Hello All - My name Is Isaac
iZak
2.0 PRO Posts: 100
So a little background, About 5 years ago I began doing karaoke at a friends parties and a year later started doing karaoke at public bars. It’s become quite the center of how I spend my free time between using a karaoke app called “smule” and public outings. I find singing very fun and honestly I feel like my days empty if I don’t do any of it (especially on weekends.)
I never had formal training other than a month of choir back in 5th grade with a really mean teacher.
I was pretty awful at singing back when I first started public bar singing. Over the years, I’ve made a lot of progress, however I definitely have limited my progression by going it alone. But given my training level, I still think I’ve done well.
I purchased the 2.0 plus pro packs a while back but I actually haven’t used it (terrible I know)
I need to start studying the material to see what the course can do for me.
(Edited to add links to examples of my current singing level without training)
Here are some links to a few of the songs I’ve done on Smule to give people an idea about where I am at regarding current singing level.
I have quite a few areas that my technique holds me back. Just keep in mind that I am an untrained bar karaoke singer.
Nirvana - Lake of Fire https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3106508338
Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk https://www.smule.com/recording/mark-ronson-ft-bruno-mars-uptown-funk/672850283_3252212483?utm_source=Text&utm_campaign=user-generated&utm_medium=rec&_branch_match_id=722971022253445590
Linkin Park - In The End https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3112396499
Green Day - Holiday https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3099091123
3 Doors Down - Kryptonite https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3101020073
Bowling for Soup - Girl All the Bad Guys Want https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3162878135
Linkin Park - Heavy https://www.smule.com/p/1043828691_3109181632
Stitches - Shawn Mendez https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3149125928
DNCE - Cake by the Ocean https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3135249633
And this is my one and only recording of karaoke at the bar doing Bonjovi - You give love a bad name.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/typqivu6ii88mp7/Video Sep 06, 11 37 47 PM.mov?dl=0
I got hung up on lyrics a bit and I couldn’t hear myself very well over the monitors. Not too happy with that nights karaoke host.
My goal is to one day complete Bon Jovi’s - Livin on a prayer correctly
As an untrained brand newbie here, I can only do the ultra highs under my weak falsetto (which just sounds goofy.) I knew nothing about stretching your chest voice or how to support because at time of recording I hadn’t looked at the course.
When I tried to sing it accurately, I’d strain too hard and lose my upper vocal range for between 2 hours to up to 4 days.
On my karaoke app I have a duet recording where I did half the vocals but all of the choruses so this link only shows my vocals with gaps for the other singers to join in
https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3128579351
I’ve been stuck with little progress on this song from the last time I tried it at the bar 1-1/2 years ago to testing the waters a few weeks ago on my karaoke app. My voice dies at the same point but recovery seems shorter than before.
I consider that song my measurement of progress 😂 and it still feels like a lifetime away from proper completion.
I need to stop wasting time going it alone. I should have looked at 2.0 when I bought in last year. I might have actually been close to finishing that song by now.
Anyways I look forward to my future here at KTVA. Nice to meet you all 😁
I never had formal training other than a month of choir back in 5th grade with a really mean teacher.
I was pretty awful at singing back when I first started public bar singing. Over the years, I’ve made a lot of progress, however I definitely have limited my progression by going it alone. But given my training level, I still think I’ve done well.
I purchased the 2.0 plus pro packs a while back but I actually haven’t used it (terrible I know)
I need to start studying the material to see what the course can do for me.
(Edited to add links to examples of my current singing level without training)
Here are some links to a few of the songs I’ve done on Smule to give people an idea about where I am at regarding current singing level.
I have quite a few areas that my technique holds me back. Just keep in mind that I am an untrained bar karaoke singer.
