Sadly, many artists that rely on melodyne and such technology are able to bring it on the road with them, and have their vocals autocorrected on the fly as an insert to the sound console. The audience would never know that they are listening to a corrected digital clone of the live vocal. The latency of the processing is nothing compared to the latency of the speed of sound in a large arena. It would appear to be the actual live vocal.
In reality, we all sing just a skoshe out of tune, but there is a tolerance of a couple of cents that is essentially indistinguishable. Beyond that threshold, it can begin to become painful for some to listen to.
@stratman thanks brutha!!! I pull a little chest voice up even to those high notes. I dont like singing head voice only like Prince does.
Thanks so much highmtn, I thought about your post closely. I think it would be good for me to do more clean songs for covers (maybe less for originals since I like heavy rock) so I figured I would start now. Had to give this song a go, Cream's White Room:
Nice job, @everdrone! You even did the parts that were originally done in head voice in chest.
Thanks friend, I really appreciate it! I slipped up today and did a distortion song. only in 2 takes so I am on to bigger and better things with nondistortion songs, Im thinking the Doors people are strange or something next with no distortion in the original recording. its challenging to do a song that has distortion in the recording and then not put distortion in it when I sing it cause I love my distortion blankie lol
I listened to your distortion Sweet Child cover. Nice man, I can hear great improvement from the last time I listened to your voice. I don't know if this is because of recording latency, but your voice actually sounds a bit rushed in comparison to the instruments. In my opinion, a little tempo swing where you lay back on the beat would go a long way. You generally start a phrase at a good time, but the phrase itself is going a little faster than the rest of the song.
Thanks @blondiewales , thanks so much for the listen. I am glad you think you hear great improvement in my singing! Matter of factly speaking, all my singing recordings I have ever done, I never did more than a couple takes (less than 5 takes). I never memorized the lyrics or any timing. so I appreciate your comment and will take it into consideration to actually spend time on learning a song like normal singers do lol I do not think it is latency cause I have a fast new computer and do not run any plugins when I record.
Thanks for the listen and feedback, Im glad you liked it! Cheers
Thanks Bob, that was a one take recording(with added reverb) I did, before I purchased KTVA (about a year ago). I recorded myself right now and compared it to this video...Big difference in tone. Sounds more full and less scrawny(who needs reverb!?). Feel free to critique or give any creative advice.
DUDE, you KILLED this tune! You could put together a Ray Davies tribute band and just nail it. I like that you came out of your usual Rock box and just slayed this really different style.
DUDE, you KILLED this tune! You could put together a Ray Davies tribute band and just nail it. I like that you came out of your usual Rock box and just slayed this really different style.
man that Bandhub hates my laptop! it almost always freezes and does not upload after I record. Ill have to try my desktop since its a faster computer, but now I gotta buy the webcam for the desktop lol
Nice job, @stratman. On some of the high notes, they sound just a skoshe underpitch. These are the notes where Ken wants us to "come in from behind and drop down into them." It's much harder to reach up to difficult high notes, as opposed to dropping down onto them. Of course, as always, these same notes will need the usual ton of support to help make them come out easier.
You might want to experiment with that concept a little bit and see if it works for you. You really are starting to sound pretty good. I'm just tossing something out for your consideration.
SONG TITLE IS: CONTEMPLATING THE VASTNESS OF SPACE
Contemplating The vastness of space Destroyers seeking out, lasers beaming through our minds Im falling out, beyond my dreams Death ray pointed at me, blinding light pierces through the veil Im tripping out, slipping into oblivion
A sound of lightning, The high priest the coming Im levitating, truth unraveling A cloud of smoke, light form beings arrive Welcome presence, intake erase
Given gifts of light, given all the eyes can see Seven flying tigers find the key
Contemplating The vastness of space Im Counting down Vanish without a trace DESTROYERS MIND ERASE
@everdrone loving the tune. You have out done yourself. Your work on your clear buzz. Has made your distortion sound awsome. Really enjoying it. Keep it up dude.
I'm beginning to feel more comfortable with my higher notes. I always struggled with bridge in this song until a couple of weeks ago. My full range is getting much easier to control .. still a way to go with pitch ... working on it
Before KTVA, I could not reach the D4's when doing Hey Hey, My My in this relatively low key. (Actually, I sounded crap in any key ). I would be shouting a C#4 or D4 so badly that it was painful. I feel so much more control after doing this.
I am so thankful for the material Ken has created in his course. I've finally found a teacher that knows what he's doing. @highmtn please pass on my thanks.
The story doesn't end there!
I can get all the way to A4 now with a reasonably full sound
@KevinGrem I think @highmtn will need to confirm legality because l can't see how you could get critiqued on progress without recording yourself singing the scales.
You do not have the right to post or publish any of Ken's entire workouts publicly on YouTube or anywhere else. Reasonable excerpts are allowed for posting on the KTVA forums for vocal critiques. KTVA reserves the right to limit or require to be removed any copyrighted KTVA materials posted publicly.
