Yash's Preparation Spot Options

[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey mate!

I have listened and here are my conclusions:

- first and foremost, your voice is a bit off most of the times, either under or above pitch
- your vocal dynamics are shifting very much - it's cool to phrase louder or softer in respect to the mood you want to set, but don't create a huge discrepancy - there are times when I can't hear you at all..
- try a backing track without vocals and just sing over it in order to get all the vocal embelishments done as well as the correct vocal line
- after that, focus on playing all the guitar parts in perfect timing - you got the guitar parts out of what I can see which is good!
- third, put them all together - guitars and vocals!

Please focus on the above aspects, in order to get the best out of things and keep me updated!

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[Yash]

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This post has been edited by Yash: Jun 29 2014, 12:41 AM

[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey mate

I listened to your recording - it's a good start, but it seems like a difficult song and there are a lot of things you need to master before tackling this sort of stuff.

When you want to learn a song - both vocal and guitar wise, you should first consider learning the chord progressions for each part of the song and the vocal lines. Don't think in terms of riffs and complex formulas, but in terms of chords and strumming that can go along nicely with the vocals.

So, here's how I suggest you to start learning this:

- learn the vocal line note for note - is it too high for you or to low? If it is, try to adapt the key of the song to your comfort zone - have you discovered what your comfort zone is yet, as a vocalist? If not - a tuner could help a lot Just sing into the microphone plugged into a tuner and go as low as you can. If you feel you can sing there and feel comfortable, go lower. When you will feel you can't sing properly at a certain pitch, that means you are very close to your limits. It goes the same with height. These can be trained in some limits
- record the vocal lead line over the original recording and compare your interpretation with the original. What do you like and what do dislike?

This would be the starting point, if you ask me, so please let me know what you think and I would be glad to hear such a recording from you. No guitars at first

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[Yash]

Should I still be a vocalist or... just give up ? I think my voice sucks and so does my ear. I am tone deaf I don't know weather I am in pitch or not, and, I am too old for everything, I am 20.

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[Yash]

OK. I tried singing into the tuner. I see, I go a bit sharp mostly. My range. I can go high till almost 5D. According to the tuner, and 3rd and 4th octave are my comfort zones. The lowest the tuner tells me is that I can go till 2A. I'd like to expand this range. Any ideas Cos. And, I am singing into the tuner with headphones on for the backing track. Is that correct. What's next ?

How do I know if I hit the correct note though ? I just know if the note I hit is flat or sharp. And the note Also, I think I can do a cover of Trivium's Dying In Your Arms as I have an instrumental backing track. What song would you suggest to get started at vocals ?

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This post has been edited by Yash: Jun 30 2014, 06:32 PM

[Cosmin Lupu]

Should I still be a vocalist or... just give up ? I think my voice sucks and so does my ear. I am tone deaf I don't know weather I am in pitch or not, and, I am too old for everything, I am 20.

Hey Yash There's nothing such as 'too old for something' there's only 'am I doing what I need to be doing?'

If you want to be able to train your ears, you need to start working on that right away - how to do it?

- get a microphone
- plug it in your tuner
- pick a note on the guitar - one that is in your range
- try to sing that note in the microphone
- the tuner will show you how low or high over the pitch you are
- when you reach the correct pitch, the tuner will show it to you

It's the hard way, but the safe way. You can't be tone deaf of you can play the guitar All you need is training!

What say you mate?

OK. I tried singing into the tuner. I see, I go a bit sharp mostly. My range. I can go high till almost 5D. According to the tuner, and 3rd and 4th octave are my comfort zones. The lowest the tuner tells me is that I can go till 2A. I'd like to expand this range. Any ideas Cos. And, I am singing into the tuner with headphones on for the backing track. Is that correct. What's next ?

How do I know if I hit the correct note though ? I just know if the note I hit is flat or sharp. And the note Also, I think I can do a cover of Trivium's Dying In Your Arms as I have an instrumental backing track. What song would you suggest to get started at vocals ?

You should be aiming for easier songs, or not necessarily easier, but songs that can help you focus on staying in pitch, rather than cumbering you down with techniques and all that.

Beatles songs! Those are absolutely great to start with - Let it be, could be a great tune to sing and play. What do you say man? Are you willing to learn the chords and vocal lines?

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[Yash]

Hey Yash There's nothing such as 'too old for something' there's only 'am I doing what I need to be doing?'

If you want to be able to train your ears, you need to start working on that right away - how to do it?

- get a microphone
- plug it in your tuner
- pick a note on the guitar - one that is in your range
- try to sing that note in the microphone
- the tuner will show you how low or high over the pitch you are
- when you reach the correct pitch, the tuner will show it to you

It's the hard way, but the safe way. You can't be tone deaf of you can play the guitar All you need is training!

