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Jul 13 06 8:09 PM

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hey everyone,

just wanted to post a sound clip of me singing the second half, of the first verse, of the star spangled banner.

Sorry, the quality is TERRIBLE, and it is quiet, it's the best I could get out of the built in mic on my laptop, when I get a chance, I will make a recording with my PC at home (i'm at work at the moment), and post that one for you all.

What I want to get out of this, is criticism, so tell me everything you can hear that I am doing wrong. Also, I know I strained a little during "free" at the end.

www.sendspace.com/file/d7qcnw

Musiciano: The only recordings I have heard of myself are of me vocalizing, almost never singing, after hearing this recording of myself actually singing a song, I do hear some vibrato, but I'm having a hard time telling if it is vibrato, or wobble, or just an unbalanced voice, part of it is the crappy mic, but there was definetly something coming out of my voice there, if you could tell me what it is, it would be great, I don't want to continue to let it come out if it is a wobble, that would suck :) . On a side note, I did what you told me and didn't listen to myself when making this recording, I just sang based on how it felt... hopefully I did some stuff right and not ALL wrong! :-)

Anyways, thanks guys!
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#1 [url]

Jul 13 06 8:14 PM

oh and

Also, if your wondering why I only did the second half of the song, I couldn't fit the whole song in one .wav file using the crappy windows sound recorder :)

and if your wondering why I chose the star spangled banner... I didn't want to sing a song (yet anyway) that is notoriously sang by one person... You Raise Me Up for example... If I were to sing that song, I would mentally try and sing it somewhat like Josh Groban/Jesse.... I wanted to sing a song where I felt I could just be me.

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#2 [url]

Jul 13 06 8:27 PM

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Good job! No wobble. But you've got work to do. What I would suggest is that you play more with it and flow more with it. You are holding back a lot... I'm not talking about volume, I am talking about freedom. You are being rigid with the melody and rythm. Can you do me a favor? Make a recording of this same part of the song but don't use words... use silly syllables like "doo dah, gah goo gah gah, doo dee daa..." You get the idea. Pretend you're a baby that doesn't know how to speak yet but is singing the melody of the song. Don't worry about how it comes out. Make up your own silly syllables... also... rotate your hips and shoulders lightly as you do this, basically act like and idiot and don't try to sound good. You are trying to sound good on this recording and that is affecting your tone, musicality and emotion. Do this silly exercise and post it. Don't be embarrased, if you are embarrased, that is where the problem is, you are being to shy and you are trying to impress us. No need for that.

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#4 [url]

Jul 13 06 9:20 PM

haha

dude musiciano, i dont know if I can properly use vowels and do this... I could do it using an Oooh and Aaah vowel probably, or do you want me to add the G's and stuff to make it Gahhhh and Dahhh Dooo Gooo etc...

tell you what, i'll just make a recording, you let me know if I did it right ;)

Give me a minute and I'll post :)

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JollyJake

Posts: 2,405 Administrator

#5 [url]

Jul 13 06 9:31 PM

Re: haha

Do this:

1____2__3__3___4__5_6
Doo daa dii-doo daa dii die
1__ 2___ 3__ 4__5__6
Or the la-nd of the free

If that makes any sense. Die is a very easy vowel to end with. Singing "free" on a high note is hard because you are singing the vowel "ee".

Try it and see.

Jolly Jake

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Work very, very hard - be grounded, be passionate about what you do and find the thing within yourself to make you want to be you. Go beyond me, be yourself, say what you want to say." - Josh Groban (Paraphrased)

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#6 [url]

Jul 13 06 9:55 PM

Thanks Jake

Haha thanks Jake, I was sitting there going... "dude how am I going to turn this into vowel's and syllables..."

Musiciano: I hope this is what you wanted, I don't know if you wanted me to do the sitting and standing during the "free" (I used die vowel like what jake posted) in the recording, or to just do it on my own, so I didn't do it, if u want me to though, I can record it again.