No one has ever been asked to remove a Basic Lah scale or an EE scale, or a reasonable focused evaluation.
Someone was asked to remove a posting of the entire Volume 3 workout from YouTube.
We don't need to hear an entire Volume 1, 2, or 3 workout to give you vocal advice and help you on your way. Most of the time, the basic Lah scale will do, or if it's another vowel giving you problems, then that basic scale should suffice. The moderators know what to listen for and we can focus on what you need to adjust by hearing you on a few short, standard exercises, rather than entire KTVA volumes.
Use good discretion and enjoy a great, helpful environment for singers.
Here's a cover from "What's up - 4 Non Blondes" we did with our band. It was a bit more than half a year ago and at that point I hadn't started with the KTVA program yet.
I'd just like to know what you think of my singing voice, what I should improve etc. Any feedback is very welcome!!
You probably want to get a little more timbre into your voice, and possibly slow down the vibrato just a bit. You have a wide range, from low to high, good pitch. A little more breath support will give you a bit more tone and stability.
@overdriveisclassy that radiohead was awesome! My favorite of yours so far. what are you using to capture the acoustic guitar tones? It sounds huge! great stuff man.
I was wondering what you thought of other people's clips in this forum as well.
Thank you Bob ! I am amazed of how good Ken's method work, I can litteraly see the progress each week !! But still, it's hard to sustain the notes above F# in full chest (well, I shed weight when I ascend but huuu... it's so hard !)
@KevinGrem Sounds good. You seem to be using good support, everything sounds within your range. It's a little odd to watch, because the video is about 2 seconds ahead of the audio.
Stay on that trajectory, Kevin. It takes time for the voice to mature into more advanced places, but when things start falling into place for you, it keeps on going and going. Don't lose patience or faith, and you will be amazed, seriously. Think about this in a few years, and you'll look back on this time and be very pleased with what has happened to your voice as time goes by.
Just be careful that you don't oversing. That will set you back. Steady improvement will happen if you can avoid the setbacks by cutting back the air and supporting well.
https://youtu.be/5GBoM3G9tds Hi, everyone, Im on the first stage of Ken's DvD's Can you also comment on my accent, what is odd to you ears) thank you all)
Sounds pretty good. As to the accent, it's not that thick, so I wouldn't worry much about it. What I would recommend is that when you sing lyrics, you try to minimize the consonants. You should graze over the consonants very lightly and focus more on the vowels themselves.
Been wanting to sing this song for years. Many of you are unlikely to have heard the guy who sings this but he's worth checking out ... Greg X Volz of the Christian band Petra.
Btw. Got some in-ear monitors. Really worth the investment. I notice they help reduce my tendency to shout to hear myself. Turned up loud enough I can sing very softly focussing on holding back the air.
I did some recording again. This time I tried to be more sensitive, emotional in this amazing ballad from Queen: Save me. The other one is Rosanna by Toto. Before KTVA I had no idea that this band had so many great songs like Hold The Line, Africa, Only The Children.... thanks for the recommendation!
@Semi, Maybe "Lights" by Journey? Possibly "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson? Either one of those or anything like them would be a big challenge, and hard to accomplish, but I think they would help you to grow your voice. You've been doing some very brave and difficult songs lately.
Funny thing is that "Lights" was the very first song by Journey I`ve tried to sing, but hit the wall really hard because at that time I had no stamina and still used those big, almost covered vowel sounds I used in bel canto. I think it`s time to revisit the song. I always wanted to sing something from Michael Jackson! Today I tried to sing "I Wish" from Stevie Wonder and had another AHA moment. Trying to emulate his effortless sound I realized that I need to lower my volume, add as much brightness-mask into the sound as possible and open my vowels even more. I was shocked how easy it suddenly became! I think I will use this approach in "Billie Jean" and "Man In The Mirror".
@everdrone just listened to Red Mountain. For the first time. Sounded great! YOUR SOUND is clearing up nicely sorry I had to laugh when I saw sub titles. I could hear you word for word. Everytime you post something you can tell you work hard practicing you put all you got into what you do. Keep it up. Your killing it. To bad you don't live down the street. I'd call the cops tell them to have you turn up the volume. Steve
@quentinb I have found from the time I have been here on this forum. The people who put in the time and do the course. Get a really good start but like me a lot of people end up in the diaphragmatic support area. Then it all gets lost in frustration. But the ones who keep at it past the frustrations begin to get "ah ha!" Moments. (Frustration = time for you muscles to grow and become ready for the next step). Then there's the people who keep going practicing and practicing. Those are the people I have seen shine.
You can grow. just take the time and go the distance past the time where you want to give up. And there are are people here that can help you grow by you posting the wonderful lah exercise. Or just record yourself everything you practice and listen for your voice to grow on a daily at first then weekly - monthly pace. All depends on what you put into your own training. YOU WILL GET THERE DON'T GIVE UP!
