Learning to Sing while Driving the A19
A week ago or so, @steevc posted an OpenMic submission and his song was a cover of ‘I’m Not in Love’, based on the Fun Loving Criminals version.
I’m not aware of this one, but like everyone else am very aware of 10cc’s huge hit of 1975.
@steevc asked me what I thought of his rendition and I mentioned that it was an octave too low. He says he can’t hit the high notes while keeping his voice warble free and I feel this is a perfectly valid reason.
This got me thinking, ‘Can I sing this song without warbling at the same octave level as Eric Stewart?’
After some conversation with @k0wsk1 regarding his OpenMic submission, and his words of wisdom, ‘it will come to you if it's what is meant to happen’, it did get me thinking.
Years ago I used to play keyboards, and could play the Chris DeBurgh song, ‘Borderline’ while singing. My keyboards skills have sadly disappeared over the years and I can’t remember anything. If only Steemit was around in 1992.
Outside of singing in my car at the top of my voice and being the vocalist for our Rock Band sessions years ago, I haven’t done anything until now. I have no qualms about my vocal being particularly good but I feel I can hold notes without too much warble.
@bingbabe says I can sing, but my very direct and cutting 14yrs old daughter tells me I’m ‘not that good’. It’s not just about being able to sing in key, you need to have a timbre that resonates with people’s ears and sounds appealing.
This morning I had a 125 mile drive to Sunderland, so what is better than some vocal practice? I tried ‘I’m not in Love’, the 10cc version a couple of times and felt it was in my vocal range.
Next I had a go at Eric Carmen’s, ‘All by Myself’. This was a little more challenging and I may or may not be able to pull this one off without too much warble.
Then it was on to ‘Come Undone’ by Duran Duran. OK, so my range cannot be stretched to the same level as Simon LeBon, and the same with ‘Baby I’m a Want You’, by Bread. I realised I’m no David Gates at this point.
If I was to have a go at OpenMic and just sing, I would need to source a copy of the song WITHOUT the vocals. I wonder if @silentscreamer can help me with this problem, or maybe give me some advice?
I have attempted to sing these songs many times before, but not as deliberately as I did this morning.
When it comes to moving from your regular voice to falsetto and then back again, can you learn to get better at this? I can do it but not with any great deal of confidence.
My voice was starting to feel the strain after around a dozen attempts at many songs. I guess this is a gym session for your vocal chords? I hope I don’t get the DOMS in the next few days.
Then there is the other issue of Shy Singing. I know @steevc and @silentscreamer both don’t have any problem performing but if you have never done it before, it’s a big deal.
Hopefully they will both be able to advise me.
The last thing I need to point out is do you really want this guy doing an OpenMic?
If you found this article so invigorating that you are now a positively googly-eyed, drooling lunatic with dripping saliva or even if you liked it just a bit, then please upvote, comment, resteem, engage me or all of these things.
What exactly would you need help with? I know nothing about the placements or techniques singing instructors know. Haha. Thats a whole science.
Concerning the instrumental backing. I just find a youtube video and download the backing track. Some you need to pay for from 0.5USD to 1USD.. But most you can find for free.7
Its the backing track that I would be looking for. Can you point me to an example one you have used so I have an idea on what to look for?
No prob. Which one would you like to cover
Its got to be ‘I’m Not in Love’ - 10cc as I have the range to sing this. I had a search and I can see they are easy to find. I can get one.
Ok so with lesser known older songs its hard to find backing tracks. Also the track quality differs greatly from track to track depending on these things.
I tried to find Nehnanana by Vaya con dios and i couldnt find it.
So if this is the song you wanted to do. Has the same name...
This is the link:
Use the link and place it in: https://y2mate.com/
Click download audio... Dont download the video. You dont need it.
Then what i do is use Audacity to connect to my mic. Record audio, and i film myself from my phone singing into the mic, 1 take per openmic rules. Master it a bit if you know how to... ( i suck at it haha)... I just amplify the quieter parts.
Then i use Filmora and sync the audio i got from the phone and mic recording.
Ita quite easy. Do some simple color correction and render.
Thats that really. You can make a thumbnail if you want but thats just for show.
Cool! thanks for the advice and information. I may have a go but whether all will see is a question mark. I will run it past my famly first especially miss cutting.
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Thanks!
This can be really difficult, just make sure that you're getting enough breath, popping into falsetto with intention. Practice makes perfect! Good posture helps. Pro Tip: You always sound better in the shower.
Really glad our short convo got you inspired man! Good luck with finding the backing tracks you want... Also don't think you should give up on the keys completely... I think @steevc might be right about the bad karaoke thing :P Either way, all the best!
Thanks @k0wsk1, though it seems it may be a while not before my debut performance if what @steevc says about the instruments is correct.
I still do have a Roland XP-50 at home. I just need space to set it up again and relearn what I once knew.
I'd listen to it once maybe, if you did one :) Just kidding, I say go for it. I would never have the confidence to do anything like that, so if you even have an inkling of wanting to do it, go for it!
We will see, maybe I'll wear a mask and use a Megaphone on the first try?
Funny thing.. You might know @carlgnash
He used cyclops (his alterego haha) papermache mask on one of his music videos.
So you wont be the first.
Hmmm now thats an idea, do you think I could create a slobberchops mask? I would have to sing with my head tilted to the right though... food for thought. :)
If you managed to make a Slobberchops mask, id buy it for a million Steem, steal the Mona Lisa and place the mask in its place. 😁
Oh yes, the megaphone into the microphone used to be a big deal with the bar bands! Make it a gas mask for the extra creepy factor!
It's a shame I can't hook you up with Andrew of the opera for some singing lessons in the car :)
Can't wait for your recording :)
I'm struggling to find an authentic backing track. The ones on YouTube are all karaoke ones and aren't very good.
No, I can imagine.. then you got a bit of a spitting image version :) To be honest, I don't know where to get backingtracks....
They are on YouTube but they are all cheesy copies.
Sounds like you gave your vocal chords a good work out, you should go for it, I cant sing to save myself infact if i do it scares people
Two of my favourite songs here... :) Didn't know Borderline...
I was hoping you had your version in this post too.... Anyway, go for it!
And I'll look out for your version soon...
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