Guys, i never did any course, i know that im singing completely wrong and yes, I can hear it. But Im just leaving this audio here for you to point me the worst mistakes im doing! I just wanted to sing well, but I just cant do it! Thanks!
Yes, you are singing incorrectly, but you don't have a "bad" voice. You just don't know how to control it and support it, and how to fully use it. Your voice is capable of being stabilized and made more consistent through training. You need to learn proper breath support, better tone, and how to extend your chest voice higher.
Learning a complete singing method that teaches you how to do all of those things can give you the confidence to know what you are doing with your voice, and to open up and sing. All singing methods are not created equal.
There are no quick fixes. There are building blocks and methods of using those building blocks. Step-by-step you work on your voice in an ongoing, methodical way, and it gets better and better, step-by-step.
Yes, you are singing incorrectly, but you don't have a "bad" voice. You just don't know how to control it and support it, and how to fully use it. Your voice is capable of being stabilized and made more consistent through training. You need to learn proper breath support, better tone, and how to extend your chest voice higher.
Learning a complete singing method that teaches you how to do all of those things can give you the confidence to know what you are doing with your voice, and to open up and sing. All singing methods are not created equal.
There are no quick fixes. There are building blocks and methods of using those building blocks. Step-by-step you work on your voice in an ongoing, methodical way, and it gets better and better, step-by-step.
Hello all, Here is a demonstration video of the LAH Vowel. I've been working the program for about three months, and have no issues in the head/chest connection unless I attempt to 'push' through it. I am concerned with the following issues: 1. Nasality, I always seem to sound nasal when I sing, as well as 'breathiness', an inconsistent head/chest connection, and the lack of 'control' in the lower range of my voice. I appreciate all of the help in advance and happy singing!
Thanks for posting. Thanks for announcing your issues so we can address them.
Your singing voice does not sound nasal. Don't worry about that.
Your voice does sound "airy". Have you done a search on "the hut" here in the KTVA forums? That is a quick way to learn what cord closure is. You need a bit of cord closure to reduce your breathiness. You also need to learn to "sing from your gut". That means to engage your belly breath more by pushing down on your diaphragm as you sing and letting that be the power source for your voice. You are presently "singing from your throat" and your cords aren't closed all the way.
You will find that when you get this engagement between your gut (diaphragm) and your closed cords, you will have a richer, more timbral sound to resonate in the pockets in the back of your upper throat.
Your pitch is good. You took a shortcut on a few of the high notes in the scales, but did others all the way to the correct high note.
If you will smile more into the sound,with upper teeth exposed, and open your jaw a bit more, the sound will have a less-obstructed path to project through.
Getting the cord closure adjusted will help you to take the excess air in the passaggio. Practice mimicking Ken's voice on "It's the Lah!!! AHH!!!!" He is doing that with excellent cord closure. That is where the "bright ping" comes from.
Let your arms hang down slack when you do your exercises. If you can, please try to level your camera next time.
I'm on the 22nd day (yes, I'm counting improvements in small steps day by day ) and was wondering if i'm still on the right track. I have tried to follow all the advise given last time and apply to all exercises. I keep doing the basic pitch course at the same time and I can hear improvements already so i will keep doing it for sure.
Would it be wise to start looking into the vowel modifications and start doing some exercises together with the main movie with Ken to start understanding the mods or is it better to keep doing the routine that i'm following wich is warming up exercices + basic pitch course for a little while longer to ensure that I build and get a good support first? I don't think it is wise to start volume 2 just yet as i don't understand the mods and also pitch is still an issue so i'm afraid that I will be chewing more then i can eat by following that route. However please share your advise and your experience to guide me on the right path.
You're doing pretty good. Nice bright tone, jaw open, tongue down, belly breath... but one thing you should improve is: Keeping the ribcage expanded, even between belly breaths. We keep the ribcage about 1/2 to 3/4 expanded so that the weight of the ribcage going in and out doesn't influence the belly breath we are working so hard to maintain.
So you will keep the ribs expanded and suspended until you need a brief break. Just a momentary relaxation, but not on every breath. You could keep the expansion going through this entire scale, in fact, but it wouldn't hurt to have one break in the middle... just a short, instantaneous rest break, and then back to expansion.
You are doing a good job of keeping the shoulders relaxed, even though you have that motion going on in the ribcage.
In fact your pitch isn't bad either, but if you feel it's helping you to work the basic pitch program, then keep it up. Embed those intervals into your brain and your voice, and you'll have it for life. You might start working a little bit of the video in, by way of review. You will notice things every time you re-watch the videos, that you missed before.
After a little more time on basic pitch, then move more into reviewing the video lessons, and when you feel you've got everything working pretty well, that's when it's time to think about Volume 2. The mods become much more necessary in Volume 2, so at least get your toes into the waters with the vowel mods before thinking about moving forward.
thank you for your valuable feedback it is very much appreaciated. I have made a video applying the corrections that you mentioned on my last video and I was wondering if I have improved my rib cage expansion since then. I took a closer look to the videos that i have recorded and wacthed back Ken´s videos and i believe I am doing it correctly but please do correct me if otherwise and i will continuosly improving.
Hello, KTVA. It has been a while since I posted about my singing journey. I didn't get to have as many chances as I would like to practice since I discovered that all-around expansion feeling. Work has been keeping me super busy lately.
So, I've been practicing while looking into the mirror and placing my hands to the sides below my ribs to make sure that area gets gentle expansion on the exhale. I can feel my vocal cords working the way they should, AND I feel like my breath control has stabilized A LOT after I discovered this sensation. But, as always, I might be wrong, and I wouldn't want to practice the wrong way, so I am posting this video to get it checked from the experts!
For me personally, my throat doesn't hurt and I feel like A4, Bb4, and B4 are becoming more consistent for me nowadays. I could definitely use more support nonetheless. As I mentioned, however, I do feel that I have much better command of my breath compared to before. I no longer feel like I'm just shouting out the notes!
Ah, I forgot I had turned my phone upside down while filming this. For some reason, I can't sing scales the way I usually sing when I see the camera rolling in front of me, so pardon the black screen!
Try to get to the correct pitch sooner. You are sliding up to the note such that you are flat until the very last second. Be on pitch sooner. Be flat less. Your support is improving but needs to improve more on the highest pitches. Push down on your diaphragm more and get right to that higher pitch more quickly. Also, try to get over your fear of being filmed. The best way is to go ahead and film yourself and get over your fears and inhibitions. We can see more details about the way you are going about your techniques if we can actually see you.
Ah!! I forgot about that! You've pointed that out multiple times, and I should have had that fixed. I will get on that most definitely. I am glad to hear that my support is improving,and that I am praciticing the correct way. I will continue to work on those things you pointed out to me. Also, you are right in that I have to overcome the shyness if I really want to improve, which I most definitely do want.
You seem to have pretty good pitch, but it we kind of need a backing track to reference for that. You could use a bit more breath control and consistency in your support. Your voice would sound better if it were brightened up some. You have a voice that would respond well to overall training, but it's hard to give you "the magic bullet" in a suggestion or two. The voice is a whole and we build the whole by coming at it from all angles and working on a lot of little things that all add up to the total sum of a great voice.
Your voice doesn't suck. I hear you in there. You need to study a whole course that will give you techniques to work on your voice day in and day out, so that, over time, it develops into something you can be proud and confident in.
All of us here that are studying Ken Tamplin's course are on a journey that will last us the rest of our singing lives. We don't get better overnight, or even after watching all of the videos once to get all of the secrets... It's a matter of working on all of the many details over the long haul that we add notes and tone and consistency to our voices.
You don't have a bad voice. You just need to train it correctly and practice consistently on the right techniques if you want to improve it significantly.
I´m on my 38th day in volume one and i feel my very enthusiastic about all of it so far. I see and feel my support buidling up and helping me so much on singuing, breathing and even getting in tune (yes, it was way worse then what it is). I´m taking a peak everynow and then to volume 2 videos and exercises and wondering if i should start with it already but first I want to make sure that i have a strong foundation before moving forward. I´m not interested in speeding up trough the program, I would like to do things right and steady instead. Having said that can you please provide your valuable advice on my progress and maybe propose some song titles that I can start singuing and practice?
You could use a little more support, over-all, and especially on the high notes. Your lowest notes at the beginning could also use a bit more stability in your support.
You seem to be doing well, and can probably move on when you feel like you're ready. You will have to bring your vowel mods more into play in volume 2.
As to songs you might want to do, that's kind of a personal preference. You should do songs that are well within your comfort zone, to begin with. That might be some folk songs or ballads that you like and feel are in your range. Maybe James Taylor or The Eagles, but those might not be among your personal favorites. Think about it, and see what motivates you to get started on some easier tunes.
Thanks Bob! I'll keep working on building my support and pay closer attention when singuing lower and high notes. I feel I'm getting there, slowly but steady.
You seem to have pretty good pitch, but it we kind of need a backing track to reference for that. You could use a bit more breath control and consistency in your support. Your voice would sound better if it were brightened up some.
Thank you for the feedback, much appreciated. Working on getting the package so I can join you all in this vocal journey.
You're letting your voice break at the passaggio a lot. (the "cry" in your voice) If that's for effect and what you want, then that's fine. I would do it a little less.
Otherwise, you're doing a pretty good job on this. Your support is pretty good. You could brighten your timbre a bit. Your pitch is good.
I've been practicing singing songs now as well, and I would just like to get a check-up. The song is "Cornerstone" by Hillsong. I didn't know, but it sounds like I automatically use vowel mod without really thinking about it. Not too sure what you would think of it, but that's how it sounds to me haha.
By the way, the room I practice in does not have anywhere where I can set my phone down, so I just used the keyboard and the wall. Ha. That's why my video looks a little weird. Pardon my hand movements--I had no idea they were that busy lol
On "high" at the beginning, "I" as in "eye" is hard to sing on a G4. Do it more as "AH" or "AH-EE" (with the EE part being very short at the end of the note, like "In every h-AH-ee and Stormy G-ehl" again substituting eh for the "A" of "gale".