@everdrone just listened to Red Mountain. For the first time. Sounded great! YOUR SOUND is clearing up nicely sorry I had to laugh when I saw sub titles. I could hear you word for word. Everytime you post something you can tell you work hard practicing you put all you got into what you do. Keep it up. Your killing it.
To bad you don't live down the street. I'd call the cops tell them to have you turn up the volume.
Steve
@SteveK thanks brutha!!!!! Im glad you dig, thanks for the listen!!!
That would be cool - tell the cops turn IT UP!!1
Thanks man, I am reworking things, still put in 1+ hour a day for the last 1.5 years. my diaphram stomach muscles are sore every day in a good way after workouts, so I gotta eat right and do cardio. Its all about focusing every second on the singing while singing. Im prolly not gonna do as much distortion, I need to rework it and tweak it more before I break it out again. Im gonna start a youtube channel for my covers.
Keep rockin brutha! look forward to hearing your jams
@quentinb I have found from the time I have been here on this forum. The people who put in the time and do the course. Get a really good start but like me a lot of people end up in the diaphragmatic support area. Then it all gets lost in frustration. But the ones who keep at it past the frustrations begin to get "ah ha!" Moments. (Frustration = time for you muscles to grow and become ready for the next step). Then there's the people who keep going practicing and practicing. Those are the people I have seen shine.
You can grow. just take the time and go the distance past the time where you want to give up. And there are are people here that can help you grow by you posting the wonderful lah exercise. Or just record yourself everything you practice and listen for your voice to grow on a daily at first then weekly - monthly pace. All depends on what you put into your own training.
YOU WILL GET THERE DON'T GIVE UP!
Steve
Well said! I'm definitely pushing, I've been practicing daily and things are rough. I've mentioned it before but when I say Ah it's the lah! I can see the back of my throat doing what it's supposed to do. But when I do the vocal exercises it's hard to use those muscles to open and close at will. Probably something that happens over time, but point is I'm putting it the work now
ya put in the work. do the level 1 for a long time, make sure your stomach and diaphram feels like its weightlifting, ONE LAST REP!
you should see Ken Tamplin's stomach. he showed it on skype. ITS AN INHUMAN ABDOMINALS! his abs dont look anything like an aesthetic weightlifter's abs. They have no fat and look like there are bullet holes in between each abdominal, super cut up and weird muscle development.
YOU GOTTA GO ALL OUT, INHUMAN, ONE LAST REP!!!! that fuels all the rest, all the finessing.
Well Stratman, in your case, I think a little change in mindset and attitude could really make a huge difference to your method of delivery. You're singing a heavy rock song (sweet child of mine) but you really don't give off the vibe people would expect when listening to that style. You sound timid, and a lot of your notes falter instead of holding them with rock solid pitch.
It's good that you're holding back air and not straining. That's always a good start. You can't do any damage that way. But I think when it comes to singing hard rock and heavy metal, if you want to develop the right tone of voice for it, you need to start with the right attitude. I mean, that's how I started. The attitude is all about kicking ass and causing destruction. That's the mindset you need.
In your case, the first suggestion would be to figure out how to deliver perfect pitch, first of all. That starts with the ears actually. I think you have the melodies down but the pitch isn't totally on. Then what you should do is spend a lot of time listening to your tone of voice and then use your ears to try to decide how to make it sound different. In my case I started singing with good melody but my tone was bad, so I just started recording myself and listening to my tone real closely enough times until I developed a better one.
@KevinGrem, thanks for asking stratman before you gave him your honest opinions on his voice. And @stratman, thanks for being willing to take some lumps to help others read and hear what might be helpful for you, so that they can learn from that.
Just to let folks know, this thread does allow critical comments to be made, although any form of meanness will not be tolerated. Frankness, on the other hand, is fine.
Anybody who wants to be spared the "critical" scalpel should post in the other demo thread "Demo Area for Newbies". That thread is a haven for those who are fearful that someone might tell them they sound awful, even if you do need a lot of work on your voice.
To clarify, over there we won't tell you that you sound great if you don't, but we'll be a little more diplomatic about it in that other thread, just to keep newbies or others who are afraid of bombing out in public from being too frightened to post. We won't bite there. Here, we might nip you a little bit, but it's all in the interest of being real and helping you to improve. Once you get past the Fear Factor of posting in the first place, you'll know that you survived it, and will feel better about doing continued, periodic posts.
Bullies aren't allowed anywhere on this forum. Period.
There are other forums where you can have your fill of that.
As you correctly point out, I've got a lot to work on. I know my singing is not of a quality suitable for general consumption . My wife and kids certainly don't hold back on their opinions ... "Dad, that sucks!" ... "just stick to playing guitar, you're good at that" ... "you're embarrassing me ... the neighbors can hear you".
