Bravery
The main goal of this project is to stop me from being a self-conscious dork.
Hopefully this will extend to other parts of my life than singing. Secondary goals are: improve singing, improve breathing, improve posture, spend time every week making music.
Disclaimer: These recordings aren't intended to impress anyone (else I'd make some effort to get proper backing tracks, mix some decent effects, get some singing lessons, etc.) If I ever make one I'm proud of, I'll mark it so it stands out.
9 November 2009:
Plush acoustic (as a duet), by Stone Temple Pilots
Notes: No change to the original track, used minimal effects in GarageBand. My throat hurts today, so I couldn't handle anything too loud/intense. I figured an acoustic duet with Scott Weiland was just the thing, and I think it didn't turn out too badly, but my hearing's a bit off today so who knows.
Original: Plush acoustic
Notes: No change to the original track, used minimal effects in GarageBand. My throat hurts today, so I couldn't handle anything too loud/intense. I figured an acoustic duet with Scott Weiland was just the thing, and I think it didn't turn out too badly, but my hearing's a bit off today so who knows.
Original: Plush acoustic
2 November 2009:
Magic Touch, by Aerosmith
Notes: Mostly-removed vocals using Audacity, used minimal effects in GarageBand. My voice seems to go in and out of being pretty decent on this one. I clearly need to learn how to put more intensity into it. Would've been better to quiet the bit at the beginning, but I'm lazy.
Original: Magic Touch
Notes: Mostly-removed vocals using Audacity, used minimal effects in GarageBand. My voice seems to go in and out of being pretty decent on this one. I clearly need to learn how to put more intensity into it. Would've been better to quiet the bit at the beginning, but I'm lazy.
Original: Magic Touch
21 October 2009:
Show Me, from My Fair Lady
Notes: I tried to find a decent karaoke track but I hated them all, so I stripped the vocals using Audacity instead, which is why there's a bit of echo. Minimal vocal effects in GarageBand. I apologize in advance for the fact that I'm not actually a soprano, and for only recording the guy's part once with minimal effort. I only recorded it at all because it sounds weird with silence there and it helps prep me for Eliza's entrance. I wore out my voice pretending to be a fierce soprano, failing to hit and sustain that final note, and dropping the occasional lyrics. It turns out tea has magical restorative properties and I was able to do one more take an hour after killing my voice, which turned out well enough to post. Huzzah! I lag a little on the fast notes sometimes, but not too much, I think.
Original: Show Me, from the 1964 movie
Notes: I tried to find a decent karaoke track but I hated them all, so I stripped the vocals using Audacity instead, which is why there's a bit of echo. Minimal vocal effects in GarageBand. I apologize in advance for the fact that I'm not actually a soprano, and for only recording the guy's part once with minimal effort. I only recorded it at all because it sounds weird with silence there and it helps prep me for Eliza's entrance. I wore out my voice pretending to be a fierce soprano, failing to hit and sustain that final note, and dropping the occasional lyrics. It turns out tea has magical restorative properties and I was able to do one more take an hour after killing my voice, which turned out well enough to post. Huzzah! I lag a little on the fast notes sometimes, but not too much, I think.
Original: Show Me, from the 1964 movie
25 September 2009:
Comedown, by Bush, sung in my speaking voice
Comedown, by Bush, sung in my most frequently used singing voice
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used minimal vocal effects in GarageBand. I initially sang this song in what I think of as my trumpet or Ian Astbury voice. It sounded OK, but not very compelling, and it didn't blend well with the backup vocals on the karaoke track. So I tried singing it raw, in what amounts to my speaking voice. I have a lot less control over tone and tone quality that way, but I found out that I have a lot more intensity available to me when I need it. It may not be the better track, but to me it's the more interesting because it gives me new info about what I can do and what I should work on.
Original: Comedown
Comedown, by Bush, sung in my most frequently used singing voice
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used minimal vocal effects in GarageBand. I initially sang this song in what I think of as my trumpet or Ian Astbury voice. It sounded OK, but not very compelling, and it didn't blend well with the backup vocals on the karaoke track. So I tried singing it raw, in what amounts to my speaking voice. I have a lot less control over tone and tone quality that way, but I found out that I have a lot more intensity available to me when I need it. It may not be the better track, but to me it's the more interesting because it gives me new info about what I can do and what I should work on.
