My intro and sample recording for critique (don't LOL) :P

ozgolath

Hi there - 42/ male. I am one of those guys who think they can sing great but when they start singing, everyone else tells them to shut up lol! I have been called tone-deaf etc (jokingly) by friends. So during covid break I set out on a mission to learn to sing. I have been recording my audio on-and off, and have been doing vocal warm-ups reguarly for the past month. I want to be able to sing well enough to go on open mic nights. I am a natural baritone but like to sing across a wide range including rock pop (from Eddie Vedder to Adam Levine).

I will jump straight in and post a link to my audio recording of 'drive' by incubus, for people to give helpful feedback. I want to see if this forum and knowledgeable members here can help me along my journey - I have no illusions about my singing so please bear with it!

Usman Bashir · Drive-incubus

highmtn

We need to hear the music track you are singing along to. Without that we have no reference to know whether or not you are singing the correct notes. Likewise, you would need to be listening to that same music track for reference so as to sing the correct notes in the first place. It is your job as a singer to sing in the same key as the music you are singing.

Just play the music on speakers in the room as you are recording your voice. Then we can put two and two together and give you some more meaningful feedback.

ozgolath

Hi Thanks - i have edited my post with a recording on top of the track - i hope this works!

sjonrokz4u

I couldn’t get it to load try SoundCloud

ozgolath

Shared it on soundcloud

sjonrokz4u

Something is still not right it won’t load

highmtn

Hello, @ozgolath

Where your link should be (in your post) it says "You have not provided a valid SoundCloud URL."

You may have pasted in a link that is only visible to you. Make sure you are sharing it with the public, and that the full URL is there, not just something that links to your personal account which we are not logged in to.

Sometimes it's hard getting everything sorted out the first time. After that, you'll have it down pat.

ozgolath

Apologies for all the takes -- i did fix this error last night and shared a hyperlink for the 'icon' and miniplayer but it says post is being moderated. so i'm sharing the link again below

Usman Bashir · Drive-incubus

highmtn

Part of the time you are not on the right pitches that are in the song. At other times you are paying closer attention to staying in-tune with the song. You also need to get your breath more consistent. That will help you to steady your pitch. The second half of the track was much better than the first half. You kind of got into the groove of singing in pitch more accurately.

Part of the key to being able to sing (so that others think it sounds good) is to listen to your voice as you sing and bring the notes into correct pitch. That's what you seemed to be doing more in the second half of the song.

You have to be like a heat-seeking missile and constantly adjust your voice to seek the correct pitch of each note. The more you listen closely and make those adjustments, the more accurate your voice will become. You have to actively listen as you sing to discern the proper pitch.

If you have ever heard someone sing with headphones on, and they sound out of tune to you, but they think it sounds great, it's because they can't really hear themselves in the headphones. So they may be singing out really loud and sound really off to the people around them. This is because they can't hear their voice and compare it to what is the pitch reference in the headphones. To sing well, you need to hear the music well and also hear your voice well, to ensure that you are in-sync with the key, or pitch of the song.

You sound good when you are on key. Practice your listening skills and keep referencing the music to monitor whether or not you are staying on-pitch.

ozgolath

Brilliant thanks! I realised the same myself. I have been paying closer attention to the singer's tone
I do a single set of warmup exercises daily and i am inching closer to matching the instructors pitch on it. Do you recommend sticking to the same warm-up or keeep cycling over 2 to 3 different routines?
Other things im working on :

Abdominal breathing while singing
Relaxed singing without throat tension

I havent yet bought ken's course - do you recommend any of his youtube video workouts as staple for early singer?
Thanks

sjonrokz4u

@Klaus_T has a set of you tube videos he’s out together. Check him out

ozgolath

Awesome thanks