@highmtn thank you for taking the time to listen to my sample and give feedback. I wish I had a microphone here to make a reasonable recording. I will try some more with more of the backing music to it and more cord closure. I just put the song on youtube and held the phone close but not too close. It is odd that as soon as i press the record, i feel a bit awkward and nervous.
Thanks for posting that original version. Her melodies are so complex that hearing you sing it almost without accompaniment was difficult for me to grasp what was happening melodically. You are brave for tackling something that challenging and posting it up for comment.
Hearing the original helps me to have a context for your demo. You did a good job. Because of the cell phone aspect with the suppressed backing track, it has a little of the effect of listening to someone singing along to their ipod with their headphones on when you (the listener) don't have headphones on... You know what I mean? You hear all of the little trailings off at the end of a note that you wouldn't normally hear in a performance.
Laura Marling sings with an airy, breathy tone, so your version really isn't inappropriately breathy, but more cord closure might sound good, as well. Ken demonstrates more closure when he does his famous "It's the LAW!!! AHHH!!!" It's that bright AHH that has a lot of cord contact.
To feel and hear your cords close, just go huttt! Huttt! Not too loud, but make an "H" sound and close it off with an "ut"... The "ut" part shouldn't have a real "T" sound made with your tongue, it just needs the cords to gently come together. The Beginning "H" sound is air going through your glottis, and the ending is the cords closing. Your cords join together at the front of your throat, like the center part of a "V". The open part of the "V" is at the back of your throat. For "H's" we open the cords. For cord closure, and closed tones, we just bring them together. You can hold this closure tighter or more loosely. The more open the cords, the more breathy the tone, which also can mean the dryer the cords will get as more air is escaping and passing over the cords.
The more closed the cords are, the more tone and brightness you can coax out of them. Your air will also last longer because it is not all rushing out through the open cords. You use less air with closed cords, but you must also use more pressure to get the air past the vibrating but closed cords.
I'm not sure where the music source was in relation to your phone, or if the phone itself was mic, sound source, and recorder. If you have a separate sound source for the music playback, you can experiment with near/far placement to achieve a "mix" for your recording, also moving yourself relative to the mic and the music source. With this type of demo, it can also be difficult to discern how much of the vocal is the student wanting evaluation and the original artist singing in the background. I can hear you in there, but my ears want more you. You sound good.
And yes, the red "record" light always gets the brain into hyper-awareness mode.
In another forum, a cover of this was posted. Essentially a live vocal, no rehearsal, no patching in something else to get a "perfect studio product." Just go for it, as if you were standing in for Ian at a show.
And an invitation to others to take their own stab at it. So I did. And in the spirit of the original post, I also did this live, so to speak. Just pick up the mic and sing. Warts and all. I was going to use the Sennheiser but I could not get it to work with my USB, so I used the condenser mic and I stomped all over that. But I had a good friend mix the post recording for me and he rescued it. A few days later, I realized what I did wrong in trying to use the Sennheiser. I had that channel switched to the wrong type of input. Oh well.
"Child in Time" by Deep Purple
https://www.box.com/s/dad8de33340f7fa3b709
Hey Adam, I could hear it. Sounded pretty good. In the chorus you could open up more on Simple. Don't worry about the L consonant so much. Sing it more Simpah(lah), kahnd of(ah) man(aa as in hat). That should make it easier to navigate. And, you can always support more really feel that resonance in the front if face, head as you sing higher. Ken does work through this sing on his Webinar on the Voice. If you haven't watched it, you should.
What did you do? Crank the speakers up to full volume and put them on your head like headphones? Ha, ha!
That's the only way I could make it out. Couldn't hear it at all with headphones turned up full blast.
Adam, in the future, maybe check your record levels out and listen to the playback to see if others will be able to hear you. Scott is right, it does sound pretty good, and his suggestions are worth following. It's just Really Hard to Hear.
Ron, your performance was interesting, as always. Did geno mix this for you? He's good. It is hard to hear your voice through the music on this one. Some pitch issues here and there, but you always like to give us the real, raw merchandise. Your natural abilities shine through in your ability to hit high notes without effort, but then your lack of discipline (your warts and all philosophy) gives us the resonance along with a dose of dissonance. You Rock, especially given your frequently-stated disdain for practicing, perfecting, and polishing. You just sing. No practice, no scales, what comes out is what comes out. Born to sing.
