You Make Me Want To Change

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Hi

Just finished this song. Topic is the title.

Just want some initial feedback before proceeding. Have not shown it to anyone yet, so anything you got to say is useful.

The mix, the song, the performance, the lyrics... comments, suggestions, critiques... anything you say will be useful.

Thanks.

Song is at...
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=1509&alid=-1
 
Dude, when the music kicks in...about 1:00, very nice sounds. Begginning vocals are different, but actually seem to fit. Vocals seem a bit loud with the music now. If that's what you went for, cool, otherwise, maybe drop them down just a little to make them sit within the music. Great tones on the drums, and guitars. That kick sound makes this tune have a great feel. Tons of dynamics. All in all, I'd say nice work. Has a cool, yet quirky feel at times. Very different, but not so weird that I wouldn't listen again. Nice..
Ed
 
Dogman said:
Dude, when the music kicks in...about 1:00, very nice sounds. Begginning vocals are different, but actually seem to fit. Vocals seem a bit loud with the music now. If that's what you went for, cool, otherwise, maybe drop them down just a little to make them sit within the music. Great tones on the drums, and guitars. That kick sound makes this tune have a great feel. Tons of dynamics. All in all, I'd say nice work. Has a cool, yet quirky feel at times. Very different, but not so weird that I wouldn't listen again. Nice..
Ed
Click to expand...

hey mate

thanks for the comments. i started this song a long time ago, got shelved, then finished it recently. and i actually wrote it whilst recording it chronologically. so i would just write one bit, record it, then write the next part...

so i think that's kind of why everything sounds a little different. although i did double the vocals in the second verse, i was singing a little higher and i felt my voice was too thin. i did end up putting the vocals down a DB after your comments too.

just some questions for people... what do u think of the start of the second verse, namely the falsetto "ooohhhh" thing in 1:37? i'm not sure whether i should include it in or not, i really wanted something like that, but i'm not sure if it turned out right.

also, end sequence at 3:38, what do u think of that? especially the back up vocals, i like it how the song just changes but i'm not sure if it's appropriate.

Thank
 
The music doesn't sound bad... I would rather hear it without the vocals...

I think the vocal presentation lacks a lot in my opinion... the way words are said etc. Are just not appealing to me... the way the person sings to the song is just not appealing to me...

there are certain parts that I would change but the instruments sound pretty good and well placed for the most part. At 3:34 min you say "you make me wanna change" more steady and normal. Stick to that style... then right after that you change your voice and pronounciation and it just sounds stupid to me...

sorry if that sounds harsh... i would work on a more smooth presentation with your words and no so many sudden highs with twisting your words...

recording sounds good... instruments sound good. mixing sounds pretty good or the instruments but i dunno about some parts of the vocals.

take care.

dont mean to be rude. just my opinion.

;)
 
Unique sounding vocals for sure .....like the spacy sounding instrumentation when the whole band kicks in.I really like the drum sound your getting on this.Guitar goes from sounding real dark to real bright...quite a contrast.One of those songs that kinda grow on you.After a while the vocals seemed to take on a weird Dylan vibe to my ears.Cool.
 
ThaArtist said:
The music doesn't sound bad... I would rather hear it without the vocals...

I think the vocal presentation lacks a lot in my opinion... the way words are said etc. Are just not appealing to me... the way the person sings to the song is just not appealing to me...

there are certain parts that I would change but the instruments sound pretty good and well placed for the most part. At 3:34 min you say "you make me wanna change" more steady and normal. Stick to that style... then right after that you change your voice and pronounciation and it just sounds stupid to me...

sorry if that sounds harsh... i would work on a more smooth presentation with your words and no so many sudden highs with twisting your words...

recording sounds good... instruments sound good. mixing sounds pretty good or the instruments but i dunno about some parts of the vocals.

take care.

dont mean to be rude. just my opinion.

;)
Click to expand...



nah nah nah, you're not rude at all... that's exactly the type of stuff i need to know.

i think my vocals are definately one of the weakest parts of my songs. i love to sing but i don't have a good voice. i've improved over the years, but i'm untrained, and yeah, i have problems with pronounication. this song is actually probably a little high for me too, so there's been bits i've had to strain.

regarding after 3:34, at first, i was going to end the song there, but then i thought it would just be so cliched (that the word?). i thought the song's structure was pretty weird anyway, so i might as well just end it on a totally different mood.

it's sort of been the theme of the song, just trying to change the texture all the time...

but yeah, i'm really not sure about the end sequence. in particular, the back up vocals... i want SOMETHING like it, but i'm not sure if what i've got is what i want... what does everyone else think of the bit after 3:34?
 
