26/05/17 Dear God by A7X (kirk)

JusticeGem

Your honest opinion would be awesome, listen to the whole clip. Please tell me what I need to improve on: my strengths and my weaknesses. Be brutally honest, you won't hurt my feelings.

I personally feel like the last chorus (01:51) was executed much more better than the 1st one, also i sung this a tone higher than i normally do

Thank you!

highmtn

You're right. The last chorus is much better than the whole beginning of the song. I would strongly recommend that you brighten your tone overall. It sounds a little muffled to me. We want a bright, pingy sound that will be more timbral and resonant. I don't know if you're just getting warmed-up or into the groove of the song at the end, or just too random and unstructured in the beginning.

JusticeGem

Could you rephrase the word "muffled" please?

And how do I get a brighter, pingy and more resonant sound?

highmtn

Muffled, as in singing into a pillow. Not bright. Dark-sounding.

Listen to the tone of Ken's voice in the video where he demonstrates "It's the LAH!!! AHH!!!" and imitate that sound. It's really bright.

You get a brighter sound in a number of ways, all combined.

Open the throat and the jaw. "Direct" the sound towards the hard surfaces: The backs of your upper teeth, the hard palate, etc.

Keep the tongue down and out of the way.

Make sure you have good cord closure, in other words, no gap between the cords when you sing. Poor cord closure has more air and less tone.

Smile, baring the front teeth and raising the cheeks up towards the eyes.

Make a bright sound. Think "brassy". Your voice will sound clearer when you get this. Some of this may be your recording setup, but you need your voice to have emphasis on the brilliant tones rather than lower, "bassy" sounds. It will also help you reach the higher notes without trying to carry excess weight up there.

JusticeGem

I see

I didnt even realise that i had sounded dark until i read your comment

Thank you for the advice, i shall work on it!