Hi everyone!

I'm new here, and have been getting into recording myself singing lately as my partner and I set up a mini home recording studio about a year ago, and I try to write my own songs...

Anyone who's interested and kind enough to provide feedback, here's the link to my song bits page...

www.soundclick.com/germpatterson

Thank you so much!!

Hello there !

Welcome to the forums !

It's hard to judge your technique from a recording, but for what it's worth - I think you have a very nice quality to your voice - very easy on the ear.

I'd probably suggest some anchoring work, some twang work and some direct vocal chord work to help you improve if you wanted advice on that front.

The only outright criticism I would make is that it's hard to hear a vocal identity - the voice is nice, in tune and easy to listen to, but I feel sometimes that we don't hear an identify. For example, the Wuthering Heights clip sounded very like Kate Bush.

If you have a teacher, working on your 'signature sound' would be a good idea !

Hope that helps.

Allan

Hey, thank you for the advice!

I agree fully with what you said, especially re the identity thing.

For as long as I can remember, I've always tried to sound just like the people I'm singing to/with, and...yeah. I don't know who *I* am, you know?

What's "anchoring"? And twang? lol *total novice*

Oh, and nope, no teacher. Never had any lessons.

I also just realised, having not previously really noticed...is this forum more sort of...classical-based singing? Not so much pop?

I obviously have NO training whatsoever, but did you happen to listen to Think of Me or Don't Cry For Me Argentina? They're leaning a bit more towards the less poppy, but...yes, again, I have NO training (yet). lol

Hi Eunice !

No - not classical oriented at all. Some of us teach only classical, some only musical theatre, others only pop - some of us teach various styles.

I specialise in high intensity singing in all music genres - so high, powerful opera sounds, broadway belting and hard rock singers all work with me!

You'll be able to get loads of advice from all kinds of different teachers on this forum - which is a great thing.

To answer your questions : Anchoring is the use of certain large muscles in the body and certain vocal tract muscles to help with power and intensity in singing (I say intensity as well as power, because some very quiet singing styles can require lots of anchoring). Principally you'll feel it in your back, neck and soft palate when you do it - but it's very hard to explain without having you in front of me!

Twang is a kind of ringy resonance which we can use to a greater or lesser degree to give the voice more projection power - lots of twang helps the voice carry far, but unmixed with other elements it sounds very harsh and tinny - when mixed, you can't really hear it (fine opera singing uses lots of twang) - a little twang in the voice is somewhat akin to adding oil to a motor - everything runs much more easily with a little twang! It's created by tightening certain muscles in the vocal tract and you can find it by cackling like a happy witch, meowing like a hungry cat, or nyah nyah-ing like a taunting child. Again this is much easier to show rather than explain.

You're doing very nicely for someone who has had no training and I wouldn't want to push you to see a teacher who may change your voice and mould it to suit their tastes. If you can get a few lessons with an Estill or CVT specialist, then that would be very helpful for you I think (Estill in particular run large group courses several times a year in different locations - they cost a few hundred pounds and last a few days - you probably wouldn't need much more than that to be honest).

Hope that's helpful!

No, it's not just for classical singing, athough people have different main areas of expertise. I for instance teach both classical and contemporary, because I studied both and can switch, although it takes a bit of time. When I've done lots of classical, I need a bit of time to get back into Musical Theatre or even Pop-Sound and vice versa. It is possible though ...

You have a lovely voice, but I'd second what rosfrog said - you sound very much like a copycat, and together with the good habits, you also tend to copy the bad ones. I would suggest to find a good teacher or even do one of the suggested workshops. I think it would really help to bring out your natural talent in a way that you actually sound like yourself - and also to project better. Your voice sounds very nice recorded, probably the same amplified, but I reckon you could be in trouble if you have to sing live without a PA, or even against a set-up with a few guitars.

Having said that however: Keep on working, and don't let your natural talent go to waste, it would be a shame (that's why I am suggesting a teacher).

This is really good. I LOVE that you've both identified these...trouble spots in me. It's so nice to get accurate and constructive feedback and not just someone going "Wow, your voice is beautiful!" but not saying much else (though obviously it IS nice to hear that. lol)

I KNOW I would have huge issues with ever having to sing live without a PA or amp. God, NOBODY would be able to hear me!! I was thinking that yesterday actually. I was singing something or other, and the backing track was really loud, and my voice seemed to get lost. (Because I'm not overly technical, I always find I have to record the backing track, then turn it up in my recording software to hear it loud enough, then record my vocals, and then turn THEM up to hear them properly.)