You might not believe this but I'm better than what I was. I'm almost 2 years doing KTVA. Most of you probably start your first KTVA day singing better than what I've achieved after 2 yrs . I've got 48 years of bad habits to change. It's not been easy, Although my sense of pitch is still similar, I started with very poor cord closure and absolutely no sense of resonance. My timings not great either.
My guitar playing is nothing too exciting but I have had the experience of playing in front of 15,000 people for a 5 hr outdoor New Year's Eve gig in the '90's (not a typo ... that is fifteen thousand) ... all covers but specialising in grunge (big at the time). My band members considered my vocals crap. They all shared lead vocal duty ... I wasn't allowed to do any vocal duty including backing
I started KTVA after I had a bad experience in church. All my adult life, I have played guitar in church. My current church usually has approx. 300 people at Sunday services and the singing part is typically 6 songs sung congregationally (everyone sings). A year prior to starting KTVA, we had a period where we didn't have enough singing leaders. The leader chooses songs for Sunday services and typically gives a strong vocal lead for the whole church to follow. I reluctantly offered to fill the gap.
We sing a broad range of music. At times we do traditional hymns but mostly what's called contemporary Christian worship (google the likes of Chris Tomlin to get an idea). Most songs have their highest notes in the low to mid area my passaggio (C4-E4) and in good keys for guitar that can't be transposed lower without compromising guitar riffs.
It was obvious to all that I struggled but we had no options ... I just had to do it. Thankfully my poor pitch control was quickly covered by the 300 other voices once I started singing the first line of each song. The major problem for me was that I couldn't introduce any new songs (latest songs released by Christian artists).
I started KTVA to help me overcome my C4 roadblock and hopefully sing well enough to introduce new songs. We currently have enough leaders so I've been able to concentrate on guitar duties again. I'm continuing with KTVA because I have made progress and I'm confident that one day I may sing well enough to enjoy a spot on the leader roster.
I post demos seeking advice but also to encourage others that have a roadblock at the C4-D4 area. Even though I don't sound great, the fact that KTVA has helped me sing in my passaggio is an inspiration for others (I've had quite a few people message me about this).
In the last month I have begun to sense resonance in my chest. I can now feel how the vowel mods help maintain that sensation at higher pitches. I'm amazed at how softly I'm applying this but a big sound coming out. Very exciting.
I'm on Christmas break from work and spending a chunk of that time committing Kens workouts to "ultrar deluxe" (look it up). Essentially, the software gives you realtime feedback on vocal accuracy. Once done, I'll post a video here to demo it.
@highmtn Good points. I posted before seeing your response. In one sense, I not a newbie due to length of time doing KTVA but could be considered a newbie in terms of singing journey. Where best to post any demos I do?
You don't have to be a "newbie" to post in that thread, it was just named that to encourage the timid to post without fear of being humiliated. You are welcome to post where you want to. Certainly the Post Your Demos isn't for seasoned pro's only. We're amongst friends here.
Wanted to share with you guys my bands song we released recently after I came back. Lyrics in the youtube description. Hope you like it! Cheers \m/ Artem
As promised, here's a video of putting the exercises in performous. I had originally created slowed down versions of volume 1 dudes piano only exercises. They sounded a bit strange due to stretching. Today I finished adding all of volume 1 at normal speed.
Here's a video of me doing the LAH. It's good that I can see where I'm going wrong. From what I determine, I tend to be late on most notes and not high enough on the top note. I'm pleased that I can see this detail to work on.
@highmtn putting the pitch aside for the moment, could you let me know if you think I'm in chest for the full exercise? cheers Rob
I'm getting a few pm's asking about the software I used. The program is Performous which is the next generation of ultra star deluxe. It is free and you can get thousands of songs free for it if you know where to look eg http://ultrastar-es.org/en
The program is just like PlayStation singstar. Regards getting Ken's exercises into it, I created the files myself from a combo of kens exercises and some midi I added. I then made the txt files that Performous uses to display the notes.
I can make those available only if ken gives permission as they contain his copyrighted material.
I hadn't submitted anything to the forum for critical review on here when I initially joined as I thought it was more for KTVA students already working on the programme, so my apologies if I'm posting inappropriately or anything.
I've been singing since I was about 14 but stopped for quite a while, only really getting back into professional, paid work in the last year or so. Singing in rock and metal bands for years with a bad technique took its toll on my voice, but fortunately I came across Ken's videos on YouTube and basically started again from scratch as a complete newbie.
Prior to that, I'd started posting some vocal covers on YouTube, so I can already look back at those and hear the difference that even the most basic exercises have brought! I wanted to post a few examples of my voice to get some feedback/criticism from yourselves, so please feel free to be as harsh as you want; I'd much rather that than any pussy-footing around as you guys seem to really know your stuff and I trust your opinions based on what I've read on here so far.
I think I'm naturally a baritone, but I'd be interested to hear your take on it as I think it'd help me focus more on the areas I really need to work on to make the most of my instrument.