I'd like to see what would happen if you would actually apply some good old-fashioned disciplined elbow-grease technique to your natural God-given talent. May I suggest the Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy as a possible avenue to ROCKET your voice to the levels it has the full capacity to achieve?
good work. The tone of your voice is good. I would add more support, really push on that diaphragm. That will add a little more strength to the tone. Also, you could tone down the "ing" endings, at the end of the verse phrases. You could sing "Talking" a little more "Talkin'". "ing" really closes down the throat. Try softening up on it, see how that sounds for you. Overall it was a good performance just bump up that support.
been a longtime ktva member got stages 1,2 and 3 i haven't done stage 3 fully in a while normally get up to track 6 mon-fri, anyway i need some advice on improvement so i thought if i attach a vocal demo then i could get you guys to review it. Criticism is key lol!!!!!!! i've just realised i can't upload .wma formats so hopefully this link will work for you
Something isn't quite right with your file on soundcloud. It gives an error message (pasted below) and also the error page prevents you from backtracking to this forum, so you have to bail out and restart your browser.
See what you can do, perhaps a .wav file? I'm not sure what's up, but see if you can get your demo working on soundcloud, or maybe another filesharing site.
We'll be glad to see if we can get you back on track with your progress!
Nice to hear from you!
Bob
(here's what it says when I click on your current link: )
Oops, looks like we can't find that page!
Did you try to access a private track, but were not logged in?
Sorry about any inconveniences, hopefully this link will work
i am still in a big learning process and i have a long road ahead of me, but i am ready to take all the information in to make me the best that i can be,
Thanks for fixing the link to your demo. It works now.
What I'm hearing is that you need to work on strengthening your support. Your vocal phrases are short and choppy. Improving the strength of your support system will help you to support higher notes without strain and to sustain your notes longer and in a more legato, or smoother sounding way.
Support will also help to allow you to come down from behind and land on your notes instead of reaching up for them.
You may need to go back and review Stage One and Stage Two to make sure you have gotten all of the basics down. I go back and review all the time. I've been through the whole program several times, and I always find new things that I overlooked in my haste before.
Make sure you do your exercises daily, six days a week.
In particular, watch and ensure you are taking in your belly breaths properly, and do the Ha, Ha exercises until you aren't winded at all. Sometimes I will do the one at the end of the Stage Three CD five times in a row! Try to only take in a breath when Ken does. That will help to show that you are getting stronger!
Hey guys! I just recorded a short demo for your criticism! Just bought the program yesterday and the throat opening part really helped but I still feel like I'm going back to my old habits when I'm singing.
Thank you very much for commenting! Well about the like a stone I have to agree... I have QUITE a bit of stage fright and anxiety on stage, and it ends up making me loose a bit of vocal perfomance and control... thats something I will work on alot from now on also, beside the sheer vocal technique part.
Pro's - My voice sounds more whole - I'm able to sustain notes better
Con's - Still lacking breath support and resulted in some shaky and flat notes - Higher register is not used v much in this video but still can't hit the high notes in the second chorus. - This is a lot of chest voice but I still don't feel v comfortable here
Sounds pretty good. You already know that you need to work on buiding up your support mechanism. That is key to building a solid foundation upon which to continue building your voice. You're on your way.
This sounds pretty good. The tone is nice and bright, just lacks a little support. Push that diaphragm and I think the tone will become a lot stronger. Good work.
Hey Guys, here is an audio track that was recorded live last month. I am playing drums and singing this so I was out of breath a lot. How does it sound to you guys?
Sounds good, you have a nice vocal range, but you're right, you do sound a little out of breath. I'm a drummer too, so I know how you feel. You might try cutting back on the air a bit to see if the breathiness is a little less pronounced. This kind of breathing on your recording can contribute to hoarseness and loss of voice if that's the way you normally sing and play. Maybe this was just a more energetic song...
How does your voice hold up in general?
The band sounds good and your drum chops are rockin'.
I always feel my voice is too airy, you nailed it on the head. I am not with this band anymore because I want to focus on singing. My voice doesn't always hold up well. It's inconsistent, this is why I want to change things and do it right. I do get hoarse a lot but haven't sung a lot since this festival I did. This song was really energetic and my voice probably came off worse because I had no breath control for it haha. Thanks again, you're too kind!
Me singing a little bit of BE YOURSELF by Audioslave! For some reason I find the chorus easy to belt with an open throat IF I do not pronounce well the words, if I try to pronounce it a little better it becomes MUCH harder... I noticed also that singing the BE YOURSELF, by pronouncing "BE" yourself using the EH vowel insteead of EE makes it much easier to sustain the whole phrase!
Really good job. You really could brighten up the tone a lot over all. This will add some edge to your tone as well as pull up the pitch in some of the parts. Try it with the bright lah timbre that ken demonstrates in volume 1. You are covering/darkening the tone a lot which Cornell does do but he still uses a brighter tone. You are right on about the Ee vowel remember in the exercises we modify from Ee to Eh. If you go more towards eh in the word Be, the throat will be more open which will make it much easier to sustain.
Thanks for the feedback! About brightening the tone, it was PRETTY late here when I recorded that, so I tried to be a little bit quieter, and everytime I do that it seems I end up sounding a little bit dopy!! I will redo-it when I can sing less worried about volume.
