Can I Even Sing Well?

[jjs6067]

I really want to be able to do open mic nights at my college, but i can't judge how well i sing. Could anyone please tell me if I am any good. This is a cover of me playing "Vindicated" by Dashboard Confessional: http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9520242. Please give me some opinions on how i sing. If you are a singer yourself, perhaps leave some tips on how i can better myself. Thanks!

 

[ido1957]

Depends on whether you used that Autotune in your signature on the vocals.
If this is the raw unprocessed vocal then yes, you sing in tune and have good tone and would do okay at an open mic. This song is kinda blah melody wise, but I'm sure you have many more to choose from.

 

[jjs6067]

Thanks for the reply! I appreciate the feedback.

 

[bstarstudios]

Depends on whether you used that Autotune in your signature on the vocals.
If this is the raw unprocessed vocal then yes, you sing in tune and have good tone and would do okay at an open mic. This song is kinda blah melody wise, but I'm sure you have many more to choose from.

doesn't sound really autotuned to me. just a bit of reverb and such. and yes i agree its a blah song but you sound fairly good an in tune.

 

[jjs6067]

Ok what would you guys consider to be a song that has a good melody? I need some songs I can do at an open mic night.

 

[dintymoore]

You're asking us what song you should do?

 

[jjs6067]

Actually yes i am... why shouldn't i get song ideas from other people? Thats how you grow musically.

 

[d.bop]

I think you should play the songs that you like.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't stand playing music that doesn't actually mean something to me. But then again, everyone's different heh.


Pick some of your favorites to cover, some of your own (if you have any written,) and maybe dedicate one to a "special someone" in the audience. That always makes the audience smile (or say " OMG I need a smoke")

 

[jjs6067]

I think you should play the songs that you like.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't stand playing music that doesn't actually mean something to me. But then again, everyone's different heh.


Pick some of your favorites to cover, some of your own (if you have any written,) and maybe dedicate one to a "special someone" in the audience. That always makes the audience smile (or say " OMG I need a smoke")

Haha good advice, thanks a bunch!

 

[dintymoore]

Actually yes i am... why shouldn't i get song ideas from other people? Thats how you grow musically.

There's nothing wrong with it, but I'll bet you know what songs you like. Only you can decide. There's so many great songs out there.

I was listening to "Angels" by Robbie Williams the other day. That song is 10 years old but will probably be being remade decades from now.

 

[guitaristic]

I really want to be able to do open mic nights at my college, but i can't judge how well i sing. Could anyone please tell me if I am any good. This is a cover of me playing "Vindicated" by Dashboard Confessional: http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9520242. Please give me some opinions on how i sing. If you are a singer yourself, perhaps leave some tips on how i can better myself. Thanks!

Hello!

I thought your cover was pretty good! Your voice has a nice tone to it, and you were in tune. A few things I noticed though:

1) You were sounding a bit "robotic" at times (not tone-wise, but melody-wise)...try to really get into the song and feel it!

2) I read in one of my books somewhere (I'm a nerd ) that the key to having good vocals is three things: passion, pitch, and pocket. Passion means really feeling the message of the song and conveying it to the listeners. Pitch is self-explanatory...you were good on that anyways. And pocket means getting into the groove of the song (like in point 1 above)

Other than that, I thought it was good! Hope you found my advice helpful!

 

[PDP]

Your voice is plenty good for an open mic, and the best way to get better is to go out and sing. Good Luck, have fun!

 

[VomitHatSteve]

It's an open mic. It doesn't matter if your voice is any good!

Yeah. Your voice is fine. In your case, I would focus more on standing out from the various other acoustic guitar/vocal guys. What can you bring to the table that's new and interesting?

 

[indymusician]

Pure honest opinion

A wise producer once told me, "Don't ever ask a question to which you do not want the answer". You have big giant balls for laying yourself out there like this so I commend you.

Honestly man, you are in key and in time. You have the fundamentals down.

Overall, it sounds like you are trying to get a high score on Rock Band. The timing and pitch is so precise that is sounds sterile, kind of like a robot.

Sometimes, its more about the delivery than anything else. I am just not convinced that you are feeling the words that you are singing. My advice, have about 4 shots before you record it (not so drunk that you can't function, just a little euphoric), think about chick that dumped you that you were so in love with, and open up into an emotional fit when you are telling her about it. (I am being absolutely serious, not jerking your chain here)

Your timing will be a bit more loose and natural, you may get some of that signature squeak at the beginning of the notes like you hear on Dashboard album, and the girls watching you will be convinced that you are a man in 100% touch with your emotions. After all, you have decided to perform to invoke a reaction from your audience, right? To captivate them and engage them, to send them home thinking about what you had to say up there.

If you try to stop thinking about it and just let it all out there, I think you and your audience will be more appreciative of the reasons that you are up there and not so focused on the fact that you hit every single note exactly on the downbeat.

Hope this helps

Good luck to you man.

 

[DogmaticVox]

You don't have to have the best voice to move people. Put some more emotion in your voice. You don't need to be melodramatic, but put some more feeling in your singing to try and connect with the audience. If you're singing about hurt, the audience should believe that the words you are singing are coming from an honest place and you really feel the emotion you're singing about. Same with anger, happiness, etc. To quote a show I hate (American Idol), you don't sound like you believe in what you're singing.

So basically:

- Pick a song that is in your range so it's comfortable to sing. Nobody likes to listen/watch someone straining to hit a note.

- Pick a song that you connect with lyrically. Does it mean something to you personally? Do you identify with it?

 

[FunkDaddy]

Like others have said, you're on key and in time but there's very little emotion in your voice. The audience will not connect at all if you don't "sell it".

 

[jjs6067]

Hey thanks for the responses guys! These are incredibly helpful. Indiemusician, your post actually cracked me up quite a bit, but i am definitely going to try it Honestly, I might try taking the shots, try adding some feeling, and reposting it and see what you guys think.

 

[HellsFallenHero]

I have question, is that you also singing the higher notes towards the end where there are layered vocals?


I thought it was good. Although as someone before me mentioned, at some parts it sounds sorta 'robotic'.

You need to put more passion into it. Then I think it would sound even better. =D

 

[Scott281]

vocals

How did you record your vocals?

What mic did you?

any compression?

Did you record in Mono or Stereo?


Yes, I think you can actually sing. Nice voice Your in tune and key and your vocals are crisp!

When i record my vocals i tend to record 3 times (1 on the left ear, 1 centre and 1 on the right ear) to give it a more spacious wider sound. Sometimes 2 times and pan them left and right.

But your vocals are dead on centre and very very clear....

how is that done?


Please reply

 

[indymusician]

Hey thanks for the responses guys! These are incredibly helpful. Indiemusician, your post actually cracked me up quite a bit, but i am definitely going to try it Honestly, I might try taking the shots, try adding some feeling, and reposting it and see what you guys think.

Yeah, It sounds kind of silly at first, but I actually use it as a technique from time to time on those tunes that I want to really impact emotionally. In Vino Veritas. Note that you won't have a very big window to capture a good take with this method. Usually about 30-45 minutes in "the groove" before it all catches up to you and you start slurring your words because you are bombed. I have a pre-production track somewhere that illustrates this, It starts out ok, but by the time I started working the second verse, it was over. I'll try to find it and give an example between good drunk and bad drunk.

BTW. I had an engineer ask me to try this in an actual session some 10 years ago, he didn't have to twist my arm, but I laughed at him the first time he suggested it.