New 2.0 Student
BryanCox
2.0 PRO Posts: 2
KTVA Family,
My name is Bryan and I've just joined your community. I look forward to making progress here with you all. A little about me...
I am 38 years old and in the process of retiring from the Air Force. After 20 years I'm more than ready to focus on the next chapter. I have a beautiful wife and two teenage children. I am originally from Belle, Mo but landed in Owensville, Mo. In my career I was a nuclear weapons specialist with a later focus on electrical troubleshooting. I am on terminal leave for another 75 days then I'm officially free...so to speak.
I began playing guitar when I was 7 and have never stopped. I've been playing the live music circuit (mostly covers) since 2002. I am an accomplished guitar player and a capable singer. I've fronted two bands but spent most of my time tickling the strings. Haha.
From 2013 to 2017, while stationed in Germany, I was in a GerMerican rock coverband called The Smokin' Scarecrowes. I sang lead on "We're An American Band" by GFR and a few others but mostly sang harmony. In 2017 I got pneumonia three times and it devastated my voice. My range dropped significantly, head voice gone entirely (just air), vocal stamina was demolished (voice very fatigued after a song or two), and any time I'd use distortion or go into my belt range I'd cough and choke. I gave up singing entirely.
In 2020 I had to do a 1-year tour in Turkey without my family. I decided that since I had a gigantic house for just me and nothing else to do but work and play guitar, I'd work on getting my voice back, and I had some success. My chest range isn't where it was but I'm also older, so there's that. I still can't belt well but I did get my head voice back, with lower range. And my stamina has improved marginally: If I sing for about 30 - 60 minutes my voice is so tired I can't even hum. I've gleaned all I think I can from free videos and uneducated practice, so I pulled the trigger on the 2.0 course.
Here's a video of a band I was in several years ago. The tune is "Lady Love" by Brian Leneschmidt. Brian is a close friend of mine and I've covered many of his tunes over the years. This band did it as a duet. I am the tall guy with the Strat.
https://youtu.be/cBdh7CUKVPc
My goal here is merely to become a better singer. I'd like to stretch my range to whatever I can, learn to use my belt range and distortion again, and possibly learn to utilize mixed voice live. Right now my range is A#1 to C#5. This is the very bottom of vocal fry to my highest comfortable head voice note. I can go a couple steps higher but that requires real pushing and I don't want to cause any damage. My highest possible chest voice note is C#4, but I don't really think it's usable.
Long intro I know, but I really want to give this a good shot. I can't wait to interact with you all and learn what I can.
P.S. When I figure out how to do some recordings, I'll post them so you all can see what I'm working with.
Best regards,
Bryan
My name is Bryan and I've just joined your community. I look forward to making progress here with you all. A little about me...
I am 38 years old and in the process of retiring from the Air Force. After 20 years I'm more than ready to focus on the next chapter. I have a beautiful wife and two teenage children. I am originally from Belle, Mo but landed in Owensville, Mo. In my career I was a nuclear weapons specialist with a later focus on electrical troubleshooting. I am on terminal leave for another 75 days then I'm officially free...so to speak.
I began playing guitar when I was 7 and have never stopped. I've been playing the live music circuit (mostly covers) since 2002. I am an accomplished guitar player and a capable singer. I've fronted two bands but spent most of my time tickling the strings. Haha.
From 2013 to 2017, while stationed in Germany, I was in a GerMerican rock coverband called The Smokin' Scarecrowes. I sang lead on "We're An American Band" by GFR and a few others but mostly sang harmony. In 2017 I got pneumonia three times and it devastated my voice. My range dropped significantly, head voice gone entirely (just air), vocal stamina was demolished (voice very fatigued after a song or two), and any time I'd use distortion or go into my belt range I'd cough and choke. I gave up singing entirely.
In 2020 I had to do a 1-year tour in Turkey without my family. I decided that since I had a gigantic house for just me and nothing else to do but work and play guitar, I'd work on getting my voice back, and I had some success. My chest range isn't where it was but I'm also older, so there's that. I still can't belt well but I did get my head voice back, with lower range. And my stamina has improved marginally: If I sing for about 30 - 60 minutes my voice is so tired I can't even hum. I've gleaned all I think I can from free videos and uneducated practice, so I pulled the trigger on the 2.0 course.
Here's a video of a band I was in several years ago. The tune is "Lady Love" by Brian Leneschmidt. Brian is a close friend of mine and I've covered many of his tunes over the years. This band did it as a duet. I am the tall guy with the Strat.
https://youtu.be/cBdh7CUKVPcMy goal here is merely to become a better singer. I'd like to stretch my range to whatever I can, learn to use my belt range and distortion again, and possibly learn to utilize mixed voice live. Right now my range is A#1 to C#5. This is the very bottom of vocal fry to my highest comfortable head voice note. I can go a couple steps higher but that requires real pushing and I don't want to cause any damage. My highest possible chest voice note is C#4, but I don't really think it's usable.
Long intro I know, but I really want to give this a good shot. I can't wait to interact with you all and learn what I can.
P.S. When I figure out how to do some recordings, I'll post them so you all can see what I'm working with.
Best regards,
Bryan
Comments
Please take a look around the forums when you can. There is a wealth of information here, and lots of uploads of scales to give feedback on. Giving feedback to other students gives an enormous boost to your own learning, as well as helping anyone that reads it. We have a very supportive community here, so I hope you won't feel nervous about jumping in. We're very glad to have you here.