Original: Comedown
3 September 2009:
Head Over Feet, by Alanis Morissette
★ I like this one.
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used minimal vocal effects in GarageBand. Disappointed in the tiny volume dynamic I produced between verse and chorus, though I guess there's not really much of one in the song. She just manages to sound more intense in the chorus anyway. This one was sort of spur of the moment and I failed to listen to the original beforehand, so I completely forgot the little decorations at the end. Oh well.
Original: Head Over Feet
★ I like this one.
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used minimal vocal effects in GarageBand. Disappointed in the tiny volume dynamic I produced between verse and chorus, though I guess there's not really much of one in the song. She just manages to sound more intense in the chorus anyway. This one was sort of spur of the moment and I failed to listen to the original beforehand, so I completely forgot the little decorations at the end. Oh well.
Original: Head Over Feet
25 August 2009:
Man in the Box, by Alice in Chains
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used some simple vocal effects in GarageBand. I find the range of Alice in Chains mostly very comfortable.
Original: Man in the Box
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used some simple vocal effects in GarageBand. I find the range of Alice in Chains mostly very comfortable.
Original: Man in the Box
14 July 2009:
No One Like You, by Scorpions
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used minimal vocal effects in GarageBand. Better vibrato today, despite stuffiness the last couple weeks (I took Sudafed). I think my maximum volume was reduced, but I did not feel out of breath this time.
Original: No One Like You
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used minimal vocal effects in GarageBand. Better vibrato today, despite stuffiness the last couple weeks (I took Sudafed). I think my maximum volume was reduced, but I did not feel out of breath this time.
Original: No One Like You
23 June 2009:
Taking Over Me, by Evanescence
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used minimal vocal effects in GarageBand. Definitely improving in the high range, but still not nearly where I want to be. I still can only accomplish two of {high volume, high range, vibrato} at any given time. I feel out of breath most of the time on this one.
Original: Taking Over Me
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used minimal vocal effects in GarageBand. Definitely improving in the high range, but still not nearly where I want to be. I still can only accomplish two of {high volume, high range, vibrato} at any given time. I feel out of breath most of the time on this one.
Original: Taking Over Me
1 June 2009:
I'm Beginning To See The Light, by Duke Ellington
★ I like this one.
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used minimal vocal effects in GarageBand. Jazz. Could use more vibrato. And growl. I don't think I've mentioned this before: I find it easier to get proper diaphragm use if I have my right arm on the mic stand and my left behind me or raised. This is not symmetric. Bodies are weird.
Original, or rather, canonical: I'm Beginning To See The Light, performed by Ella Fitzgerald
★ I like this one.
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used minimal vocal effects in GarageBand. Jazz. Could use more vibrato. And growl. I don't think I've mentioned this before: I find it easier to get proper diaphragm use if I have my right arm on the mic stand and my left behind me or raised. This is not symmetric. Bodies are weird.
Original, or rather, canonical: I'm Beginning To See The Light, performed by Ella Fitzgerald
29 May 2009:
My Immortal, by Evanescence
Notes: Free karaoke track, used minimal vocal effects in GarageBand. Singing in my somewhat-high range was pretty easy today. Nifty. It still takes a conscious effort to change volume noticeably, and it still takes a conscious effort to impart feeling, and for some reason the two are mostly disjoint. Gotta work on that, considering volume change is important to expression.
Original: My Immortal
Notes: Free karaoke track, used minimal vocal effects in GarageBand. Singing in my somewhat-high range was pretty easy today. Nifty. It still takes a conscious effort to change volume noticeably, and it still takes a conscious effort to impart feeling, and for some reason the two are mostly disjoint. Gotta work on that, considering volume change is important to expression.