Here's my vocal cover of "Ore D'amore" by Fred Bongusto (you might know it better as "The World We Knew" from Sinatra's version, or maybe from Mike Patton's Mondo Cane project).
Another, post-Ken's videos cover I did was "Overkill" by Men at Work. I'd approached this with a much cleaner tone that I'd been using for years and had developed more volume control that I'd ever had, thanks to Ken's YT videos.
I'm currently singing in a rock/soul covers band at the moment, so I'd been trying to bring some grit back to my voice on this cover of "Green River" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Unfortunately, and rather stupidly, I was singing at this gig while trying to recover from the 'flu and then do another two 3+ hour shows the following two nights...yes, I'm a total fool. Hahahaha!
Any advice or feedback would be appreciated. I should hopefully be starting a new job at the end of this month after eight months of unemployment and low-paying gigs, so KTVA's at the top of my list of purchases but unfortunately I'm not enrolled or using Ken's programme fully at the moment.
From your low tones you sound like a baritone. Tenors can't quite get that rich of a low-end on their voices. That said, you sound fine on a B4, which is a very respectable note for a baritone. Your tone and pitch are very good. On the scales up on the last verse of overkill, you could support those notes more to keep them from punching so hard. Those would be better if they were finessed and compressed just a bit, to get a little more consistency, but it's a good run of notes.
Thanks Bob, I really appreciate your time and comments. I know what you mean about the support and keeping the notes from punching so hard, it's something I've been continually working on as I was still falling into bad habits like using too much pressure, pushing rather than releasing into it, etc.
I was able to consistently hit and sustain a G5 before I stopped singing full-time, so to know that my B4 sounds anywhere near acceptable is a great boost.
@everdrone definitely agree ... very bright sounding.
@highmtn@bentk I've been working on pitch. I did this at the lowest end of my voice as soft as I dare. I sense the most resonance when soft and that low. This down to E2. I can go down to D2 but can't sustain as good as E2. Does this sound in tune to you guys? @highmtn bright enough?
Nice bright tone. On the "I'm found" you slide down into the pitch on "I'm". You could try to hit it with a bull's eye and it will be even better. On those notes (the F# and E2, you could experiment with being even a little brighter. I know that seems a little counterintuitive, but keeping it really bright can help you to hear the pitch down that low with greater accuracy, which will help you to bullseye that note more quickly and confidently.
Good support on those low notes, by the way. Our lowest notes will wobble on us if we don't hold on to a very steady stream of air. That's hard to do, because we are singing on the full length of our cords and that requires a slightly greater quantity and consistency of air flow to keep an even volume and pitch.
Ive been studying vol 1 for a month would like some brutal feedback and suggestions on where to focus pretty please thanks
theres tons more on me soundcloud if ur interested nothing like finished state lol but its useful to see if im getting better, be warned i make a lot of weird guitar impression noises to try and figure out how to make sounds i like lol you may find it odd i find it hilarious and helps me relax when practicing
Comments
Sadly, many artists that rely on melodyne and such technology are able to bring it on the road with them, and have their vocals autocorrected on the fly as an insert to the sound console. The audience would never know that they are listening to a corrected digital clone of the live vocal. The latency of the processing is nothing compared to the latency of the speed of sound in a large arena. It would appear to be the actual live vocal.
In reality, we all sing just a skoshe out of tune, but there is a tolerance of a couple of cents that is essentially indistinguishable. Beyond that threshold, it can begin to become painful for some to listen to.
Here is an article that has some interesting insights into your question:
http://jrm.sagepub.com/content/63/1/89.full.pdf
Thanks so much highmtn, I thought about your post closely. I think it would be good for me to do more clean songs for covers (maybe less for originals since I like heavy rock) so I figured I would start now. Had to give this song a go, Cream's White Room:
heres what I sang tonight,
Soundgarden's "Pretty Noose":
Thanks for the listen and feedback, Im glad you liked it! Cheers
Once again I notice how much your voice sounds like Ray Davies of the Kinks. Sounds like you're having fun.
I gotta try a kinks song, just not lola lol
Bob
Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks
DUDE, you KILLED this tune! You could put together a Ray Davies tribute band and just nail it. I like that you came out of your usual Rock box and just slayed this really different style.
Love it!
Bob
got inspired from the show did my first Bandhub Recording, Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" as lead singer with some other musicians:
man that Bandhub hates my laptop! it almost always freezes and does not upload after I record. Ill have to try my desktop since its a faster computer, but now I gotta buy the webcam for the desktop lol
You might want to experiment with that concept a little bit and see if it works for you. You really are starting to sound pretty good. I'm just tossing something out for your consideration.
All the Best!
Bob
keep rockin!! cheers
Stone Temple Pilots: "Vasoline"
Never give up!
Stevek
well, I made a thread a week ago but figured Ill just post it here too...