What say you mate?

OK. I'll start working on it right away. But, I don't know my range With which note does an octave start ? A ? If A it is, my range is 2A to wherever I can reach in the 5th octave, maybe E or F.

You should be aiming for easier songs, or not necessarily easier, but songs that can help you focus on staying in pitch, rather than cumbering you down with techniques and all that.

Beatles songs! Those are absolutely great to start with - Let it be, could be a great tune to sing and play. What do you say man? Are you willing to learn the chords and vocal lines?

I'll start with Let it be. Even though it doesn't seem catchy enough to my ears, it seems very simple. So, I'll do a cover of it soon,

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey buddy

Well, you can start with the low E string on the guitar and see how it feels - if it's too low, go up a whole step - to F# (second fret on the low e string) and try it from there and if it's still too low, try going up a whole step again and so on until you feel comfortable.

If the low E doesn't feel low enough for you, try to de-tune the lowest guitar string a whole step down - to D, see how that feels and start from there.

You know, it's all a matter of experimenting, so try all of the above to see how low you can go and then start going higher and higher from that point until you can go no higher because of your current abilities.

Let it be is a great tune Start with the easy ones, in order to be able to tackle the difficult ones Let me know how it feels, ok?

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[Yash]

Hey buddy

Well, you can start with the low E string on the guitar and see how it feels - if it's too low, go up a whole step - to F# (second fret on the low e string) and try it from there and if it's still too low, try going up a whole step again and so on until you feel comfortable.

If the low E doesn't feel low enough for you, try to de-tune the lowest guitar string a whole step down - to D, see how that feels and start from there.

You know, it's all a matter of experimenting, so try all of the above to see how low you can go and then start going higher and higher from that point until you can go no higher because of your current abilities.

Let it be is a great tune Start with the easy ones, in order to be able to tackle the difficult ones Let me know how it feels, ok?

Found out the range - 2A (the open A string/5th fret on E string) to 4A. I have such a low range. I can reach like, 5D with effort. But, that's a lot of effort I guess. I have just a 2 octave range I wanted 3. I don't think it will go any lower. Or higher.

Edit: My screaming is probably destroying my voice ? Or I am trying to hard ? I don't know. I am just, too concerned about my vocals now that I am... facing the bitter truth.

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This post has been edited by Yash: Jul 3 2014, 04:53 PM

[Cosmin Lupu]

Mate, you are thinking TOO much and that usually cuts your wings too short, too soon

Work with what you have so far and when you will be able to sing in tune in your range, we will discuss about expanding range See how you fare with the Beatles song first. Screaming is not an easy technique and I certainly don't recommend doing that before learning how to:

- breathe
- sing at speech level
- use glotal onsets = making vowels sounds powerful
- use the muscles in your body to help you sing

First question - are you comfortable with the key in which 'Let it be' is? Let me know if you tried it so far

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This post has been edited by Cosmin Lupu: Jul 4 2014, 11:19 AM

[Yash]

Let me try Let me be again. I'll let you know as soon as I myself know. And, I won't have access to a guitar for a little while. I left mine in Russia and I'm looking to buy a 12 string acoustic. Any tips bro ?

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Let me try Let me be again. I'll let you know as soon as I myself know. And, I won't have access to a guitar for a little while. I left mine in Russia and I'm looking to buy a 12 string acoustic. Any tips bro ?

Hey matey! Well, it all comes down to one thing in the beginning - what sort of a budget do you have and what sort of a music shop do you have close by? Are you willing to wait till you get back to Russia or you would like to buy it online, or from India? My suggestion is to try it first, whatever the guitar will be, so that's why online buying wouldn't be such a great option for ya Let me know what your thoughts are, ok?

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[Yash]

Hey matey! Well, it all comes down to one thing in the beginning - what sort of a budget do you have and what sort of a music shop do you have close by? Are you willing to wait till you get back to Russia or you would like to buy it online, or from India? My suggestion is to try it first, whatever the guitar will be, so that's why online buying wouldn't be such a great option for ya Let me know what your thoughts are, ok?

I thought I posted the reply to this one Stupid internet. Anyways, here I go again

My budget - around 100 Euros. We have one decent music shop in Delhi. No, I don't think I am willing to get back to Russia. I won't buy an acoustic online. I will play it, feel it, buy it.

I tried two 12 string acoustics till now. One was really nice, playable, natural finish. The other was, a bit tougher to play, sounded better, pricier, and, black. Sadly, none of them had the cutaway I was looking for. And, that's all I tried.