Push down on your diaphragm on the G4. Your support needs to be increased in the beginning, down in your abdomen. Your support is better when you get to the chorus.
I found that in order to get that gentle sound that Paul gets in this song, I had to bridge pretty early to my head voice. Sometimes it was really tough to get the notes right below where I'm bridging lightly. Was I doing this song almost too lightly and sacrificing support?
This is take 14. It's not nearly as polished as the final released version. I like it, because he sounds really a lot more like one of us, rather than the superstar that he also is. You can hear pretty well where he is bridging. One of the things Paul is so good at is matching the two sounds tonally so that it's hard to hear the seam between registers.
What I have to do on this song to get it to sound half-decent to me, is to take phrases like "Knowing that love is to share" and matching the tone at the bottom to the tone at the top note. Texturally, the notes all need to match to sound like one voice as much as possible. So that means you have to put a little bit of head voice texture into "knowing" and make sure "that love" is at the same texture and volume level to match up well. That requires many trials and errors of singing over and over "knowing that love is to share" until it's very very consistent tonally and volume-wise.
You did a good job. I would try to make sure that the high notes don't punch out more loudly than the lower notes, especially within a phrase. I agree that choosing to sing some of the notes in head rather than taking chest up higher is a proper decision in this type of song. Even if you are using a bit of chest voice, it should have a "head" texture, in that it has soft edges, rather than hard cord closure. Not hooty, but also not belty. It's in the soft edges that you can put together the two registers and make them sound like one. Paul was and is still a master in this area of the voice.
On "Making each day of the year" I find that it seems to work the most smoothly to sing "Ma" in soft chest voice and then "king each day of the year" entirely in head that matches the tone I started with. I can sing it all in chest voice, but doesn't fit the song well at all if I sing it like that. I can sing the "ma-" in head, too. It's a B3, and easy to sing in head voice if I want, but my voice seems to like to bridge this line in the middle of the word.
I would hold the "Love" in the intro just a skoshe longer, with a connection to the word "to". Ah-ee Nee-dmah-Lahhhh-vtuh-bee-nee-ah. (the "uh" part would be like the oo (middle) mod of ah).
I really like the backing vocals. Your run on "Knowing that Love" at 1:10 is the best instance of that, consistency-wise.
Well thank you for the compliments and advise @highmtn! I guess I'm almost ready to add it to my set list for open mic nights lol.
Yeah I like that youtube kept up the raw take of the song, I got to isolate and figure out the guitar part better as well, although I goofed on the chorus somewhat Paul McCartney has such a gorgeous timbre for ballads like this.
I noticed something odd. When I applied a bit of a raised larynx to the higher chest notes it helped to make them sound a lot lighter. Does that tend to happen easier in that vocal configuration? I know its not advised to mess with it too prematurely for KTVA but for Paul it seems very effective for shedding the weight even more so he can do ballads like this while staying in his chest voice.
The raised larynx is an OK tool, when done knowingly and with control. It gets to be a problem when we don't know what it is and we allow it to get so high that it jams our throat up on high notes.
The raised larynx does remove a lot of low overtones, so it can make a lighter-sounding tone.
McCartney's tunes tend to dance back and forth around the secondo passaggio, so managing the weight and textures becomes part of the equation for balancing out our vocal approach to his songs.
This song is another ballad that's even more difficult to control your chest voice on. Brian Wilson is also master at blending his head voice with his chest voice and really goes in and out of it like it was nothing here. He's up there with Mickey Thomas and young Elton John with how he uses mixed voice. Brian =Brains of Beach Boys lol
Songs like these are almost as difficult as straight up chesty belting because of the negotiation of your chest and head voice. For me, stylistically I do want to develop a strong chest voice but I also want to do more delicate ballads like this with a more lighter timbre as well. Is this kind of approach more applicable once I get to Volume 3? (I'm starting volume 2 now)
Yes, I agree with you about Brian's ability to mix and blend his voice.
Have you noticed how often Brian wrote in the Key of Eb? It's because of his range. It probably would have killed his voice to take it up another half-step, but my, how he could sing up high in that key!
Don't Worry Baby is a favorite of mine. You got some nice tones and blends in this one, too. And you are right about not wanting to muscle up with chest voice on this kind of song. This kind of texture does not call for belting, it calls for blending.
We want to be able to belt when it's time to belt and we want to be able to blend when it's time to blend.
I would like to hear you sustain most of the notes a little longer, and de-emphasize the consonants. Some of the lyrics seem a little chopped-off, and if you kind of sew them together more, letting one syllable flow into the next, with very light consonants, your delivery of the song will become more sonorous.
You have very nice tone. I would also suggest that some of those very strong notes you sing (the F4's) could be less loud, and still get the point across. The notes are impressive, but a little strong at times, and would make for a more balanced line if you pull those notes back a bit in volume. You certainly have the strength in your voice to belt them out, but try a little gentler approach.
In my opinion, the best part of the song was the ending, where you got very up-close and personal with the lyrics.
Wow man your tone is super close to Eltons post-surgery phase (I like the crooning quality to his voice he gained actually a bit better than his younger tenor days) Awesome job.
The consonants sound OK, but the less of them you use, the more you can form your notes into contiguous phrases that will help to keep your voice in better shape.
Hey guys, I'm fairly new to KTVA, and I'll admit I haven't gotten into regular practice with it yet, but I wanted to hopefully share a song or two with you guys to ask what you think?
This one I did is a cover of Hurt by NiN/Johnny Cash, I did piano and vocals in one take, so it's kinda raw and my timing isn't perfect. But I was happy with it for starters. I also have done another cover recently, but I'm waiting before I upload just yet. Lemme know whatcha think!
I've really enjoyed listening to all the demos so far. Unfortunately, I don't have any recording equipment set up where I'm living now. What I had was VERY basic anyway, but at least it was a way I could work on original music and listen to how I sounded. Anyway, this is my first demo. I do have more current vocals, but they are copyrighted so I don't want to infringe on that. This is a song I wrote about six years ago. I write mainly to help me get through difficult times. It's hard because I don't share my original stuff much, but I really want to work on my vocal strength and range. I welcome any feedback that anyone has. Thank you for your time.
Thank you. I'm looking forward to starting Ken Tamplin's program. I always hesitate to spend money - that's just the way I am - but I really think this will be worth it!
I waited, too. A whole year. Big mistake. I was just as broke when I finally bought it as I was when I decided to wait until I could better "afford it". That put the rest of my singing life and the beginning of my progress on hold for a whole year.
I was happier after getting started on KTVA and seeing the progress I was making. I was hesitant before I bought it because I had been ripped off by several other famous vocal programs that turned out to be lousy, and was afraid KTVA would be the same old flim-flam. It's not. It was what I was looking for all along.
Finally had my first webcam lesson with Ken back in late July. We focused on diaphragmatic breathing and just a bit on vowel mods. One thing he had me do was perform sit ups while singing a scale, then transfer that same breathing sensation to singing the scale while standing up. I wasn't quite sure of the volume I was supposed to go for at the beginning of the lesson, but after singing a weak cover of Unfaithful by Rihanna, he said to go full out and "HIT IT."
I've been doing my scales and sit ups since, and here is a demo of me singing the Lah scale. I am sick in the video with a cold and slightly scratchy throat. Not sure if I'm supposed to be singing at this volume while being sick, but I didn't feel any pain. I think I just cracked once or twice.
Please let me know if it is sounding supported or if it needs more support. Also, I am building the courage to stretch my chest voice instead of skip forward in the tracks back to the lower part of the scales when it gets too high. Please let me know if I am opening and setting myself up correctly for the higher notes as well.
You record your song, and then post it to YouTube or Soundcloud. Then you copy the URL for your post there and paste it into a posting here as a link to your song. Then we click on your link and hear you.
Nice to hear from you again. You are having trouble hitting the pitches on the lowest scales. Those are probably too low for you. After you get to the scales that are a little higher, your pitch is much better. You have good tone and good form (jaw position, posture, good support).
On many of the scales you are not going all the way up to the correct top note of the scale. On that top note, you are on the next note below the one that you should be singing. You're not out of key, you're just taking a "shortcut" and not going quite as high as those scales are intended to take you. Getting that one note up one more notch will take a bit more support to get there. I think you can do it, but you haven't been aware that you are doing the "shortcut" thing.
Thank you for the response. After reviewing your feedback while listening back to my video, I am starting to hear the "shortcut" you have been mentioning. I will focus on adding extra support for those top notes this week and post another video either this weekend or early next week.
Cool. You're very close to the high notes, but once you get it without the shortcut, you will be increasing your accuracy and able to zero-in much closer on tricky melodies. That's why it's important to listen actively and learn to not miss things like that.
Not bad for a first demo. You're singing a bit too loud on some of the notes. That can work against you.
The G# is a little high for you in chest voice now, but I think you'll be there soon. On the Eb you were a little flat.
Keep working the program, and do the basic pitch program for a while, to help train your ear to hear some of the pitch issues.
This isn't an easy song, so don't be surprised if you can't pull it off in your first week, or your first month. Give yourself time to work through the scales and get your voice trained a bit. You'll do fine.
I think we'll hear a lot of improvement as you work the program.
I'll try to bring down the volume a bit, I find it hard to sing with an open throat quietly for some reason I'll start working on it and the pitch program today,
I'll keep working on the scales daily, been going through them about 4-5 times so far so training my voice for about 5+ hours every day
Will get training and repost again in a few weeks to see if I've improved
Here is a demo of me singing "ain't that a kick in the head". This is one of the first times I've sung a karaoke version of it so I think i was a bit flat because I'm used to singing songs with the vocals as well. I really would love feedback mostly on my pitch since that has always been a problem for me. https://soundcloud.com/hugo-morris-700765334/img-0627-online-audio-convertercom Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you.
@HugoMorris Not bad. One thing you can do that will help your sound and also help you to stay on pitch is to brighten your tone. A brighter tone is easier to discern pitch as you sing, and it is the sound that will also grow your voice.
Also, learning and implementing breath support will help you with pitch and with the overall sound of your voice. All singing needs support to sound its best, and important notes like the long sustained ending of your demo require a ton of support to pull off the note. If we don't have enough support, the note will drift off-pitch.
