THE VOICE CONNECTION
SOUND OFF

Welcome to The Voice Connection Sound Off; a forum for users of books like Raise Your Voice, Melody to Madness, The Ultimate Breathing Workout, and Unleash Your Creative Mindset, as well as a place for Vendera Vocal Academy members to interact.

This message board was created so that singers could come together and "sound off" to help support each other during vocal development and the creative process of unleashing the creative spark that occurs when writing and producing music. Currently, myself and vocal coaches Ben Valen, Ray West, and Ryan Wall are here to respond periodicially to your questions, with new vocal coaches coming soon. But, feel free to help each other too:)

This board is here for you to ask questions about my and my fellow coach's books, videos, and MP3 programs, as well as offer others help with our vocal techniques. You may also post videos of yourself and your band to share your music and ask for critiques.

Please refrain from negative comments, profanities, spamming, and inappropriate criticisms of vocal methodologies, vocal coaches, and singers. All negative posts will be deleted and subject to banning without question. I will not respond to negative posts, because, as Mark Twain once said, “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.” With that said, positive criticism is welcome because that is how you'll grow as a singer during the training process.


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b
Ben
Jan 24, 2012 - 3:38PM
Re: me singing Pearl Jam's Alive

Derick
Hi Guys,

Just sharing my video, hoping to start a conversation and get criticisms and compliments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEg6s30OiRQ

keep on rocking!

peace,

derick
Derick, you have a really good voice man, and your arrangements on guitar are great too. The only thing I can suggest is working on your English pronunciation. It kind of throws things off for me. You have a great baritoneish rock voice.

d
Derick
Jan 24, 2012 - 5:28PM
Re: me singing Pearl Jam's Alive

Ben
Derick
Hi Guys,

Just sharing my video, hoping to start a conversation and get criticisms and compliments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEg6s30OiRQ

keep on rocking!

peace,

derick
Derick, you have a really good voice man, and your arrangements on guitar are great too. The only thing I can suggest is working on your English pronunciation. It kind of throws things off for me. You have a great baritoneish rock voice.


Thanks Ben. I agree with the pronunciation, I dont speak English most of my life and migrating to Australia made my pronunciation even worse, maybe?!
I love bands like The Calling and Lifehouse so I am glad to have an okay baritone voice. I hope to increase my range though because I like Dream Theater and Symphony X. Hopefully 10 years from now I can sing their songs:)

We all know that your voice is perfect for Country, but do you have any other genres you hope to conquer soon?

b
Ben
Jan 24, 2012 - 5:43PM
Re: me singing Pearl Jam's Alive

Oh hey man, I know it's tough. I hope that you don't lose hope. I wasn't meaning to bring you down, just letting you know the truth and what to work on. I am not the best singer, so don't think I'm knocking you. You have a very nice voice. I'm sure that if you keep training that you will be able to sing that stuff. I mean, Axl Rose, Geoff Tate, Kevin Richards (of the Breakin the Chains vocal course fame. Kevin might actually be a bass/bass-baritone. He has a deep voice naturally), Rob Halford, Myles Kennedy, probably Chris Cornell...those guys are all baritones that can sing high. It's not a limitation, it just means that your voice naturally sits lower and you have the option to use that meaty lower register. It might take longer to train to sing high than a natural tenor like Steve Perry from Journey, and it's not going to sound like a tenor when you sing high like that. I'm gradually working on my range. It's really not my priority to be able to sing super high, i just want to make everything easier and more free. I'm working on learning to sing more rock stuff. I have a very hard time using grit. Every time I try, I end up straining or pinching my chords somehow. I just can't seem to do it no matter how I try. I'd really love to be able to sing sing classic rock stuff. I'm working on it. Also some RnB like Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Boys to Men, and Al Green.

d
Derick
Jan 24, 2012 - 5:58PM
Re: me singing Pearl Jam's Alive

Ben
Oh hey man, I know it's tough. I hope that you don't lose hope. I wasn't meaning to bring you down, just letting you know the truth and what to work on. I am not the best singer, so don't think I'm knocking you. You have a very nice voice. I'm sure that if you keep training that you will be able to sing that stuff. I mean, Axl Rose, Geoff Tate, Kevin Richards (of the Breakin the Chains vocal course fame. Kevin might actually be a bass/bass-baritone. He has a deep voice naturally), Rob Halford, Myles Kennedy, probably Chris Cornell...those guys are all baritones that can sing high. It's not a limitation, it just means that your voice naturally sits lower and you have the option to use that meaty lower register. It might take longer to train to sing high than a natural tenor like Steve Perry from Journey, and it's not going to sound like a tenor when you sing high like that. I'm gradually working on my range. It's really not my priority to be able to sing super high, i just want to make everything easier and more free. I'm working on learning to sing more rock stuff. I have a very hard time using grit. Every time I try, I end up straining or pinching my chords somehow. I just can't seem to do it no matter how I try. I'd really love to be able to sing sing classic rock stuff. I'm working on it. Also some RnB like Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Boys to Men, and Al Green.


Oh no, not at all Ben. Ive talked to you and read a lot of your posts in this forum, I already know that you are not the kind of person who discourages aspiring singers. I really am very open to criticisms, especially if they are valid ones.