I noticed when I was singing higher, the voice would come out of the backing well, but when I sang lower, it disappeared a bit and I had to turn it up even more. (the song I was doing was As Tears Go By, and for the first bit I sang it low, like Marianne Faithfull does nowadays, not how she did back in the 60s version, and then later on I sang it an octave higher, and then for the last bit I sang it low again, but by then the instrumentals were swelling and I was lost amongst them.)

And I remembered one of my idols, Grace Slick, singing sometimes with no amp or PA live, and you could still hear her over the loud instruments playing. Also, kd Lang. I've been to some of her concerts and when she does certain notes, she's holding the mic WAY down, almost at her waist, and you can still hear her perfectly. That is NOT me, but I want it to be.

This problem with resonance and power is I think the root of pretty much ALL my singing/vocal issues. They all stem from that, I've come to conclude.

And yes, the copying of other singers...I've done this forever. Since I was 12 and sang to Madonna and Kylie Minoque. *cringe* lol. And I don't think it's all bad, cause I basically learnt everything from doing that. I stretched my range early on, I learned various things, and so on...but yes, I now unfortunately have a hugely hard time losing the imitation thing when singing. I find if I don't have a mind-set of how to sing a song exactly, I feel odd and lost. If I DO have that mind-set and can hear how it's sung (by Stevie Nicks or Kate Bush for example), I sing it and imitate it as best I can...

I'm sure I am also copying their bad habits too, yes. What are they though, that you can hear? Is it the rapid vibrato Stevie tends to do? lol. I don't do that naturally. I find the Karen Carpenter style of vibrato more natural to me. Is it the Kate Bush sort of...too high singing? lol I'd be interested to know.

I've put some videos on Youtube...just some of the same stuff that's on my Soundclick page, but with some pics of my 2 cat "sons" Monty and Dweezil, heheh.

http://www.youtube.com/my_videos

If you're finding that your lower range is vanishing, then you're probably using the wrong vocal set-up down there.

It sounds to me like you sing a lot in cry and falsetto set-ups (these are Estill terms referring to the configuration of your vocal folds, vocal tract and the work level in the body muscles) - these are wonderful sounding set ups and really suit the rep you're singing, but as you descend in your range, they will become quieter unless you mix them with something else. I'd suggest adding a bit of thickness to the sound by letting the folds move more towards a speech set up at the bottom.

An easy way to do this (because I can't really teach it to you over the net) is to use voiced fricatives. Low singer requires (contrary to what many teachers believe and teach) much more airflow than high singing. You can build this airflow with voiced fricatives. Use a V or a Z on a comfortable mid range note - voice it with intention, like you're speaking loudly. Feel how the muscles at the waistband (around mid-way between your ribs and hips) kick out when you make this sound. You'll also feel the same thing happening just under the sternum. Leave the stomach alone - you don't need to do anything with it. Play with this sound a bit - you'll probably feel there is a great connection between your airflow and your voice and the voice will feel more stable, louder and thicker. Don't push the volume, though - relatively loud speech volume is what we're aiming for.

Once you've got this, practise taking it lower in your range - never force it, but observe how the airflow may increase as you descend.

Then do a favorite melody that is causing problems in the low range, replacing the text by VVVVV for the low parts. Once you've got this and are comfortable with it, start to do one phrase in VVVV, one in text - making sure to keep that nice resonant connected feeling - then move to text only.

Sing your song normally again and you'll probably find that you've got more oomph on the bottom now.

I'd also heartily recommend adding a little twang to everything you're doing - it will help everything resonate and carry more without necessarily changing your sound.

let me know if that helps and - I agree with Mezzo - get some training - you've got a great voice and it deserves to be polished up!

Allan

Thank you!!

I actually PREFER my lower tones when singing to the higher "cry" / falsetto type ones. I feel...when I'm singing lower down, I feel more stable and based in something...a nice tone...

But when I go up, I feel I change how I sing and start using my throat too much and it feels...wrong and sounds annoying to me sometimes. I can't GET to that nice bass-feeling I have when singing lower. I'm not sure if this makes sense. I need singing lessons. lol