Overall, you have a nice basis from which to build a strong, good voice.
thanks @highmtn for the feedback. I do know about support and brightening the tone but on that day i felt a bit fed up because my voice was weaker than usual and i felt like i was making no progress in singing because my parents told me my pitch had been getting worst lately. So i just quickly recorded the track on my phone while sitting down. But I have recovered from that and I will probable rerecord the song re-upload it. I will a lot more support on that last note, I do have a habit of forgetting support on big notes like that so thanks for pointing that out. Also I wanted to get your opinion on a technique I found for helping pitch. I have started to hum songs and I find that it really helps with my pitch (as well as a brighter tone) I did it a few times on ain't that a kick in the head and I didn't go out of tune once when i sung it. (apart from the last note) It has also worked for other songs as well. Is this also a good way to help with pitch?
Humming can be a good way to warm up and to find resonance in the mask, which is also one of the brighteners of the voice. You can hear those tones well while singing, as they kind of "buzz" in your skull and inner ear.
https://youtu.be/4qBv2U_CDlc Just bought the course Last night. I've been singing for about 5 years self taught. I'm sure missing some key fundamentals and would like some insight as I go through Volume 1. Thanks Ralph!
Hello people, this is my first post here and I just wanted to get some feedback. I've been singing ever since I can remember though I didn't get serious about singing until I entered a talent show in HS. There I beatboxed while singing within it for the performance and after words the choir teacher came up to me and suggested I join choir. So I did and I loved it though back then I was a tenor and over the years I've noticed my voice lower down to high baritone.
As for the link, I have 2 songs up there. 1 in a pop style and the other more classical for reference on my voice. I know they are tenor voices but I still have most of my range from there so I tried them. Thanks for taking a listen to them.
Note: Last track on there is when I was making rap music... life got in the way.
Hello everyone. This is also my first post here, before I got started I wanted to post a demo of sorts.
I've been singing on and off most of my life (now in my mid-20s), but I've never really taken it seriously. As a result I'm mostly self-taught and I think it's preventing me from moving forward. I haven't really posted much online as I did mostly stage musicals at community theatres, but here's a few things I recorded for a Pokemon-themed forum about 6 months ago to get an idea of my singing range and capabilities.
While I'm generally happy with the first song, it's on the second track where you'll notice I can struggle greatly with softer, higher vocals, and I'm just generally inconsistent. If I remember correctly I had to do something like 4-6 takes on each song just to make it sound presentable (and for the second it was only to the point I decided "enough is enough, I have to stop working on this").
So bottom line I struggle with my pitch and breath control, and if I'm honest I don't like the tone or range in my voice either. This makes creating "good" covers very difficult, and it makes live performances very hit or miss to the point I find myself not seeking out opportunities for live performance any longer. I'd like to change that.
Since those recordings I've gotten ever so slightly better at pitch control, but with no real direction in a self-taught environment, I've turned to KTVA. I'd like to get into less stage and broadway-esque singing and diversify, but I don't have a set genre I want to get into just yet. Today I recorded a quick cover of "Better Now" by Collective Soul in a single take to try and set a baseline for my progress. With the exception of a delayed mic cut in at the beginning I had to redub after the fact, it was done as a simulated "live" performance with just some real-time EQ/compression/limiter to get a nice clean recording that helps to cut through the instrumental track better:
Finally, I think it's important to know where I'm going, if not in a genre then at least from a vocal tone/range standpoint. if I had to pick one vocalist that really inspires me to try and sing, it'd be this guy Masatoshi Ono from the J-Rock band Galneryus. Here's a decent example if I'm allowed to post it, bonus for being at the end of a 2 hour concert:
He's got this amazing full tonal presence in his high tenor that seems to completely defy any expectations, the total opposite of what you hear from most rock vocalists I know about (which has a much "breathier" and thin presence on high vocals). He's also nearing 50 so it's clear the guy knows how to sing properly, otherwise that range and tone would probably not be anywhere close to where it is today. I'd love to reach a point where I can try and imitate this voice one day, but I think it's many, many years away, and I need to learn to sing properly if I want to avoid any sort of permanent vocal damage on the way there. Do you think this is a feasible goal to work towards or is it perhaps a little too lofty?
Could you possibly put your demo on soundcloud or YouTube? We don't really expect to have to do downloads to hear demos, because that can expose everyone here to all manner of possible computer problems.
Sure, sorry about that. I tried to make it a SoundCloud link initially but your forum doesn't play nice with those links if the tracks are private. I just made a new account for the demo track to get around it, it's edited in the original post.
It's been more than a year since I last posted here (but I still visit and read a lot! So many awesome songs and covers, and crucial advice!). These last months I had a lot less time to practice singing, finally got some time today... and caught a cold, but I tried recording some covers anyway (Rumour has it by Adele and Empty by Garbage).
Is there a way to make the lower notes less pitchy or are they below my range? My range is quite limited, does it sound possible to extend it a bit? I'm also still struggling a lot with support, will definitely work on that.
Also, I am still not sure whether I am closer to being alto or mezzo soprano, is it possible to tell with these recordings?
Ok, so here´s my third live performance ever, since I started to sing about two years ago. It´s from a local Elvis and Beatles tribute concert, that I reluctantly agreed to join. Definately nervous, and messed up some lyrics and notes. Would be nice with some feedback, so I can improove my singing. Thank you!
Hey there! I've just purchased the full package and I'm just getting started here. Love the forums! So much info, it's like trying to drink from a fire hose!
While I'm not entirely new to singing (it's been a hobby and passion since childhood), I feel I still have a lot to learn, especially in terms of breath support and power.
That said, it would much appreciated to get feedback on my singing—intonation, phrasing, diction, breathing, power, transition between registers, etc.
This is my latest recording. It's not in English, though I think this is the 'cleanest' recording I've done so far, so maybe it's best to start with it.
Here's another cover. (Tough song to sing, and I hope I didn't murder it.)
If anyone could point out specific areas that can be improved, that would awesome!
You're in a pretty good place, vocally. Your intonation and register shifts are pretty good. The way you are handling your breath works fine for these songs. I'm not sure how you do on something that takes a little more power, or less breathy. But I think you might do well on that, also.
Your voice suits these songs.
Also, Please don't post the same post or demo in more than one place on the forums. It gets cluttered and hard to keep track of what posts have or have not been answered. I removed the other copy of this.
Sorry so long to get back to you after you got your soundcloud post fixed, but I lost track of this thread in the process.
Your voice sounds good. I like the group that you posted as your ideal goal. That kind of vocal energy would be a good place to set the bar for your aspirations. It's somewhat more intense than your videogame-themed singing.
I don't think that the Galneryus target is too lofty for you to aim for... but be prepared to work your voice very diligently for a good while. Even if you don't meet or surpass that level of expertise, just think what it will be like to even approach something like that! I say there's your target. Keep it in your sights!
@monkshood, A little feedback for you. Sorry, it took a while to get back to you.
When we sing near the bottom of our range, the support is a little different. It's a bigger part of the cords that we use, and they're about as loose as we ever use them, so intonation and breath pressure is tricky to control down there.
As you know, we push down on the diaphragm to sing high notes. When we go down to our lower range, we have to kind of do that with a little different feel. We're working with a slightly bigger "garden hose" so to speak of air, but the pressure is low, so it's tricky to keep it stable. But that's what we concentrate on, is gently pressing down to help keep that bigger column of air at a very, very even pressure level that is a somewhat low pressure. But steady is the keyword. It's easy for the voice to wobble down low, if we're not maintaining even pressure, and the best way to do that is to be in control of our diaphragm.
What also comes into play here is our cord closure. By maintaining a consistent cord closure (not too tight, but keeping excessive air from leaking through) we can help to maintain more consistent air pressure levels as we move our notes up and down, and as a great side-benefit, our tone gets brighter and richer. Also, cord closure makes our breath last much longer than singing with a breathy tone.
Again, at our lowest notes, pitch is often the hardest to discern. So once again, the prescription for pitch at the bottom end is brighten it up. This may sound counterintuitive, because we automatically assume LOW = Bass, Right? But if you want to have a clear, more pitch-perfect low end on your voice, you need to emphasize the brilliance that can come from getting the bright tone that Ken tells us to use.
As to broadening your range, that will come from exercising and gently stretching your voice, both lower and higher. If you want to work on the low end, then just go over the lower portions of some of the exercises that you find are more difficult to pull off in the low range. Work on those over and over and learn how your support needs to vary as the notes change and work on getting that bright tone more consistently. Same thing for your upper range. And that needs to be bright, as well.
Anyway, work, work, work, and support, support, support.
These things I'm mentioning will help you to zero-in on the things you want to improve.
Nice Job! Good recovery when you had a problem with the lyrics!
You're kind of using what is called a "covered" sound, which is appropriate for Elvis type songs, where you want a deep sound. You could brighten the sound up somewhat by smiling more and uncovering your upper teeth as you sing. Smiling high into your cheeks and eyes causes the tone to brighten, as you "aim" the sound towards the hard surfaces in your vocal tract, like the backs of your upper teeth and the hard palate.
You sound pretty decent on "He'll Have to Go". You've got quite a range down low. That low C is really down there. I like that the Low note is on the word "Low....."
As I told @monkshood in the thread above, there are some different dynamics to the breath that we have to manage at our lowest notes. We have our vocal cords super-loose, and the slightest change in cord tension makes a big difference, as do any variances in air pressure.
You're not too shabby on your upper chest range either.
Read up a lot on support. That is key to getting more control throughout your vocal range. It takes some experimentation and time to get a grip on support.
Your Amazing Grace was as low as I've ever heard anybody sing it. Impressive!
Although you do a good job with acapella, it would be helpful to have some sort of key reference to give you much evaluation on pitch. On "He's Got To Go" it drifted a bit on the low pitch.
Nice to meet you. Looking forward to how your voice is going to grow with Ken's program!
Nice Job! Good recovery when you had a problem with the lyrics!