Thanks Ken - I definitely agree that it thins out, particularly as I get to the top of the range. I am focusing on that a lot right now. Hopefully by the next recording I"ll be able to show some progress there.
I'm also really working to get the "grit" part down. I'm not typically in this genre - I come from more of a...hardcore metal, sort of background. I find it's all or nothing (full on scream or sing) that comes naturally. I'm still on Vol 2. Do you think Vol 3 will contain something valuable for me in this area?
Hey Scratch,
This sounds pretty good. The tone is a little covered and you are using quite a bit of air which will restrict your range. I do like the tone but you could brighten it up a lot which would bring up the pitch on a few of the notes as well as add extra tone to your voice. I would suggest starting on volume 1 as the basics are explained. The foundation of KTVA is the use of brighter vowel tones, tons of support as well as vowel modifications. You don't want to miss out in the basics and hit obstacles later in the programs. You need some work on support as well, but are starting from a great spot. Your voice will only get better.
Wow, Scratch....you're awesome mate! I listened to a whole heap of your songs, took me back to my grungy youth :-) Thank you.
I too would suggest starting at volume 1, it just helps to solidify the foundation for volumes 2 and 3. I can only imagine the monster you'll become after working on Kens programs for a while.
Here is my Christmas donation to all. have not been able to play guitar for years with out it killing my left arm. i just found out about 3 weeks ago i can play a nylon sting just fine. so this is my first song on a guitar for years. i bought me a new Cordoba GS Studio. LOVE IT, THANK YOU JESUS. i missed my guitar so much!
I have recently signed up for the course. Actually I am a drummer/songwriter and had no intetions of doing vocal tracks on anything.
But recently I did try to sing for demos etc (to show the singer what my thoughts were)
and found that maybe I should take formal lessons or the like. Found KTVA on the web, and have just started.(2 days ago)
The demo in link is of course _before_ training started.
All inst. played by me, 1. take on all, so not perfect. Not the best audio quality. No guitar added yet. (if you are a guitarist, play along if you like)
Ok I sense I'm very close to getting the right sound so please excuse my
excitement. I made another demo. I tried to merge the almost shouting
voice with my "covered" voice here. And the result sounds more "normal".
What do you guys think?
P.S.
Still pitchy in some places because I realize that I tend to go over
the pitch I intended to sing because vocal projection naturally pushes
the note a semitone higher. Does this still sound open?
I LIKE your TONE! Your voice is coming along! You are correct about it sounding a little pitchy, especially on the notes you hold a little longer at the end of the phrases.
Having a brighter tone helps to expose pitch issues. Now that you have a better tone, you need to learn to listen to yourself internally AS you are singing. Find those places that have pitch issues and practice making the pitch comparisons and adjustments on the fly that you need to make.
The more you practice this skill, the more you improve in this area.
You can also strengthen your support. That will also help your pitch to stabilize.
Your voice is beginning to Open Up nicely.
Sorry it took so long to get back to you. It's been a busy time here in the states this past week.
Was listening to some more bluesy music for a change and got inspired to make a song in that vibe.
This is not my usual style so it was a challenge also, don't hack on the sour note :P this is just a quick demo with me playing guitar and singing at the same time.
Hey Zerathios,
Overall, good job. I would suggest adding more support overall, and using less air on the lower sections. If you cut back the air(cleaner less husky tone) and brighten up that tone(sing into the Mask of the face) I think it will sound even better. It will also help you nail the F4 in the middle of the song. If we start too covered on the bottom end it makes it harder to negotiate the jump to a higher note. Good work!
In the name of absurdity and music: - this is like, part one of "before" in my before and after KTVA series - haha - so please listen generously...this deals with the lower part of my voice - I'm mainly here to discover the higher part! the low notes were recorded with VERY close mic at 5.00 am 10 years ago (an attempted homage to Albert Kuvezin of Yat Kha) I can't do this Live
Could you please lower the key for the chorus a few steps? Just kidding! Wow! That one is Really Down Low!
You will find, like all of the rest of us here, that you will need to improve your breath support, and really open up the throat. The KTVA exercises will really give your upper range a workout and stretch your voice in the upper areas.
thanks for your feedback Bob! - yeah I know I should lower the chorus to make it more "sing-along" hahaha
- watched the Volume 1 videos today - truth be told - haven't come across such radical and genius teaching anyplace during my short half century on the planet!...I love Ken's down to earth appraoch and unassuming delivery!
Greetings! I just purchased KTVA yesterday and cannot wait to get started on the program! I chose KTVA's How to Sing (complete course) in order to help me learn about and grow all aspects of my voice. I'm ready to get to work on the program and look forward to learning from everyonein the forums.
