Rate my singing with an honest opinion?

Spaghetti

New member
I have a love hate thing going on with my voice - I know I can hold a tune but I don't think I like my actual tone (the love part is the enjoyment I get from singing!) It's so hard to judge your own voice! I don't sing in front of family or friends so my next best place for advice or criticism is you guys :-). I don't mind criticism - since I genuinely enjoy singing I would hope to use it to improve! So, please give me your thoughts on my cover:

(It wont seem to let me post a URL right now so if you Google 'Manzzy' and click on the first link (should be soundcloud) it would be much appreciated :-D. I would like if you listened to Someone Like You since it's my latest.

I don't use auto-tune so I'm a little sharp (I have a tendency to be :-() on some notes. I use an inbuilt mac mic to record and garageband to add reverb.


tl;dr - please listen to my song and give me feedback :-)

Thank you!
 
Hey Spag/Kate/Manzzy

Something weird going on in the vocal recording... can't quite put my finger on it - ah yes... just saw the "inbuilt Mac mic" thing...

Sharp in a spot or two, but not often that noticeable - I think you're struggling a bit with the lower notes in the beginning, not much power coming through there. Also on the long notes where you're not adding vibrato, that's where the pitch thing's most noticeable and you sound a little strained, but that goes away when you bend up or down into the next note and get your warble on, and it all sounds fine again.

Lots of promise I'd say - I certainly can't sing that well. I hate you! :mad: :cursing:

:) :laughings:
 
Basically what Armistice said! ^^^ Except I didn't hear the sharpness because I suck at picking that stuff up :D

I think it was really good! Plus I think your voice has further potential that can be unlocked!

Well done, Spaghetti!
 
sounds pretty good to me. The sharpness isn't that bad ...... I wouldn't sweat that too much ....... It does sound pretty 'white' though.

Good for you not using autotune ..... you'd never improve if you started using that crutch right now.
Nice voice ...... lots of promise as Armistice said.
 
THank you everyone for your critiques! Sorry I've taken ages to reply - busy working week ;-;.

Lt. Bob - when you say *white* is that something I need to sort in my singing style/delivery or is that a mixing thing? (not that I can say I do much mixing :-S)


I'll definitely need to invest in a decent mic and a pop shield to help the recording side of things! In the meantime, I'll keep practising!

Thanks again everyone for your opinions! Very much appreciated :-)
 
Lt. Bob - when you say *white* is that something I need to sort in my singing style/delivery or is that a mixing thing?
style/delivery.
Don't misunderstand me ...... I'm not saying you don't sound good. I'd just like to hear you loosen up a little bit.
 
You have a very good voice. Good control of pitch and notes, your steps down or up (can't recall the technical word for it, right now) are clear and crisp. Vibrato on sustained notes is controlled, not excessive. Good support of pitch. Sounds like you have had some training, it shows in good ways.

Diction is very good, too- which is actually a liability, in that song. Just as you could benefit from swinging the notes, musically, you would also sound better on that sort of song if you "swung" the words a bit, too. Proper diction and pitch control certainly have their place, but you would do well to figure out when it is, and is not, appropriate.
 
Beautiful song, the emotion of it really got to me. Your voice didn't sound sharp to me, and anyway a natural voice is always better then a perfectly tuneful autotuned voice.
 
This is a rare one where I disagree with StevieB. I think your pitch is close enough, but "bigger" diction could increase intelligibility without detracting from the emotional delivery. The human singing voice can be a beautiful, but unintelligible musical instrument (Sara Watkins from Nickel Creek), or a cruddy instrument that is a vehicle for telling a story (Bobby Dylan), or it can be both. From Freddy Mercury to Faith Hill, Michael Jackson, Charlotte Church, Paul McCartney. When I think of the great ones, they are always the ones that don't let one get in the way of the other, and who don't let the first two get in the way of the performance. Stop worrying about your voice. You have a better voice than most professional singers. I made a living singing for 30 years or so, and I'd kill for tone like yours. Singing is like playing guitar, except the day you are born, you go to God's guitar store, and he gives you the only one you are ever going to get. It's up to you whether you learn to play it, and whether you take care of it. Some people get the vintage Martin, and some an old Hondo. I got an Ovation with a straight neck. You got a pretty good Breedlove. What you need now is your own story to tell, the will to tell it, and a better mic. Good Luck. Personally, I think you rock.-Richie
 
Better !
Think: wasp with nuts sliced off. And it's not even close. It's one of the few otherworldly sounds that emanates from a human being.
 
4.5 out of 5 stars

Ha! I like Richie's guitar analogy about the voices we're all given. Wow, I LOVE your voice, Spaghetti/Manzzy/Kate - whoever you are! :) but I don't know enough about music to offer a pro critique. I think I might agree with StevieB regarding diction. Early in this clip, I may have heard just a tiny bit of what sounded to me like careful articulation. I do that myself, without realizing it sometimes. I'm not a singer, just a voice actor. But occasionally when I'm working with some types of copy I find myself 'editing' my delivery, trying too hard to enunciate. (There was a time when VO peeps were expected to voice that way - with announcer-like precision. But those days are gone, and now overly articulate VO is often considered fake-sounding. Clients want natural, 'real' sounding voices these days). But maybe things are totally different in the singing world. It occurred to me though: the singers I enjoy the most never seem to make me think of their articulation even for a second, so maybe there's "a fine, fine line..." (Yeah, I listened to all your other clips on your Manzzy page!) between an articulate and a natural delivery when singing? Anyway, that's the only tiny con I experienced when listening to this. But there were TONS of pros. I think you've got a terrific career ahead of you. If you're ever performing in the Los Angeles area, let us know.
 
I have nothing new in the way of opinion here. . . In good agreement with what's been said, but I just happened to hear The Pretenders "Talk of the Town" and I thought of this thread. . . There's a particular comfort and ease to Chrissy Hynde's vocal style on that tune. . Even if some words are unintelligable, through the verses she sounds like she's really enjoying herself, with a freedom to move about, and a confidence to just roll along. . . Maybe I'm just rambling now, but it just struck me as a good example of style and comfort over enunciation. . .
(Did that make any sense ?)
 
Sounded beautiful. My only suggestion would be to work on some breathing exercises, a little choppy a poionts with your breathing
 
Pretty is the word that I would use...

Sweet tone, strong vibrato, innocent errors. I would like to hear an original if possible. :o
 
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