I wrote a new song, inspired by the Black Sabbath show I just saw last week. Free download here on soundcloud:
video:
lyrics:
SONG TITLE IS:
CONTEMPLATING THE VASTNESS OF SPACE
Contemplating The vastness of space
Destroyers seeking out, lasers beaming through our minds
Im falling out, beyond my dreams
Death ray pointed at me, blinding light pierces through the veil
Im tripping out, slipping into oblivion
A sound of lightning, The high priest the coming
Im levitating, truth unraveling
A cloud of smoke, light form beings arrive
Welcome presence, intake erase
Given gifts of light, given all the eyes can see
Seven flying tigers find the key
Contemplating
The vastness of space
Im Counting down
Vanish without a trace
DESTROYERS MIND ERASE
Stevek
ROCK ON!!!! :-)
I've got to admit it's getting better. A little better all the time!
Bob
I am so thankful for the material Ken has created in his course. I've finally found a teacher that knows what he's doing. @highmtn please pass on my thanks.
The story doesn't end there!
I can get all the way to A4 now with a reasonably full sound
And A5 being top of head voice
No one has ever been asked to remove a Basic Lah scale or an EE scale, or a reasonable focused evaluation.
Someone was asked to remove a posting of the entire Volume 3 workout from YouTube.
We don't need to hear an entire Volume 1, 2, or 3 workout to give you vocal advice and help you on your way. Most of the time, the basic Lah scale will do, or if it's another vowel giving you problems, then that basic scale should suffice. The moderators know what to listen for and we can focus on what you need to adjust by hearing you on a few short, standard exercises, rather than entire KTVA volumes.
Use good discretion and enjoy a great, helpful environment for singers.
Bob
Here's a cover from "What's up - 4 Non Blondes" we did with our band.
It was a bit more than half a year ago and at that point I hadn't started with the KTVA program yet.
I'd just like to know what you think of my singing voice, what I should improve etc.
Any feedback is very welcome!!
Cheers!
vimeo.com/185987000
You probably want to get a little more timbre into your voice, and possibly slow down the vibrato just a bit. You have a wide range, from low to high, good pitch. A little more breath support will give you a bit more tone and stability.
You're starting from a good place.
I was wondering what you thought of other people's clips in this forum as well.
My chest voice training on "My Selene - Sonata Arctica" - Song
Also, here is my training too, on Bruce Dickinson song, "Tears of a Dragon"
I see that there are very good singer here
Nice to hear from you. You have a strong voice.
Bob
But still, it's hard to sustain the notes above F# in full chest (well, I shed weight when I ascend but huuu... it's so hard !)
Damn high G barrier haha !!
You'll find that it gets easier as you move along. It just takes a bit of time.
Bob
Sounds good. You seem to be using good support, everything sounds within your range. It's a little odd to watch, because the video is about 2 seconds ahead of the audio.
Bob
Stay on that trajectory, Kevin. It takes time for the voice to mature into more advanced places, but when things start falling into place for you, it keeps on going and going. Don't lose patience or faith, and you will be amazed, seriously. Think about this in a few years, and you'll look back on this time and be very pleased with what has happened to your voice as time goes by.
Just be careful that you don't oversing. That will set you back. Steady improvement will happen if you can avoid the setbacks by cutting back the air and supporting well.
Good Singing to You!
Bob
Hi, everyone, Im on the first stage of Ken's DvD's
Can you also comment on my accent, what is odd to you ears)
thank you all)
Sounds pretty good. As to the accent, it's not that thick, so I wouldn't worry much about it. What I would recommend is that when you sing lyrics, you try to minimize the consonants. You should graze over the consonants very lightly and focus more on the vowels themselves.
Bob
Comments welcome.
You're getting that girth pared-down very well on your high notes. Sounds smooth.
Bob
I did some recording again. This time I tried to be more sensitive, emotional in this amazing ballad from Queen: Save me. The other one is Rosanna by Toto. Before KTVA I had no idea that this band had so many great songs like Hold The Line, Africa, Only The Children.... thanks for the recommendation!
Sam
Bob
Do you have any recommendations for songs I could try the next time?
Sam
Maybe "Lights" by Journey? Possibly "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson?
Either one of those or anything like them would be a big challenge, and hard to accomplish, but I think they would help you to grow your voice. You've been doing some very brave and difficult songs lately.
Funny thing is that "Lights" was the very first song by Journey I`ve tried to sing, but hit the wall really hard because at that time I had no stamina and still used those big, almost covered vowel sounds I used in bel canto. I think it`s time to revisit the song.
I always wanted to sing something from Michael Jackson! Today I tried to sing "I Wish" from Stevie Wonder and had another AHA moment. Trying to emulate his effortless sound I realized that I need to lower my volume, add as much brightness-mask into the sound as possible and open my vowels even more. I was shocked how easy it suddenly became! I think I will use this approach in "Billie Jean" and "Man In The Mirror".
Sam
free download here:
To bad you don't live down the street. I'd call the cops tell them to have you turn up the volume.