Below is a link to my demo song called Soulshine, written by Warren Haynes. I'm the lead singer/rhythm guitar player for a recently established cover band in NW Indiana and I want to do everything I can to grow my voice...properly with studied technique. I don't have a formal musical background, so having both audio and visual instruction specifically from Ken is why I chose KTVA.
@jasonm.
Really good work. You have nice clean tone. Good and bright. A great place to start from. You are closing down some of the vowels which is causing tension and cutting down your range. Remember it's the Lah. Pay very close attention to the video on the Ah vowel, it is so important. Mouth wide open nice bright tone. In the chorus try singing the word Soul with more Ah in the sound. Even sing it like S-Ah at first to get the throat nice and open. You will notice that it is much easier to sing. All the best!
Hey guys, just recorded a new song, would love some feedback. I recorded this at my house on a protools setup, played all the instruments and did all the vocals, so feedback on any aspect of the instrumentation, vocals and overall songwriting would be greatly appreciated. Good or bad I want to hear it .
Great song nice hook. Vocally you have a nice bright mix going on between head/chest. You could open up some if the vowels so that your tone doesn't become pinched. Good work
@highmtn Thanks Bob! really appreciate the kind words
@sspatrick thank you, the program is really helping on my bright mix, I still tend to pinch off vowels from time to time :-/ but i am getting more aware of it now thanks to Ken.
I made a youtube video for the first time! It's a song I wrote called "Numbers". Feedback would be appreciated! and yes, the falsetto is not the most beautiful I've created :P
Hey Zerathios,
This sounds good. Nice clean tone. Good support. You could open up your mouth a little to open up the sound. I noticed it was pretty closed. Remember the Lah. Keep the jaw down especially on the higher notes. It will give you a better tone and release a little more tension. The falsetto wasn't bad at all. You could use mask a little more to brighten the tone. Good work.
Thanks for the input guy! I do agree that I can sing with my mouth more open but I haven't managed to make it a fully natural part of my singing as of yet - but I'm sure it will come in time
Great job on the Lah vowel. Nice bright tone. You could go more to the uh(hook) mod around the C#5 area. It is splatting a little. Round out the sound to uh then Oo above the E5. This will give it more warmth and make it easier to control. Great job!
@sspatrick Ok right on, I will try these things! Should I do an extended version of the scale when doing the volume 1 workout if I can hit the higher notes (my apologies for posting this here, I thought it was post your demos and videos for anything but after closer inspection it looks like original material/covers)
@DavidG Thanks alot man! Still a work in progress... I'm looking forward to the days ahead though!
It's OK to extend the exercises to suit the limitations or lack therof of your own voice. If you have purchased a KTVA bundle, then you may have also gotten copies of the Divas exercises and videos. Those are great for Dudes that want a little more challenge on the high end of things. Feel free to drop out any time it gets too high, or go on to the mezzo soprano double high C. If that's not high enough for you, just sing the Divas exercises an octave higher than the Divas do.
It's fine to take the exercises as high as is comfortable for your voice, and it's also recommended to stop and wait any time the exercises get too high for you. You can sing the same exercises and play your guitar (or bass) and take it anywhere you want to go.
Hey guys! Haven't been posting much here cause I've been really busy since school started but have been singing non-stop as usual. Just wanted to hear your comments on my latest recording!
My vocalist friends still think it becomes very nasally when I go for the higher notes. And I admit that I can sense the air going towards the nose cavity so that I can hit the higher notes, but I just can't seem to find another way to hit higher notes without doing that.
So I'm going to just say that's my natural tone HAHA!
I like the high notes the best in this recording. You are sounding nice and bright. It could be even brighter and that would be OK. A couple of slight pitch owies, but overall pretty good.
You need to keep working at your support. That will help you to sound like you always have enough air. More support is something we all need.
Good job. I can hear improvement since your last posting.
Jimmy, you're coming in the door at KTVA with a very nice sounding voice and good pitch. I listened to the three songs your link leads to. Very interesting sound. Nice and Bright!
I'm really looking forward to hearing what you're going to sound like after working Ken's exercises for a good while!
Jimmy, you're coming in the door at KTVA with a very nice sounding voice and good pitch. I listened to the three songs your link leads to. Very interesting sound. Nice and Bright!
I'm really looking forward to hearing what you're going to sound like after working Ken's exercises for a good while!
OK, not easy to do here (it was a good idea EARLIER, but know that I hear it, I want to try to make a better version! ouch!!). However, I need to make a "line in the sand" here as I did not before I started working on Vol1. So here I am, now in Vol2 with a version of Blackbird for your listening (dis)pleasure!!; I would never have even tried this a few months ago.
