Singing Q's (For me)

[deviatedwolf625]

Alright, well, Dave and I had a falling out, so now, I said fuck it. I'ma teach m'self to sing.

So I've been trying. I found out (A) I'm not completely tone deaf in singing, I can match the guitar pretty well.
(B) I've got maynard's droning voice down pretty pat, but not his melodic one
(C) I sound like shit when I record me singing with a cold
And (D) I could sing death metal pretty fucking good if I wanted to

Well my q's are:
1) My raspiness comes from my throat. Not a good thing, still searching for an explination of at least how someone else gets it to come to their lungs.
2) Any tips for singing melodically?
3) Any tips how to overcome the nasallyness of a cold?

LINKS:

www.neuroleptic.net/linkedstuff/jeffsongs/tokissbulletvocalsclean.mp3

Vocal track

www.neuroleptic.net/linkedstuff/jeffsongs/tokissbulletguitarbeta.mp3

Thank you Matteran, for the webspace

[mosquito]

I was going to make a similar thread since i never got a reply in the other one...

I have a question about this singing from the gut stuff... when you do it, is it the same feeling as if you're trying to take a shit? Because I've been trying to understand this. If you can explain the diaphragm thing or at least point me to a good website, I'd be very thankful.

[mosquito]

A few constructive criticisims...

You sound like you're singing too much out of your nose.

I think you should enunciate your words a little better. You seem to slur them a bit.

It sounds like you have an accent, this might have to do with my previous point.

Although, I know nothing at all about singing, this is just my personal opinion. Not bashing on, you just trying to help.

[deviatedwolf625]

I do have a cold lol, so that's the nose problem. I'll rerecord once the cold passes. I think I have an accent that comes out more when I sing. I do slur a lot when i sing, but more has to do with the way i want the lyric sung (they're supposedly written by someone who's about to kiss the bullet, and hence, is on a head-trippin chemical high)

As for the singing from the gut, you use your diaphragm to control your volume more. You should feel your singing come from the back of your throat.

As for the raspy singing, I have no clue.

[holy reality]

i think singing from your gut is when you take a deep breath in, draw it all the way into the stomach so that it pushes forward... and you like... you sing while you are holding air in the stomach....

?

as for the growling.... ther are times where you can not constrict your throat yet you voice is growly when you sing... I'm not sure how to get like that... but... maybe that has something to do with it?

I heard you are supposed to keep saliva or milk in the back of your throat when you growl so you dont' fuck up the vocal chords, but it's hard to do without feeling like you are going to drown.

[reign3]

What I do, and what works perfectly for me is hard to explain, but I'll do my best.

I guess I sort of open my throat up as much as I can and let the air just slide through without really hitting the back of my throat very much. It's hard to describe.

Try to close your mouth and slowly breath out and concentrate on where the air is coming from. I think if you do it right, it will seem like it's coming from the top of your chest.

Hope that helps.

[deviatedwolf625]

alright, thanks Reign

[mosquito]

But when you are pushing the air out, are you constricting your stomach area righ where your ribs end to push it out... almost like you are pushing out a shit?

[deviatedwolf625]

Yeah ... that's the idea. I think. *tries* Yes, you have it right.

[deviatedwolf625]

Alright, pulled the guitar track off, I'm trying to use as little space as possible.

I posted a few more smaller clips of me singing. Note, I still had a shitty ass cold, still do, but hey, it's something for you to laugh at at least.

links:

Done:
www.neuroleptic.net/linkedstuff/jeffsongs/done.mp3

Impaled over a Dead Road
www.neuroleptic.net/linkedstuff/jeffsongs/impaled.mp3

Great October Sky clip (Oftenlost's MIDI song)
www.neuroleptic.net/linkedstuff/jeffsongs/octobersky.mp3

Pale Reflections
www.neuroleptic.net/linkedstuff/jeffsongs/palereflections.mp3

[slyraje]

I'm not sure it should feel like you are taking a shit when singing from the diaphragm. When you cough you should be able to feel your diaphragm push. If you can't fake a cough try a wheezy laugh. You should feel a short burst from your diaphragm when you do either of those things. I honestly can't explain how you learn to control it. Once you know what it should feel like just practice and make sure you are using it. The more you use it the eaiser it gets to control. I've only been trying to sing from my diaphragm for about a year now. I usually only sing when I'm alone in my car so I haven't really practiced all that much. I am able to sing much louder without any strain on my vocal chords. I am starting to experiment with vibrato. That also should come from your diaphragm by vibrating the diaphragm or making it pulsate. I don't know how to say that. You do it when you laugh, at least I do...I hope that helped at least a little. I am by no means an expert, that is just how I was told and it seems to be working for me.

