The Singing Game

[npiazza91]

I would love to try this, just not right now.  For some reason, I can only sing well when I'm listening to the song with the vocals.  I can match pretty much any pitch that's not too high if I'm singing along with it, even if the songs' volume is low.  It's like the vocalist is sort of like training wheels for me.  But me trying to sing with no song playing ends in disaster.  What are the best ways to practice your singing without paying for a coach?  I can usually match Labrie very well (except for when he goes really high), and I can sing along with both Linkin Park and Avenged Sevenfold extremely well (minus the screaming).  I was singing along with "Planets" earlier and I was only off pitch one time and it was slightly.  But like I said, take the song away and I'm a mess.  I want to be able to sing well without the song playing?  Any tips?

[TheGreatPretender]

I might be too harsh on myself, but doing it honestly, I really can't do this part justice. So here it is...

IN THE STYLE OF CHARLIE DOMINICI

[adamack]

Great line selection! Original key but in my own voice type. No guitars this time. Here's my take:

singinggame_nefarius_asachild.mp3

Greetings...
Nef

Nice man! Amazing voice

[adamack]

Here's my take:

https://vocaroo.com/i/s0TbXhEKhCkH

I'm not confident enough in my voice to sing acapella, so I played some acoustic along with it.

Recorded it on my phone, so not the greatest quality 

[TheAtliator]

Clearly the ones who actually sound good are the ones who did it an octave lower  . I'm hoping mine was entertaining at least 

You just had to go for the LATM version, eh? Lol.

How could I resist?? 

[adamack]

I would love to try this, just not right now.  For some reason, I can only sing well when I'm listening to the song with the vocals.  I can match pretty much any pitch that's not too high if I'm singing along with it, even if the songs' volume is low.  It's like the vocalist is sort of like training wheels for me.  But me trying to sing with no song playing ends in disaster.  What are the best ways to practice your singing without paying for a coach?  I can usually match Labrie very well (except for when he goes really high), and I can sing along with both Linkin Park and Avenged Sevenfold extremely well (minus the screaming).  I was singing along with "Planets" earlier and I was only off pitch one time and it was slightly.  But like I said, take the song away and I'm a mess.  I want to be able to sing well without the song playing?  Any tips?

Oh my gosh man, I cannot explain how much you nailed my exact thoughts.

Using your example (Avenged Sevenfold) I too sing along with M. Shadows vocals. When singing with him, I have so much confidence, and can nail even the high parts perfectly on pitch.

Then, I took the songs to my guitar. Let's say, the song Dear God. His chorus vocals are SO DAMN HIGH! Not only are they high, but they are like belted out, and consistent. It isn't just a few high notes here and there. The whole thing is like that. I tried, and failed miserably. Despite nailing it perfectly when singing along to the record.

So I had to sing the chorus an octave lower, and it just doesn't work. That particular chorus being an octave higher is one of the things that makes it stand apart from the verses.

Is it ALL just a confidence issue? Does singing along with the record really heighten our vocal esteem that much? Or is the singer on the album masking our mistakes, and making us sound better?

I've always wanted to know this too, so any help would be appreciated.

[TheGreatPretender]

Clearly the ones who actually sound good are the ones who did it an octave lower  .

Aww, you didn't like my Charlie Dominici impersonation? 
Admittedly, it wasn't dead on. There was a time when I was with some people and I sung the intro to Metropolis and they started laughing, I was like, "What?" And they're both like, "Charlie Dominici!" But that was a fluke, haha.

[TheAtliator]

No I never said I didn't like it!! I'm just commenting on the difference between the ones that actually sounding like a legitimately good singer verses the ones that are just entertaining. I thought your's rocked

[Ad134]

The winner is..... adamack!

Congratulations, and well played. This one was really difficult because there were SO MANY GREAT ENTRIES! Thanks for contributing all!

[TheGreatPretender]

I was just thinking about this thread yesterday and planning on bumping it to ask for the winner. Glad my brain power reached you.

[adamack]

The winner is..... adamack!

Congratulations, and well played. This one was really difficult because there were SO MANY GREAT ENTRIES! Thanks for contributing all!

Wow, thank you so much! I'm honored and it means a lot to me...as you mentioned there were a lot of really great ones.

I am thinking of the next line for the competition now. I will let everyone know asap.

[adamack]

NEXT LINE!

From the "Losing Time/Grand Finale" section of SDOIT. Feel free to do it in any key that's comfortable for you... Acapella or along with the song/an instrument/mentronome...anything you want!