Thanks for your time, any and all feedback is welcome . . . it can only get better!. -Kenbo [LINK REMOVED]
soundcloud seems to be acting a little flakey this past week. When I click your link, I go to souncloud, but a different artist and song shows up each time, and I don't think any of them are you.
No song titled Blackbird ever shows up, and if I search for Blackbird on soundcloud I don't see any kenbo's.
Can you give us more search criteria to find your file? This has happened this week on other postings, as well. Seems to have something to do with the "new, improved" soundcloud.
@highmtn, thanks for checking though. I just tried to edit some of the tags, but no luck. I will try to re-upload tomorrow. I only used soundcloud because I saw it on another's post. My initial mp3 upload was not accepted. In your opinion what's the best tool/site to use for uploads? Thanks. -kenbo
Hey everyone just wanted to share my band website www.massskyraid.com it has some songs that i recorded about 6 months or so ago. Kens techniques really helped me in the studio. They are pritty demanding high songs and I only had a few days to do all of them and the harmonies. They are all origionals that me and my band wrote.
HI Bob thanks heaps for the feedback yeah its our first band recording so we are pritty happy . Learning heaps from the course and webinars its great stuff!
everything sounds good to me - bright, open throat and good vowel mods - besides a few minor things: try to hold your support longer so that you finish the scale licks or runs without the bump, and use glottal compression to add a little tone.
For the glottal compression I think it depends which stage your on. If you're still doing vol.1 in full chest plus another set in mixed voice, then it might be time to go to stage two first and ignore I ever said glottal compression in the first place...
I dont see the problem with making your own scales, as long as you continue doubling up those workouts like that and trying to get to stage 3 ASAP.
today we have recorded a new song and I would like to share a demo of my singing with you. I´d like you to tell me your opinions on it. I am working on support and opening my throat so if you can make a comment to it...
It is very short but I hope you can see sth from that
(Btw. I am still on Volume 1, so not advanced at all, just want to know how I am doing )
@cgreen. I can't tell you have a cold at all. The highs are still nice and bright but you are closing down on the vowels. Trying sing the whole phrase with a nice open Ah vowel modifying to Uh towards the higher notes then add the words back in. Also you are using a lot of air in the lower sections of the verse. I know this is stylistic but try using a little less air sing the notes nice and clean and then add an H sound through the phrase to get a bit more air. Split the difference between the clean tone and the airy tone and see what you think.
You have a very well connected smooth voice and good intonation. That is an excellent starting point for vocal development. If I were you I would want to work on beefing up my vocals overall to get a bigger, stronger sound while still maintaining the agility you already have.
Fortunately you've come to the perfect place; beefing up the voice is what Ken does best.
You have a nice voice. Your pitch is good. I think you could benefit by building your support, especially when you go into head voice. Ken's exercises will really build your voice.
@ragnar thank you for watching my vid. I appreciate the feedback. I should be much further along by now, but i haven't been able to really practice.. I moved across the country, got a new job, then a promotion, so hopefully now i can dive back in to the lessons..
I can't believe i am doing this, but here is my cover of Whitney Houston's "I Didn't Know My Own Strength." The vocals are a little pitchy in places, but i think i am on the right track. Please let me know what you think. I am considering online lessons, but i am not sure yet! Enjoy
I've always liked this tune, and you do it justice. I think you could emphasize the AH vowel and open up the vocals a bit. I especially like the bridge on this tune. Again, if it were opened up just a bit more and the vowels a little more contiguous, I think it would be that much better.
Would you like to share your thoughts with us on your performance?
Comments
Dingo,
Thanks for posting that original version. Her melodies are so complex that hearing you sing it almost without accompaniment was difficult for me to grasp what was happening melodically. You are brave for tackling something that challenging and posting it up for comment.
Hearing the original helps me to have a context for your demo. You did a good job. Because of the cell phone aspect with the suppressed backing track, it has a little of the effect of listening to someone singing along to their ipod with their headphones on when you (the listener) don't have headphones on... You know what I mean? You hear all of the little trailings off at the end of a note that you wouldn't normally hear in a performance.
Laura Marling sings with an airy, breathy tone, so your version really isn't inappropriately breathy, but more cord closure might sound good, as well. Ken demonstrates more closure when he does his famous "It's the LAW!!! AHHH!!!" It's that bright AHH that has a lot of cord contact.
To feel and hear your cords close, just go huttt! Huttt! Not too loud, but make an "H" sound and close it off with an "ut"... The "ut" part shouldn't have a real "T" sound made with your tongue, it just needs the cords to gently come together. The Beginning "H" sound is air going through your glottis, and the ending is the cords closing. Your cords join together at the front of your throat, like the center part of a "V". The open part of the "V" is at the back of your throat. For "H's" we open the cords. For cord closure, and closed tones, we just bring them together. You can hold this closure tighter or more loosely. The more open the cords, the more breathy the tone, which also can mean the dryer the cords will get as more air is escaping and passing over the cords.
