Critique my vocals? (Acoustic sample)

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MEvansMusic

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Hello everyone,

This is my second thread on this site and it's an honor to be a part of it. Anyways, I was looking for some feedback regarding my vocals. Any critique that I can use to better my singing abilities, positive or negative, will be greatly appreciated. I have linked a two-minute sample of the song Move Along by the All American Rejects. Minimal effects. As a side note I'm not trying to sound like the band, it's just a song I've been messing with on and off. Thanks guys

https ://soundcloud.com/matthewevansmusic000/move-along-sample

May have to delete the space between the "https" and "://" (don't have ten posts yet to link URL's)
 
I really like the clarity in your voice. I hear a lot of raspy and breathy singers these days, so your sound is refreshing! I do also hear a lot of constriction happening, like you have to squeeze out the higher notes rather than just release them on the breath. We sing with breath passing the cords, so why hold it back with closing the throat? It gives the opposite of effect.

Chances are you are doing this because of a lack of proper breath support. It's quite simple but it takes a bit to coordinate it well with your singing, but this is how it works. When you breath in, your upper body should remain pretty still. No shoulders rising, to chest lifting, etc. Watch yourself in the mirror and just try to take in a deep breath without these things happening. Another hint is if the tendons on the side and front of your neck stand out as you inhale, you are taking too shallow a breath. When you inhale, the area all around your belly, the side, and the back, should expand outward. When we sing, we want to purposely expand this area, and keep it expanded while we sing. It will come in, but you want it to be a very slow process. This will keep the air from coming too forcefully onto the cords and blast them apart, or in your case, case other muscles to tighten in order to protect the larynx from the excess pressure.

Give this breathing a try and see if that makes your voice feel easier. If it feels freer while staying clear, then you're doing it right.
 
Morodiene said:
I really like the clarity in your voice. I hear a lot of raspy and breathy singers these days, so your sound is refreshing! I do also hear a lot of constriction happening, like you have to squeeze out the higher notes rather than just release them on the breath. We sing with breath passing the cords, so why hold it back with closing the throat? It gives the opposite of effect.

Chances are you are doing this because of a lack of proper breath support. It's quite simple but it takes a bit to coordinate it well with your singing, but this is how it works. When you breath in, your upper body should remain pretty still. No shoulders rising, to chest lifting, etc. Watch yourself in the mirror and just try to take in a deep breath without these things happening. Another hint is if the tendons on the side and front of your neck stand out as you inhale, you are taking too shallow a breath. When you inhale, the area all around your belly, the side, and the back, should expand outward. When we sing, we want to purposely expand this area, and keep it expanded while we sing. It will come in, but you want it to be a very slow process. This will keep the air from coming too forcefully onto the cords and blast them apart, or in your case, case other muscles to tighten in order to protect the larynx from the excess pressure.

Give this breathing a try and see if that makes your voice feel easier. If it feels freer while staying clear, then you're doing it right.
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+1 to what Morodiene says =)

and yes, you're breathing too high (I can see your shoulders moving), and thinking your voice high as well. think of getting your larynx down when you go up, and remember to open your mouth. not too much, but enough so the sound comes out easily. contrary to popular belief, you sing with your belly ;)

breathing exercise tips:

1- put one hand in your belly button, the other by your ribs. inhale while pushing both hands outwards - let the air go slowly with an "s" sound, but holding the same position (belly and ribs outstretched) for as long as possible (don't wait until you are breathless, do it as long as it is easy to maintain the position). the challenge here is to extend your "s" time one count at a time (inhale - s1,2,3,4 - exhale - inhale - s1,2,3,4,5 - exhale; and so on)

2- if you didn't get the ribs to move, sit on a chair, bend over (as if you were trying to read something written underneath the chair), and breathe. feel those things moving? say hello to your ribs =)
 
Breathe support, breathe support!

On a more stylistic side, be careful on how much "soul" you use at the beginnings of your phrases (ei those cresc/slides into notes and gravel-y startups.) Be wise and use them sparsely to make them more effective. You do have a purer voice than most ..embrace it. Also the crescendos (think of the word "wah" (an unpleasing sound)) at the beginnings of some of your phrase slow you down and put you behind the beat for a moment. Be careful of those.

Keep it up.
 
Thanks guys. I don't know what it is, but I listened to my clip again after a few days and to me my singing sounds incredibly flat...maybe not quite flat, but it's hard to explain. Anyone else feel this way? Either I'm all flat, or I'm not breathing quite correctly..or a little of both :/
 
MEvansMusic said:
Thanks guys. I don't know what it is, but I listened to my clip again after a few days and to me my singing sounds incredibly flat...maybe not quite flat, but it's hard to explain. Anyone else feel this way? Either I'm all flat, or I'm not breathing quite correctly..or a little of both :/
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This is due to what I posted before about the constriction in the throat. You need to work on keeping your throat open while singing, not close it. It should feel closer to blowing out a candle when you sing - albeit in a long, more continuous fashion than a sudden burst of air. The breath support will help this opening of the throat, but once you get that then you will probably have to work on getting rid of unwanted tension.

Ideally, you'd find a good teacher to do this, but I know this is not always possible.
 
Thanks for this. I've been practicing some of what you've suggested..I'll lay/sit down for say ten minutes at a time and practice breathing deeply, focusing on inhaling efficiently and deeper. I honestly think a lot of it is psychological as I've noticed when I think about it as an analogy, it's a lot easier to visualize and do: in other words, if I imagine my breath being pushed down into my chest and imagine my voice coming from my chest whilst relaxing my shoulders, I sound a lot better. Just gettingto the point of establishing this habit permanently...I think we'll be getting somewhere. I'll practice these techniques for a while and then upload a new clip for critiquing..there's always something to improve upon :)
 
MEvansMusic said:
Thanks for this. I've been practicing some of what you've suggested..I'll lay/sit down for say ten minutes at a time and practice breathing deeply, focusing on inhaling efficiently and deeper. I honestly think a lot of it is psychological as I've noticed when I think about it as an analogy, it's a lot easier to visualize and do: in other words, if I imagine my breath being pushed down into my chest and imagine my voice coming from my chest whilst relaxing my shoulders, I sound a lot better. Just gettingto the point of establishing this habit permanently...I think we'll be getting somewhere. I'll practice these techniques for a while and then upload a new clip for critiquing..there's always something to improve upon :)
Click to expand...
That's great to hear! We singers have to be very in tune with our bodies and how we feel when we sing. We are the instrument, after all. Take it slow when you are singing through your song, go phrase by phrase making sure you breath correctly and support. If it doesn't feel like it was well-supported, then do the phrase again focusing on how it feels. This detailed work will help you incorporate this into how you sing this song, but chances are you will have to do it for every song you work on. It gets easier, but I still have to remind myself to support :)
 
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