I only recorded it for the "O'er the land, and of the free" line, so I was only able to turn my hips and shoulders so much, I stopped at the last part though for "dieeeee." If you want me to do the entire part of the song that I sang, I can do more hip/shoulder movement... let me know :) .

Also, the die vowel was much easier than the ee vowel in free. It doesn't feel nearly as strained and hard to get out... it almost fell out of my mouth it was so easy ;-)... I do feel there was some extra tension that I can eliminate really easily if I concentrate and had a mirror to stand infront of...

Edit: Maybe I should add the link, what do you guys think? ;) www.sendspace.com/file/6mjyd7

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#7 [url]

Jul 13 06 10:02 PM

Re: Thanks Jake

Also,

Musiciano, what you said in your previous post... to flow with it more... I totally agree with you after listening to it. My old vocal teacher told me the same thing when we were doing some vowel scales and exercises... she told me to try and imagine the sound always being there, even during parts where your not singing... let the sound flow out of your mouth and be more connected.... that is what she told me, guess I didn't take it to heart hard enough until you just pointed it out to me too! :-) Is this what you meant by letting it flow more?

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#8 [url]

Jul 13 06 10:13 PM

...

Do the whole part of the song you did before... don't worry at all about whether the vowels match the actual song or not... that's not important. As long as you're following the structure of the song. It could ANY vowels and ANY consonants. Just follow the melody, rythm and tempo. You could use "blah" the whole time if you want to... but I would suggest you change it around to whatever pops in your head at the time.

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#9 [url]

Jul 13 06 10:15 PM

ok...

ok musiciano :) i will do it first thing in the morning, I'm leaving work right now, and my roomate is sleeping so I can't do it when I get home, but I can do it in the morning, and I will post it.

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#10 [url]

Jul 13 06 11:02 PM

Re: ...

Hey, Scott. Here is my 2 cents for what it's worth. From what I heard in the clip, you are compressing the cords properly and the little constriction that I heard here and there was mainly due to a support problem. When your teacher says your singing isn't fluid enough, that's also due to the support problem. See, you have little sense of resistance to the air. Now, I don't mean you're blasting or anything, but you give just enough to get a sound out. If you keep giving "just enough" to get out a sound, you'll never be able to sing longer, more fluid phrases, nor will you get rid of the slight constriction on the higher notes. I'm speaking on this from experience. When I'm really tired or just simply feeling lazy, I'll sing exactly the way you sang in that clip. Sometimes I just simply lack the energy to do what I need, so I give just enough to get some sound out, but doing that makes it close to impossible to sing phrases or to do high notes well. If you try to sing a high note with too little energy, it will constrict.

Although I generally don't like this exercise, musiciano's hissing exercise would probably work wonders for you. Make a hissing sound like a snake for as long as you can. At first, just aim for 30 seconds, but try to work your way up to 60 seconds. The point of this is to get you to experience some type of resistance to the air -- or rather more resistance than what you're used to giving. This might be a little difficult for you at first since you might not be used to doing this. For another exercise, just sing a random note and try to hold it out for eternity -- hold it out as long as you can. That will also help you learn resistance to the air. You see, you resist the air slightly, but the second you feel the diaphragm wanting to come up, you just give up resisting/supporting. When you feel the diaphragm wanting to come up and expel your air, you have to resist and fight that urge to let go that much more. These exercises should help you build up that resistance.

Now, once you learn to resist the air, then you need to learn to manage your support/resistance to the air. I'll explain what that means. If you succesfully did the two previous exercises, you'll probably have noticed that you CAN resist the air longer than what you're normally used to doing, however this can't go on forever. At some point, you're going to have to give up and the diaphragm is going to win, but you want to prevent this from happening for as long as possible. The longer you hold out a note or phrase, the stronger the diaphragm is going to want to fly back up. So managing your support is simply managing your energy so you don't give too much too soon. Meaning if a certain phrase needs to be held out for 10 seconds, don't resist as much as you can during the first 3 seconds. Save the bulk of your energy for the end of the phrase when you need it the most. It's going to take a little bit of experimentation, but you'll see what I mean. You more than likely had to manage your support in order to be able to do the hissing exercise for 60 seconds.