The more closed the cords are, the more tone and brightness you can coax out of them. Your air will also last longer because it is not all rushing out through the open cords. You use less air with closed cords, but you must also use more pressure to get the air past the vibrating but closed cords.
I'm not sure where the music source was in relation to your phone, or if the phone itself was mic, sound source, and recorder. If you have a separate sound source for the music playback, you can experiment with near/far placement to achieve a "mix" for your recording, also moving yourself relative to the mic and the music source. With this type of demo, it can also be difficult to discern how much of the vocal is the student wanting evaluation and the original artist singing in the background. I can hear you in there, but my ears want more you. You sound good.
And yes, the red "record" light always gets the brain into hyper-awareness mode.
Bob
Hi friends, how are you? I'm from Brazil, and this is me singing a brazilian song!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JtZRIphmCQ
Hey, Joe!
Thanks for posting! Nice video and nice voice. Looking forward to hearing more from you!
Bob
Adam this volume is so low I can't hear the sample
Scott,
What did you do? Crank the speakers up to full volume and put them on your head like headphones? Ha, ha!
That's the only way I could make it out. Couldn't hear it at all with headphones turned up full blast.
Adam, in the future, maybe check your record levels out and listen to the playback to see if others will be able to hear you. Scott is right, it does sound pretty good, and his suggestions are worth following. It's just Really Hard to Hear.
Ron, your performance was interesting, as always. Did geno mix this for you? He's good. It is hard to hear your voice through the music on this one. Some pitch issues here and there, but you always like to give us the real, raw merchandise. Your natural abilities shine through in your ability to hit high notes without effort, but then your lack of discipline (your warts and all philosophy) gives us the resonance along with a dose of dissonance. You Rock, especially given your frequently-stated disdain for practicing, perfecting, and polishing. You just sing. No practice, no scales, what comes out is what comes out. Born to sing.
I'd like to see what would happen if you would actually apply some good old-fashioned disciplined elbow-grease technique to your natural God-given talent. May I suggest the Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy as a possible avenue to ROCKET your voice to the levels it has the full capacity to achieve?
My best to you, Ron.
Bob
Hey, dibley!
Something isn't quite right with your file on soundcloud. It gives an error message (pasted below) and also the error page prevents you from backtracking to this forum, so you have to bail out and restart your browser.
See what you can do, perhaps a .wav file? I'm not sure what's up, but see if you can get your demo working on soundcloud, or maybe another filesharing site.
We'll be glad to see if we can get you back on track with your progress!
Nice to hear from you!
Bob
(here's what it says when I click on your current link: )
Oops, looks like we can't find that page!
Dibley!
Thanks for fixing the link to your demo. It works now.
What I'm hearing is that you need to work on strengthening your support. Your vocal phrases are short and choppy. Improving the strength of your support system will help you to support higher notes without strain and to sustain your notes longer and in a more legato, or smoother sounding way.
Support will also help to allow you to come down from behind and land on your notes instead of reaching up for them.
You may need to go back and review Stage One and Stage Two to make sure you have gotten all of the basics down. I go back and review all the time. I've been through the whole program several times, and I always find new things that I overlooked in my haste before.
Make sure you do your exercises daily, six days a week.
In particular, watch and ensure you are taking in your belly breaths properly, and do the Ha, Ha exercises until you aren't winded at all. Sometimes I will do the one at the end of the Stage Three CD five times in a row! Try to only take in a breath when Ken does. That will help to show that you are getting stronger!
Keep working at it and you will get there!
Bob
Just bought the program yesterday and the throat opening
part really helped but I still feel like I'm going back to my
old habits when I'm singing.
Here's the demo:
Thank you!
Johnny Cash - Hurt:
Dave Gahan - Saw Something:
Please feel free to criticize!!
Raphael,
I especially like the Johnny Cash tune. Good pitch, good tone! The Dave Gahan tune is also very good.
Like a stone, being a live recording, doesn't quite have the control and precision of the other two tunes, but you do a good job on it as well.
Sounds like you have been working hard since your last demos!
Good job, keep it up.
Bob
Pro's
- My voice sounds more whole
- I'm able to sustain notes better
Con's
- Still lacking breath support and resulted in some shaky and flat notes
- Higher register is not used v much in this video but still can't hit the high notes in the second chorus.
- This is a lot of chest voice but I still don't feel v comfortable here
Saif,
Sounds pretty good. You already know that you need to work on buiding up your support mechanism. That is key to building a solid foundation upon which to continue building your voice. You're on your way.
I like this demo. Keep 'em coming!
Bob
put up another one in 2 weeks!