You're kind of using what is called a "covered" sound, which is appropriate for Elvis type songs, where you want a deep sound. You could brighten the sound up somewhat by smiling more and uncovering your upper teeth as you sing. Smiling high into your cheeks and eyes causes the tone to brighten, as you "aim" the sound towards the hard surfaces in your vocal tract, like the backs of your upper teeth and the hard palate.
Very good.
Bob
Thank you Bob! I'll definitely keep that in mind for other types of songs. In this particular occasion, I tried to do my best creating a type of Elvis-ish sound. I messed up a bit because of the nerves. Hoping to get rid of some nervousness in time. I really appreciate your input, to help me become better. This Saturday (17/12-16) I'm going to do my fourth performance in front of a crowd, in a Christmas concert. Both scary and exciting. It's going to be another type of a song, so I'll try to brighten up the sound a bit more. It's a whole new world for me, as a beginner in singing. Sooo many things to learn
This thread was the main reason that prompted me to register on this site. I have uploaded two tracks to SoundCloud - I have a rather limited range, and at the moment those are the songs that I am most comfortable with. Pardon the audio quality, which isn't great:
Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton: You and Me by Lifehouse:
You sound pretty good on these tunes. You are using mostly head voice throughout these songs. So that is a light, airy, heady tone. It doesn't work very well when you get to the lowest notes of these songs.
Normally you would use chest voice for the low notes and head voice for the higher notes. Even better would be to use your mid voice in a chest configuration up to about F#4, unless you are looking for a lighter sound. These two tunes could qualify for "lighter", but I'm not hearing any chest voice in these tunes.
To use chest, you would have to build the Passaggio, or "bridge" between chest voice and head voice, and to be able to "connect" them without a break in your voice. Singing it all in head voice lets you avoid transitioning, but limits the range that you can sing in.
KTVA advocates stretching your chest voice up considerably, as well as also learning to bridge into head voice. That gives you options on each song, to either sing with a little more emphasis, or to keep it light. And of course, if you want to, then you can belt through that area of the voice, if you build the stamina and strength to do so.
After building an extended chest voice, and then building an extended and strengthened head voice, you can learn to combine the two in a blend that can range from very soft to very emphatic, with a lot of tone variation.
I think you need to learn to sing with a little more cord closure, and to develop some stronger breath support, to give you more of a solid basis to give more form and consistency to your voice.
Thanks very much for the recommendations - this will take me a while to digest! I'm trying to understand the terminologies you mentioned, and once that's done I'll hopefully make some progress.
Fatigue and a lack of range are indeed the main issues I have. If you don't mind, here's a song with a slightly wider range that I have attempted. Perhaps you will be able to pick up even more problems/attributes from this song?
I have never made an effort in my life to learn how to sing and now at age 52, I want to learn to sing to go along with my Ukulele. I have never taken a vocal lesson in my life and since the price of the Weekend Warrior program was VERY wife friendly, I purchased it In my mind I believe my skill level in singing is a 2 to 3 out of 10 and I hope to get it to a 6 or 7 within a year. Here is a YouTube video of me singing so that I know what I sound like now and can compare it to a few months from now to see how far I have come along. I am singing along to People are Strange by the Doors. I purchased the program last night and just watched the first video. Here is to making 2017 the year of the voice ! Any comments are welcome
Been working on pitch of late plus trying to brighten up my lowest notes.
Here's singing down to a E2. I can go down to D2 but can't sustain as good as E2. Is this bright enough?
And in the middle of my voice ... chorus a little weak/flat but showing promise ... maybe?
And then at the extreme of my chest G4 (I think) ... in this I'm trying to be as bright as possible. I'm actually singing very softly/quietly but it comes out big ... thoughts?
You need to open up your AH vowel. Listen very carefully to how Ken says "It's the LAH!!! AH!!!" It's very bright and very, very AH. You are a little more "uh". So you're at "It's the luh, uh. You want It's the LAH!!! AH!!! It's mostly a matter of being bright and having your jaw really open and your throat really open. Ah is the most open vowel.
A good AH needs your throat to be very open. As if the doctor wants to see your tonsils. He can't see them if you say uh. So make it more AH!
Now, the notes. You are pretty close on the starting note, but then on the rest of the notes, you aren't moving up enough. In other words, your notes are too close together. The top note is one octave higher than the first note. So it goes from a low note on B-flat (Bb) to a high note on the next Bb up.
Sorry. I got cut off while I was writing, and lost a lot of my response I was writing. You got on pitch for a while at about 2:14, and you do a much better job until about 3:22. Then you kind of lose it again.
Study that part. Practice that part of the exercise and figure out what you were doing right there that you weren't doing at the first and at the end. You were in the pocket there. That's what you need to emulate more.
Stop the playback and just do one exercise scale at a time, and slow it down if you need to, in order to make sure you are doing the melody right, and on-pitch.
You'll have to listen very carefully to make sure you are on the same pitch Ken is singing, and doing the melody right, from start to finish.
You can do this. It's just going to take you a while to get your bearings.
It will take some work, but this will improve your voice. You may need to spend some time learning to hear more closely and matching pitches. It's not the easiest thing in the world to do, but it is doable.
Give yourself time for improvements to show up. Focus on what you were doing right between 2:14 and 3:22 so you can replicate that more and more.
Hi @all I've recorded my first tries on liprolls. I have not proceeded to the tongue excercise or the Ah vowel, yet. Until now I just tried to get the supported breathing right. (I postet some questions and what it feels like for me in the appropriate forum chapter) And as I had trouble in determining if I am doing it right or wrong I startet to apply the supported breathing to the liprolls. That helped a lot to narrow down what works and feels good and what does not. I am still not sure if thats what I'm doing is the right thing to do, but I will get it right some time. Thanks to highmtn for analysing.
-> I come constantly back to practising the supported breathing with the new things I learned from the liprolls.
So I will stay a little with practising the liprolls coming back to the supported breathing excercises and as soon as I am not getting any further I will start the tongue exercise, to see if I can learn somthingfrom them to apply to the supported breathing.
Please feel free to comment on what is right and wrong.
What I hear by myself: - The bright ping is missing. (I expect that will come as soon as I come back to the liprolls with the knowledge of the Ah vowel) - Sometimes the start of a liproll is explosive. (That means for me that in the beginning I use too much air pressure -> Work on balance of supported breathing) - The sound is not as relaxed as it should be. - When it goes higher in the scale, there is something happening, but I can not describe it properly. I susspect some muscle under the chin is having a will of it's own, but I am not sure. - If you have tips ... I take them :-)
yes, it has it's funny moments ;-) Nevertheless: Your voice has an unique quality which I like in this recording.
I suspect, that you do not hear yourself good enough while doing the excercises. Do you have i.e. headphones on where you hear the piano and Ken but not yourself or is the piano and Ken very loud compared against your voice? To hear yourself only over the inner ear would be not enough as far as I know. Perhaps listen to one scale at a time and repeat it without Ken and the piano. Record this and listen and adapt.
But I'm only starting myself, not knowing what to do, so be careful with my comments...
Hi GUYS, I am in my 2nd week of Volume 1 and finding things okay, I was a little puzzled when singing along to the audio section whether i should be breaking into head voice. But i guess I do . I keep the sound as quiet as possible in order to keep the dynamics of my voice consistent throughout. I'm assuming for the next month or so i just keep attempted the exercises every day and should see some smoothness start to develop in the transition.
Just to introduce myself to the group i am uploading a current demo of me singing with my band (Where i am the reluctant guitarist that had to sing, as no-one else would, lol) Please feel free to comment https://youtube.com/watch?v=U9UoSWVdD8E
I'm happy to be on board and take my vocals to the next level.
Hi everyone have a track to get some criticism on. Just want opinions on my tone, pitch, etc whatever that comes to mind when listening. Had to be a little quiet when I recorded this socouldn't go all out and recorded on my phone sorry it isn't the best quality. The original song is Zzyx Road by Stone Sour in case anyone wants some reference. Look forward to some feedback. Thanks!
I started Ken Tamplin's Pro package course just 4 weeks ago, and my voice has dramatically improved. I am so in love with singing, now!!!!! I JUST finally got vibrato after YEARS of trying....thru tears and frustration. The more I practice what Ken tells me to do (and giving it to God for His glory), the more my voice is becoming free!!
I started Ken Tamplin's Pro package course just 4 weeks ago, and my voice has dramatically improved. I am so in love with singing, now!!!!! I JUST finally got vibrato after YEARS of trying....thru tears and frustration. The more I practice what Ken tells me to do (and giving it to God for His glory), the more my voice is becoming free!!
I'm 1 month into the program and really have nothing to compare to so I'm hoping for some critiques on my LA and LAH vowel exercises.
Just a little background, I'm a gigging guitarist who figured my talents lie elsewhere than singing. I'm really hoping KTVA will prove me wrong. So here they are. I'm a big boy! Lay it on me!
first I have to say, that I am also new to this. So do not take my word for true. I listened to the first few scales and here is what I hear:
1) I have the impression that your voice is on the way of developing the bright ping. Good! 2) It sounds as if you should do this excercise more slowly, because I hear you "Swimming". Means I think you are searching a little bit for the pitch or more precisely the correct note in the scale. 3) Is your support while going up the scale the same as going down or are you getting lazy downstairs? I have a feeling of inconsistency while listening. 4) From scale 7 on you get louder. Try to do this more evenly. And try to do it more relaxed.
Overall I would be glad if I would have developed that brightness until now.
I hope someone whith more knowlege than me is correcting my comments if they need correction.
Nice voice. The music is not what I like, but it would be a funny world if we were all alike ;-) First I have to say, that I am also new to the program. So do not take my word for true.
Here is what I hear: 1) Sometimes I think the consonants are getting in your way of singing, when this happens your open sound closes for a small time. I do not mean the soft breaking of your voice at the end of some lines, that seems to be intended to appear soft. 2) On some of the lower notes you seem to loose support.
@Donna Bright, you need to open up your vocal tract and use the computer program you've been working with to get on the right notes. You aren't singing the correct notes, and I can tell by listening, that your vocal tract is not open like it needs to be. It's the LAH!!! AH!!!!
