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2nd take on Steelheart - She's gone

ForsblomForsblom Pro, 2.0 PRO Posts: 59
Hi Dudes and Divas!

Long time no see!
Long story short -Been busy with school, then investing all time during the summer into my kids (they're 5, 2.5 and 1.3 years old), so KTVA has been "on hold" for some time But now I'm back with a new recording, where I try out my upper vocal range.

Hopefully not to many "sour" things in this one (Bob can fill in on that part) ;)

Now this song isn't easy to sing. Took me tons of time to practice the song before recording it. (And in between, comparing my vocals agains the original track to see that I wasn't too far off).

I still need to practice a lot (don't we all?), but during the way, we can give some "glimpses" of how things are progressing.

Listen Here: Steelheart -she's gone. Cover by johan forsblom (take1)

/Johan

Comments

  • ragnarragnar Pro Posts: 410
    Not bad at all considering how difficult a song it is. I actually though you did quite well on the high wailing chorus parts. The verses however were fairly pitchy and I think your tone/timbre there was quite dark and lacking the sweetness+brightness you generally hear in these type of rock ballad verses.

    good effort overall though :)
  • highmtnhighmtn Administrator, Moderator, Enrolled, Pro, 3.0 Streaming Posts: 15,354
    edited August 2015
    Hi, @Forsblom !

    You sure picked out a super-tough song. It would be kind of hard to find a harder song to try. Ragnar's observations are spot-on.

    I would add to that, that a song of this magnitude is going to take more support than most singers can muster. For you to have the kind of support it will take to deliver this song well, you will have to build a ton more support. I mean a TON. It will take SO much stamina. This song lives in the notes above A4, C5, and even G5... It can take considerable time to get buff enough to pull this song off like Miljenko used to be able to do. Used to be able to do...

    His more recent version of this song is considerably diminished. This is then and now, back-to-back:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOm66RWxf6M


    Trying to sing this song without being adept at compression, support, and, yes, accurate pitch will cause you to strain and possibly hurt your voice. In other words, make sure you don't bite off more than you can chew, just yet.

    This is a great "target" song, to set your sights high, and strive for. Just don't hurt yourself on the notes that you haven't yet gotten a firm grip on.

    Amazingly, you are hitting many of the very tough notes in this song. But if you're falling flat a lot, you will have a tendency to strain harder to try to hit the notes that are still out of reach. Even if you can kind of touch them, trying to sing them out for a demo could be too much for your present capabilities, safely.

    I have to say that I am impressed with how much of this song you did get right. I would say plan on spending considerable time building strength, stamina, and range before this one gets to the quality it needs to be.

    This is a Great Glimpse of what you will be able to accomplish when you've had sufficient time to put into your KTVA program. You are relatively new to KTVA (to be tackling a song of this magnitude) and I'm astonished that you are coming forward with a song this tough as your first song demo.

    You are to be congratulated for how far you have come so far, and for how far you obviously want to take this. Good for you!

    Pitch.
    Stamina.
    Support.
    Glottal Compression.
    Tons more practice.

    You're on your way!

    Bob
  • ForsblomForsblom Pro, 2.0 PRO Posts: 59
    Thanks for the comments and good critique & pointers @highmtn & @ragnar.

    "You sure picked out a super-tough song. It would be kind of hard to find a harder song to try."
    That's the sole purpose to why I chose it. As you pointed out Bob, this is the target song I want to be able to sing as close to perfect as possible. It's just about as though as it can get.

    "I have to say that I am impressed with how much of this song you did get right. I would say plan on spending considerable time building strength, stamina, and range before this one gets to the quality it needs to be. "
    Yea, that's what i'm aiming for, and the KTVA program is the only thing out there that can make it happen. I still have a long way to go, and the reason for this recording is to have it as a "before" recording, to later be able to compare it to a future version and see the progression.

    I watched the before and after videos earlier, and was surprised that he has lost that much range. I want to be able to keep as much of my range as possible when I get older (I'm 33 atm), watching Ken and see him still do it gives me hope for the future.

    "You are to be congratulated for how far you have come so far, and for how far you obviously want to take this. Good for you! "

    Many thanks Bob.