This sounds pretty good. The tone is nice and bright, just lacks a little support. Push that diaphragm and I think the tone will become a lot stronger. Good work.
http://picosong.com/39g4/
lpjosh,
Sounds good, you have a nice vocal range, but you're right, you do sound a little out of breath. I'm a drummer too, so I know how you feel. You might try cutting back on the air a bit to see if the breathiness is a little less pronounced. This kind of breathing on your recording can contribute to hoarseness and loss of voice if that's the way you normally sing and play. Maybe this was just a more energetic song...
How does your voice hold up in general?
The band sounds good and your drum chops are rockin'.
Bob
I always feel my voice is too airy, you nailed it on the head. I am not with this band anymore because I want to focus on singing. My voice doesn't always hold up well. It's inconsistent, this is why I want to change things and do it right. I do get hoarse a lot but haven't sung a lot since this festival I did. This song was really energetic and my voice probably came off worse because I had no breath control for it haha. Thanks again, you're too kind!
For some reason I find the chorus easy to belt with an open throat IF I do not pronounce well the words, if I try to pronounce it a little better it becomes MUCH harder... I noticed also that singing the BE YOURSELF, by pronouncing "BE" yourself using the EH vowel insteead of EE makes it much easier to sustain the whole phrase!
http://picosong.com/3fL3/
Big fan of the KTVA and student of the program. I wanted to share a demo from my new band - if you'd like to give it a listen, I'd love some feedback.
Please check out Ouroboros -
Low quality streaming:http://www.reverbnation.com/shivastone
HQ download:https://dl.dropbox.com/u/5148684/Ouroboros_m2.mp3
It was all recorded and mixed in our home studio, so it's not pristine.
Thanks!
http://facebook.com/shivastoneband
Decent professional presentation.
The top is a bit weak and could be better supported (especially for this style of music).
But you have clear tone (support will also help you pitch as well and give you a little more grit) :-)
Still on the fence on which program to do, or even which course to take.. but this is me..
www.soundcloud.com/scratchtracks
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/cordoba-gk-studio-acoustic-electric-nylon-string-flamenco-guitar
here's the song
https://www.box.com/s/eaumcngmkv0jtpfat8tp
Hey, Arnie,
These are good recordings, and they show where you are vocally right now...
You are going to find that after applying yourself to Ken's methods your voice will grow exponentially.
Pay lots of attention to Ken's instructions on vocal support, tone, the AH vowel, vowel modifications...
everything, really.
You already have good pitch, and a firm background in music.
From one drummer/vocalist/recordist to another, Welcome!
Bob
https://soundcloud.com/saiful-rizal/when-i-was-your-man-cover
P.S. Still pitchy in some places because I realize that I tend to go over the pitch I intended to sing because vocal projection naturally pushes the note a semitone higher. Does this still sound open?
Wow, Saif,
I LIKE your TONE! Your voice is coming along! You are correct about it sounding a little pitchy, especially on the notes you hold a little longer at the end of the phrases.
Having a brighter tone helps to expose pitch issues. Now that you have a better tone, you need to learn to listen to yourself internally AS you are singing. Find those places that have pitch issues and practice making the pitch comparisons and adjustments on the fly that you need to make.
The more you practice this skill, the more you improve in this area.
You can also strengthen your support. That will also help your pitch to stabilize.
Your voice is beginning to Open Up nicely.
Sorry it took so long to get back to you. It's been a busy time here in the states this past week.
Bob
DavidG,
Could you please lower the key for the chorus a few steps? Just kidding! Wow! That one is Really Down Low!
You will find, like all of the rest of us here, that you will need to improve your breath support, and really open up the throat. The KTVA exercises will really give your upper range a workout and stretch your voice in the upper areas.
Looking forward to your progress.
Bob
Below is a link to my demo song called Soulshine, written by Warren Haynes. I'm the lead singer/rhythm guitar player for a recently established cover band in NW Indiana and I want to do everything I can to grow my voice...properly with studied technique. I don't have a formal musical background, so having both audio and visual instruction specifically from Ken is why I chose KTVA.
https://soundcloud.com/jasonmmurphy11/soulshine
Sounds good, jasonm!
You're coming in the door with a lot of skills.
Listen to everything Ken says in the videos. You will find that if you do as he says, your voice will grow even more, in range, tone, and strength!
Nice to have you here!
Bob
@justinocdp,
Good job on the song. Writing, recording, playing, and singing. All good.
Interesting tune, competent with anything you would hear on the radio. Good hooks, nice production.
Catchy tune. I'll probably have it playing back in my brain when I try to go to sleep tonight!
Well done!
Bob
Great song nice hook. Vocally you have a nice bright mix going on between head/chest. You could open up some if the vowels so that your tone doesn't become pinched. Good work
@justinocdp
Justin, these are more than kind words, they are truth!
It's good. The songs are good. The sound is good. Your voice is good.