Also, you are directing a lot of the sound up into your nasal cavity, and not projecting it out your mouth with an open throat. You are singing into a pressurized place instead of letting it come out through an open vocal tract.
@Seiler - Your lip rolls sound good. You just need to keep practicing them and you will get better. When you get up high, it's the ability to remain relaxed that will help them to sound better, that and also supporting more by pushing down on the diaphragm for the highest lip rolls.
@CurtisSenior - Read in the chest-stretching category the posts on alternating your workouts between stretching chest and also bridging into head voice. You should be practicing your workouts in both of these different ways to develop both bridging into head voice and also remaining in chest voice and expanding your chest range. Do your workout 2x, once softly bridging, Once with firmer breath and no head voice.
@matthewlo - Brighten it up, work on your support. Too many variables to list. Give me a Lah exercise and we can narrow down some issues. You need to work on your foundation now, not the roof. Please submit an exercise rather than songs. I gave you some things to work on in your last Lah exercise you submitted. Are you working on that?
@Cara - Nice job on both songs. On Tears in Heaven you could work out that portion from 4:05 to about 4:10 with a little more accuracy, but really good work, overall.
@guitarnate - got off to a rough start. By about the 5th scale, you're on track. Try to land on each note with accuracy. Sometimes it sounds like you get lost in the middle with an extra note or two. It will come with time and repetition. You're doing a good job of paring down the tone up top. Remember to use support throughout, increasing towards the top notes, but don't slack off as you get past the high note, either. Support all the way back down. Keep those low notes bright.
Thanks so much for the feedback. I agree with what you guys have pointed out. I recorded these a little differently than how I normally practice. I wanted you to just hear my voice so I played the Ken Tamplin work outs in my right ear, then did something that may have been detrimental to my intonation - plugged my left ear with my index finger to try to get the best intonation possible. I think that back fired though!
One thing I've never fully understood is how to make a scale sound like a scale and not just a constant siren note. With guitar and piano, there's a nice crisp attack on each note. How do you do that with these scales, especially at faster tempos?
My gut reaction is to say "I'll rerecord them and show them I can do better." But that wouldn't be all that productive. Instead, I'm going to do a 2 month update in February. I'm sure continuing with the course and using your pointers, I'll be able to demonstrate some improvement.
Comments
Bob
Learning a complete singing method that teaches you how to do all of those things can give you the confidence to know what you are doing with your voice, and to open up and sing. All singing methods are not created equal.
There are no quick fixes. There are building blocks and methods of using those building blocks. Step-by-step you work on your voice in an ongoing, methodical way, and it gets better and better, step-by-step.
You have a good voice. It needs training.
All the Best.
Bob
Hello all,
Here is a demonstration video of the LAH Vowel. I've been working the program for about three months, and have no issues in the head/chest connection unless I attempt to 'push' through it. I am concerned with the following issues: 1. Nasality, I always seem to sound nasal when I sing, as well as 'breathiness', an inconsistent head/chest connection, and the lack of 'control' in the lower range of my voice. I appreciate all of the help in advance and happy singing!
-Brandon
Hi, Brandon.
Thanks for posting. Thanks for announcing your issues so we can address them.
Your singing voice does not sound nasal. Don't worry about that.
Your voice does sound "airy". Have you done a search on "the hut" here in the KTVA forums? That is a quick way to learn what cord closure is. You need a bit of cord closure to reduce your breathiness. You also need to learn to "sing from your gut". That means to engage your belly breath more by pushing down on your diaphragm as you sing and letting that be the power source for your voice. You are presently "singing from your throat" and your cords aren't closed all the way.
You will find that when you get this engagement between your gut (diaphragm) and your closed cords, you will have a richer, more timbral sound to resonate in the pockets in the back of your upper throat.
Your pitch is good. You took a shortcut on a few of the high notes in the scales, but did others all the way to the correct high note.
If you will smile more into the sound,with upper teeth exposed, and open your jaw a bit more, the sound will have a less-obstructed path to project through.
Getting the cord closure adjusted will help you to take the excess air in the passaggio. Practice mimicking Ken's voice on "It's the Lah!!! AHH!!!!" He is doing that with excellent cord closure. That is where the "bright ping" comes from.
Let your arms hang down slack when you do your exercises. If you can, please try to level your camera next time.
All the Best.
Bob
I'm on the 22nd day (yes, I'm counting improvements in small steps day by day
Here is the link to the video:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/eabzjvubuqrck2o/22ndDay.mp4?dl=0
Would it be wise to start looking into the vowel modifications and start doing some exercises together with the main movie with Ken to start understanding the mods or is it better to keep doing the routine that i'm following wich is warming up exercices + basic pitch course for a little while longer to ensure that I build and get a good support first? I don't think it is wise to start volume 2 just yet as i don't understand the mods and also pitch is still an issue so i'm afraid that I will be chewing more then i can eat by following that route. However please share your advise and your experience to guide me on the right path.
Thank you very much in advance.
Fernando
So you will keep the ribs expanded and suspended until you need a brief break. Just a momentary relaxation, but not on every breath. You could keep the expansion going through this entire scale, in fact, but it wouldn't hurt to have one break in the middle... just a short, instantaneous rest break, and then back to expansion.
You are doing a good job of keeping the shoulders relaxed, even though you have that motion going on in the ribcage.
In fact your pitch isn't bad either, but if you feel it's helping you to work the basic pitch program, then keep it up. Embed those intervals into your brain and your voice, and you'll have it for life. You might start working a little bit of the video in, by way of review. You will notice things every time you re-watch the videos, that you missed before.
After a little more time on basic pitch, then move more into reviewing the video lessons, and when you feel you've got everything working pretty well, that's when it's time to think about Volume 2. The mods become much more necessary in Volume 2, so at least get your toes into the waters with the vowel mods before thinking about moving forward.
You're doing well, I can hear the progress, too.
Keep it up!
Bob
thank you for your valuable feedback it is very much appreaciated. I have made a video applying the corrections that you mentioned on my last video and I was wondering if I have improved my rib cage expansion since then. I took a closer look to the videos that i have recorded and wacthed back Ken´s videos and i believe I am doing it correctly but please do correct me if otherwise and i will continuosly improving.
Here is the link to the video
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q088w23ab8ayvpw/26.mp4?dl=0
Thank you
Bob
So, I've been practicing while looking into the mirror and placing my hands to the sides below my ribs to make sure that area gets gentle expansion on the exhale. I can feel my vocal cords working the way they should, AND I feel like my breath control has stabilized A LOT after I discovered this sensation. But, as always, I might be wrong, and I wouldn't want to practice the wrong way, so I am posting this video to get it checked from the experts!
For me personally, my throat doesn't hurt and I feel like A4, Bb4, and B4 are becoming more consistent for me nowadays. I could definitely use more support nonetheless. As I mentioned, however, I do feel that I have much better command of my breath compared to before. I no longer feel like I'm just shouting out the notes!
Try to get to the correct pitch sooner. You are sliding up to the note such that you are flat until the very last second. Be on pitch sooner. Be flat less. Your support is improving but needs to improve more on the highest pitches. Push down on your diaphragm more and get right to that higher pitch more quickly. Also, try to get over your fear of being filmed. The best way is to go ahead and film yourself and get over your fears and inhibitions. We can see more details about the way you are going about your techniques if we can actually see you.
Bob
Ah!! I forgot about that! You've pointed that out multiple times, and I should have had that fixed. I will get on that most definitely. I am glad to hear that my support is improving,and that I am praciticing the correct way. I will continue to work on those things you pointed out to me. Also, you are right in that I have to overcome the shyness if I really want to improve, which I most definitely do want.
As usual, thank you!
Just joined! I recently decided to learn how to sing but have no idea where to start... I believe I suck but it does not matter, critic away! Here are two audios, sorry for the quality.
https://dropbox.com/s/m21slitjeg2yn7y/Untitled%20%286%29.wma?dl=0
https://dropbox.com/s/vom35qfpguwqlp8/Untitled%20%284%29.wma?dl=0
You seem to have pretty good pitch, but it we kind of need a backing track to reference for that. You could use a bit more breath control and consistency in your support. Your voice would sound better if it were brightened up some. You have a voice that would respond well to overall training, but it's hard to give you "the magic bullet" in a suggestion or two. The voice is a whole and we build the whole by coming at it from all angles and working on a lot of little things that all add up to the total sum of a great voice.
Your voice doesn't suck. I hear you in there. You need to study a whole course that will give you techniques to work on your voice day in and day out, so that, over time, it develops into something you can be proud and confident in.
All of us here that are studying Ken Tamplin's course are on a journey that will last us the rest of our singing lives. We don't get better overnight, or even after watching all of the videos once to get all of the secrets... It's a matter of working on all of the many details over the long haul that we add notes and tone and consistency to our voices.
You don't have a bad voice. You just need to train it correctly and practice consistently on the right techniques if you want to improve it significantly.
All the Best!
Bob
I´m on my 38th day in volume one and i feel my very enthusiastic about all of it so far. I see and feel my support buidling up and helping me so much on singuing, breathing and even getting in tune (yes, it was way worse then what it is). I´m taking a peak everynow and then to volume 2 videos and exercises and wondering if i should start with it already but first I want to make sure that i have a strong foundation before moving forward. I´m not interested in speeding up trough the program, I would like to do things right and steady instead. Having said that can you please provide your valuable advice on my progress and maybe propose some song titles that I can start singuing and practice?
Here is the link to the exercise:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9si6oiok4wgemll/38.mp4?dl=0
Thank you
Fernando
You could use a little more support, over-all, and especially on the high notes. Your lowest notes at the beginning could also use a bit more stability in your support.
You seem to be doing well, and can probably move on when you feel like you're ready. You will have to bring your vowel mods more into play in volume 2.
As to songs you might want to do, that's kind of a personal preference. You should do songs that are well within your comfort zone, to begin with. That might be some folk songs or ballads that you like and feel are in your range. Maybe James Taylor or The Eagles, but those might not be among your personal favorites. Think about it, and see what motivates you to get started on some easier tunes.
Bob
Here's the link:
Otherwise, you're doing a pretty good job on this. Your support is pretty good. You could brighten your timbre a bit. Your pitch is good.