Original: My Immortal
28 May 2009:
Another Rainy Night, by Queensrÿche
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used custom Male Vocals in GarageBand. This was my first attempt to make the vocal effects sound nice. It certainly sounds much better than the raw vocals! I had some rhythm issues today, apparently. Oh well. I still did pretty decently at not being timid and sustaining my notes.
Original: Another Rainy Night
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used custom Male Vocals in GarageBand. This was my first attempt to make the vocal effects sound nice. It certainly sounds much better than the raw vocals! I had some rhythm issues today, apparently. Oh well. I still did pretty decently at not being timid and sustaining my notes.
Original: Another Rainy Night
12 May 2009:
I Don't Believe In Love, by Queensrÿche
★ I like this one.
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used Male Rock Vocals in GarageBand. Throat got tired quickly today. Flubbed the last high notes all three times, so I recorded it separately. Otherwise this is all the third take. Goals this time were not being timid, sustaining each note to its end. I guess I did OK on both those things. Certainly better than normal. Most of my wrong/unintended notes were in tune. Neat.
Original: I Don't Believe In Love
★ I like this one.
Notes: Purchased karaoke track, used Male Rock Vocals in GarageBand. Throat got tired quickly today. Flubbed the last high notes all three times, so I recorded it separately. Otherwise this is all the third take. Goals this time were not being timid, sustaining each note to its end. I guess I did OK on both those things. Certainly better than normal. Most of my wrong/unintended notes were in tune. Neat.
Original: I Don't Believe In Love
8 May 2009:
I'm Under Your Spell, from Buffy episode "Once More With Feeling"
Notes: There doesn't seem to exist a karaoke track, and stripping the vocals in Audacity failed, so I lazily sketched out only the chords. Used Female Basic vocals in GarageBand. Still recovering from my sore throat+fever gunk, but I knew I could get one take where I didn't sound like a frog.
Originals: I'm Under Your Spell, performed by Amber Benson.
Notes: There doesn't seem to exist a karaoke track, and stripping the vocals in Audacity failed, so I lazily sketched out only the chords. Used Female Basic vocals in GarageBand. Still recovering from my sore throat+fever gunk, but I knew I could get one take where I didn't sound like a frog.
Originals: I'm Under Your Spell, performed by Amber Benson.
4 May 2009:
Another Suitcase In Another Hall, from Evita (movie musical), and
You Must Love Me, from Evita (movie musical)
Notes: Karaoke tracks, used Female Basic vocals in GarageBand. This one's kind of lame. Listen at your own risk. Today I have a sore throat and mild fever, but I had all this time because I was taking a sick day. So, two show tunes, not too high, but higher than normal. I won't really know how they sound until I'm not sick.
Originals: Another Suitcase In Another Hall and You Must Love Me, both sung by Madonna
Notes: Karaoke tracks, used Female Basic vocals in GarageBand. This one's kind of lame. Listen at your own risk. Today I have a sore throat and mild fever, but I had all this time because I was taking a sick day. So, two show tunes, not too high, but higher than normal. I won't really know how they sound until I'm not sick.
Originals: Another Suitcase In Another Hall and You Must Love Me, both sung by Madonna
1 May 2009:
Magic Man, by Heart
Notes: Karaoke track, used Female Basic vocals with a teensy bit of echo in GarageBand. Two days ago I suddenly released some tension in my upper chest, and was finally able to sing in my high range without warbling and other great difficulties. I haven't quite grown used to it again yet, but this didn't turn out too badly, though I obviously need to work on consistent breath support in that upper region. There are high notes in my future, oh yes.
Original: Magic Man
Notes: Karaoke track, used Female Basic vocals with a teensy bit of echo in GarageBand. Two days ago I suddenly released some tension in my upper chest, and was finally able to sing in my high range without warbling and other great difficulties. I haven't quite grown used to it again yet, but this didn't turn out too badly, though I obviously need to work on consistent breath support in that upper region. There are high notes in my future, oh yes.
Original: Magic Man
Got a mic stand and pop filter. I have no idea what to do with my hands now.
23 April 2009:
Possum Kingdom, by The Toadies
★ I like this one.
