On an impulse, after reading a previous post, I recorded myself singing one of my Grade 5 songs and I'd really like to post it for people to hear - I'd often been on here moaning about how awful my voice was, but as I never got to make it to the Adult Learner's concert, none has heard me sing, so I was wondering if anyone could give me any helpful critiques.

Unfortunately, I don't know how to upload the soundfile I've made. Anyone got any ideas? I'd really love some feedback!

If it's at least 100 years old you could ask for it to be uploaded to the forum recordings?

If you register at boomspeed.com (I think), you can upload the music there and then post the link here.

Well its Handel's Dove Sei, Amato Bene? So yes, its over 100 years old, but my voice sounds so AWFUL on it that I'd be a bit embarassed really to have it uploaded to the forum recordings! Anyone offer to let me email it to them?

Well, maybe YAP could host it rather than put it on the site?
You could email it to me, just wondering how I'd get it up though

I'd love to hear it, although I am no expert regarding giving a critique. I bet it's nowhere near as bad as you think.

I'll PM you.

Ditto, even though I am no singing expert, I'd love to hear you too I'll PM you my address

Thanks Sarah - I got your PM, much appreciated. Well I've uploaded it to something called "Putfile.com", so I really hope this works.

It sounds awful. The first note is a bit weird (read tuneless!) because I was doing it unaccompanied and didn't know where to come in. I think it gets slightly better as I go on . . .

http://media.putfile.com/Dove-Sei-Amato-Bene

Anyway, please try it and any constructive criticism would be really appreciated!

I replied to the PM, I really enjoyed your performance

Just listening to it again!

I don't know this piece and I'm not much of a singer myself, but these are my impressions:

You seem to have a perfectly nice basic tone to your voice, to me it sounds like you're quite nervous about the recording, but the notes that sound relaxed sound just fine, and even the tenser ones by no means sound horrible. You have some nice vibrato going in a couple of places I think.

Your tuning seems pretty good, especially without accompaniment, I'd need more brain and some independent music making thing here to say "yes you definitely stayed in tune", but certainly nothing horrific or that made me cringe, couple of bits I think you may have slipped a little overall, but I've heard SO MUCH worse! And no particular notes where you were badly out of tune with yourself.

Singing, like strings, always seems to sound a billion times worse recorded than in reality, so I'd guess you sound a good deal better in real life. Which I think probably means you sound rather good!

There was one high note that sounded a bit strangled (that sounds terrible, I hope you know what I mean - not like someone being strangled or anything!! ) - as if you had particularly tensed up (I know I do that when I see high notes approaching - on any instrument let alone singing). That was the only bit that sounded anything even *approaching* bad.

So, my completely inexpert opinion... relax... as katyjay is fond of advising, let the notes float out rather than pushing them out. But by no means terrible! Not by about a million miles.

OK, you should now or soon have something of me singing to listen to

Oi, what is that face for Mrs, you sounded lovely at the concert (and I know you're not a Mrs but it sounded better )

Sarah, you sound lovely, well done!! I've sent you an email with my comments!

*lacking a blushy smilie* thank you! I got your email will reply tomorrow though, my brain hurts today (off to bed soon)




I did sing better at the concert than I have before or since. Wish I had thought to ask Jane to plug her edirol in, I would like to have had a recording of that!

OK after hearing one of Sarah's recording's I've done a snippet of "Silent Worship" as well. Its a little easier than Dove Sei and I think my voice sounds better on it:

http://media.putfile.com/Silent-Worship

After finding the volume control on my computer (at last!) I've just had a listen. I would say your technique on this one is sound - your diction was clear, and your voice has a nice quality. The song really suits you. Were you singing this from memory? If not, that's the next stage - the delivery was very careful, and I think you now need to FEEL the words. I recommend taking the poetry out of the music and SPEAK the words aloud. I often do this line by line. Note where the voice rises and falls in the speech, and this is where your singing dynamics should be. "Blackbird and thrush were silent", for intance, could be mezzo piano, "Oh saw you not my lady" would have more of a sense of urgency about it. You could crescendo through "Shaming the rose and lily, for she is twice as fair". Generally speaking, the dynamics you choose should come from the text end your feelings about it, rather than any editorial markings. "I love her till I die" is the obvious climax and would be the loudest part for me.
I often ask my students to "see" the scene as if on a large screen. Actually see this lady in the garden, what is she wearing, is the sun shining, visualise the birds falling silent as she passes. Feel part of it and think how someone would feel about them if their love were unrequited. This, I'm sure would have a magical effect on the colours in your voice, and "get to" your audience.
I hope this helps, as you have a lot of natural talent with great potential.

