General Music Chat

ok so how do you guys feel is the best way to search for a band if you are just a straggler? any specific places you hang out to meet people who may be interested in adding someone to their band?

i've been in a couple of bands but no one seemed committed enough. I have the potential and know how to make it in the music industry but i just don't have the right band to get there with me.

I need advise on how to assemble or join a band, i tried asking my friends before but not one of them is as devoted to it as i am.

help

Ok,

Get ready.

You asked for help in finding or forming a band, but not on your vocal skills or much else, but I'm gonna give it all to you, and give it to you straight.

When I read your post, asking for help finding or forming a band, I immediately went to your profile, so I could tell you the first thing to do, and which you probably had not done, namely...

Put audio samples of your singing up!

Well, imagine my surprise when, lo and behold, you stole that from me, by already having samples up. Way to go girl!

I was impressed by that, so I listened to every song you posted (for some reason, the last two songs don't play for me though)

Then, I was impressed again, that you not only posted audio of your voice, but you posted raw audio, with no music, and no effects. Just laid it out there for everyone.

That takes courage (or stupidity, if you happened to be one of these American Idol wannabes that are included on the show, only for the comedic value of their believing they can sing, when they cannot)

But you were not in this category.

You can actually sing.

So, major kudos for all of the above!

First, my observation of your voice...

You have potential. That is a complement, because as anyone here knows, I am a perfectionist when it comes to judging vocal ability.

You have a good voice. It needs improvement, but you have a good voice, and a voice with some personality as well as some versatility. Very good start! You need a little more control, and better breathing technique, and you will get alot more out of your voice. You are not always staying in key or pitch throughout the entire songs, but it is really not that bad, and you are actually doing pretty well, with the kind of material you are singing and doing so without any music accompanying you. It could be that you are actually changing keys on purpose though, since I can't hear the instrumentation you probably hear in your own head while you sing. Even if that is the case, you go a little flat here and there, but some of that may be attributable to the emotion you are putting into it. So these last points may be nominal. I like the emotion by the way. You have some fearlessness in singing without effects or music. I like that. I love that!

Having said all that, let me now say, that you DO have a good voice, and definite potential. I could name some famous female singers that you are clearly better than, so you have a good enough voice to front a band. It could be better though. I think with learning better breathing and practicing better control, you could be really good, instead of just "good".

You could get a vocal coach, or find some free vocal coaching helps online. It will make a difference, trust me, if you understand how sound is produced in the body, and learn the techniques to maximize this.

I think it is very very good, that you appear so serious about this as a career. I think if you follow your dream, learn as you go, and stay determined, you will find some success.

Let me just take issue with one statement you made though...

"I have the potential and know how to make it in the music industry"

As a stickler for detail, let me correct you, that... YOU DO NOT know how to make it in the music industry. Even the music industry does not know how to make it in the music industry, which is why as many as 90% of all signed artists, go NOWHERE, and are shelved and never heard from again, and also why the major labels are failing themselves and struggling to avoid complete paralysis as we speak.

No one "knows" how to make it in the music industry, all that can be known is how best to position yourself, from all available experience and history, to give yourself the best "shot" at making it, in the music industry. There are a plethora of artists who had it all, and should have "made it" but didn't, for whatever reasons there may have been. There are international artists which are as big in other countries as Elvis was here, and yet, try as they might, every effort to help them crack this market failed, and they never saw the success here, that they did, say in Europe.

Just helping give a little clarity and humility. You may know "what it takes to best position yourself for success" but not even the music industry itself "knows" with certainty what it takes to "make it". There are too many variables, and the public is a fickle lot.

Finding Bands...

You took a good step in posting here in Bandmix. You should also post classifieds in Myspace and Craig's List and everywhere else you can find. Post a flyer in ALL your local music stores, like Guitar Center, or whatever the big ones are in your area. Small ones too! Go to all the open mic nights you can find, on a regular basis. When you figure out which ones have the best draw of musicians, you will begin to network with the friends you make. Appeal to your own circle of friends as well. Chances are, your friends and family, either know someone who plays, or is a friend of a friend, of someone who plays. Read the best local entertainment newspapers and magazines in your area, and find out what is going on, every single week, and become more a part of the scene. These usually have classifieds as well, either free or paid. Find out which mags the musicians really use. A music store will help you with this, as there are classifieds with a dozen listings, and then there may be the mag, that all the musicians "really" use, which could have dozens and dozens, and even hundreds of listings.

You'll find alot of veteran musicians here, who can help answer many of your questions as well, so stay around and participate a little, because they have a wealth of knowledge and they are generous enough to give it out for free!

Lastly, good luck. You have impressed me a little on first glance, and I think you may impress me alot, as some time goes by and you hone your craft and begin forming your band.

I think you are a flower ready to bloom!

Best of luck in your career!

