Anybody Else Struggle With This?

Resurrect

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So, I have a song That I'm working on. It's actually pretty close to being as completed as I'll probably ever take it. (You can hear it here if you are so inclined:



My problem is, I want to redo the vox. If you listen, you can hear that I'm really having to stretch to hit some of the high notes. I can do it, but not after drinking coffee. Which is what I did just before recording this. But, I can't get another good take. I can be in time, in sync. Everything right on. Except the passion. I can't sing with the pain and feeling I did during the first take. Not sure why. I can when I'm just playing on a guitar in a performance or something, but I get in the studio, and it all goes out the window. Same when I try to redo the guitar tracks. Nothin doin. And I've found if I go for more than one or two takes, I have the same problem. And once I leave it, I can't come back to it that same way again.

Does anybody else struggle with this kinda thing, and if so, does anybody know why?
 
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I hear the stretching . . . the song is pitched close to your vocal limit.

Redoing the vocals is in order.

Being able to recreate the intensity is the hurdle you've identified. Certainly, after a number of takes (specially when the voice gets tired) it can be increasingly difficult to inject energy and excitement . . . but not impossible. Singers in bands and actors on stage have to do this night after night and still excite their audiences. And, for the most part they do.

There is a kind of mental leap you need to jump to go from 'singing' to 'performing'. You make the leap through singing while playing. Others do it by imagining they are performing in front of a huge crowd, or by having their headphone level really loud. And some just do it because that's what's needed.
 
Anything related to singing is a struggle for me. You aren't going to be happy with it until you record another vocal take. If it were my song, I'd transpose it down a step. It's out of your range. You're not hitting the notes. Probably not what you want to do since it would mean recording everything but the drums again.
 
Anything related to singing is a struggle for me. You aren't going to be happy with it until you record another vocal take. If it were my song, I'd transpose it down a step. It's out of your range. You're not hitting the notes. Probably not what you want to do since it would mean recording everything but the drums again.

It actually IS in my range. But caffeine drys out the throat, making it very hard to hit high and low notes. I didn't know this before I recorded the vox, and therefore drank a cup of coffee prio to recording. BIG mistake.

I'm gonna have to invent a new way to sing with passion, I guess. Find a spot (mentally) that I can go.
 
What gecko stated and prepare for the session. Warm up the voice, don't drink coffee or other harsh drinks. I sometimes use a Ricola, but something to protect and coat the vocal cords.

I will be honest, whether your own song or a song you've sang a million times, it should bring the emotion intended. If it doesn't maybe revisit the song composition itself. There was something that drove you to write the song.
 
But caffeine drys out the throat, making it very hard to hit high and low notes. I didn't know this before I recorded the vox, and therefore drank a cup of coffee prio to recording. BIG mistake.

That's funny because I'm opposite. I find that after a hot cup of coffee my voice opens up quite a bit. My voice sounds better and smoother. And certain notes that can be a struggle, I seem to reach easier. Maybe it's the caffeine.
Everyone's different I guess.
 
I've heard guys say that before. And even weirder stuff. It seems everybody's different.
 
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This is why I write the lyrics first, then record the melody scratch track. With no instruments to force me into a key. I stick to my comfort zone. Then I write the backing tracks while staying in the same key as the scratch track. Sometimes I end up in F#. Doesn't matter, it's the right key. I never drink caffeine before I record. Juice, pop, water but no caffeine.
 
Coffee is beta-agonists. It helps widen airways and helps you breathe better. It's like a cough medicine. Or like coming back after workin out.

Try these exercise and you will feel a big difference in a few minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTP72WjiwG0. Basically opening up your pipes so you can breathe in and out easier. Its like doing a cardio and coming back and you can hit notes better.

I have noticed that everytime I sing it is usually the first couple of times that I like the most. I think it is because you started the song because you loved the song for its tune or lyrics and is just purely focused on that. Now after a while you are now focusing on other things like how your voice sounds, the balance of the song, getting the lyrics right and stuff.
 
Rule #4: Don’t drink caffeinated beverages

Caffeine is a major no-no for opera singers: it causes dehydration and can be damaging to vocal folds.

The verdict:

Unfortunately for the anti-Starbucks crowd, caffeinated beverages are not a cause of dehydration. For a person who drinks coffee or tea regularly, 8 ounces of coffee/tea will provide approximately the same amount of hydration as 8 ounces of water. At the same time, caffeine is still a diuretic, which means that a person will lose water more quickly than if they were drinking something else. However, according to a 1999 study on the effect of caffeine on vocal folds, caffeine can have a negative impact on a singer’s vocal quality, but the effects vary greatly from person to person.

https://www.operapulse.com/refine-y...ing/the-rules-of-singing-mythbusters-edition/
 
This is why I write the lyrics first, then record the melody scratch track. With no instruments to force me into a key. I stick to my comfort zone. Then I write the backing tracks while staying in the same key as the scratch track. Sometimes I end up in F#. Doesn't matter, it's the right key. I never drink caffeine before I record. Juice, pop, water but no caffeine.

I'm competent enough on the guitar that I can switch to just about any key I need. I might write a song in the key of E, find it too high, and switch to B. In fact, writing with a guitar helps me find my comfort zone, and helps me with melody.

Caffeine and pop both kill my voice. I heard one guy tell me that Monster energy drinks help his voice. Granted, I never heard him sing, but it seems different things affect different people differently. Juice is fine. Hot tea and honey is like a full massage. Cold drinks are a no-no for me. anything acidic bothers me as well. Hard sugar-y candies actually seem to aid my voice a bit.
 
If you're a caffeine addict then it may affect everything about you.
I've managed, over the last 12 months, to become a coffee & tea drinker nothing more. I drink 1/2 a cup of coffee most days and several cups of tea but I don't suffer when I go without nor do I crave it.
I can't/don't sing so couldn't provide anecdotes about caff. & performance.
As a bassist I'm reasonably sure it doesn't jitter my rhythm.
 
In the band we all sing, pretty much full on for every single song, and much of it high, and lots in falsetto. The others MUST have water, and make a big fuss about getting it before they go on. I'm the opposite, I rarely drink on stage unless we're playing somewhere hell hole hot and dehydration is a problem. If I drink b before, coke or coffee is fine, and has no impact I've ever noticed. However - plenty of people cannot sing with haze in the air, and despite medical opinion now firmly on the it has no effect at all on the voice, so many people believe it, you cannot change their minds. Most I suspect is in your head, and this is why the results vary so much.
 
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