Steve
You can grow. just take the time and go the distance past the time where you want to give up. And there are are people here that can help you grow by you posting the wonderful lah exercise. Or just record yourself everything you practice and listen for your voice to grow on a daily at first then weekly - monthly pace. All depends on what you put into your own training.
YOU WILL GET THERE DON'T GIVE UP!
Steve
That would be cool - tell the cops turn IT UP!!1
Thanks man, I am reworking things, still put in 1+ hour a day for the last 1.5 years. my diaphram stomach muscles are sore every day in a good way after workouts, so I gotta eat right and do cardio. Its all about focusing every second on the singing while singing. Im prolly not gonna do as much distortion, I need to rework it and tweak it more before I break it out again. Im gonna start a youtube channel for my covers.
Keep rockin brutha! look forward to hearing your jams
Best of the Season to you ALL - hope you're well! :-)
This is a new collaboration from Bandhub - an original song from a member named 'Arepie' from Malaysia.
In this tune, there are musicians from Malaysia, England, Australia, USA and myself from Canada.
I wrote the lyrics for this one and am on the vocals.
It's called: "Standing Still".
Peace,
Johan
you should see Ken Tamplin's stomach. he showed it on skype. ITS AN INHUMAN ABDOMINALS! his abs dont look anything like an aesthetic weightlifter's abs. They have no fat and look like there are bullet holes in between each abdominal, super cut up and weird muscle development.
YOU GOTTA GO ALL OUT, INHUMAN, ONE LAST REP!!!! that fuels all the rest, all the finessing.
Peace
a lot of us need the constructive criticism to move forward so just think of it like how could you hold that back from the world
Peace,
Johan
It's good that you're holding back air and not straining. That's always a good start. You can't do any damage that way. But I think when it comes to singing hard rock and heavy metal, if you want to develop the right tone of voice for it, you need to start with the right attitude. I mean, that's how I started. The attitude is all about kicking ass and causing destruction. That's the mindset you need.
In your case, the first suggestion would be to figure out how to deliver perfect pitch, first of all. That starts with the ears actually. I think you have the melodies down but the pitch isn't totally on. Then what you should do is spend a lot of time listening to your tone of voice and then use your ears to try to decide how to make it sound different. In my case I started singing with good melody but my tone was bad, so I just started recording myself and listening to my tone real closely enough times until I developed a better one.
How long have you been singing?
Just to let folks know, this thread does allow critical comments to be made, although any form of meanness will not be tolerated. Frankness, on the other hand, is fine.
Anybody who wants to be spared the "critical" scalpel should post in the other demo thread "Demo Area for Newbies". That thread is a haven for those who are fearful that someone might tell them they sound awful, even if you do need a lot of work on your voice.
To clarify, over there we won't tell you that you sound great if you don't, but we'll be a little more diplomatic about it in that other thread, just to keep newbies or others who are afraid of bombing out in public from being too frightened to post. We won't bite there. Here, we might nip you a little bit, but it's all in the interest of being real and helping you to improve. Once you get past the Fear Factor of posting in the first place, you'll know that you survived it, and will feel better about doing continued, periodic posts.
Bullies aren't allowed anywhere on this forum. Period.
There are other forums where you can have your fill of that.
Rock on!
:^)
Bob
As you correctly point out, I've got a lot to work on. I know my singing is not of a quality suitable for general consumption
You might not believe this but I'm better than what I was. I'm almost 2 years doing KTVA. Most of you probably start your first KTVA day singing better than what I've achieved after 2 yrs
My guitar playing is nothing too exciting but I have had the experience of playing in front of 15,000 people for a 5 hr outdoor New Year's Eve gig in the '90's (not a typo ... that is fifteen thousand) ... all covers but specialising in grunge (big at the time). My band members considered my vocals crap. They all shared lead vocal duty ... I wasn't allowed to do any vocal duty including backing
I started KTVA after I had a bad experience in church. All my adult life, I have played guitar in church. My current church usually has approx. 300 people at Sunday services and the singing part is typically 6 songs sung congregationally (everyone sings). A year prior to starting KTVA, we had a period where we didn't have enough singing leaders. The leader chooses songs for Sunday services and typically gives a strong vocal lead for the whole church to follow. I reluctantly offered to fill the gap.
We sing a broad range of music. At times we do traditional hymns but mostly what's called contemporary Christian worship (google the likes of Chris Tomlin to get an idea). Most songs have their highest notes in the low to mid area my passaggio (C4-E4) and in good keys for guitar that can't be transposed lower without compromising guitar riffs.
It was obvious to all that I struggled but we had no options ... I just had to do it. Thankfully my poor pitch control was quickly covered by the 300 other voices once I started singing the first line of each song. The major problem for me was that I couldn't introduce any new songs (latest songs released by Christian artists).