Notes: Used Audacity to remove the vocals, used Male Rock Vocals effects in GarageBand. I mostly did this one to make me feel better about my last one. Of course, I am inordinately congested today; I removed about 6 coughs from the vocals track, but it's the kind of congestion that, with Sudafed, left me in tune. So yet another 90s dude tune.
Original: Possum Kingdom
★ I like this one.
Notes: Used Audacity to remove the vocals, used Male Rock Vocals effects in GarageBand. I mostly did this one to make me feel better about my last one. Of course, I am inordinately congested today; I removed about 6 coughs from the vocals track, but it's the kind of congestion that, with Sudafed, left me in tune. So yet another 90s dude tune.
Original: Possum Kingdom
21 April 2009:
I'm Not That Girl, from Wicked (musical)
Notes: Used Audacity to mostly-remove the vocals, used Female Basic Vocals effects in GarageBand. I sing show tunes prettily only when I'm not pushing much air through, so today I focused on breath support and ignored vibrato and such. While I'm not very happy with the overall prettiness of the sound, I'm pretty happy with the breath support, and I was pretty much in tune. I may try to sing this one again if I ever manage to accomplish pretty+audible.
Original: I'm Not That Girl, sung by Idina Menzel
Notes: Used Audacity to mostly-remove the vocals, used Female Basic Vocals effects in GarageBand. I sing show tunes prettily only when I'm not pushing much air through, so today I focused on breath support and ignored vibrato and such. While I'm not very happy with the overall prettiness of the sound, I'm pretty happy with the breath support, and I was pretty much in tune. I may try to sing this one again if I ever manage to accomplish pretty+audible.
Original: I'm Not That Girl, sung by Idina Menzel
16 April 2009:
Edie (Ciao Baby), by The Cult
Notes: Used Audacity to half-remove the vocals, used Male Rock Vocals effects in GarageBand. The origianl vocals are still quite audible, so I turned the backing track down a bit more. I have this awful intermittent cough today, but as long as I push air through, my voice is total fine. It's a bit weird. I like the way my voice sounds when I sing The Cult. Is it my hopeful imagination, or am I picking up more dynamic range?
Original: Edie
Notes: Used Audacity to half-remove the vocals, used Male Rock Vocals effects in GarageBand. The origianl vocals are still quite audible, so I turned the backing track down a bit more. I have this awful intermittent cough today, but as long as I push air through, my voice is total fine. It's a bit weird. I like the way my voice sounds when I sing The Cult. Is it my hopeful imagination, or am I picking up more dynamic range?
Original: Edie
9 April 2009:
Greedy Fly, by Bush
Notes: Used Audacity to mostly-remove the vocals, used Male Rock Vocals effects in GarageBand. Oddly, I ended up with two pretty decent recordings of myself, with no egregious mistakes. I chose this one pretty arbitrarily. Grungy vocals seem to work well for me despite that my voice is not particularly grungy. I'm not sure I understand why yet. This one is probably the most precise I've been with respect to rhythm.
Original: Greedy Fly
Notes: Used Audacity to mostly-remove the vocals, used Male Rock Vocals effects in GarageBand. Oddly, I ended up with two pretty decent recordings of myself, with no egregious mistakes. I chose this one pretty arbitrarily. Grungy vocals seem to work well for me despite that my voice is not particularly grungy. I'm not sure I understand why yet. This one is probably the most precise I've been with respect to rhythm.
Original: Greedy Fly
31 March 2009:
Black Hole Sun, by Soundgarden.
Notes: Used Audacity to remove the vocals, used Male Rock Vocals effects. I should eventually look into adjusting relative track volumes at different parts of this song. I seem to still be having a decent time with grunge.
Original: Black Hole Sun
Notes: Used Audacity to remove the vocals, used Male Rock Vocals effects. I should eventually look into adjusting relative track volumes at different parts of this song. I seem to still be having a decent time with grunge.
Original: Black Hole Sun
30 March 2009:
Sea of Sorrow, by Alice in Chains.
Notes: Used Audacity to almost-remove the vocals, used Male Rock Vocals effects. For the first time I combined a couple tracks to fix screw-ups rather than doing another take. Maybe my voice isn't totally useless for grunge...or maybe it's just that I'm getting over a cold.