[•Hąrbinger•]

Alright, pulled the guitar track off, I'm trying to use as little space as possible.

I posted a few more smaller clips of me singing. Note, I still had a shitty ass cold, still do, but hey, it's something for you to laugh at at least.

links:

Done:
www.neuroleptic.net/linkedstuff/jeffsongs/done.mp3

Impaled over a Dead Road
www.neuroleptic.net/linkedstuff/jeffsongs/impaled.mp3

Great October Sky clip (Oftenlost's MIDI song)
www.neuroleptic.net/linkedstuff/jeffsongs/octobersky.mp3

Pale Reflections
www.neuroleptic.net/linkedstuff/jeffsongs/palereflections.mp3

by Jove......

Buy this book:

http://www.voicelesson.com/html/store/index.htm

[reign3]

I only listened to two of those, but there are a lot of things you need to improve on. You don't sing with any confidence it seems; you really need to sing louder. And like Mosquito said, it seems like you're singing from your nose which doesn't produce a favorable sound at all.

As for the growling part you did on Impaled over a dead road, it may just be me, but it seemed like you went a little overboard. To me it seems like the growling, raspy time singing voice is just sort of a simulation of what it is to yell or scream. I'm not saying you should scream or yell, but really turn up the volume of your voice with confidence.

And you really need to try to tie up loose ends if you will. I mean try not to breath so loud when you sing. When you can hear the saliva in your mouth, it doesn't make for as good a listen. Just try to open your voice up. It seems more like you're talking with angst rather than singing in some parts.

Hope that helps.

[deviatedwolf625]

I was talking with angst.

You obviously didn't read that I have a cold lol. I normally have a much less nasally voice, but I have to wait for the cold to die down to prove it.

As for the confidence and saliva thing, I'll do my best, I've been trying to breathe away from the mic, but it still catches it some. I normally breathe very heavily, so this could pose a problem ...

any suggestions from those that have been there?

[reign3]

If you're singing the right way (I think (I'm pretty sure actually)) that cold shouldn't really affect you. I mean, I have a pretty decent cold right now and it doesn't really affect my singing. It's been said many times, but I'll say it again; learn to breath from your diaphram. I don't know how to describe it well enough to show you how to do it (maybe someone else can) but just experiment constantly until you get it down. That's probably the biggest thing. And just open up your voice.

If you were just talking with angst in some of those parts, I don't really know what to say. Without any music behind the vocals, it's not very easy to listen to.

[ImACarnation]

Alright, well, Dave and I had a falling out, so now, I said fuck it. I'ma teach m'self to sing.

So I've been trying. I found out (A) I'm not completely tone deaf in singing, I can match the guitar pretty well.
(B) I've got maynard's droning voice down pretty pat, but not his melodic one
(C) I sound like shit when I record me singing with a cold
And (D) I could sing death metal pretty fucking good if I wanted to

Well my q's are:
1) My raspiness comes from my throat. Not a good thing, still searching for an explination of at least how someone else gets it to come to their lungs.
2) Any tips for singing melodically?
3) Any tips how to overcome the nasallyness of a cold?

Firstly, I'd suggest you try not to sound like anyone(especially Maynard) when trying to perfect your singing skills. The only thing your doing is learning their style of singing-not actual techinque. You'll form you own style once you learn proper techniques(or you could just bite other singer's styles).

I'd suggest searching the net for sites that give decent tips and vocal excercises. You definitely need to work on singing through your diaphragm. Despite the fact that you have a cold, you still seem to sound overly nasal, which would imply that you rely on it sometimes, even without a cold. As mentioned before, your breathing is an issue as well. I understand the heavy breathing thing, but you need to tone it down a bit and focus on when to breath and when to exhale...obviously during "rests", it is an opportune time to exhale and refill.

As for overcoming the nasal sound coming from your cold, I'd suggest drinking water and tea. Peppermint is good as well...I'm refering to liquid peppermint-you can open up a bottle and take in the aroma or you could simply take a drop placing it on the middle of your tongue(works wonders, clears up any stuffiness and congestion). Hope this helped a little.

http://www.vocalist.org.uk/voicetraining.html

[deviatedwolf625]

Alright, well giving this a bump with my definition of a good recording of me singing. Link is:

www.neuroleptic.net/linkedstuff/jeffsongs/TKTBvoc.mp3

Shoot it through of holes. Please :)