Has JLB ever missed the F#?

[Implode]

Obviously I haven't seen every show, but I've never seen him go for the F# in LtL and miss. And I mean go for it and miss, not like in LSfNY where he just avoided it.

[Ħ]

All the time.

[Adami]

All the time.

What?

[Ħ]

Er...well not every time, but most of the time.

[Implode]

Maybe you guys just really on the good things but I've never heard anyone here mentioning a time he's missed either.

[Adami]

Er...well not every time, but most of the time.

Almost every recording I've heard, he hits it fine.

[yorost]

My take is he usually misses, followed promptly by numerous people claiming, "he nailed it!"

[The Awesome]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0793ty7xYbw

[nikatapi]

I think he always hits the F#, but the notes before... Most of the time out of pitch (post accident of course).

[Ħ]

I think he always hits the F#, but the notes before... Most of the time out of pitch (post accident of course).

Maybe this is what I'm thinking of.

[bosk1]

Yes, I've heard him miss.  Sometimes, he outright misses.  Sometimes, he misses, but then walks into it.  Other times, I guess you can sort of say he "hits" it briefly, if you include singing it briefly in falsetto and cutting off, or hitting it even more briefly in head voice. 

But does it really matter?

[wasteland]

Obviously I haven't seen every show, but I've never seen him go for the F# in LtL and miss. And I mean go for it and miss, not like in LSfNY where he just avoided it.

Well, a few dozen of times he reached the F#, but in an aweful way.

Here's a sample of what I'm saying  

https://www.megaupload.com/?d=MKMR2V3P

[Adami]

Yes, I've heard him miss.  Sometimes, he outright misses.  Sometimes, he misses, but then walks into it.  Other times, I guess you can sort of say he "hits" it briefly, if you include singing it briefly in falsetto and cutting off, or hitting it even more briefly in head voice. 

But does it really matter?

Of course it does. Don't you know that out of every single note any member of DT has ever hit in any song they have ever written or preformed, the only note that matters is the F#?

[bosk1]

Of course.  What was I thinking?

[TAC]

But does it really matter?

Yeah, no kidding..
I was a Dream Theater fan for years and I never paid any attention to this whole F# thing.  The music in that section is so beautiful, and I felt the vocals added to the section. Now it's all F# this and F# that. Over the last few years, it's really taken on a life of its own.

[chknptpie]

What is this head voice I've seen around here a few times. If it isn't the voice I hear in my head while typing this, then someone please inform me!

[Zook]

What is this head voice I've seen around here a few times. If it isn't the voice I hear in my head while typing this, then someone please inform me!

I'd like to know this too, as in how to separate head from chest voice.

[The Presence of Frenemies]

I've never heard James use actual head voice. Very few singers do, actually. What's often referred to as "head voice" is actually better termed "mixed voice" which is just a mix of resonance in the chest and head. Typical head voice is what guys like D.C. Cooper and Axl Rose use in their upper registers. LaBrie actually has one of the most chest-oriented upper registers I've heard.

[MetropolisxPt1]

Doesnt he use head voice for the F# in recent performances?

What is this head voice I've seen around here a few times. If it isn't the voice I hear in my head while typing this, then someone please inform me!

I'd like to know this too, as in how to separate head from chest voice.

If you sing at higher registers the voice resonates from the head and less from the throat and chest

[TheGreatPretender]

On the Live Scenes from New York DVD, he didn't even go for it, he ended up going lower instead. Same for Another Day, at that concert. It's understandable, of course.

[rumborak]

He is an experienced enough singer to know beforehand whether he will make it. So, sometimes he doesn't even go for it.

And yeah, the whole F# thing is rather ridiculous. Frankly speaking I think that vocal line there is a bit out of place. It somewhat competes with the guitar solo that comes after, to detrimental effect.

rumborak

[Blackfield]

The F# isn't usually the problem. The notes leading up to the F# often is though, as you can see in that video (26 times F#)

[Implode]

But does it really matter?

Not really. I made this thread more in questioning the fans than the performance of the band. After every performance of LtL the fans say, "JLB nailed the F#!" as if it's a rare occurrence. However, I've never heard otherwise.

[TheGreatPretender]

Not really. I made this thread more in questioning the fans than the performance of the band. After every performance of LtL the fans say, "JLB nailed the F#!" as if it's a rare occurrence. However, I've never heard otherwise.

Well, I figure it's just such an epic part of the song, that it's like everyone's always rooting for it. LaBrie hitting the F# is like The Terminator saying, "Hasta La Vista, Baby." Or something to that effect.

[BlackInk]

More like "I'll be back".

[The Presence of Frenemies]

The thing that annoys me about his performance of the F# these days is that he doesn't sustain it as long as the album version, which makes it sound kind of weird given the instrumentation around it.

As for the climb up, I don't understand why he doesn't just switch to falsetto for the last three notes (although he does switch to it for the F# itself). Would make the climb up so much easier for him, and it would sound less strained and the pitch wouldn't waver as much. For that matter, I'd imagine such a technique would've allowed him to get up there back in the LSFNY days. I mean, most people can reach an F#5 in falsetto, after all.

[Adami]

He's singing the F# in head voice, not falsetto.

[The Presence of Frenemies]

Depends on your definition of head voice. Different people think it means different things.

[Adami]

Depends on your definition of head voice. Different people think it means different things.

Well I'll let splent or one of the actual singers here argue with that, but I'm pretty sure there's one definition.

[BlackInk]

I always thought thing about the F# was that he wasn't singing it in falsetto which is very hard..

[The Presence of Frenemies]

Oh, the original certainly isn't falsetto, and the early performances of it aren't either. And even now, LaBrie hits notes even higher than that in full voice. But the phrasing on the F# passage is such that it's a struggle for him to climb up to it without switching nowadays. You can tell because he's straining up to the Eb before it, and then suddenly out comes this very easy-sounding F#. Easy sign of a register switch.

Which is fine. As long as it sounds good.

[rumborak]

They've also always dumped shitloads of delay and reverb onto that section live, for good reason.

rumborak

[Jamesman42]

And yeah, the whole F# thing is rather ridiculous. Frankly speaking I think that vocal line there is a bit out of place. It somewhat competes with the guitar solo that comes after, to detrimental effect.

rumborak

Whoa, wait a minute. As far as the album version, the whole build-up and F# bring in the guitar solo beautifully.

[jsem]

And yeah, the whole F# thing is rather ridiculous. Frankly speaking I think that vocal line there is a bit out of place. It somewhat competes with the guitar solo that comes after, to detrimental effect.

rumborak

Whoa, wait a minute. As far as the album version, the whole build-up and F# bring in the guitar solo beautifully.

I think so too, it's sort of the climax before the Wait for Sleep break. The solo after WFS reprise is still the better solo though

[Perpetual Change]

And yeah, the whole F# thing is rather ridiculous. Frankly speaking I think that vocal line there is a bit out of place. It somewhat competes with the guitar solo that comes after, to detrimental effect.

rumborak

Whoa, wait a minute. As far as the album version, the whole build-up and F# bring in the guitar solo beautifully.

This.