A question from a german songwriter

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SebMood

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Hello dear forum!

I have a special request...

I've always rapped in German and recently wrote two songs in English because I think it feels better as a vocal, and I personally find it more "rounded" in English, in terms of the vowels and the exclusion of the harsh German consonants, which I usually quite like in rap. However, I also know that I sing/speak with a strong German accent, and I've been wondering for ages whether it might a) sound super annoying to native speakers, or b) maybe not so bad after all, or c) maybe even sound a bit "charming," as one sometimes reads...

This question has been popping into my head for days, and unfortunately, I can't answer it, so I thought it would make the most sense to simply address a community of native English speakers with a song. I would really appreciate it if you could give me some brief feedback on this! Otherwise, I really enjoy singing and writing lyrics in English, but I probably won't be able to get rid of my accent anytime soon...

I'm very curious to hear some of your opinions! I wish you all a wonderful weekend and best wishes from western Germany, Seb

'Song (Dropbox-direct):
 
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I think your voice (and the German accent) works well for this. :thumbs up: Good job. Don't worry about the accent. It's the big picture that counts.
 
Thank you so much, @PorterhouseMusic !

That's very encouraging, and I'm really happy to hear it, especially when native speakers give me this feedback! As I mentioned, this is very uncertain territory for me and has been bothering me for a long time... I'm curious to see if there are any other opinions...

high five!
 
I think is sounded fine. I don't 100% agree about the German. A couple of examples:





The style you are singing is very reminiscent of these songs.
 
I listened to your song, and I don't hear strong german there at all.
English singers often 'put on' a voice, which is not their natural speaking voice.
You are nowhere near Herr Otto Flick, if you know who I'm talking about.
A slight foreign accent doesn't really matter.
Good song, by the way.
 
Thank you so much for your feedback!

@DM60 Yes, I know what you mean, but in German it sounds very, very cheesy much more quickly. But that's purely a matter of taste, or rather, a matter of feeling, and the reason why I prefer to use English for songs. I'm very happy to hear that the accent doesn't bother you much, if at all. I think native German speakers might be a bit more picky in some cases, but that's just a guess. I'm curious to see what the reaction will be.

Have a nice day, everyone!
 
SebMood said:
Hello dear forum!

I have a special request...

I've always rapped in German and recently wrote two songs in English because I think it feels better as a vocal, and I personally find it more "rounded" in English, in terms of the vowels and the exclusion of the harsh German consonants, which I usually quite like in rap. However, I also know that I sing/speak with a strong German accent, and I've been wondering for ages whether it might a) sound super annoying to native speakers, or b) maybe not so bad after all, or c) maybe even sound a bit "charming," as one sometimes reads...

This question has been popping into my head for days, and unfortunately, I can't answer it, so I thought it would make the most sense to simply address a community of native English speakers with a song. I would really appreciate it if you could give me some brief feedback on this! Otherwise, I really enjoy singing and writing lyrics in English, but I probably won't be able to get rid of my accent anytime soon...

I'm very curious to hear some of your opinions! I wish you all a wonderful weekend and best wishes from western Germany, Seb

'Song (Dropbox-direct): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hufb...ey=tsifu7ubpt8g6s9bwj9raewbx&st=xs5yo62f&dl=0
Click to expand...
It’s fine. You have nothing to worry about.
Your voice fits in quite well, especially considering the whole song has that ‘Euro vibe’.
 
RFR said:
It’s fine. You have nothing to worry about.
Your voice fits in quite well, especially considering the whole song has that ‘Euro vibe’.
Click to expand...
Thank u, @RFR ! Nice to hear!🙂🙏 Very happy about the feedback in this topic!
Thx!
 
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I gave your track a listen, and it was absolutely fine. Compared to some of the US raps, it was more understandable than what I hear normally.

Also, when I see "rap", I usually associate it with hip hop with little to no music, just a bunch of percussion with and maybe an occasional couple of musical notes Your track was refreshing. I liked the attitude, and the background voices.

Well done.
 
TalismanRich said:
I gave your track a listen, and it was absolutely fine. Compared to some of the US raps, it was more understandable than what I hear normally.

Also, when I see "rap", I usually associate it with hip hop with little to no music, just a bunch of percussion with and maybe an occasional couple of musical notes Your track was refreshing. I liked the attitude, and the background voices.

Well done.
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What great feedback! Thank you so much! I was a bit worried about the reactions from native speakers, but the contributions really encourage me to just keep going!

I think it's already too much singing for straight rap... It's something in between, soulful singing and rap, i think ... Whatever...

I played the trumpet, another musician played the Fender Rhodes...

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
 
SebMood said:
I'm very curious to hear some of your opinions! I wish you all a wonderful weekend and best wishes from western Germany, Seb
Click to expand...
It’s a style to me - and one I don’t hear often enough - Good song - what was your vocal chain?
 
Papanate said:
It’s a style to me - and one I don’t hear often enough - Good song - what was your vocal chain?
Click to expand...
Thank you very much, @Papanate ! :)

Chain is:

EQ, Compression, Saturation (Nectar Plugin) – Reverb (Neoverb) – Tape Delay – Pre TridA (for Vintage Bright Vocal)
 
I should walk around like a peacock...

Enjoyed the listen, accent sounds like what it is and not a problem at all.

Nice.


Cover.webp
 
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