    Johan
  • highmtnhighmtn Administrator, Moderator, Enrolled, Pro, 3.0 Streaming Posts: 15,354
  • ragnarragnar Pro Posts: 410
    Just for the record, Miljenko sustained a serious head injury on stage back in the day (some stage equipment fell on him or something). From what I've read he had a long long physical rehabilitation process to be able to just function, let alone sing.
  • highmtnhighmtn Administrator, Moderator, Enrolled, Pro, 3.0 Streaming Posts: 15,354
    Wow. That's terrible, @ragnar .
  • ForsblomForsblom Pro, 2.0 PRO Posts: 59
    @ragnar I never heard that one before. Could perhaps be part of the reason he's lost his range.
  • ragnarragnar Pro Posts: 410
    Yeah I mean he did do high-octane stuff again later, like doing the vocals for the movie "Rock Star" (with Mark Wahlberg), but it doesn't seem like he ever really bounced back fully.
  • ForsblomForsblom Pro, 2.0 PRO Posts: 59
    Thanks for the comments & pointers @blondiewales

    I'll definitely put the "gah" and "r" towards the end to use the next time I'll record it (a couple of months in the future). I tried it out, and as you say, it gave me more power on the ascention. At the moment I have an irritating summer cold, which is in the way of singing and practicing properly.

    Next up, as soon as this cold is over, I'll post some "support" examples where I hold the high notes as long as possible.

    " On some of your higher notes, sustain it, and feel your digastric muscle with your thumb. That's the muscle under your chin. Is it completely or almost completely relaxed? If it is, try to remember that feeling of support and apply it to notes in your passaggio. When there's a note in the upper-mid register that I'm trying to get, I often try to hum it with the tongue exercise to get the feeling of correct support before I go for it. "

    I tried it out just now, and it's relaxed. I'll definitely keep this tip in mind when practicing the passagio.

    "The only other thing I should mention now is your delay effect. It is a little too loud. Especially during the first few lines."

    Yea, I noticed that too afterwards. I'm not a professional when it comes to recording, so If there's someone here on the forum that could help me out a little (I use cubase 5) I would be grateful.

    "Keep it up man, this sounded good. "

    Many thanks!

    Johan
  • ForsblomForsblom Pro, 2.0 PRO Posts: 59
    Here's an Update on my progress with this song.

    This is the 2nd take: Download
    I'm in the left channel, music and original vocals in the right.

    Here's the Vocals Only version (fast forward to 1:05, forgot to remove intro): Download

    Johan

  • ForsblomForsblom Pro, 2.0 PRO Posts: 59
    edited December 2015
    Just noticed, the list can be sorted by votes instead of date, thus moving a post to the top. In this case, the post with the 2nd take has received a vote so It might not be in the bottom.

    Adding the links here as well:
    2nd take: Download
    I'm in the left channel, music and original vocals in the right.

    Here's the Vocals Only version (fast forward to 1:05, forgot to remove intro): Download
  • seekerseeker Pro, 2.0 PRO Posts: 83
    Forsblom said:

    Just noticed, the list can be sorted by votes instead of date, thus moving a post to the top. In this case, the post with the 2nd take has received a vote so It might not be in the bottom.

    Adding the links here as well:
    2nd take: Download
    I'm in the left channel, music and original vocals in the right.

    Here's the Vocals Only version (fast forward to 1:05, forgot to remove intro): Download

    Mate... this is one HECK of an improvement! Freaking awesome man. GREAT Job, still gotta work on belting, but significant improvement on the intro, pitch and tone wise, I was like WOAH! when I heard the 2nd version.
    Awesome man! keep it up!
  • ForsblomForsblom Pro, 2.0 PRO Posts: 59
    Thanks @seeker!
    I still have a long way to go. I have to work on different parts to get to the level required to sing this one "ok". Hopefully, one day I will be able to sing it like a Pro. Unfortunately, I can't practice so much these days due to writing my batchelors thesis in computer science, which is naturally the number one thing to focus on atm.

    I'll do take 3 in couple of months from now, and see if there's been any significant progress :smile:
  • What a high notes @Forsblom , nice to hear man!
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