Ann

(Wouldn't mind hearing Dove sei, but don't know how to find it.)

OOps! Just found Dove sei. Same comments really, a pleasant tone and well pronounced Italian. Do you know the meaning of each and every word? If you don't you cannot hope to communicate their meaning. I find it's not enough to have just a rough translation because the syntax is different. This applies even at grade 5. As you don't need to do languages at grade 5, have you considered Art Thou Troubled? Same tune, but in English, from Rodelinda. (A different subject matter though, which I think would suit your voice more because it doesn't ask for so much drama.)
Don't forget the middle section will have a different feel to it, maybe a slightly faster tempo, and we need to hear the torment and anguish in the voice. "Dove sei" actually means "where is he?", not "can you hear me" as per the Art of Song book. "Vieni" (come), is repeated, with a rest in between. When you repeat words you need to sing the second time slightly differently. Perhaps this would be louder (in another context it might be the other way round). The rest is there for a reason - perhaps a gasp of emotion ("come, [oh]COME!") The da capo should, of course have ornaments, designed around your vocal capabilities, not too ambitious, and always in keeping with the style of the music. You teacher will be able to help you on this.
Re the top note - it just needs more support and relaxing to open up - were you dropping your jaw? It sounded as if your tongue was in the way, or your mouth wasn't open enough - the jaw and diaphragm work well together.

I hope you take this in the spirit it is meant. IMO your rendition would certainly pass at grade 5. To get the higher marks, I would like to hear more dynamic contrast and a sense of you being really involved with the text. Well done for having the courage to publish your voice, you should be proud of it, and what you will achieve in the future with it.

Ann

Very sad, I can't get any of the putfile recordings to work.

Could you not send them to YAP to include in the forumrecordings website? That would be great, both of you.

I would echo a lot of Ann's comments. Your Italian pronumciation is excellent, but as of yet you have not brought out the meaning of the words.

In a couple of places you lacked support. (Ann has commented on this too)

Given your own self-doubts, do not be disappointed, this is an extremely good start. Work on the points Ann and I have made with a teacher. Get hold of a word-for-word translation and you have the potential to sing this song extremely well indeed.

HOORAY! I've got it to work.

I'd agree with a lot of what JoD and AnnC have said. You'll communicate better if you understand what each word you sing actually means, so that you put the emphasis in the right places.

I think part of the issue is that as soon as one starts recording oneself, one becomes self-conscious and stops relaxing, and that's discernable in your singing.

If you trust that your voice will be ok, you'll find that you relax more and your support will improve. And don't be afraid of the higher notes - you have the voice to make them work if you'll just let them happen.


Well done. Now can we stop the nonsense about no talent and no hope? As far as I can tell, you've got a reasonable supply of both.

Cheers

katyjay

I cannot really add anything to what Ann, Jod and KatyJay have already said, other than I really enjoyed listening to you. Thank you very much for making the recordings available for us to listen to, and I look forward to more in the future.



Amber
x

Thanks very much everyone for your kind comments and taking the trouble to listen to my recordings!

I have to agree that the dynamics and the "feeling" in these recordings wasn't of its best - my teacher and I have been going through them, marking dynamics and trying to get the feeling of the song rather than just "singing the words" as it were, but in the nervousness of making the recording, I just "sang" them with no thought for what I was actually singing! Oops!

I know my voice needs a lot of work, I guess I just wanted to know that, contrary to what the RWCMD and a previous teacher told me, its not "beyond hope" of ever getting to a decent standard. I know it needs more support, more depth and less tension . . . I guess that at 34 I think these qualities should already be there . . !

I'm very pleased with the comment that my Italian pronounciation is good, because my previous singing teacher told me it was "terrible" and I'd "never learn to sing in Italian" so that shows how far I've come!

Probably also shows the fact that the teacher who was so negative of your voice was..... utterly wrong and foolish!! I expect battling with being told "you're terrible, you have no hope" has also had a negative effect on your voice - an instrument which is affected a great deal (more than any other) by how we are feeling etc. So after being taught dodgy technique and told you're rubbish, it's hardly surprising if you have areas to work on and think you're terrible. I should think the natural reaction to being told you're bad is probably to tense up even more

But hopefully now you have proof that you're NOT terrible, no way, no how, and maybe that will help you another step along the road to singing the way you want to

o my, im doin that 4 in falsetti 4 my exam and wuld appreciate listen 2 u performing it