The only thing I have to add is...well, nothing. Listen to Craig and take his words to heart. He just gave you better advice than most of us have received-ever-let alone when we were just starting out.

Good Luck!

I feel like a straggler too.

Good advice Craig, I dont think I could add anything useful to what you said.

Just be persistent.

Ive had the best luck meeting musicians in my area off craigslist and also just hitting clubs and getting to know musicians who play. Locally we have a website and myspace that basically some local groupies put together that sends me adds from groups looking for players all the time.

Come to NC and join my band...I think it would be cool to have female vocals.

thank you so much Craig! I was thinking about getting a vocal coach, however all the ones i have been to have tried to make me sound like something i'm not, so i'm trying to find the right coach for me.

again thank you so much for the vote of confidence and the humility smack down (by the way i worded that whole statement you quoted wrong, it was ment for potential, i know how to put the band in a situation where the potential is there for the audiance, namely networking and the fact that most friends of mine come to me when they want to find a new band with good music)

you have been a lot of help! and i'll get on that right away!

hope to thank you from the stage in a couple of years ^^

Come to NC and join my band...I think it would be cool to have female vocals.

lol i would but i'm in school in utah, just trying to get a band together so that when i graduate with my music degree we can hit the road

thank you so much Craig!

Glad to be of service.

I was thinking about getting a vocal coach, however all the ones i have been to have tried to make me sound like something i'm not, so i'm trying to find the right coach for me.

Right decision. You need to stay in your style and just improve upon what is already there. btw...I like your Mad World cover. I like the Gary Jules version infinitely better than the Tears for Fears original.

I think that kind of style would fit you really well. Your first sample is showing you have some power to your voice, but the second (Mad World) is showing another side. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that you made a cover of it because you like that song and relate to it, and it was not just meant to show a different side to your voice? If I am right, then you are not a Britney wannabe, but more serious and deep than that. I bet you write like that as well? I have a feeling I am right, and so I will ask... no... I will beg you... Don't try and be Britney or Christina or any of these pop icons. Stay deep. Make a niche for yourself, as a writer and singer of deep and meaningful issues and subject matter. You are unique... stay that way!!! Develop that part of your voice and writing.

Don't have girls saying "I wish I could dance like that!" but instead, have guys saying "Man, that chick is really cool, and real, and deep. She's not fake... she'd understand me!"

There are too many nearly perfect or enhanced to be perfect, Barbie dolls out there, all competing for the same thing. Don't even try to be one of them. I think you wouldn't anyway. Go the other way. Stay the other way. Be deep and real, and get into your fan's souls. You are unlikely, with all the competition out there, to be a major star with millions and millions of devoted (and often brain-dead fans). But as you develop your talent, you COULD have an intensely loyal following of underground fans, which spreads and still gives you a level of fame and success, and a career, doing what you clearly love to do. And you could be true to yourself, your craft and your fans as well, in that scenario!

Practice with music, but keep practicing without it too. Then you can hear your voice in detail, every subtle nuance, it's tone and inflections, and gain control over it all. you have a pleasant tone to your voice, it just lacks a little refinement and some control. You are going to master that in short order.

Google some online lessons. Specifically...

1) How to sing properly from your diaphragm as well as with your head voice. A good singer can place your hand on several spots from their head all the way to their navel, and make you feel the vibration strength change in each of those places as they alter their voice.

2) Breathing exercises. Both how to breathe effectively while singing, but also exercises that increase your ability to hold and control air flow. I hate to use Beyonce as an example, but as a child, she and her friends knew they would have to sing and dance simultaneously, and they were serious enough about their careers, even as children, that they literally sang while they went jogging together, to learn to sing equally as well, while exerting themselves greatly, as they were, when just standing and singing. This increased their lung capacity and ability to not sound out of breath while singing and dancing simultaneously. That is dedication. Look where she is now.

You should also try singing with CD's of artists you think that you are the most like, or admire most, and practice their techniques. It is not to imitate them, but you will be surprised how this expands your possibilities. My mother for example, a professional singer all her life, is one of the best singers I knew, when growing up. She sang to Barbara Streisand records all day long. This didn't make her sing exactly like Barbara, as she kept her own style, but she developed the same power that Barbara has, only with a much prettier voice (If you ask me). Pay attention to details of these singer's voices, and try and capture it yourself. It is not that you are going to be a mimic of them, but the more you do this, you will add to your personal arsenal, and have more tools then you know what to do with. Then you take all those tools, and perfect your own style!

hope to thank you from the stage in a couple of years ^^

I'm counting on it!

Ok, and she's purdy too. Go girl!