If I was unclear about anything -- I know I more than likely was -- feel free to ask for clarification.

_____________________________________________________
We have eyes, but cannot see; ears, but cannot hear.

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#11 [url]

Jul 13 06 11:53 PM

...

Try one thing at a time. If you try to do both at the same time you'll end up with distraction and confusion. Try the exercise I gave you first and let's see where we can take this. Then try Cuno's suggestions. Or if you'd prefer, try Cuno's suggestions first and see how it goes.

No offense Cuno, I just don't want him create himself a conflictive situation.

One thing at a time, and like I said, it's up to you which you try first!

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#13 [url]

Jul 14 06 9:44 AM

Hey Dante

I understood everything you said perfectly clear, and it makes sense... I try to do that hissing exercise, but I have a hard time doing it while making a consistent tone, if I keep doing it, I'm guessing my diaphram will get stronger and be able to resist easier w/o so much effort, and that tone will be more consistent right?

If that is the case, I'll be doing that exercise daily to build resistance to air flow :) . I know my breathing wasn't even close to perfect... I guess I was just putting off learning it ;-) haha.

Thanks so much for the tips guys! I really appreciate it!

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#14 [url]

Jul 14 06 12:53 PM

...

You should put consonants. This time without the actual words already showed some improvement, but your thinking is still rigid. You're thinking about it too much.

If you can do it with consonands and different vowels, Gah, Deh, Bah, Buh, Bee, Bow, Boo, Boh.... whatever make them up on the spot. This is going to exercise your musicality which has nothing to do with technique... you have to unlock your thinking, which right now is a little tight. Make sure to rotate your hips and shoulders lightly to unlock your body.

The 30 second consistent hiss is definitely something to aim for. Then 60. But you have to discover your musicality.

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#15 [url]

Jul 14 06 1:24 PM

ok cool

ok I'll do that and post another clip... I may not be able to do it till the Monday because I have plans all weekend (out of town wedding... ick) and I can't do it right now because I'm at work and there are about 15 people in hearing distance from me ;)

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#16 [url]

Jul 14 06 2:10 PM

Well

Everyone that I could see poofed for lunch so I recorded it somewhat quickly. I think I screwed up and lost the rhythmn of the song a little bit, not bad... I didn't hold the Free as long as I did when I sang it, but it came out much much MUCH easier while twisting my hips and shoulders with my eyes closed just letting it come out....

I used Goo Gah Doo Dah and Ooh mostly during this recording...

Hopefully 3rd time is a charm! :)

www.sendspace.com/file/rqwal4

and your right... it's very silly feeling doing this :-) it's fun nonetheless

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#17 [url]

Jul 15 06 12:02 AM

...

Lot's of little improvements here and there... that's great! You still have some more unlocking to do... and that is what this exercise is all about, taking your focus off the words and moving your focus onto other places that need attention before the words can be brought in.

I can tell you that whether you know it or not you are complicating the act of singing. You are making it a "special" thing that you do with your voice, but it's not. It's just singing.

I wish I could be helping you real-time, but I can't, so I'm going to keep making suggestions for encouraging freedom.

My new suggestion is to think outside the box... the best singing happens when we are not trying at all, so let your intuitive side fuel the singing, as soon as you're using your conscious mind you are setting yourself up for interrupting the freedom and therefore making you try. You are still trying to fit a standard. One of the main things that tells me that is that you have all the syllables in the world to pick from and you are sticking to two. I also hear you get excited at times and jump in to "help" the notes... don't! I've said and will say many times if sounding bad is what it takes to improve the voice, then you've got to be open minded to it. Do me a favor, record this once again but this time do not limit yourself in anyway, let the syllables pop into your head from out of nowhere and go along with them, don't question them or wonder which is best or which to stick to... encourage a diversity of syllables and not just a couple... that means you're stuck in a safe area... don't plan which syllables to sing, just let them pop out... keep the hips and shoulders lightly moving and sit on the "high note." It's a lot simpler than you think it is. Just go with the flow! Literally. It's going to get there, I know it. Let the gibberish begin! blah doo bah too la ga zo boo ke la tu mani mani poo yoo fee da chi ha teta too toh na na! Make it fun! Flow with your mind and body.