Original: Sea of Sorrow
Notes: Used Audacity to almost-remove the vocals, used Male Rock Vocals effects. For the first time I combined a couple tracks to fix screw-ups rather than doing another take. Maybe my voice isn't totally useless for grunge...or maybe it's just that I'm getting over a cold.
Original: Sea of Sorrow
21 January 2009:
Boulevard of Broken Dreams, by Green Day. The karaoke track I found was free and recorded by Countdown.
Notes: Recorded in mono this time (oops on all the previous!), used Male Basic effects. My voice was pretty gruff after singing for most of the afternoon, but I still managed some serious breath support. Go me! My little trail-off at the end didn't turn out the way I wanted, but it doesn't sound bad at least. And yes, it was intentional, not a copout. This was actually the first (only) full take.
Original: Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Notes: Recorded in mono this time (oops on all the previous!), used Male Basic effects. My voice was pretty gruff after singing for most of the afternoon, but I still managed some serious breath support. Go me! My little trail-off at the end didn't turn out the way I wanted, but it doesn't sound bad at least. And yes, it was intentional, not a copout. This was actually the first (only) full take.
Original: Boulevard of Broken Dreams
19 January 2009:
My Eyes, from Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, by Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon, and Joss Whedon
Notes: Used Audacity to almost-remove the vocals, used Female Basic effects for Penny's part and Male Basic for Billy's. I've been thinking it'd be fun/funny to do a duet with myself, and today my Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog soundtrack arrived, so, here it be. I was in an anti-perfectionist mood, though, so only a couple takes on it. I think I find my voice more appealing in a choral/harmonizing situation. Also, I think this was the strongest beginning I've managed.
Original: My Eyes
Notes: Used Audacity to almost-remove the vocals, used Female Basic effects for Penny's part and Male Basic for Billy's. I've been thinking it'd be fun/funny to do a duet with myself, and today my Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog soundtrack arrived, so, here it be. I was in an anti-perfectionist mood, though, so only a couple takes on it. I think I find my voice more appealing in a choral/harmonizing situation. Also, I think this was the strongest beginning I've managed.
Original: My Eyes
8 January 2009:
Drifting by 4 Non Blondes
Notes: Used Audacity to mostly-remove the vocals, and this time I used "Epic Diva" effects. I only decided on something to record after I'd been singing for an hour already, so this one had two takes. This is the better (second) take. I am unhappy with my choice to say the "and"s early at the end. Sounds stupid. Some of my other attacks seem unintentionally just a bit early. Boo. My air support in my higher range is improving, but still quite unreliable. I'm not very happy with this one, but I really wanted to get another recording, of a girl song, up here. I've fallen behind!
Original: Drifting
Notes: Used Audacity to mostly-remove the vocals, and this time I used "Epic Diva" effects. I only decided on something to record after I'd been singing for an hour already, so this one had two takes. This is the better (second) take. I am unhappy with my choice to say the "and"s early at the end. Sounds stupid. Some of my other attacks seem unintentionally just a bit early. Boo. My air support in my higher range is improving, but still quite unreliable. I'm not very happy with this one, but I really wanted to get another recording, of a girl song, up here. I've fallen behind!
Original: Drifting
5 January 2009:
Bleeding Me by Metallica
Notes: I mostly-removed the vocals from the track with the magic of Audacity, and this time I used "Male Rock Vocals" effects. It didn't make me sound like not-a-girl, but it sounded better on this track. My biggest note here is HOLY CRAP is 8 minutes a long damn time! What was I thinking?! There's a lot of time to screw up in 8 minutes. I had to record this four times. In retrospect, I probably could have patched the first two or three together as one good track, but I have some irrational need to do it all as one take. Oh, and my beginnings still suck, but maybe a little less so?
Original: Bleeding Me
Notes: I mostly-removed the vocals from the track with the magic of Audacity, and this time I used "Male Rock Vocals" effects. It didn't make me sound like not-a-girl, but it sounded better on this track. My biggest note here is HOLY CRAP is 8 minutes a long damn time! What was I thinking?! There's a lot of time to screw up in 8 minutes. I had to record this four times. In retrospect, I probably could have patched the first two or three together as one good track, but I have some irrational need to do it all as one take. Oh, and my beginnings still suck, but maybe a little less so?
