Vocal Critique Needed

T

tsitalon1

New member
Hey guys,

I have only been serious about singing for 8 months. I've always enjoyed singing in the car, shower, etc, but now I am actually using Protools and some decent HW.

Can you guys critique my vocals and mix?

My input chain is:

AKG perception 200 mic
Presonus TubePre
Mbox mini2

Here is my song:

sites.google.com/site/tsitalon1/Home/file-access/03Smooth.mp3?attredirects=0
 
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This is a pretty subjective post, so I'll give my subjective input, and I'm not a singer, so take from this what you want.

You're intonation is good. Maybe 1 or 2 spots that didn't hit the not dead on, but the same could be said for every song ever sung.

As for style, I like the original better, naturally. Your voice doesn't seem to have any rasp to it, even on the louder parts. While this is fine for some styles of music, I don't think it suits this song well.

I also feel that the words were pronounced a too clearly. Again, I think it works for some styles, but not really this one. For example, pronouncing crying as cry-ing in stead of cryin'.

Again, I'm no vocalator myself, but those were my thoughts.
 
Thanks for your critique, How does the tone sound overall? I am not sure I can exactly match the original tone as I am not Rob Thomas.

I am really trying to work on my vocal tone/pitch and mixing skills

bozmillar said:
This is a pretty subjective post, so I'll give my subjective input, and I'm not a singer, so take from this what you want.

You're intonation is good. Maybe 1 or 2 spots that didn't hit the not dead on, but the same could be said for every song ever sung.

As for style, I like the original better, naturally. Your voice doesn't seem to have any rasp to it, even on the louder parts. While this is fine for some styles of music, I don't think it suits this song well.

I also feel that the words were pronounced a too clearly. Again, I think it works for some styles, but not really this one. For example, pronouncing crying as cry-ing in stead of cryin'.

Again, I'm no vocalator myself, but those were my thoughts.
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eh...i'm not trying to be offensive, but it's bad karaoke and whatever effect you're using on your voice i'm not sure is helping. keep working on it man.
 
One of the problems with doing a popular cover is you're going to be compared to the original. And, yeah, chances are you're going to come up short. If you aren't bringing something new and exciting to a cover, or not doing it extremely well, it's not going to come off good.

To me, the singing feels mechanical with little emotion. Probably not the best song to fit your voice, either. You hit the notes okay, but there's a lot more to singing than that.

On mixing, where did you get the tracks to the song? Are they midi downloads?? I think the vocals stand too far out in front and should blend into the mix more.

I'm willing to bet, if you put up some original tsitalon1 music, you'll get some better critiques. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

Peace,
 
I appreciate all the comments, I do not know how to play any instuments, so for now I am limited to covers.

I will try to post other styles so you can gauge emotion and tone.

As far as where I get the tracks, the majority of them were purchased as instrumental or karaoke versions from Itunes.

I have only been trying to better my vocals for 8 months on my own. I cannot find a vocal coach in the area. I will continue to practice and post some more stuff soon.

Thanks for allowing me a place to obtain an honest critique.



Chili said:
One of the problems with doing a popular cover is you're going to be compared to the original. And, yeah, chances are you're going to come up short. If you aren't bringing something new and exciting to a cover, or not doing it extremely well, it's not going to come off good.

To me, the singing feels mechanical with little emotion. Probably not the best song to fit your voice, either. You hit the notes okay, but there's a lot more to singing than that.

On mixing, where did you get the tracks to the song? Are they midi downloads?? I think the vocals stand too far out in front and should blend into the mix more.

I'm willing to bet, if you put up some original tsitalon1 music, you'll get some better critiques. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

Peace,
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All karaoke tracks are bad. So what? It's a great way to practice. I don't think he plans on making a CD and trying to sell versions of himself singing other songs.

I would say that if you want to get better, keep doing what you are doing. Sing to karaoke songs, record them, post them up here, and we'll tell you what we think.

I spent a couple years in Brazil and I had to learn portugues. One of the best ways to learn was to talk to little kids. If they laugh at you, you know you need to work on it. If got offended every time I got laughed at, I would have never learned to speak the language.

I think the same goes for singing. You have to put yourself out there and let people laugh at you. Instead of getting offended, take what people say to you as something to work on.

That said, I think your voice is pretty good. You have good intonation, but as mentioned before, I think you show very little emotion in this song. I also think it sounds pretty mechanical. I think you have a lot of work ahead of you, but you're well on your way. My .002 cents.
 
I truely appreciate your comments and I believe you guys are right. Some tracks I perform do feel mechanical because I am so worried about intonation and tone.

Again, I have only been recording for 8 months, I have come a LONG way since I started trust me :) I believe that once I feel comfortable with my tone/intonation, the emotion will come.

I do have some tracks where there is ton's of emotion, but the intonation and vocal control are all over the place.

I also know that using karaoke tracks are laughed at...buy hey guys, I don't play any instruments. I will pick up a drum pad soon and I do have a midi keyboard, I just gotta learn to play it :)

Laugh at me, it's ok, but please be honest in your critiques as that's how I learn. I will post some more soon.



bozmillar said:
All karaoke tracks are bad. So what? It's a great way to practice. I don't think he plans on making a CD and trying to sell versions of himself singing other songs.

