Ryan Adams- La Cienega Just Smiled Cover. REDONE

[ut4ever8]

I really want to start playing open mics soon but I am way to embarrassed of my vocals to do that yet. With that in mind I wanted to post a new cover and hopefully get some good feedback and vocal tips. So please give it a listen and tell me what you think. Playing live is a big goal of mine and I realize that taking constructive criticism is the only way Im going to really learn how to be a better singer so please be honest so I can work on what I need to do to get better. Thanks alot

Ryan Adams- La Cienega Just Smiled
http://www.sendspace.com/file/y32dr5

[captainburrito]

Hey man. This isn't too bad at all. I am just hearing a voice with out a whole lot of confidence behind it. I am far from an expert on singing at all, but what I have found works out for me is to either take the song that I am trying to do and drop it or raise it half or a whole step to see if I can fit it to my voice better...and if that doesn't work, i at least get to practice fitting my voice with different pitches and what not. I am also constantly singing along with really different types of music (from Mraz to the Toadies) at the top of my lungs in my car pretty much anytime I am driving somewhere. I actually think that has helped me more than anything. The biggest thing for me is just being able to get over all of my social anxieties, so i can just let it loose. You are on the right track though. I have heard far far far worse than that at the open mics I have gone to, so I think you should just go and do it. Once you get that first one under your belt, you will become more comfortable and you'll find your voice. Just keep it up.

[ut4ever8]

Thanks man. I appreciate the input. I am naturally a pretty shy person which I think is pretty common for alot of singer songwriters but I know if something I need to get over if I want to get out and play live, let alone play my own material. Thanks again

[captainburrito]

No problem, man. Yeah, I have the same shyness problem. I lucked out though because I had a couple of people that I was able to get together with to play stuff, and playing open mic nights with a couple of friends on stage with you is way easier to do.

[vinestreet98]

first of all, GREAT song choice.
second, yes, i agree that what it sounds like is a lack of confidence and what that does is make your voice sound restrained. psychologically, at least for me, before i got really comfortable singing, it made me use my throat a lot more, and with your throat you really have very little control over your voice. i always say that real singing goes through the walls because it RESONATES. i probably sounded pretty similar to you when i started but practice makes perfect man!!! i've just started doing open mics and such (and MAN playing live is a whole different world) but it comes, with practice.

Edit... and for the record, this is my MySpace for music: www.myspace.com/maxlsongs

[ut4ever8]

Ive heard people on these boards say not to sing from your throat, but to sing from your diaphragm. But how exactly do you do that? does it just come with more experience or is there a specific way to correct that?

[markTR]

Dude, not bad at all. You definitely could hold your own at the open mics I've been too, I think you'd do damn well anywhere in fact. The rush of getting up in front of people and doing something is incomparable, I say go for it as soon and as often as possible

[ut4ever8]

Thanks man. I really appreciate it

[dmbguitar718]

Your voice is not bad at all. The way I hear it, you're at a stage where you're clearly on the uphill and you're only going to get better. To put it somewhat visually, you've passed the barrier that some people can't pass, where they fail to hit notes as they trail off phrases or lack character in their voice. Once you pass that barrier, you're only going to get better the more you sing, trust me. I have so many recordings of myself that track my voice over the years and it's absolutely incredible to see how my voice progressed. I'm not claiming to have a great voice now, but from where I started, I think I made a pretty good improvement - and it all came by singing more. Singing along with myself, along with other songs, whenever. That's pretty much all I did so that's the real vocal advice I can give.

Definitely not bad at all, though.

[ut4ever8]

Thanks man. I think Im just gonna suck it up and play the next open mic I can. I might need a drink or two to shake the initial nerves but Ive wanted to do this for the last year. I appreciate all the help guys. Thank you

[ut4ever8]

I redid the song with the new equipment. I just did La Cienega again mainly because I didn't have time to record a ton of stuff and I just wanted to take what I already had and add a few things to experiment. As Ive said before I'm still really new to this recording stuff but I plan on recording alot and I really value and appreciate all of the help I get here, you guys have been great. Even Eric for being enough of an ass to tell me I sounded like a baby trapped in a well. Anyways I have made a myspace page so you all don't need to deal with sendspace all the time. So please give this one another listen and tell me what you think. I'm starting to put alot more effort into becoming a better musician all around and I'm open to all suggestions. There are a handfull of playing and singing mistakes but I was really just eager to work with the editing program so I didn't really take much time to go back and fix the physical mistakes I made. Thats probably a bad idea but its difficult to find time to record with roommates in and out all the time. But thanks again to everyone for all of the help and encouragement, its helping me out a ton. The link to the page is www.Myspace.com/ianmchughmusic Thanks again

[Easy E]

The recording sounds good, the only suggestion i would make is to focus on the rhythm of your vocal line. It seems a bit scattered at times. I know you don't want to sing it exactly like the artist all the time but you have to consistent with your delivery.

Good luck buddy

[ut4ever8]

Thanks Eric. I think the hardest thing for me to get used to is recording everything separately. I'm much more comfortable singing while playing a guitar or piano. I suppose thats just something that will come with practice. I'm having a ton of fun messing around with this stuff though so I plan on getting alot more practice. Thanks again

[Easy E]

yeah, i also do better when singing and playing at the same time. I feel like my strongest(yes a plug) song is the death cab i song i did because i briefly figured out how to separate the guitar and vocal tracks while recording simultaneously. it took me a shit ton of takes but i finally got it

[ut4ever8]

I've never even noticed you had a music page in your sig. It sounds really good man. I agree IWFYITD is the best one on there, your voice fits in really well with Death Cab. Nice work