Hi

just wondering, has anyone else gotten anything else to say about this track? Or anyone agree or disagree with the input i've put in so far?

Sorry for bumping it, i've really appreciated the input i've got so far. i really kind of want to put the lid on this song, and start on the next. so i just want to make sure it's good enough to stay as is... even if it may not be perfect...

as a side note, i've actually put a new version up for the song... incorporating some minor changes that were suggested by the feedback. like putting the vocals down a tad, and a few other changes here and there...

any other feedback would be wonderful.
thanks
 
Neat music.

I think the intro would benifit from a softer/less puncuated vocal style there. The way you sing it there it just sounds like there needs to be more music with it to compliment. Like around the 2:21 section the harsher vocals sound good with the more intense music. So my recommondation would be to try just adjusting the intesity/softness of the vocals with the music.

That effect you have going at 1:00 and other parts sounds great.

That 3:19 part is cool too. Overall the structure of the song feels pretty wild, I like that in songs. Keeps things real interesting ;)
 
SnakeDog5050 said:
Neat music.

I think the intro would benifit from a softer/less puncuated vocal style there. The way you sing it there it just sounds like there needs to be more music with it to compliment. Like around the 2:21 section the harsher vocals sound good with the more intense music. So my recommondation would be to try just adjusting the intesity/softness of the vocals with the music.

That effect you have going at 1:00 and other parts sounds great.

That 3:19 part is cool too. Overall the structure of the song feels pretty wild, I like that in songs. Keeps things real interesting ;)
Click to expand...


hi i think the general consensus here is that music is good, vocals are not.

so i'm thinking this track isn't finished yet, i might re-do at lesat some of the vocals. at least the first verse, maybe the second one too.

i'm not sure how much better i can do though... cause i think that's just how i sing...

hey has anyone noticed that media player doesn't keep time probably???? what's with that? i'm trying to find which sections you're talking about, and it saids my track goes for a lot longer then it actually is!
 
sandwiches said:
hi i think the general consensus here is that music is good, vocals are not.

so i'm thinking this track isn't finished yet, i might re-do at lesat some of the vocals. at least the first verse, maybe the second one too.

i'm not sure how much better i can do though... cause i think that's just how i sing...

hey has anyone noticed that media player doesn't keep time probably???? what's with that? i'm trying to find which sections you're talking about, and it saids my track goes for a lot longer then it actually is!
Click to expand...

Yeah it's weird, I was looking for that 3:34 section you were asking about, but then the song ends at 3:33 on my player, so I thought I was listening to the wrong song.

I personally wasn't saying the vocals were bad. I was suggesting you should try singing a lot softer at first and build up as the music builds up. You sing softer later in the song (after the electric part)... so I know you can do it :p

Peace
 
Interesting musically. Lots of little twists and turns. Everybody's already mentioned the vocals, and I agree that they are weak and pitch control is an issue. The drums are a little hot and distorting in my speakers. Some cool lyrics in there.
 
Hi Everyone...

well i took people's advice and decided to re-do some of the vocals - just the way i sang it. i think the main problem was with the opening verse, so i redid most of that. i also added some reverb to it cause i thought my voice sounded too dry and thin.

it took ages, and i'm really, really unsure how it sounds, cause i have'nt really sang like that before. i think it's either going to work or it's going to be completely shit.

so could people please have a listen to the new version and tell me what you think...

the old version is version 3, whilst the new one is version 4.

thanks...
 
Much better mix. The voclas seem to fit within the song now, not ride so much on top. Vocal delivery is different, yet seems to fit the tune. Also, some very good, clean sounds in there. The stuff at about 3:30 really threw me off. Added something very unique.
All in all, much better. Don't know as I have any specific recommendations for you. Cool twists and turns, and the sounds are put together well.
Ed
 
Everyone seems to focus in on the vocal. So did I. :)

Vocals have a little thin sound - lacking low mids. They're a little pitchy in spots. They're also very dry compared to the other tracks. Some delay or reverb might help. I think it would help if you double tracked them - provided you could get the performances in sync.