Nirvana - Lake of Fire https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3106508338
Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk https://www.smule.com/recording/mark-ronson-ft-bruno-mars-uptown-funk/672850283_3252212483?utm_source=Text&utm_campaign=user-generated&utm_medium=rec&_branch_match_id=722971022253445590
Linkin Park - In The End https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3112396499
Green Day - Holiday https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3099091123
3 Doors Down - Kryptonite https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3101020073
Bowling for Soup - Girl All the Bad Guys Want https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3162878135
Linkin Park - Heavy https://www.smule.com/p/1043828691_3109181632
Stitches - Shawn Mendez https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3149125928
DNCE - Cake by the Ocean https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3135249633
And this is my one and only recording of karaoke at the bar doing Bonjovi - You give love a bad name.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/typqivu6ii88mp7/Video Sep 06, 11 37 47 PM.mov?dl=0
I got hung up on lyrics a bit and I couldn’t hear myself very well over the monitors. Not too happy with that nights karaoke host.
My goal is to one day complete Bon Jovi’s - Livin on a prayer correctly
As an untrained brand newbie here, I can only do the ultra highs under my weak falsetto (which just sounds goofy.) I knew nothing about stretching your chest voice or how to support because at time of recording I hadn’t looked at the course.
When I tried to sing it accurately, I’d strain too hard and lose my upper vocal range for between 2 hours to up to 4 days.
On my karaoke app I have a duet recording where I did half the vocals but all of the choruses so this link only shows my vocals with gaps for the other singers to join in
https://www.smule.com/p/672850283_3128579351
I’ve been stuck with little progress on this song from the last time I tried it at the bar 1-1/2 years ago to testing the waters a few weeks ago on my karaoke app. My voice dies at the same point but recovery seems shorter than before.
I consider that song my measurement of progress 😂 and it still feels like a lifetime away from proper completion.
I need to stop wasting time going it alone. I should have looked at 2.0 when I bought in last year. I might have actually been close to finishing that song by now.
Anyways I look forward to my future here at KTVA. Nice to meet you all 😁
Comments
is your name zak may I ask?
My names Danny, I like you bought the course a while back when I was in my second band as a vocalist, long story short, life got in the way.
Anyway, your embarking on an incredible journey, by great research or luck, you are enrolled in an incredible course.
Go through volume 1, take your time and if your stuck, this forum is a gold mine for information.
Welcome to the family and look forward to seeing and hearing your progress.
Danny
Thank you Danny for the warm welcome. I’m hoping to finally get some of the technical issues that have significantly held back my progress resolved, now that I am actually getting started.
You look like your coming from a similar background as me, can hit the notes, got the pitch, but the way you sing exhausts you in an unhealthy way (strain and what not).
Without giving anything away, really check everything you know at the door and go through the videos and be patient (it's hard, I have the least amount of patience there is).
Post audio clips of the exercises in the green labeled forum topics when you want some feedback and we will help as much as possible.
In 6 weeks my voice has transformed and I regarded myself as a really good vocalist when I started (although I knew I was missing things or thought I was stuck with what my voice offered)
I listened to the linkin park rendition and the greenday one, me and you are going to get along with that music taste!
I already see a lot of improvements that you will see in an incredibly short time but I want you to get familiar with all the course content first and develop your own understanding.
Please also, when your stuck, use the search bar and get into the forums, I have read so much up and down a d I guarantee you, you won't be the only person stuck on an issue.
Good luck!
Your fellow student, Danny!
I also can’t trigger vibrato or trills with any consistency. It kinda randomly happens. Haha
Thank you very much 😁 Badass vocals? Do you really think so? I’m a pretty harsh critic of my vocals (This is why I am finally here as of yesterday, despite my ownership of 2.0 last year.)
I may need to stop going out for karaoke for a while though. I have a feeling that it’ll reinforce my current bad habits until I get volume 1 down.
my best to incorporate it when a song calls for that vocal style. Although I didn’t really understand what I was even doing.
Congratulations on moving onto vol2 😁
I’ve been looking over the volume 1 videos, as well as other student recordings. It feels very daunting as I still know very little about singing despite all the time I’ve been singing at the bar.