Right decision. You need to stay in your style and just improve upon what is already there. btw...I like your Mad World cover. I like the Gary Jules version infinitely better than the Tears for Fears original.

i put two new vocal samples up last night/ this morning recorded around 4 am (there a bit breathy due to the fact that i was trying not to wake up my parents)

let me know what you think, these ones have effects on them >.< i know it makes the voice a little difficult to analize but it made the breathyness less obvious.

let me know what you think, these ones have effects on them >.< i know it makes the voice a little difficult to analize but it made the breathyness less obvious.

Hey, breathiness is good for lots of stuff. Especially mellow, moody or sexy stuff.

But on to the samples...

Sample 3:

Is that a phase shifter? You don't need that. If you are hearing the effect while recording, you are going to try and follow the effect. But... listening in between the effects, I heard some pretty good falsetto around :15 into it. Once again, I think I was right the first time. You have some tools, I can hear them, but you need more control and better breathing.

If you are singing with effects and listening to the effects through headphones, it helps some singers to leave one ear on, and have one ear a little open or all the way off, so you can hear your natural voice as well. This allows you to enjoy hearing the effect, but not get lost in it, and still be able to hear your natural voice with it, so you don't go off course, because of the nature of the effect. Kind of the best of both worlds.

Many singers sing in the studio like this, with one ear off. Some singers won't sing with any effects coming through the headphones, and some will sing with full effects coming through, cause it doesn't bother them. Try all three and see which works best for you.

Sample 4:

But, Paramore...yes!

Ok, I'm an idiot! I can't believe I missed that in the thread title. Argh!!! Hayley Williams, bingo, I think she is around your style. It would be great if you could get a stripped vocal track of just her singing, that you could practice with. There is software that can do this... separate the vocals from the music tracks. She would be really good to practice with, cause that is your style to me, and probably the kind of sound you are working towards.

She has pretty good control and versatility in her voice. You have some work to do though, to get where she is. I think you could get there. Confidence. Sing from confidence. Don't be afraid of what you sound like. Get it all out there, and learn about your voice. Practice going from strong to soft parts fluidly. Practice various vocal warm-up scales, from simple to complex, some of which may jump several notes at a time and on a dime. This will get you more control, as you learn to hit pitches dead on, and jump between them quickly and smoothly.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

You are young, and you have plenty of time to become a really good vocalist. And I think with taking practice seriously, using vocal exercises and proper breathing techniques, that you will.

btw...

Don't strain your voice. Always warm up, both your vocal chords and your facial muscles too. Actors have exercises to stretch and warm up their facial muscles. Look for some online, there will probably be a video of some somewhere. Use these, cause they benefit singers as well.

Also, you can hum, to warm up your vocal chords without straining them, and it is a good way to ease into singing if your voice has been taxed. You hum, in a way, that you feel your lips vibrating the most, and when they are, you are also warming up your vocal chords, but safely, without blowing your voice out, if you plan on singing for hours at a time that day, or at a gig that night.

Plus...

Forget honey, lemon, all that stuff. The best thing for your voice is room temperature water, and lots of it. Not hot, not cold. Before recording, drink lots of water at least an hour or two before the session. Water, hydrates your vocal chords. Nothing works better than plain old water, and lots of it.

You don't want things that create mucous and you don't want ANYTHING that can dry your vocal chords up, like nasal medicines or diet pills, alcohol or smoke, etc...

And eat several hours before any recording or practicing. Food puts pressure on your diaphragm and leaves less room for it to expand which pushes the air and gives you power. So, singing on a full stomach will decrease your vocal abilities.

Hold on...

Ok, I'm back!

WooHoo! I found an example of a video teaching a little about how the Diaphragm works! LOL - she says many of the things I have already suggested. I learned alot of these from my mom though, who happens to be a vocal coach as well.

Look for more stuff like this...

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/49274_voice-tips-throat-diaphram.htm


Follow your dream!!!

Come to NC and join my band...I think it would be cool to have female vocals.

Hey!
She's alot closer to me than to NC.
Mine!

Hey, Bandmix staff, mind if you install A/C here? Craig is getting a bit warm
haha.. anyways, back to topic: umm yea great advice up there throughout the posts.
Very cool vocals. Use your talent wisely, and best of luck.

PS. Lacuna Coil? Wasn't there a collaboration with Sevendust?

If you are hearing the effect while recording, you are going to try and follow the effect.
If you are singing with effects and listening to the effects through headphones, it helps some singers to leave one ear on, and have one ear a little open or all the way off, so you can hear your natural voice as well.

i actually added the effect after, but it doesn't sound that great

Ok, everybodys already given all the positive critisicm I could possibly dish out, so I'm just gonna be a jerk and skip to the negative.

You need to open your throat more. And hold some of your notes longer.
And get rid of that filter effect. When it rolls over, it makes you sound like you're singing though your nose.

But on a more serious note, I like you.
You look presentable and you have alot of courage. You have the right attitude and will. You'll make it; and I'd like to see you become a bandmix regular. This is a great place for collaboration, so feel free to share.