Good Job!
Bob
Great job on the Lah vowel. Nice bright tone. You could go more to the uh(hook) mod around the C#5 area. It is splatting a little. Round out the sound to uh then Oo above the E5. This will give it more warmth and make it easier to control. Great job!
@AdrianD
It's OK to extend the exercises to suit the limitations or lack therof of your own voice. If you have purchased a KTVA bundle, then you may have also gotten copies of the Divas exercises and videos. Those are great for Dudes that want a little more challenge on the high end of things. Feel free to drop out any time it gets too high, or go on to the mezzo soprano double high C. If that's not high enough for you, just sing the Divas exercises an octave higher than the Divas do.
It's fine to take the exercises as high as is comfortable for your voice, and it's also recommended to stop and wait any time the exercises get too high for you. You can sing the same exercises and play your guitar (or bass) and take it anywhere you want to go.
Bob
been really busy since school started but have been
singing non-stop as usual. Just wanted to hear your
comments on my latest recording!
My vocalist friends still think it becomes very nasally
when I go for the higher notes. And I admit that I can
sense the air going towards the nose cavity so that
I can hit the higher notes, but I just can't seem to find
another way to hit higher notes without doing that.
So I'm going to just say that's my natural tone HAHA!
Please do tell me what you think:
Saif,
I like the high notes the best in this recording. You are sounding nice and bright. It could be even brighter and that would be OK. A couple of slight pitch owies, but overall pretty good.
You need to keep working at your support. That will help you to sound like you always have enough air. More support is something we all need.
Good job. I can hear improvement since your last posting.
Bob
@jimmy
Jimmy, you're coming in the door at KTVA with a very nice sounding voice and good pitch. I listened to the three songs your link leads to. Very interesting sound. Nice and Bright!
I'm really looking forward to hearing what you're going to sound like after working Ken's exercises for a good while!
It's going to be a wonderful journey!
Bob
OK, not easy to do here (it was a good idea EARLIER, but know that I hear it, I want to try to make a better version! ouch!!). However, I need to make a "line in the sand" here as I did not before I started working on Vol1. So here I am, now in Vol2 with a version of Blackbird for your listening (dis)pleasure!!; I would never have even tried this a few months ago.
Thanks for your time, any and all feedback is welcome . . . it can only get better!. -Kenbo [LINK REMOVED]
@kenbo,
soundcloud seems to be acting a little flakey this past week. When I click your link, I go to souncloud, but a different artist and song shows up each time, and I don't think any of them are you.
No song titled Blackbird ever shows up, and if I search for Blackbird on soundcloud I don't see any kenbo's.
Can you give us more search criteria to find your file? This has happened this week on other postings, as well. Seems to have something to do with the "new, improved" soundcloud.
Thanks.
Bob
@kenbo,
I like soundcloud, but something has caused a few errors recently like yours did today.
Maybe it's just a temporary glitch with their site.
Looking forward to helping steer you in the right direction. Lots of good folks here with good ears and helpful suggestions.
Bob
Cheers,
Adam
www.massskyraid.com
Sounds good, Adam!
Congratulations on a great sounding band and recordings!
Bob
Vlad,
Your demo is very short. Your voice sounds good. You're using distortion.
Make sure you go back and sing cleanly without distortion after singing like that with distortion.
Otherwise, you will lose the ability to ever sing cleanly if you spend too much time singing distorted vocals.
Bob
Hey, Cinema,
Just for reference, when did you record Stranger in the Night? Anything else you want to share with us about that period?
Thanks.
Bob
Nice job on Wayward Son!
Anything Else: Wow. Full-time law school, AND full-time musician. Challenging would be putting it mildly.
Bob
You have a very well connected smooth voice and good intonation.
That is an excellent starting point for vocal development. If I were you I would want to work on beefing up my vocals overall to get a bigger, stronger sound while still maintaining the agility you already have.
Fortunately you've come to the perfect place; beefing up the voice is what Ken does best.
Dale,
You have a nice voice. Your pitch is good. I think you could benefit by building your support, especially when you go into head voice. Ken's exercises will really build your voice.
Bob
thanks, i still don't fully understand the whole support thing yet, but gonna keep working at it
thank you for watching my vid. I appreciate the feedback. I should be much further along by now,
but i haven't been able to really practice.. I moved across the country, got a new job, then a promotion, so hopefully now i can dive back in to the lessons..
@cgreen
I've always liked this tune, and you do it justice. I think you could emphasize the AH vowel and open up the vocals a bit. I especially like the bridge on this tune. Again, if it were opened up just a bit more and the vowels a little more contiguous, I think it would be that much better.
Would you like to share your thoughts with us on your performance?
Bob
@hansonc2
I guess you changed your mind about wanting feedback?
No file to listen to...
Bob