Good job!
Bob
Hello, Bob and KTVA!
I've been practicing singing songs now as well, and I would just like to get a check-up. The song is "Cornerstone" by Hillsong. I didn't know, but it sounds like I automatically use vowel mod without really thinking about it. Not too sure what you would think of it, but that's how it sounds to me haha.
By the way, the room I practice in does not have anywhere where I can set my phone down, so I just used the keyboard and the wall. Ha. That's why my video looks a little weird. Pardon my hand movements--I had no idea they were that busy lol
Thanks!
Edit:
Ahhh... I knew I forgot something... I'm surprised that I didn't catch this earlier. Sorry about that!
There is no link to your demo in your post.
Okay, I just added the link! Can't believe that slipped out of my mind... lol
Push down on your diaphragm on the G4. Your support needs to be increased in the beginning, down in your abdomen. Your support is better when you get to the chorus.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/77gai4qlgeeo2gv/Here_There_and_Everywhere_-_01_Start_-_Main_conver (1).wav?dl=0
I found that in order to get that gentle sound that Paul gets in this song, I had to bridge pretty early to my head voice. Sometimes it was really tough to get the notes right below where I'm bridging lightly. Was I doing this song almost too lightly and sacrificing support?
It's nice to hear from you. Good job on this. I've fooled around with this tune from time to time. It's a good one.
I had to listen to Paul McCartney sing it to hear exactly where he's bridging on it.
I found this version on YouTube:
This is take 14. It's not nearly as polished as the final released version. I like it, because he sounds really a lot more like one of us, rather than the superstar that he also is. You can hear pretty well where he is bridging. One of the things Paul is so good at is matching the two sounds tonally so that it's hard to hear the seam between registers.
What I have to do on this song to get it to sound half-decent to me, is to take phrases like "Knowing that love is to share" and matching the tone at the bottom to the tone at the top note. Texturally, the notes all need to match to sound like one voice as much as possible. So that means you have to put a little bit of head voice texture into "knowing" and make sure "that love" is at the same texture and volume level to match up well. That requires many trials and errors of singing over and over "knowing that love is to share" until it's very very consistent tonally and volume-wise.
You did a good job. I would try to make sure that the high notes don't punch out more loudly than the lower notes, especially within a phrase. I agree that choosing to sing some of the notes in head rather than taking chest up higher is a proper decision in this type of song. Even if you are using a bit of chest voice, it should have a "head" texture, in that it has soft edges, rather than hard cord closure. Not hooty, but also not belty. It's in the soft edges that you can put together the two registers and make them sound like one. Paul was and is still a master in this area of the voice.
On "Making each day of the year" I find that it seems to work the most smoothly to sing "Ma" in soft chest voice and then "king each day of the year" entirely in head that matches the tone I started with. I can sing it all in chest voice, but doesn't fit the song well at all if I sing it like that. I can sing the "ma-" in head, too. It's a B3, and easy to sing in head voice if I want, but my voice seems to like to bridge this line in the middle of the word.
I would hold the "Love" in the intro just a skoshe longer, with a connection to the word "to". Ah-ee Nee-dmah-Lahhhh-vtuh-bee-nee-ah. (the "uh" part would be like the oo (middle) mod of ah).
I really like the backing vocals. Your run on "Knowing that Love" at 1:10 is the best instance of that, consistency-wise.
Good work!
Bob
Yeah I like that youtube kept up the raw take of the song, I got to isolate and figure out the guitar part better as well, although I goofed on the chorus somewhat
I noticed something odd. When I applied a bit of a raised larynx to the higher chest notes it helped to make them sound a lot lighter. Does that tend to happen easier in that vocal configuration? I know its not advised to mess with it too prematurely for KTVA but for Paul it seems very effective for shedding the weight even more so he can do ballads like this while staying in his chest voice.
The raised larynx does remove a lot of low overtones, so it can make a lighter-sounding tone.
McCartney's tunes tend to dance back and forth around the secondo passaggio, so managing the weight and textures becomes part of the equation for balancing out our vocal approach to his songs.
This song is another ballad that's even more difficult to control your chest voice on. Brian Wilson is also master at blending his head voice with his chest voice and really goes in and out of it like it was nothing here. He's up there with Mickey Thomas and young Elton John with how he uses mixed voice. Brian =Brains of Beach Boys lol
Songs like these are almost as difficult as straight up chesty belting because of the negotiation of your chest and head voice. For me, stylistically I do want to develop a strong chest voice but I also want to do more delicate ballads like this with a more lighter timbre as well. Is this kind of approach more applicable once I get to Volume 3? (I'm starting volume 2 now)
Have you noticed how often Brian wrote in the Key of Eb? It's because of his range. It probably would have killed his voice to take it up another half-step, but my, how he could sing up high in that key!
Don't Worry Baby is a favorite of mine. You got some nice tones and blends in this one, too. And you are right about not wanting to muscle up with chest voice on this kind of song. This kind of texture does not call for belting, it calls for blending.
We want to be able to belt when it's time to belt and we want to be able to blend when it's time to blend.
Good job. Nicely done.
I would like to hear you sustain most of the notes a little longer, and de-emphasize the consonants. Some of the lyrics seem a little chopped-off, and if you kind of sew them together more, letting one syllable flow into the next, with very light consonants, your delivery of the song will become more sonorous.
You have very nice tone. I would also suggest that some of those very strong notes you sing (the F4's) could be less loud, and still get the point across. The notes are impressive, but a little strong at times, and would make for a more balanced line if you pull those notes back a bit in volume. You certainly have the strength in your voice to belt them out, but try a little gentler approach.
In my opinion, the best part of the song was the ending, where you got very up-close and personal with the lyrics.
You are doing well. Keep up the good work.
Bob
Thank You for opinion. It is very helpfull to me.
Wow man your tone is super close to Eltons post-surgery phase (I like the crooning quality to his voice he gained actually a bit better than his younger tenor days) Awesome job.
Opinions and comments are welcome.
A tale That Wasn't Right - Helloween
(I'm from Chile, I speak Spanish)
I remember you told me that I must de-emphasize , is there any progress on that?
Thanks
This one I did is a cover of Hurt by NiN/Johnny Cash, I did piano and vocals in one take, so it's kinda raw and my timing isn't perfect. But I was happy with it for starters. I also have done another cover recently, but I'm waiting before I upload just yet. Lemme know whatcha think!
Bob
I was happier after getting started on KTVA and seeing the progress I was making. I was hesitant before I bought it because I had been ripped off by several other famous vocal programs that turned out to be lousy, and was afraid KTVA would be the same old flim-flam. It's not. It was what I was looking for all along.
Finally had my first webcam lesson with Ken back in late July. We focused on diaphragmatic breathing and just a bit on vowel mods. One thing he had me do was perform sit ups while singing a scale, then transfer that same breathing sensation to singing the scale while standing up. I wasn't quite sure of the volume I was supposed to go for at the beginning of the lesson, but after singing a weak cover of Unfaithful by Rihanna, he said to go full out and "HIT IT."
I've been doing my scales and sit ups since, and here is a demo of me singing the Lah scale. I am sick in the video with a cold and slightly scratchy throat. Not sure if I'm supposed to be singing at this volume while being sick, but I didn't feel any pain. I think I just cracked once or twice.
Please let me know if it is sounding supported or if it needs more support. Also, I am building the courage to stretch my chest voice instead of skip forward in the tracks back to the lower part of the scales when it gets too high. Please let me know if I am opening and setting myself up correctly for the higher notes as well.
Thanks!
https://youtube.com/watch?v=obXgp4r5Xjo
You record your song, and then post it to YouTube or Soundcloud. Then you copy the URL for your post there and paste it into a posting here as a link to your song. Then we click on your link and hear you.
Bob
Nice to hear from you again. You are having trouble hitting the pitches on the lowest scales. Those are probably too low for you. After you get to the scales that are a little higher, your pitch is much better. You have good tone and good form (jaw position, posture, good support).
On many of the scales you are not going all the way up to the correct top note of the scale. On that top note, you are on the next note below the one that you should be singing. You're not out of key, you're just taking a "shortcut" and not going quite as high as those scales are intended to take you. Getting that one note up one more notch will take a bit more support to get there. I think you can do it, but you haven't been aware that you are doing the "shortcut" thing.
You are sounding good. Keep up the good work.
Bob
Thank you for the response. After reviewing your feedback while listening back to my video, I am starting to hear the "shortcut" you have been mentioning. I will focus on adding extra support for those top notes this week and post another video either this weekend or early next week.
Thanks again!
Good for you!
Bob
So here's my first attempt at singing, I started the Pro course four days ago so only just started my singing journey, so brace yourself
I know I'm off pitch in most places, think I starting to get it right in the last bit of the song
Let me know what your think and any advice would be highly appreciated
Thanks in advance
Not bad for a first demo. You're singing a bit too loud on some of the notes. That can work against you.
The G# is a little high for you in chest voice now, but I think you'll be there soon. On the Eb you were a little flat.
Keep working the program, and do the basic pitch program for a while, to help train your ear to hear some of the pitch issues.
This isn't an easy song, so don't be surprised if you can't pull it off in your first week, or your first month. Give yourself time to work through the scales and get your voice trained a bit. You'll do fine.
I think we'll hear a lot of improvement as you work the program.
All the Best.
Bob
I'll try to bring down the volume a bit, I find it hard to sing with an open throat quietly for some reason I'll start working on it and the pitch program today,
I'll keep working on the scales daily, been going through them about 4-5 times so far so training my voice for about 5+ hours every day
Will get training and repost again in a few weeks to see if I've improved
Thanks again Bob
https://soundcloud.com/hugo-morris-700765334/img-0627-online-audio-convertercom
Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you.
Not bad. One thing you can do that will help your sound and also help you to stay on pitch is to brighten your tone. A brighter tone is easier to discern pitch as you sing, and it is the sound that will also grow your voice.
Also, learning and implementing breath support will help you with pitch and with the overall sound of your voice. All singing needs support to sound its best, and important notes like the long sustained ending of your demo require a ton of support to pull off the note. If we don't have enough support, the note will drift off-pitch.
