. If you're recording - don't you want to sound your best?

Oh, of course. I wasn't saying that warming up is strictly for professionals, I was merely suggesting that it's not always a necessity to have a strict warm up routine.

[OveriseFan]

Oh, of course. I wasn't saying that warming up is strictly for professionals, I was merely suggesting that it's not always a necessity to have a strict warm up routine.

I disagree. I think it's very good to have a strict warm up routine. Consistent vocal warm ups lead to more consistent vocal performances.

Warming up shouldn't just be belting out songs; the warm-ups I suggested help you GRADUALLY warm up your voice. Of course, what I suggested isn't enough. It takes most people about 30 minutes, give or take, until they're fully warmed up.

[OveriseFan]

I guess push harder was a bad choice of words. When you hear it, you'll know what I mean. It sort of sounds like he's half-singing; the same way most people sing when they're nervous. I mean to sing out loud, rather than kind of holding back.

Yeah, I think I know what you mean. But saying "push harder" usually leaves people pushing from their throat, I think, rather than "digging deeper", so to speak, to reach it.

It's so hard to describe the voice online, without being with the person. That's why I recommend he joins a chorus or gets a teacher or something, to develop healthy techniques and habits.

[Tristan Needler]

Yeah, I think I know what you mean. But saying "push harder" usually leaves people pushing from their throat, I think, rather than "digging deeper", so to speak, to reach it.

It's so hard to describe the voice online, without being with the person. That's why I recommend he joins a chorus or gets a teacher or something, to develop healthy techniques and habits.
It is true. I sort of wish I had joined the chorus in my school, although I also don't since that would have taken time away from band, and I loved band haha. I also wish my parents had made me take piano lessons. They only ever suggested it, but I never wanted to. I feel like I would be such a better musician if I had.

[TheSkyline]

I'm baffled and disturbed by some of these responses. Burying your voice in the mix? Bad. "Try pushing harder"? Really?

Those are very bad suggestions. And Lew, I'm disappointed that you believe warming up is only for "professionals". That's pretty ridiculous. If you're recording - don't you want to sound your best?

For warm-ups, just sing simple scales.

For example:

Do-Re-Mi-Re-Do (as in C-D-E-D-C, in C major for example.)

Then raise it all up a half step, and keep going until it's uncomfortable.

You can then do something like Do-Ti-So-La-Fa (C-B-A-G-F, in the key of C major), and go in half steps DOWN. Go until it's uncomfortable, or no sound is produced.

DON'T push, and DON'T strain. Always keep your chin level - raising your neck or lowering it as you go higher or lower only strains your neck muscles more, and actually makes it HARDER to sing. It does not help you reach high notes or sing lower.

Relax. Breathe. Breath is the most important thing in singing; in fact, it's what singing's all about. So breathe, let it feel like its filling your whole body down to your toes. You want to breathe from your diaphragm. Here's a good check:

Place your hands on your back sideways. When you breathe in, you want to feel your back really expand, and push out.

When you approach a high note, don't back away, really just sing into it.

Think of a melody as a line, and give it shape. The peak of the phrase (probably the highest note) will want to be approached, and be the strongest. Sing through it.

I hope some of this helps you, if you have questions, please ask. Always warm-up; breathe properly; don't strain.

Join a chorus at your school, if you can. You should be able to join no matter what. It will make you a better singer, trust me. Also, if you can afford a teacher - that's ideal. Other than that, just keep singing. Try to be healthy. Drink lots of water, stay hydrated.

Note: I can't get your songs to play - so I can't give you any specific advice. Sorry. Hopefully they start playing soon.

Thanks man! While most of this is stuff I've heard/try to already do, it really helps.
The songs aren't working? Man I hate myspace music players, I swear they only work like half the time.

And I want to mention, I actually was singing out as much as I could comfortably, I guess I just have a weak voice, it needs to be worked on.

[lew_1987]

I disagree. I think it's very good to have a strict warm up routine. Consistent vocal warm ups lead to more consistent vocal performances.

Warming up shouldn't just be belting out songs; the warm-ups I suggested help you GRADUALLY warm up your voice. Of course, what I suggested isn't enough. It takes most people about 30 minutes, give or take, until they're fully warmed up.

Yeah, I know... In an ideal world we'd all have time to warm-up more. Usually I just hum through some scales and then start singing through the song, increasing the volume with each re-iteration. I've always found it hard to follow proper routines.

I suppose what I was saying was that he doesn't need to worry about strict routines for now, but then I suppose it helps to start as early as you can to get into good practise.