"Wanting to escape
She had created a way to survive
She learned to detach
From herself a behavior that kept her alive"

Here is the section for convenience: https://youtu.be/4hYyne0UIx8?t=1m40s

Excited to hear your take!

[TheGreatPretender]

Aww damn, I don't have the instrumental for that one, haha. Maybe I'll do it to the Orchestral version instead. Sometime before Monday.

[adamack]

Aww damn, I don't have the instrumental for that one, haha. Maybe I'll do it to the Orchestral version instead. Sometime before Monday.

Ah, I didn't even think about that. Would it be better if I chose one that had an available instrumental?

[TheGreatPretender]

Aww damn, I don't have the instrumental for that one, haha. Maybe I'll do it to the Orchestral version instead. Sometime before Monday.

Ah, I didn't even think about that. Would it be better if I chose one that had an available instrumental?

No, that's okay. If it is an available instrumental, unless it's from ADTOE or BC&SL, chances are, I'm still gonna be the only one here who has it. 

[ToT-147]

Excellent line to sing, btw... I should try.. But it has to be really good for post it..

[TheGreatPretender]

You might want to remove that link before you get the ban hammer. 

But no, I actually meant this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQUdsNVlhfM

[Plasmastrike]

Great choice! It was tough but I gave it a shot.

https://vocaroo.com/i/s1G6ExAcRQ9w

I can understand the accent fucking up pronunciation, but the keys and melodies are absurd lol

[fischermasamune]

Great choice! It was tough but I gave it a shot.

https://vocaroo.com/i/s1G6ExAcRQ9w

I can understand the accent fucking up pronunciation, but the keys and melodies are absurd lol

If you say they are off I believe it, given that I don't have any singing technique and can't tell it myself. That Metropolis verse is big on me, and I wanted to seize the opportunity.

[adamack]

Aww damn, I don't have the instrumental for that one, haha. Maybe I'll do it to the Orchestral version instead. Sometime before Monday.

Ah, I didn't even think about that. Would it be better if I chose one that had an available instrumental?

No, that's okay. If it is an available instrumental, unless it's from ADTOE or BC&SL, chances are, I'm still gonna be the only one here who has it. 

Gotcha, good to hear. How's the quality on the rare instrumentals you've got?

[TheGreatPretender]

Well, I have everything from Images and Words to SFAM, plus Octavarium and it's all album quality although mixes might be a little off, but I might even say some of them are better than the originals, in terms of the master, with more dynamic range and stuff.

Train of Thought Instrumental Demos sound like, well, demos.

I also collected a few instrumental covers of songs here and there, such as Disappear, A Fortune in Lies, Aftermath, Forsaken, Misunderstood, and they're... Singable I guess, but not great.
Then I have an instrumental cover of The Enemy Inside which is like, absolutely spot on from the album, in terms of mix and tone, I honestly can't tell the difference, aside from lack of vocals. At least I think it was a cover. I can't imagine where I'd get an official instrumental of the song from.

[adamack]

Well, I have everything from Images and Words to SFAM, plus Octavarium and it's all album quality although mixes might be a little off, but I might even say some of them are better than the originals, in terms of the master, with more dynamic range and stuff.

Train of Thought Instrumental Demos sound like, well, demos.

I also collected a few instrumental covers of songs here and there, such as Disappear, A Fortune in Lies, Aftermath, Forsaken, Misunderstood, and they're... Singable I guess, but not great.
Then I have an instrumental cover of The Enemy Inside which is like, absolutely spot on from the album, in terms of mix and tone, I honestly can't tell the difference, aside from lack of vocals. At least I think it was a cover. I can't imagine where I'd get an official instrumental of the song from.

Wow that is awesome to hear that you've got SFaM and Octavarium instrumentals. Never knew about those.

And that's crazy that someone made a cover of TEI instrumental that is so accurate. They must really know what they're doing mix-wise, as it is incredibly hard to mimic a mix - especially a mix of a band like DT.

[ToT-147]

You might want to remove that link before you get the ban hammer. 

But no, I actually meant this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQUdsNVlhfM

What's the difference between my link and yours?.. Or his?.. I don't get it..

[TheGreatPretender]

Wow that is awesome to hear that you've got SFaM and Octavarium instrumentals. Never knew about those.

And that's crazy that someone made a cover of TEI instrumental that is so accurate. They must really know what they're doing mix-wise, as it is incredibly hard to mimic a mix - especially a mix of a band like DT.

Yeah, the SFAM, 8VM and all those other tracks I got from here... I don't even want to count how much it cost me overall. 

https://www.jammit.com/artist/dream-theater

What's the difference between my link and yours?.. Or his?.. I don't get it..