The moving hips and shoulders will encourage body flow (don't think too much about the movement, let it be more automatic) and the unrestricted flow of syllables will encourage the flow of the mind. You job is to stay out of the way of your mind... be a baby!

I'm excited to see how this will unlock your voice. I'm confident it will be the beginning of it.

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#18 [url]

Jul 17 06 9:33 AM

ok... recorded it

ok musiciano :) I recorded it... I did just what you said and just swayed my hips and shoulders with the flow (didn't actually think about swaying at a certain speed or anything like that lol)... I did every sylable/vowel that popped into my head as I said it... uhm, I got stuck on Tee Tee Tah Tuh for like 4 straight words lol, nothing else popped into my head =o...

and I sat during the high note, which made me get close to the mic, so it gets a little loud and distorted, but it felt a lot easier than before when doing something else during the high note... it took my mind off the high note and instead made me think about sitting down :o ... is this what you were trying to get me do realize? =)

well in either case... here is the link www.sendspace.com/file/k65h3t

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#19 [url]

Jul 17 06 1:13 PM

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This recording is an overall great improvement from all the others! We are starting to find the music within you.

You might have realized that in order to do this you had to know the melody really well. If you didn't know the melody you were going to get stuck or sing the wrong melody. Now I am sure that you know the melody and you can sing the pitches. In this last recording though, the pitch that goes on "free" was under, and it was probably because you had to think a little bit too much about sitting, which wasn't the purpose, you still had to keep your mind on the singing. The singing is more of a physical freeing mechanism not a mental one. Oh and I don't want anyone to think that I separate the mind from the body, because they are completely connected. To say what I wanted to say better, actual distraction from singing is something we don't want.

Scott... what you need now is to get some life going in your singing. And what is life? breath! Let's not work on that directly yet though... let find what makes you excited and happy in life and use that for your singing. Right now you are underenergizing the singing and it is making it sound emotionally uninspired (although I'm sure the inspiration is in there). So let's find your inspiration.

Let me ask you, what are your favorite things in life? Whether you have done these things or not. Who are your favorite people in life? What makes you most happy in life? What is your favorite smell, color, animal, place...?

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#20 [url]

Jul 17 06 2:28 PM

=)

Hey Musiciano,

Yeah your totally right! When I was using random vowel and syllables to do that recording, it was somewhat hard to make sure I kept the melody of the song without singing the actual words, thats why I was getting stuck on those 2 vowels.

My favorite things in life... hmm

This is a tough one to answer because there are so many things that could be said...

One of my favorite people in this world would probably be my best friend... he's always there for me and supports me in whatever I want to do... My parents are the same way....

I love the smell of home cooked Thanksgiving dinner.

blue is my favorite color, although I think green is pretty awsome too... I love natural colors... green, blue, red... I don't like dark colors as much (brown black dark grey).

I love dogs... I don't have one, but if I had to choose a type of animal I love the most... it would be dogs, horses are up there too :P they are cool =)

Hmm, place.... my favorite place would probably be home... I love home...

What makes me most happy in life:
Well other than singing...
I love hanging out with my friends,
I love my parents,
My grandparents,
God,
A girl that I have became good friends with... we have been through a lot, I haven't talked with her in a while... we lost eachother's phone numbers and I think she may have moved... wish I would have done something about how I felt for her, but I didn't.
Food!!! haha =) Nothing better than food!


These are all that I can think of at this time...

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