Some of my songs and music videos (please critique on both)

Gunnar364

Hi guys!

I've started a Youtube channel where I post myself singing, mainly cover song. I also work on creating amusing music videos for the songs. So far, I haven't had too much luck with views and such,but I'm just getting started. Here are some of my works, I hope you enjoy them. Also, please tell me what I should focus on improving, both when it comes to the songs and the videos.
For the record, these are not "live" takes. I record parts at a time, so not everything is done in one go. Also, I do often add a tiny echo, and tweak the volume, but other than that, I don't tamper with the vocals, so there's no autotune. Here we go:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8S46buw01c
A song by Rammstein, sung mainly in a very low range, including some subharmonics. Also with some backing vocals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGUn9MKqC1E
A song by Dream Theater. For this song, I did quite a lot of death metal vocals. My technique is far from perfect, and while I can sustain it for quite some time, it's not perfectly sustainable. I also added some layers of backing vocals, including some mild throat singing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfjPaL-RpmM
More death grunts, and also some attempts at operatic singing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEqbjUTe3UA
One of my more ambitious projects. This song contains a lot of layering, subharmonics, throat singing, and screaming.

So there we go. Also, if you know some things about arranging backing vocals, I'd be very happy if you would share them with me. Looking forward to your feedback, and enjoy the show

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DogMeat

Subscribed. I'll have a listen later

Tessyijachi

@Gunnar364
Hi, starting a YouTube channel is an awesome idea. I'll make sure to suscribe and listen later in the day.
Have a great day 😊

Gunnar364

Thanks,looking forward o your feedback @DogMeat @Tessyijachi

DogMeat

I listened to the Rammstein cover. You definitely have your own thing going on. What you give out on singing, you take back on visuals. Will be nice to see where this goes. Good job on creating sonerhing unique

Unknown

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maximgottmer

Very special indeed. Because this ia a forum to improve singing, did you ever posted some scales? I'm no expert of grunting
In the third song the timing of the voices was unclear to me. Good luck. Maxim

Klaus_T

hey Gunnar, interesting visuals! definitely a good amount of work you are putting into this.

since you asked: i think you could work on your pitch and timing.

if it helps for the backing vocals: check what the chord under the syllable is, find out what the three notes in the chord are (if it is C major it would be C, E, G), then see which of these the lead vocal uses there, and use one of the other two (or both if doing multiple layers of backings). there will be exceptions where you might want to sing a 7th or something in the backings but i would think it works for most applications

Wigs

Ive only just started learning about mixing in Garage band my self, but Im fairly competent using Final Cut Pro for editing video.

First off, well done on STARTING your channel. Getting going can be a big hurdle, from now on its going to be about refining what you are about and how you present yourself. Ill start with the video aspect that you could consider.

You have got good vision regarding how you set up your shots, especially since I guess you are using a green screen? Ive never tried it myself. I understand the forward planning needed to bring that stuff together. Something that lets you down though is your timing of your voice against you singing in the video. That needs to be TIGHT to be considered anything above amateur. All the effort of special effects fall apart if you are noticeably out of sync. Secondly is how you yourself look. Im talking about clothes, costumes ect. How and what you are singing dont match. Cargo shorts and polo top are not metal, unless you had some chunky doc martins and a face full of black eyeshadow and a convincing log haired wig
The last one is tricky because I feel you need to decide how amusing you want the video to be. Visuals need to tell a story without explanation. I like the concept you had of small you and big you singing in the palm of your hand, that could be taken literally, a giant singing to a tiny person, or figuratively you are singing to yourself and the small you is in your mind or something. Think about why you want it to be amusing? Will it actually fit with the vocals and the story of the song? Some of it seems serious while the amusing parts sometimes feel like an after thought just for the sake of it. You can be subtly funny, or go all out, its a matter of consistency throughout.

Now for the vocals, in my view, the most important thing that the "average viewer" wants is pitch. Its a bit different here being a singing forum, we understand the process and practice it takes and dont always expect perfection from demos. Out in the world of social media and YouTube its a different story. Because you are singing, you should present your voice in the best way possible. Generally your pitch is good, but since this isn't a live take, and you record the vocals bit by bit, spend as much time as you can to get each one as close as possible. Ive recently been through this process my self and I never understood how hard it is to get a single phrase close to perfect, I thought it would be way easier since you can just keep going over and over again.
As for the backing vocals and mixing, I watched alot of tutorials, it seems a common thing to do is to have a main vocal track, and have the backing vocals at a lower DB, add some different effects or a touch more reverb or echo, and pan them slightly to the left or right to create a sound scape.
You have alot of interesting aspects to your voice and your lower harmonic and throat singing were impressive. Spend time finding good placement for your vowels in your mid and upper registers, sometimes you splat and that makes it sound strained or sharp.

Overall, what you have shown is unique, its a touch cheesy at times but its also possible to make that work in your favour! Practicing by producing quality content is what will help bring your views up. For example, it would be a good contrast if there was a simple close up shot of you singing into your mic from just 2 or 3 different angles with the full serious emotion of the song, and then in the backboard using the opacity effect, show your alter ego being funny or doing silly actions to the lyrics in the song.

I am in no way a professional in my singing or videos, and I give all this critique with respect to you and your vision as one artist to another.

Tessyijachi

@Gunnar364
I went through your videos. You're really good at the metal stuff, they seem really difficult to pull off and I feel I'd hurt myself if I attempted it.
Your videos can be really entertaining, you seem like a really fun person, but I think you need put a little more work into the background and editing of your videos.
All in all, congrats on your YT channel, I know it wasn't easy starting it and I wish you the best.
Have a great day!

jmstanle

@Gunnar364 are you mocking garage bands? Or are you making fun of yourself because that's what you think other people will do- so you beat them to the punch? Can you talk really intellectually and fast and always about your insecurities? It would be cool if you could write and sing a song like that as your walking down a street in New York or some such city. Regardless, I love it! You have an interesting perspective and I embrace it.

Gunnar364

Hey all,

Wow! So much feedback, I'm incredibly grateful. Thank you all for taking the time analyzing my singing and my videos for me! Reading through all this on one end feels great, on another end it feels a little overwhelming. I am definitely going to take all of this into account, but it's gonna be a slow process. I'm currently working a full time job as well, so while I do have enough time,having enough energy can sometimes be a problem. Just recording the songs and making the videos takes a lot of time, and then I also desire to work on my voice and filming skills,so they don't stagnate, while also getting some rest here and there
For this week,I think I'm not gonna post another video, but rather take a bit of a rest, and also start uploading scales, so I can overcome my pitch problems.

As for my image, it's deliberately cheesy and tongue in cheek, don't want anyone else to mock me before I got to do so myself
As for not syncing well, that should probably be the number one priority to fix, as that really drags down the overall impression. There is much work to be done, but thanks to you all, I'm not blindly trying o find out what. Thanks once more!

A special shout out to @Wigs for writing such a long and in depth analysis. Respect!

heidianita

Well, I love your videos! I like your look and your funny angle in to the music. As for your singing: we know it's hard to sing things "right". We know the way. I hope you are working on your scales, and that you are singing this the right way and not hurting your voice. It's a heavy load! I think you've got something, and I hope you do your practice 😅