I started KTVA to help me overcome my C4 roadblock and hopefully sing well enough to introduce new songs. We currently have enough leaders so I've been able to concentrate on guitar duties again. I'm continuing with KTVA because I have made progress and I'm confident that one day I may sing well enough to enjoy a spot on the leader roster.
I post demos seeking advice but also to encourage others that have a roadblock at the C4-D4 area. Even though I don't sound great, the fact that KTVA has helped me sing in my passaggio is an inspiration for others (I've had quite a few people message me about this).
In the last month I have begun to sense resonance in my chest. I can now feel how the vowel mods help maintain that sensation at higher pitches. I'm amazed at how softly I'm applying this but a big sound coming out. Very exciting.
I'm on Christmas break from work and spending a chunk of that time committing Kens workouts to "ultrar deluxe" (look it up). Essentially, the software gives you realtime feedback on vocal accuracy. Once done, I'll post a video here to demo it.
Cheers
Rob
You don't have to be a "newbie" to post in that thread, it was just named that to encourage the timid to post without fear of being humiliated. You are welcome to post where you want to. Certainly the Post Your Demos isn't for seasoned pro's only. We're amongst friends here.
Lyrics in the youtube description. Hope you like it!
Cheers \m/
Artem
Here's a video of me doing the LAH. It's good that I can see where I'm going wrong. From what I determine, I tend to be late on most notes and not high enough on the top note. I'm pleased that I can see this detail to work on.
@highmtn putting the pitch aside for the moment, could you let me know if you think I'm in chest for the full exercise? cheers Rob
The program is just like PlayStation singstar. Regards getting Ken's exercises into it, I created the files myself from a combo of kens exercises and some midi I added. I then made the txt files that Performous uses to display the notes.
I can make those available only if ken gives permission as they contain his copyrighted material.
I hadn't submitted anything to the forum for critical review on here when I initially joined as I thought it was more for KTVA students already working on the programme, so my apologies if I'm posting inappropriately or anything.
I've been singing since I was about 14 but stopped for quite a while, only really getting back into professional, paid work in the last year or so. Singing in rock and metal bands for years with a bad technique took its toll on my voice, but fortunately I came across Ken's videos on YouTube and basically started again from scratch as a complete newbie.
Prior to that, I'd started posting some vocal covers on YouTube, so I can already look back at those and hear the difference that even the most basic exercises have brought! I wanted to post a few examples of my voice to get some feedback/criticism from yourselves, so please feel free to be as harsh as you want; I'd much rather that than any pussy-footing around as you guys seem to really know your stuff and I trust your opinions based on what I've read on here so far.
I think I'm naturally a baritone, but I'd be interested to hear your take on it as I think it'd help me focus more on the areas I really need to work on to make the most of my instrument.
Here's my vocal cover of "Ore D'amore" by Fred Bongusto (you might know it better as "The World We Knew" from Sinatra's version, or maybe from Mike Patton's Mondo Cane project).
Another, post-Ken's videos cover I did was "Overkill" by Men at Work. I'd approached this with a much cleaner tone that I'd been using for years and had developed more volume control that I'd ever had, thanks to Ken's YT videos.
I'm currently singing in a rock/soul covers band at the moment, so I'd been trying to bring some grit back to my voice on this cover of "Green River" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Unfortunately, and rather stupidly, I was singing at this gig while trying to recover from the 'flu and then do another two 3+ hour shows the following two nights...yes, I'm a total fool. Hahahaha!
Any advice or feedback would be appreciated. I should hopefully be starting a new job at the end of this month after eight months of unemployment and low-paying gigs, so KTVA's at the top of my list of purchases but unfortunately I'm not enrolled or using Ken's programme fully at the moment.
All the best,
Tommy
Nice job. Good to hear your voice.
Bob
I was able to consistently hit and sustain a G5 before I stopped singing full-time, so to know that my B4 sounds anywhere near acceptable is a great boost.
Thank you again!
@highmtn @bentk I've been working on pitch. I did this at the lowest end of my voice as soft as I dare. I sense the most resonance when soft and that low. This down to E2. I can go down to D2 but can't sustain as good as E2. Does this sound in tune to you guys? @highmtn bright enough?
Nice bright tone. On the "I'm found" you slide down into the pitch on "I'm". You could try to hit it with a bull's eye and it will be even better. On those notes (the F# and E2, you could experiment with being even a little brighter. I know that seems a little counterintuitive, but keeping it really bright can help you to hear the pitch down that low with greater accuracy, which will help you to bullseye that note more quickly and confidently.
Good support on those low notes, by the way. Our lowest notes will wobble on us if we don't hold on to a very steady stream of air. That's hard to do, because we are singing on the full length of our cords and that requires a slightly greater quantity and consistency of air flow to keep an even volume and pitch.
Nice job.
theres tons more on me soundcloud if ur interested nothing like finished state lol but its useful to see if im getting better, be warned i make a lot of weird guitar impression noises to try and figure out how to make sounds i like lol you may find it odd i find it hilarious and helps me relax when practicing