The clean rhythm guitar is very heavy in the low mids. It sounds muffled and doesn't have much detail.

I liked the kick in at about 1:00 beause the guitars sounded much better. However I don't think that particular guitar sound fit the feel of this song.

Timing issues in the guitars around 1:10

Little pop at 1:56.

I didn't care for the weird background vocal panning at 3:41. A small timing problem on one of them.
 
Dogman said:
Much better mix. The voclas seem to fit within the song now, not ride so much on top. Vocal delivery is different, yet seems to fit the tune. Also, some very good, clean sounds in there. The stuff at about 3:30 really threw me off. Added something very unique.
All in all, much better. Don't know as I have any specific recommendations for you. Cool twists and turns, and the sounds are put together well.
Ed
Click to expand...

hey mate.

thank you for the response. i think the test now will be the vocal delivery. the main advice i got from people were that i sounded very sharp, so i've tried singing softer, but now i feel it's in danger of sounding thin and shaky...
 
sandwiches said:
hey mate.

thank you for the response. i think the test now will be the vocal delivery. the main advice i got from people were that i sounded very sharp, so i've tried singing softer, but now i feel it's in danger of sounding thin and shaky...
Click to expand...
While I'm no singer, I think what you might try, is just to relax. See what the vocals sound like without really singing them. Try and be as natural as possible, and see what happens. Then you might try and add some soul, or whatever you wish to call it. Find the recent post by Scrubs. I think he called it a love song or something. Listen to his vocals. He just sounds very relaxed, like it's no big deal. Very natural, and even. Might help.
Ed
Here's the thread... https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=171673
 
TripleM said:
Everyone seems to focus in on the vocal. So did I. :)

Vocals have a little thin sound - lacking low mids. They're a little pitchy in spots. They're also very dry compared to the other tracks. Some delay or reverb might help. I think it would help if you double tracked them - provided you could get the performances in sync.

The clean rhythm guitar is very heavy in the low mids. It sounds muffled and doesn't have much detail.

I liked the kick in at about 1:00 beause the guitars sounded much better. However I don't think that particular guitar sound fit the feel of this song.

Timing issues in the guitars around 1:10

Little pop at 1:56.

I didn't care for the weird background vocal panning at 3:41. A small timing problem on one of them.
Click to expand...


Hi thanks for the response.

Sorry but i couldn't pick out the timing issues or the little pop... are u listening to it in Media Player? I ask because for some reason, media player seems to display the wrong times for songs...

Yeah, the vocals ARE definately the main concern in the song, and i'm really eager to hear opinions on that...

i just don't know what to do with it... i'm not a big fan of delay. putting a delay of about 10ms i find sometimes thickens the voice, but i dunno, it never sounds right for some reason for me... i think double tracking it may help, and i just may try it, but it would have to be subtle.

yeah im trying to figure out what to do about that background vocal thing... no one's really liked them, but i want to keep them because i think it's a great way to make the song end differently...

so yeah... not sure... maybe i should re-do them...
 
Dogman said:
While I'm no singer, I think what you might try, is just to relax. See what the vocals sound like without really singing them. Try and be as natural as possible, and see what happens. Then you might try and add some soul, or whatever you wish to call it. Find the recent post by Scrubs. I think he called it a love song or something. Listen to his vocals. He just sounds very relaxed, like it's no big deal. Very natural, and even. Might help.
Ed
Here's the thread... https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=171673
Click to expand...

Hi

well as you could probably tell, im not much of a singer either! i do try to relax and breathe deeply, but i guess its a combination of a lack of proper training and the song being a bit too high for me. i just can't help tensing up. the best solution obviously is to get a singing teacher but i can't afford that :(

i don't know why i keep writing songs that are too high for me. i will make a conceded effort in future to write within my capacity. cause even though i can reach the notes, its very hard for me to make the note solid...
 
On the delay... go as high as 20ms or even a nudge higher. But keep the delayed signal low enough so that it's not noticable. Maybe you've kept the delayed too wet and that's why you're not liking it. Some delays have a low pass or high rolloff filter. Use that to cut the highs of the delayed signal. You can roll off everything above 3K and have it sit much better. A subtle, semi-dark, delay can do wonders. But yeah I think you need to retrack first.

I listened on Winamp. I'm not sure where the time markers are in your playback system, but I'm positive the pop and timing problems are there.
 
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