Overall, you have a nice basis from which to build a strong, good voice.
All the Best!
Bob
Just bought the course Last night. I've been singing for about 5 years self taught. I'm sure missing some key fundamentals and would like some insight as I go through Volume 1. Thanks Ralph!
Hello people, this is my first post here and I just wanted to get some feedback. I've been singing ever since I can remember though I didn't get serious about singing until I entered a talent show in HS. There I beatboxed while singing within it for the performance and after words the choir teacher came up to me and suggested I join choir. So I did and I loved it though back then I was a tenor and over the years I've noticed my voice lower down to high baritone.
As for the link, I have 2 songs up there. 1 in a pop style and the other more classical for reference on my voice. I know they are tenor voices but I still have most of my range from there so I tried them. Thanks for taking a listen to them.
Note: Last track on there is when I was making rap music... life got in the way.
I've been singing on and off most of my life (now in my mid-20s), but I've never really taken it seriously. As a result I'm mostly self-taught and I think it's preventing me from moving forward. I haven't really posted much online as I did mostly stage musicals at community theatres, but here's a few things I recorded for a Pokemon-themed forum about 6 months ago to get an idea of my singing range and capabilities.
While I'm generally happy with the first song, it's on the second track where you'll notice I can struggle greatly with softer, higher vocals, and I'm just generally inconsistent. If I remember correctly I had to do something like 4-6 takes on each song just to make it sound presentable (and for the second it was only to the point I decided "enough is enough, I have to stop working on this").
So bottom line I struggle with my pitch and breath control, and if I'm honest I don't like the tone or range in my voice either. This makes creating "good" covers very difficult, and it makes live performances very hit or miss to the point I find myself not seeking out opportunities for live performance any longer. I'd like to change that.
Since those recordings I've gotten ever so slightly better at pitch control, but with no real direction in a self-taught environment, I've turned to KTVA. I'd like to get into less stage and broadway-esque singing and diversify, but I don't have a set genre I want to get into just yet. Today I recorded a quick cover of "Better Now" by Collective Soul in a single take to try and set a baseline for my progress. With the exception of a delayed mic cut in at the beginning I had to redub after the fact, it was done as a simulated "live" performance with just some real-time EQ/compression/limiter to get a nice clean recording that helps to cut through the instrumental track better:
Finally, I think it's important to know where I'm going, if not in a genre then at least from a vocal tone/range standpoint. if I had to pick one vocalist that really inspires me to try and sing, it'd be this guy Masatoshi Ono from the J-Rock band Galneryus. Here's a decent example if I'm allowed to post it, bonus for being at the end of a 2 hour concert:
He's got this amazing full tonal presence in his high tenor that seems to completely defy any expectations, the total opposite of what you hear from most rock vocalists I know about (which has a much "breathier" and thin presence on high vocals). He's also nearing 50 so it's clear the guy knows how to sing properly, otherwise that range and tone would probably not be anywhere close to where it is today. I'd love to reach a point where I can try and imitate this voice one day, but I think it's many, many years away, and I need to learn to sing properly if I want to avoid any sort of permanent vocal damage on the way there. Do you think this is a feasible goal to work towards or is it perhaps a little too lofty?
Could you possibly put your demo on soundcloud or YouTube? We don't really expect to have to do downloads to hear demos, because that can expose everyone here to all manner of possible computer problems.
That's the policy here: YouTube or Soundcloud.
Thanks.
Bob
Sure, sorry about that. I tried to make it a SoundCloud link initially but your forum doesn't play nice with those links if the tracks are private. I just made a new account for the demo track to get around it, it's edited in the original post.
It's been more than a year since I last posted here (but I still visit and read a lot! So many awesome songs and covers, and crucial advice!).
These last months I had a lot less time to practice singing, finally got some time today... and caught a cold, but I tried recording some covers anyway (Rumour has it by Adele and Empty by Garbage).
Is there a way to make the lower notes less pitchy or are they below my range? My range is quite limited, does it sound possible to extend it a bit? I'm also still struggling a lot with support, will definitely work on that.
Also, I am still not sure whether I am closer to being alto or mezzo soprano, is it possible to tell with these recordings?
Thank you so much!
https://soundcloud.com/f-lin-545746001/rumor-beginning/s-NCWI7
https://soundcloud.com/f-lin-545746001/empty-beginning/s-qKdCW
Would be nice with some feedback, so I can improove my singing. Thank you!
Here is where my voice is right now. Not a professional recording, just me singing around the house.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=m4BdLeJEJH4
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=m4BdLeJEJH4
While I'm not entirely new to singing (it's been a hobby and passion since childhood), I feel I still have a lot to learn, especially in terms of breath support and power.
That said, it would much appreciated to get feedback on my singing—intonation, phrasing, diction, breathing, power, transition between registers, etc.
This is my latest recording. It's not in English, though I think this is the 'cleanest' recording I've done so far, so maybe it's best to start with it.
Here's another cover. (Tough song to sing, and I hope I didn't murder it.)
If anyone could point out specific areas that can be improved, that would awesome!
These sound really good. It's nice to meet you.
You're in a pretty good place, vocally. Your intonation and register shifts are pretty good. The way you are handling your breath works fine for these songs. I'm not sure how you do on something that takes a little more power, or less breathy. But I think you might do well on that, also.
Your voice suits these songs.
Also, Please don't post the same post or demo in more than one place on the forums. It gets cluttered and hard to keep track of what posts have or have not been answered. I removed the other copy of this.
All the Best!
Bob
Sorry so long to get back to you after you got your soundcloud post fixed, but I lost track of this thread in the process.
Your voice sounds good. I like the group that you posted as your ideal goal. That kind of vocal energy would be a good place to set the bar for your aspirations. It's somewhat more intense than your videogame-themed singing.
I don't think that the Galneryus target is too lofty for you to aim for... but be prepared to work your voice very diligently for a good while. Even if you don't meet or surpass that level of expertise, just think what it will be like to even approach something like that! I say there's your target. Keep it in your sights!
All the Best!
Bob
A little feedback for you. Sorry, it took a while to get back to you.
When we sing near the bottom of our range, the support is a little different. It's a bigger part of the cords that we use, and they're about as loose as we ever use them, so intonation and breath pressure is tricky to control down there.
As you know, we push down on the diaphragm to sing high notes. When we go down to our lower range, we have to kind of do that with a little different feel. We're working with a slightly bigger "garden hose" so to speak of air, but the pressure is low, so it's tricky to keep it stable. But that's what we concentrate on, is gently pressing down to help keep that bigger column of air at a very, very even pressure level that is a somewhat low pressure. But steady is the keyword. It's easy for the voice to wobble down low, if we're not maintaining even pressure, and the best way to do that is to be in control of our diaphragm.
What also comes into play here is our cord closure. By maintaining a consistent cord closure (not too tight, but keeping excessive air from leaking through) we can help to maintain more consistent air pressure levels as we move our notes up and down, and as a great side-benefit, our tone gets brighter and richer. Also, cord closure makes our breath last much longer than singing with a breathy tone.
Again, at our lowest notes, pitch is often the hardest to discern. So once again, the prescription for pitch at the bottom end is brighten it up. This may sound counterintuitive, because we automatically assume LOW = Bass, Right? But if you want to have a clear, more pitch-perfect low end on your voice, you need to emphasize the brilliance that can come from getting the bright tone that Ken tells us to use.
As to broadening your range, that will come from exercising and gently stretching your voice, both lower and higher. If you want to work on the low end, then just go over the lower portions of some of the exercises that you find are more difficult to pull off in the low range. Work on those over and over and learn how your support needs to vary as the notes change and work on getting that bright tone more consistently. Same thing for your upper range. And that needs to be bright, as well.
Anyway, work, work, work, and support, support, support.
These things I'm mentioning will help you to zero-in on the things you want to improve.
All the Best!
Bob
Nice Job! Good recovery when you had a problem with the lyrics!
You're kind of using what is called a "covered" sound, which is appropriate for Elvis type songs, where you want a deep sound. You could brighten the sound up somewhat by smiling more and uncovering your upper teeth as you sing. Smiling high into your cheeks and eyes causes the tone to brighten, as you "aim" the sound towards the hard surfaces in your vocal tract, like the backs of your upper teeth and the hard palate.
Very good.
Bob
You sound pretty decent on "He'll Have to Go". You've got quite a range down low. That low C is really down there. I like that the Low note is on the word "Low....."
As I told @monkshood in the thread above, there are some different dynamics to the breath that we have to manage at our lowest notes. We have our vocal cords super-loose, and the slightest change in cord tension makes a big difference, as do any variances in air pressure.
You're not too shabby on your upper chest range either.
Read up a lot on support. That is key to getting more control throughout your vocal range. It takes some experimentation and time to get a grip on support.
Your Amazing Grace was as low as I've ever heard anybody sing it. Impressive!
Although you do a good job with acapella, it would be helpful to have some sort of key reference to give you much evaluation on pitch. On "He's Got To Go" it drifted a bit on the low pitch.
Nice to meet you. Looking forward to how your voice is going to grow with Ken's program!
Bob
I'll definitely keep that in mind for other types of songs. In this particular occasion, I tried to do my best creating a type of Elvis-ish sound. I messed up a bit because of the nerves. Hoping to get rid of some nervousness in time.
I really appreciate your input, to help me become better. This Saturday (17/12-16) I'm going to do my fourth performance in front of a crowd, in a Christmas concert. Both scary and exciting. It's going to be another type of a song, so I'll try to brighten up the sound a bit more. It's a whole new world for me, as a beginner in singing. Sooo many things to learn
This thread was the main reason that prompted me to register on this site. I have uploaded two tracks to SoundCloud - I have a rather limited range, and at the moment those are the songs that I am most comfortable with. Pardon the audio quality, which isn't great:
Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton:
You and Me by Lifehouse:
You sound pretty good on these tunes. You are using mostly head voice throughout these songs. So that is a light, airy, heady tone. It doesn't work very well when you get to the lowest notes of these songs.