Yeah, Marvin Gaye is awesome and I would like to have that grit as well, Nickelback style (chad kroeger)

b
Ben
Jan 24, 2012 - 7:16PM
Re: me singing Pearl Jam's Alive

Derick
Ben
Oh hey man, I know it's tough. I hope that you don't lose hope. I wasn't meaning to bring you down, just letting you know the truth and what to work on. I am not the best singer, so don't think I'm knocking you. You have a very nice voice. I'm sure that if you keep training that you will be able to sing that stuff. I mean, Axl Rose, Geoff Tate, Kevin Richards (of the Breakin the Chains vocal course fame. Kevin might actually be a bass/bass-baritone. He has a deep voice naturally), Rob Halford, Myles Kennedy, probably Chris Cornell...those guys are all baritones that can sing high. It's not a limitation, it just means that your voice naturally sits lower and you have the option to use that meaty lower register. It might take longer to train to sing high than a natural tenor like Steve Perry from Journey, and it's not going to sound like a tenor when you sing high like that. I'm gradually working on my range. It's really not my priority to be able to sing super high, i just want to make everything easier and more free. I'm working on learning to sing more rock stuff. I have a very hard time using grit. Every time I try, I end up straining or pinching my chords somehow. I just can't seem to do it no matter how I try. I'd really love to be able to sing sing classic rock stuff. I'm working on it. Also some RnB like Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Boys to Men, and Al Green.


Oh no, not at all Ben. Ive talked to you and read a lot of your posts in this forum, I already know that you are not the kind of person who discourages aspiring singers. I really am very open to criticisms, especially if they are valid ones.

Yeah, Marvin Gaye is awesome and I would like to have that grit as well, Nickelback style (chad kroeger)
Yeah, I feel kind of embarrassed sometimes on this board. Especially when I'm trying to give someone helpful advice because they say their voice is terrible. So I'm trying to help out. Then I finally hear them sing, and they can out-sing me any day of the week! Val, you know who I am talking about! :) It is real easy to get discouraged about your voice. I don't think anyone is as bad as they think they are. Even beginners have something special about their voice. We all are working hard to develop to the utmost.

p
phil
Jan 24, 2012 - 5:47PM
Re: me singing Pearl Jam's Alive

Where in Australia do you live? I'm in Melbourne.

d
Derick
Jan 24, 2012 - 7:42PM
Re: me singing Pearl Jam's Alive

phil
Where in Australia do you live? I'm in Melbourne.


Hi Phil,

Im in Melbourne too, used to live at Docklands but now living in the Western Suburbs.

d
Doug Skene
Jan 24, 2012 - 7:32PM
Re: me singing Pearl Jam's Alive

Derick,

I am Australian but don't have an Australian sound to my voice at all when singing.

I truly think there are singer's vowels and that's why most Scandinavians and Europeans do not have their own accent when singing. The consonants are just bridging noises between vowels.

You have foreign sounding vowels and I think that the main thing that will you get you sounding better is to work on each of these vowels by themselves; purify them.

Start with very bright AH, UH, AA (like in lamb or ban), OO, EE, AY. Get them all very bright and open by themselves. Record them, listen to them, critique how you sound different to others who sing with less accent on sounds. I really think this will be key for you and it will build your resonance a lot and keep that throat open because a lot of the southern kind of sound you are doing at the moment as well as the impure vowels seems to be closing you up for those high notes without letting the notes soar freely.

You have great building blocks to have a very rich baritone voice, start to go with your more personal touch and open that voice up and be Derick rather than Derick doing the southern thing, I think.

Good job, dude.

d
Derick
Jan 24, 2012 - 7:53PM
Re: me singing Pearl Jam's Alive

Doug Skene
Derick,

I am Australian but don't have an Australian sound to my voice at all when singing.

I truly think there are singer's vowels and that's why most Scandinavians and Europeans do not have their own accent when singing. The consonants are just bridging noises between vowels.

You have foreign sounding vowels and I think that the main thing that will you get you sounding better is to work on each of these vowels by themselves; purify them.

Start with very bright AH, UH, AA (like in lamb or ban), OO, EE, AY. Get them all very bright and open by themselves. Record them, listen to them, critique how you sound different to others who sing with less accent on sounds. I really think this will be key for you and it will build your resonance a lot and keep that throat open because a lot of the southern kind of sound you are doing at the moment as well as the impure vowels seems to be closing you up for those high notes without letting the notes soar freely.

You have great building blocks to have a very rich baritone voice, start to go with your more personal touch and open that voice up and be Derick rather than Derick doing the southern thing, I think.

Good job, dude.


Thanks Doug! I will incorporate what you have said in my training too! I heard your vocal demo from your previous post, it is so awesome. So if you tell me to jump, I am only gonna ask you how high? :)

On a different note, I kinda like how Tony Kakko maintains some of his accent while singing.

d
Doug Skene
Jan 24, 2012 - 7:55PM
Re: me singing Pearl Jam's Alive

I guess that's a personal thing because that is the thing that I hate most about Tony Kakko's singing!

d
Derick
Jan 24, 2012 - 8:10PM
Re: me singing Pearl Jam's Alive

Doug Skene
I guess that's a personal thing because that is the thing that I hate most about Tony Kakko's singing!


Yeah, and I wouldnt be surprised most people will hate him too because of that.

d
Doug Skene
Jan 24, 2012 - 8:33PM
Re: me singing Pearl Jam's Alive

Love his voice apart from that.

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