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey Yash - after a little research on the internet, I think that it will not be such an easy task. Since you told me that you want to try it first, the only option is to find one in a shop in India. Then the budget is pretty small for a 12 string, to be honest. The cheapest versions I found in the internet are slightly more expensive than your budget allows and there's no cutaway.

In my opinion, you should re-consider the whole thing, by seeing how you can raise your budget, even if this means waiting a while. It's better to acquire a good quality instrument, rather then getting something cheap, for the sake of getting it.

That's my philosophy anyway, but I don't know if it applies to your context since you are probably depending on your folks for the cash. What are your thoughts on this, mate?

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[Yash]

Hey Yash - after a little research on the internet, I think that it will not be such an easy task. Since you told me that you want to try it first, the only option is to find one in a shop in India. Then the budget is pretty small for a 12 string, to be honest. The cheapest versions I found in the internet are slightly more expensive than your budget allows and there's no cutaway.

In my opinion, you should re-consider the whole thing, by seeing how you can raise your budget, even if this means waiting a while. It's better to acquire a good quality instrument, rather then getting something cheap, for the sake of getting it.

That's my philosophy anyway, but I don't know if it applies to your context since you are probably depending on your folks for the cash. What are your thoughts on this, mate?

My philosophy is exactly the same. Acquiring a good quality instrument, rather than getting something cheap for the sake of getting it. And, yes, I am depending on my folks for the cash. I am, kinda also gonna buy a nice electric, around 800 Euros or so. But, mom says, wait another year and we'll together save up for a custom shop, which you want. I am going for a Jackson King V.

But then again, I seriously want an acoustic instrument. And, I like 12 strings more than 6 strings, the sound is better, and, it's a nice rhythm instrument. I feel nicer on a 12 string acoustic, than on a 6 string one. And, it sucks being without a guitar the summer

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Mate, my suggestion would be the following:

Don't rush into a custom shop For 800 EUR you can get a VERY nice electric guitar and with around 300 EUR, you can get a decent 12 string. I took a little time to make a search on thomann.de - which is the largest music shop in Europe. In the link below, you can find a lot of 12 string suggestions which can fit the 300 EUR budget and they also have the cutaway. Maybe you can talk with your local dealer about a model which you think you like from the list below

http://www.thomann.de/gb/cat.html?gf=12_st...tars&oa=pra

What do you think?

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[Yash]

Mate, my suggestion would be the following:

Don't rush into a custom shop For 800 EUR you can get a VERY nice electric guitar and with around 300 EUR, you can get a decent 12 string. I took a little time to make a search on thomann.de - which is the largest music shop in Europe. In the link below, you can find a lot of 12 string suggestions which can fit the 300 EUR budget and they also have the cutaway. Maybe you can talk with your local dealer about a model which you think you like from the list below

http://www.thomann.de/gb/cat.html?gf=12_st...tars&oa=pra

What do you think?

I don't think I'll be able to get 300 EUR to be honest. I might just need to wait more for another guitar. Man, this sucks. And, even more, I barely have any time for myself these days. I've not been able to practice vocals, or guitar. It just, sucks, 20 days of my vacation wasted And, mom says, wait for another year, next year, try going to the US during summer, and, buy your stuff from over there. I don't know. I just want something better to play. The guitar I currently have has a super high action, 21 frets, bad intonation, and what not ? I play a bit, and then, when I can't pull off anything, I just give up. Any suggestions Cosmos ?

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Cheers mate

As I see it, the most efficient and realistic solution to your problem right now would be to take your current axe to the local guitar shop and ask them to set it up as comfortable as possible - low action and intonation setup and new strings.

Do you have any available place in your city where you can do that?

I don't think I'll be able to get 300 EUR to be honest. I might just need to wait more for another guitar. Man, this sucks. And, even more, I barely have any time for myself these days. I've not been able to practice vocals, or guitar. It just, sucks, 20 days of my vacation wasted And, mom says, wait for another year, next year, try going to the US during summer, and, buy your stuff from over there. I don't know. I just want something better to play. The guitar I currently have has a super high action, 21 frets, bad intonation, and what not ? I play a bit, and then, when I can't pull off anything, I just give up. Any suggestions Cosmos ?

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[Yash]

Cheers mate

As I see it, the most efficient and realistic solution to your problem right now would be to take your current axe to the local guitar shop and ask them to set it up as comfortable as possible - low action and intonation setup and new strings.

Do you have any available place in your city where you can do that?

I'll have to look in Tver about that Need to wait till late August when I go back to Russia

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[Cosmin Lupu]

I'll have to look in Tver about that Need to wait till late August when I go back to Russia

I see, well, you also need to be patient, if that is the situation In the mean time, how about you and I discuss some theory? You can always practice even if you don't have a guitar at hand

What say you?

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