Original: Bleeding Me
Started using Audacity's vocal remover, so from now on there are backing tracks!
18 December 2008:
Selling The Drama by Live,
and Torn by Natalie Imbruglia
Notes: Same setup as the 14th. My goal with these recordings was to follow L's advice and focus on "attitude", which goes hand in hand with air support....and since I'm pretty much healthy now, I have a little air! I did meh with Selling The Drama, but I think I got some notable attitude into Torn, with only a small expense to tone and prettiness. Neat.
Originals: Selling The Drama, Torn
Notes: Same setup as the 14th. My goal with these recordings was to follow L's advice and focus on "attitude", which goes hand in hand with air support....and since I'm pretty much healthy now, I have a little air! I did meh with Selling The Drama, but I think I got some notable attitude into Torn, with only a small expense to tone and prettiness. Neat.
Originals: Selling The Drama, Torn
14 December 2008:
Possession", by Sarah McLachlan
Notes: Got a shiny new microphone! I got it last Wednesday, but since it's the season for strep that turns into sinus infections, I waited until the first day I could sing in tune to record anything. It's super-cool to hear my voice and just my voice, but it does make me hyper-aware of every horrible little or not-so-little thing about my singing. As you can hear, the major problem today—more so than most days—was controlling my breath support. Throat not feeling so good after this song (I'd been singing for a while prior), so just one today despite the long absence.
Original: Possession
Notes: Got a shiny new microphone! I got it last Wednesday, but since it's the season for strep that turns into sinus infections, I waited until the first day I could sing in tune to record anything. It's super-cool to hear my voice and just my voice, but it does make me hyper-aware of every horrible little or not-so-little thing about my singing. As you can hear, the major problem today—more so than most days—was controlling my breath support. Throat not feeling so good after this song (I'd been singing for a while prior), so just one today despite the long absence.
Original: Possession
Got a new microphone, so much less noise now!
30 November 2008:
Slow Ride by Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Notes: Same setup. Low range improving, so I picked a semi-low song. Intended to pick a semi-high song too, but was having significant difficulty getting any volume out of my higher range. What is with that pickup note after the guitar solo? Ick! I've noticed I do that sometimes when I realize I'm not in sync with the singer. Karaoke tracks would be an improvement. Apparently at the end I forgot that I was supposed to be singing the lead and did a cute little harmony-with-nothing for my recording. Oops.
Original: Slow Ride
Notes: Same setup. Low range improving, so I picked a semi-low song. Intended to pick a semi-high song too, but was having significant difficulty getting any volume out of my higher range. What is with that pickup note after the guitar solo? Ick! I've noticed I do that sometimes when I realize I'm not in sync with the singer. Karaoke tracks would be an improvement. Apparently at the end I forgot that I was supposed to be singing the lead and did a cute little harmony-with-nothing for my recording. Oops.
Original: Slow Ride
21 November 2008:
Soul Asylum by The Cult
Notes: High range still shakey. My inhaler helped, but not enough. (Very low range also weak, but not relevant on this song.) Standing this time. This appears to release a little vibrato. Used "Female basic vocals" effects in GarageBand. Built-in mic.
Original: Soul Asylum
Notes: High range still shakey. My inhaler helped, but not enough. (Very low range also weak, but not relevant on this song.) Standing this time. This appears to release a little vibrato. Used "Female basic vocals" effects in GarageBand. Built-in mic.
Original: Soul Asylum
16 November 2008:
"Wild Child" and "Jeremy",
by Heart and by Pearl Jam
Notes: Recovering from a cold. Sitting. Used "Female rock vocals" effects in GarageBand. Built-in mic.
Originals: Wild Child, Jeremy
Notes: Recovering from a cold. Sitting. Used "Female rock vocals" effects in GarageBand. Built-in mic.
Originals: Wild Child, Jeremy