Normally you would use chest voice for the low notes and head voice for the higher notes. Even better would be to use your mid voice in a chest configuration up to about F#4, unless you are looking for a lighter sound. These two tunes could qualify for "lighter", but I'm not hearing any chest voice in these tunes.
To use chest, you would have to build the Passaggio, or "bridge" between chest voice and head voice, and to be able to "connect" them without a break in your voice. Singing it all in head voice lets you avoid transitioning, but limits the range that you can sing in.
KTVA advocates stretching your chest voice up considerably, as well as also learning to bridge into head voice. That gives you options on each song, to either sing with a little more emphasis, or to keep it light. And of course, if you want to, then you can belt through that area of the voice, if you build the stamina and strength to do so.
After building an extended chest voice, and then building an extended and strengthened head voice, you can learn to combine the two in a blend that can range from very soft to very emphatic, with a lot of tone variation.
I think you need to learn to sing with a little more cord closure, and to develop some stronger breath support, to give you more of a solid basis to give more form and consistency to your voice.
You have a nice start.
All the Best!
Bob
Thanks very much for the recommendations - this will take me a while to digest! I'm trying to understand the terminologies you mentioned, and once that's done I'll hopefully make some progress.
Fatigue and a lack of range are indeed the main issues I have. If you don't mind, here's a song with a slightly wider range that I have attempted. Perhaps you will be able to pick up even more problems/attributes from this song?
- AL
I have never made an effort in my life to learn how to sing and now at age 52, I want to learn to sing to go along with my Ukulele. I have never taken a vocal lesson in my life and since the price of the Weekend Warrior program was VERY wife friendly, I purchased it
Thanks,
Jim
https://youtube.com/watch?v=-v-p1h4HgG8
Here's singing down to a E2. I can go down to D2 but can't sustain as good as E2. Is this bright enough?
And in the middle of my voice ... chorus a little weak/flat but showing promise
And then at the extreme of my chest G4 (I think) ... in this I'm trying to be as bright as possible. I'm actually singing very softly/quietly but it comes out big ... thoughts?
You need to open up your AH vowel. Listen very carefully to how Ken says "It's the LAH!!! AH!!!" It's very bright and very, very AH. You are a little more "uh". So you're at "It's the luh, uh. You want It's the LAH!!! AH!!! It's mostly a matter of being bright and having your jaw really open and your throat really open. Ah is the most open vowel.
A good AH needs your throat to be very open. As if the doctor wants to see your tonsils. He can't see them if you say uh. So make it more AH!
Now, the notes. You are pretty close on the starting note, but then on the rest of the notes, you aren't moving up enough. In other words, your notes are too close together. The top note is one octave higher than the first note. So it goes from a low note on B-flat (Bb) to a high note on the next Bb up.
Study that part. Practice that part of the exercise and figure out what you were doing right there that you weren't doing at the first and at the end. You were in the pocket there. That's what you need to emulate more.
Stop the playback and just do one exercise scale at a time, and slow it down if you need to, in order to make sure you are doing the melody right, and on-pitch.
You'll have to listen very carefully to make sure you are on the same pitch Ken is singing, and doing the melody right, from start to finish.
You can do this. It's just going to take you a while to get your bearings.
It will take some work, but this will improve your voice. You may need to spend some time learning to hear more closely and matching pitches. It's not the easiest thing in the world to do, but it is doable.
Give yourself time for improvements to show up. Focus on what you were doing right between 2:14 and 3:22 so you can replicate that more and more.
All the Best!
Bob
I've recorded my first tries on liprolls.
I have not proceeded to the tongue excercise or the Ah vowel, yet.
Until now I just tried to get the supported breathing right. (I postet some questions and what it feels like for me in the appropriate forum chapter)
And as I had trouble in determining if I am doing it right or wrong I startet to apply the supported breathing to the liprolls. That helped a lot to narrow down what works and feels good and what does not. I am still not sure if thats what I'm doing is the right thing to do, but I will get it right some time. Thanks to highmtn for analysing.
-> I come constantly back to practising the supported breathing with the new things I learned from the liprolls.
So I will stay a little with practising the liprolls coming back to the supported breathing excercises and as soon as I am not getting any further I will start the tongue exercise, to see if I can learn somthingfrom them to apply to the supported breathing.
Please feel free to comment on what is right and wrong.
What I hear by myself:
- The bright ping is missing. (I expect that will come as soon as I come back to the liprolls with the knowledge of the Ah vowel)
- Sometimes the start of a liproll is explosive. (That means for me that in the beginning I use too much air pressure -> Work on balance of supported breathing)
- The sound is not as relaxed as it should be.
- When it goes higher in the scale, there is something happening, but I can not describe it properly. I susspect some muscle under the chin is having a will of it's own, but I am not sure.
-
If you have tips ... I take them :-)
ciao
Martin
yes, it has it's funny moments ;-)
Nevertheless: Your voice has an unique quality which I like in this recording.
I suspect, that you do not hear yourself good enough while doing the excercises. Do you have i.e. headphones on where you hear the piano and Ken but not yourself or is the piano and Ken very loud compared against your voice? To hear yourself only over the inner ear would be not enough as far as I know. Perhaps listen to one scale at a time and repeat it without Ken and the piano. Record this and listen and adapt.
But I'm only starting myself, not knowing what to do, so be careful with my comments...
ciao
Martin
I am in my 2nd week of Volume 1 and finding things okay, I was a little puzzled when singing along to the audio section whether i should be breaking into head voice. But i guess I do . I keep the sound as quiet as possible in order to keep the dynamics of my voice consistent throughout. I'm assuming for the next month or so i just keep attempted the exercises every day and should see some smoothness start to develop in the transition.
Just to introduce myself to the group i am uploading a current demo of me singing with my band (Where i am the reluctant guitarist that had to sing, as no-one else would, lol)
Please feel free to comment
https://youtube.com/watch?v=U9UoSWVdD8E
I'm happy to be on board and take my vocals to the next level.
if I ever reach your level, I would be very pleased :-)
ciao
Martin
I started Ken Tamplin's Pro package course just 4 weeks ago, and my voice has dramatically improved. I am so in love with singing, now!!!!! I JUST finally got vibrato after YEARS of trying....thru tears and frustration. The more I practice what Ken tells me to do (and giving it to God for His glory), the more my voice is becoming free!!
I started Ken Tamplin's Pro package course just 4 weeks ago, and my voice has dramatically improved. I am so in love with singing, now!!!!! I JUST finally got vibrato after YEARS of trying....thru tears and frustration. The more I practice what Ken tells me to do (and giving it to God for His glory), the more my voice is becoming free!!
Just a little background, I'm a gigging guitarist who figured my talents lie elsewhere than singing. I'm really hoping KTVA will prove me wrong. So here they are. I'm a big boy! Lay it on me!
first I have to say, that I am also new to this. So do not take my word for true.
I listened to the first few scales and here is what I hear:
1) I have the impression that your voice is on the way of developing the bright ping. Good!
2) It sounds as if you should do this excercise more slowly, because I hear you "Swimming". Means I think you are searching a little bit for the pitch or more precisely the correct note in the scale.
3) Is your support while going up the scale the same as going down or are you getting lazy downstairs? I have a feeling of inconsistency while listening.
4) From scale 7 on you get louder. Try to do this more evenly. And try to do it more relaxed.
Overall I would be glad if I would have developed that brightness until now.
I hope someone whith more knowlege than me is correcting my comments if they need correction.
ciao
Martin
Nice voice. The music is not what I like, but it would be a funny world if we were all alike ;-)
First I have to say, that I am also new to the program. So do not take my word for true.
Here is what I hear:
1) Sometimes I think the consonants are getting in your way of singing, when this happens your open sound closes for a small time. I do not mean the soft breaking of your voice at the end of some lines, that seems to be intended to appear soft.
2) On some of the lower notes you seem to loose support.
O.K. that's it for the first round.
ciao
Martin
Also, you are directing a lot of the sound up into your nasal cavity, and not projecting it out your mouth with an open throat. You are singing into a pressurized place instead of letting it come out through an open vocal tract.
@Seiler - Your lip rolls sound good. You just need to keep practicing them and you will get better. When you get up high, it's the ability to remain relaxed that will help them to sound better, that and also supporting more by pushing down on the diaphragm for the highest lip rolls.
@CurtisSenior - Read in the chest-stretching category the posts on alternating your workouts between stretching chest and also bridging into head voice. You should be practicing your workouts in both of these different ways to develop both bridging into head voice and also remaining in chest voice and expanding your chest range. Do your workout 2x, once softly bridging, Once with firmer breath and no head voice.
@matthewlo - Brighten it up, work on your support. Too many variables to list. Give me a Lah exercise and we can narrow down some issues. You need to work on your foundation now, not the roof. Please submit an exercise rather than songs. I gave you some things to work on in your last Lah exercise you submitted. Are you working on that?
@Cara - Nice job on both songs. On Tears in Heaven you could work out that portion from 4:05 to about 4:10 with a little more accuracy, but really good work, overall.
@guitarnate - got off to a rough start. By about the 5th scale, you're on track. Try to land on each note with accuracy. Sometimes it sounds like you get lost in the middle with an extra note or two. It will come with time and repetition. You're doing a good job of paring down the tone up top. Remember to use support throughout, increasing towards the top notes, but don't slack off as you get past the high note, either. Support all the way back down. Keep those low notes bright.
All the Best!
Bob
Thanks so much for the feedback. I agree with what you guys have pointed out. I recorded these a little differently than how I normally practice. I wanted you to just hear my voice so I played the Ken Tamplin work outs in my right ear, then did something that may have been detrimental to my intonation - plugged my left ear with my index finger to try to get the best intonation possible. I think that back fired though!
One thing I've never fully understood is how to make a scale sound like a scale and not just a constant siren note. With guitar and piano, there's a nice crisp attack on each note. How do you do that with these scales, especially at faster tempos?
My gut reaction is to say "I'll rerecord them and show them I can do better." But that wouldn't be all that productive. Instead, I'm going to do a 2 month update in February. I'm sure continuing with the course and using your pointers, I'll be able to demonstrate some improvement.
Thanks again, guys!