It's a completely different recording. What you posted was the Overture track from the Six Degrees album. What I posted was the "Losing Time/Grand Finale" track from the Symphonic Theater Of Dreams tribute to Dream Theater album.

[ToT-147]

Ok.. Removed..

About the jammit tracks, I'm still waiting for the SDoIT and ToT tracks.. How can it be that they're not available yet? 

[TheGreatPretender]

Ok.. Removed..

About the jammit tracks, I'm still waiting for the SDoIT and ToT tracks.. How can it be that they're not available yet? 

Yeah, I know. It really felt like for a while they went on kind of a binge with DT, just releasing new songs what seemed like every week for a while, then they just stopped... I wonder if maybe they're saving SDOIT or TOT for when DT starts working on the new album, that way they can release them when there's a bit more DT hype.
Well, "wonder" is not the right word, I HOPE that's what they're doing.

[adamack]

Wow that is awesome to hear that you've got SFaM and Octavarium instrumentals. Never knew about those.

And that's crazy that someone made a cover of TEI instrumental that is so accurate. They must really know what they're doing mix-wise, as it is incredibly hard to mimic a mix - especially a mix of a band like DT.

Yeah, the SFAM, 8VM and all those other tracks I got from here... I don't even want to count how much it cost me overall. 

https://www.jammit.com/artist/dream-theater

Oh awesome! I totally forgot about Jammit. Last time I was on there, it was when DT first opened their Jammit store and I think they only had a few songs. Thanks for the link....might have to grab a few of these.

[TheGreatPretender]

Keep in mind though that it's all pretty tightly encoded and the only way to actually get the tracks in MP3 form, you have to convert them from raw sound file format. But if you have Audacity, then it's a breeze.

[Ad134]

https://picosong.com/4Bpc/

Here's my entry.

[TheGreatPretender]

Awesome job!


Here's mine. I couldn't get the timing quite right because the orchestral version is slower and a bit different, but I actually thought it kind of worked, giving it more of a free kind of flow. I dunno, see what you guys think.

https://vocaroo.com/i/s0aoe8QS3D2N

[adamack]

So sorry guys, I totally forgot about this thread as it got sent to the bottom and I usually only check the recent threads. My apologies!

https://picosong.com/4Bpc/

Here's my entry.

Awesome, you nailed the notes and I like how you added the alternate little run at the end! Nice work.

Awesome job!


Here's mine. I couldn't get the timing quite right because the orchestral version is slower and a bit different, but I actually thought it kind of worked, giving it more of a free kind of flow. I dunno, see what you guys think.

https://vocaroo.com/i/s0aoe8QS3D2N

Great!! You sound especially good on the high notes ("survive" and "alive"), and your tone sounds very pleasing with the instrumental.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I assume these will be the only 2 submissions, so I will judge the winner based on these two.

After listening to both a few times, both of these were really great and my decision is RAZOR thin between both. It was extremely hard to choose, but here is a little breakdown:

Ad134's submission was perfectly on pitch, with none of the notes being sharp or flat. Great conviction in his voice. He also gets some points for originality, with the little note run at the very end.

TheGreatPretender had a few pitch problems (ex: on "kept her" toward the end), BUT his tone sounded wonderful with the instrumental and the more drawn-out notes ("way to survive" and "alive") sounded buttery smooth.

In the end, I went with...

....

...

TheGreatPretender. Congrats!

Despite any pitch or timing issues, I just found his submission SLIGHTLY more pleasing to listen to. This is not taking anything away from Ad134, who absolutely nailed every note and has an awesome sounding voice. I'm sure that if 100 people judged this, it would be split 50/50 in the end based on personal preferences.

Congrats again to TGP, and I'm looking forward to your choice for the next line!

[TheGreatPretender]

Awesome thanks! I've been looking forward to suggesting this line and I can't wait to hear you guys do it.

It's from the good ol' Majesty days, from the end of Another Won:

"Leaving his maiden he rose to the sky, returning in splendors to earth he did fly, subject to presence too brilliant to face, another had killed passion's grace."

Let's hear it, guys!!

[Ad134]

I've got a pretty bad cold at the moment, but I'm looking forward to recording my entry...

[TheGreatPretender]

I'm not gonna rush the results. I want to see a few entries for this one, so take your time and heal up.

[Ad134]

Took me a long time to heal, but I'm done now. Mostly, anyway.

https://vocaroo.com/i/s1fEZbY4gBnC