But I now understand a little more of why my voice dies every time I tried to do Bon Jovi’s - living on a prayer at the bar. I’d get to maybe 60-65% before the highs would kill my throat at the choruses. I knew nothing about support. And when I tried to falsetto the highs it just sounded goofy.
Been trying for 3 years to get through that song. (That’s kinda like my holy grail of singing)
By the way, your recordings sounded great from what you linked on Facebook. You have no reason to be self-conscious seriously (although I know what that’s like all too well.) I would have been sober singing way sooner if I progressed that far in 5 months 😅
Instead it took me 5 years to get to the point I am at now.
Full Sober singing confidence didn’t start for me until almost my 3rd year of karaoke.
The positive support I’ve had from other karaoke singers (in the past) helped me gain a lot of confidence, however sadly I get almost crickets nowadays. Other singers at my bar don’t clap for me for some reason now. Or walk out back when I’m up on the mic. Not really sure why. It made the experience less fun and I’ve been seriously considering dropping the bar scene entirely.
Thanks, I’ll check out the assignments but I think the only ones of those I’m familiar with are turn the page and ring of Fire. I also know bad company a little bit, but I do not think I can do those vocals yet.
That’s an interesting theory about the clapping, but regardless those nights can be rough, especially when I’m doing new or difficult songs.
I do try to keep in my mind that the reactions are no indication of my value or skill as a singer though.
I’ve been shifting my focus more onto my karaoke app (smule) since I’ve found the bar to be progressively more toxic to me lately. But I think this was a perfect time to really shift gears into real study of proper techniques.
The community here already seems way cooler than what I’m used to as well.
Hope you doing well,
My name is Lissa and I am newbie here.
Those highs are brutal.
Duet attempt
5seconds of summer - Teeth
https://www.smule.com/recording/5-seconds-of-summer-teeth/381460330_3255516598?_branch_match_id=722999226339510613&utm_source=Text&utm_campaign=user-generated&utm_medium=rec
Some nights are pretty fun at the bar but I’m highly prone to anxiety from big crowds if I can’t offset it with something to focus on. If it’s super busy and nobody I recognize is present that I can converse with, I sometimes get overwhelmed and leave. It’s part of why I go to physical venues like that. I am trying to get over that anxiety by increasing my exposure to the public.
I wish I had some of those recordings done on my new mic though. The one previously used didn’t capture mids and base very well. I am in the process of re-recording all my songs with my new one since I’m much happier with the results
Sure you could. Just gotta try it out and see how you like the styles. I like a wide range of music. Some genres I have difficulty figuring out the shapes and timing. Just gotta keep chipping away at it until you get comfortable.
Here’s a new recording. This was fun to sing
Bruno Mars/Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk https://www.smule.com/recording/mark-ronson-ft-bruno-mars-uptown-funk/672850283_3252212483?utm_source=Text&utm_campaign=user-generated&utm_medium=rec&_branch_match_id=722971022253445590
What they do is attract more talented singers to join them in duets which are the ones they will archive in their favorite lists
I’ve seen a wide range of skill levels on the app from ho hum to amazing.
Sadly free accounts don’t get to host many songs but they can join into anything that other people host.
I’m okay paying the 50 bucks a year to use it solo since I get more than enough use out of it though 😅
Maybe I should post my karaoke song list. I made an excel spreadsheet with all my songs color coded based on my comfort level (as of the last time singing each.)
I alter the color codes based on a combination of internal parameters: timing, tone, pitch, lyrical accuracy, and vocal style.
Here’s a snapshot of my current song list history. Purple background songs are ones I have not tried yet (but want to) so I don’t know what color code it’ll get or if I can even finish the song. I know songs are not counted in my column tallies at the bottom of the screen just ones I’ve done.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gtebpdtbplqypn4/iZak KaraokeList 10-12-2019.xlsx.pdf?dl=0
I use it on my iPad because it supports both iOS Apple products and Android.