I would say that if you want to get better, keep doing what you are doing. Sing to karaoke songs, record them, post them up here, and we'll tell you what we think.

I spent a couple years in Brazil and I had to learn portugues. One of the best ways to learn was to talk to little kids. If they laugh at you, you know you need to work on it. If got offended every time I got laughed at, I would have never learned to speak the language.

I think the same goes for singing. You have to put yourself out there and let people laugh at you. Instead of getting offended, take what people say to you as something to work on.

That said, I think your voice is pretty good. You have good intonation, but as mentioned before, I think you show very little emotion in this song. I also think it sounds pretty mechanical. I think you have a lot of work ahead of you, but you're well on your way. My .002 cents.
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Hi Tsitalon1 - Thanks for posting your voice and allowing us to listen to it. As a vocal instructor and singer myself, here's what feedback and advice I would have for you.

You have a nice natural tone to your voice. You're one step up from a lot of singers because that's something you already seem to naturally have. When you get a little higher in your range, that tone gets a little thinner. I would work on strengthening your upper range so you can sing songs with more range to them without losing that nice vocal sound.

Intonation was off here and there, but that can be easily worked on. To me, your vocal styling was a little choppy instead of smooth (no pun intended). Try holding some notes a little longer and work on your phrasing. Try to make songs your own, even if they are cover tunes. Find your own style through commonly sung tunes.

Also, try to use your emotion when singing. My feeling behind your vocals was that they were a bit one dimensional. If singing with emotion is difficult for you, try things like deliberately singing louder and softer in appropriate sections for some variances in sound....that should get you in the right direction.

Hope this helps and good luck to you!

Jen
 
Something else I meant to mention is to try to hook up with musicians in your area. There are lots of people who write music and are looking for singers/collaborators to help them.

btw: Good advice, Jen!!

Cheers,
 
Jen, Thank you for your positive comments. I actually do not like my tone. I have found that I can produce several diffent tones, and the one I like the best (breathy) is VERY difficult ot maintain. I do know that the breathy tone is not preferred, but it *sounds* best *to me* LOL

That song was definately not my best sung song. I posted it becuase I believe it to be the best mixed song utilizing reverb and delay to achieve space and depth.

I am working on a few others that might provide a more complete picture of my strengths and weaknesses. I'll have them posted shortly. Unfortuantely finding time to record has proved very difficult with an IT career, and two kids:(

I find the time when I can and sometimes record with a 3 year old storming into the room asking for cookies :)

I have located a vocal coach that I am yet to meet. I will try a few sessions and see how that goes, while I know not to expect results in the first few weeks, I do want to ensure we work well together before I commit to her weekly charges.

I also want to thank everyone who listens to my songs and provides feedback. I know this can be embarassing for me, but I believe it to be the best way for me to learn.

While I do want to learn to play instruments and create music, right now I am concentrating purely on my vocals as that is what I enjoy doing.


Chili, I may try to find some bands/groups in my area, but it may be some time before I feel confident enough to perform live:)




lga5824 said:
Hi Tsitalon1 - Thanks for posting your voice and allowing us to listen to it. As a vocal instructor and singer myself, here's what feedback and advice I would have for you.

You have a nice natural tone to your voice. You're one step up from a lot of singers because that's something you already seem to naturally have. When you get a little higher in your range, that tone gets a little thinner. I would work on strengthening your upper range so you can sing songs with more range to them without losing that nice vocal sound.

Intonation was off here and there, but that can be easily worked on. To me, your vocal styling was a little choppy instead of smooth (no pun intended). Try holding some notes a little longer and work on your phrasing. Try to make songs your own, even if they are cover tunes. Find your own style through commonly sung tunes.

Also, try to use your emotion when singing. My feeling behind your vocals was that they were a bit one dimensional. If singing with emotion is difficult for you, try things like deliberately singing louder and softer in appropriate sections for some variances in sound....that should get you in the right direction.

Hope this helps and good luck to you!

Jen
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Cannot access the link you posted - can you post a link we can just click on that takes us to the song? :confused:
 
tsitalon1 said:
Hey guys,
I have only been serious about singing for 8 months. I've always enjoyed singing in the car, shower, etc, but now I am actually using Protools and some decent HW.
Click to expand...
So far so good... You have developed some stability in your vocals and your tone is pretty good. You still need some pitch work, as you stray occasionally. As long as YOU can hear where you're off then you've got half the battle won. The rest is practice, practice, practice. You could use some more vibrato as that adds some nice tastiness to your songs... Keep up the good work and keep posting here when you have more songs recorded....
 
ido1957 said:
So far so good... You have developed some stability in your vocals and your tone is pretty good. You still need some pitch work, as you stray occasionally. As long as YOU can hear where you're off then you've got half the battle won. The rest is practice, practice, practice. You could use some more vibrato as that adds some nice tastiness to your songs... Keep up the good work and keep posting here when you have more songs recorded....
Click to expand...


Will do, thanks for the comments, I do have several covers I've done with alot of vibrato...especially EASY by Lionel Richie :)

On the intonation, I do hear where I'm off, though usually it "feels" right as I'm signing. I do hear it afterwards during the review. I have contacted a vocal coach to help me a bit.
 
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