DT vocal covers by Nicky Spanjaards

[rumborak]

Another really cheap thing to do is to download one of those interval training apps on your smartphone. Recognizing intervals is a key capability for any musician.

rumborak

[NickySpanjaards]

Come to think of it, Nicky, isn't there a school of music somewhere near you? Are they any good? If so, why not enroll in a university for some vocal and music lessons? With a university you should get an unbiased evaluation, professional knowledge and a fixed and focused curriculum.

No sadly not...the nearest school of music is 60 km away from me 

Another really cheap thing to do is to download one of those interval training apps on your smartphone. Recognizing intervals is a key capability for any musician.

rumborak

Thanks for that man! Which app do you recommend?

[rumborak]

I actually never used one because I trained that skill long before smartphones existed, but a friend of mine tried several on Android. Don't remember which one he liked though

What I did back in the day was listening to TV and movies, and tried to play melodies on my guitar first try. So, I would go the intervals through my head, map them on the fretboard, all before picking up the guitar. Then I would try it on the guitar to see whether/where I was wrong. Was a nice combo exercise that taught me both intervals and the fretboard.

rumborak

[SeRoX]

Nicky, I'm in the need of repeating my advice. Just record your voice, don't show yourself in front the camera. Actually, stand moveless and sing to the mic. Moving while singing can effect your performance. This is not a stage performance. Just record your voice in a proper way.

[rumborak]

Here's a different angle, somewhat in line with Serox' comment:

Nicky, there's two elements to being musician: the style, and the craft. What most people see is the style, but what actually makes most serious musicians succeed is their mastery of the craft.
You have spent a lot of time on style. The mimicking of James' mannerisms. The shirts. The website.
Problem is, you sorely neglected the craft. Without knowing the craft you'll always noodle around that "wannabe" level that you're currently at.

rumborak

[Tick]

Here's a different angle, somewhat in line with Serox' comment:

Nicky, there's two elements to being musician: the style, and the craft. What most people see is the style, but what actually makes most serious musicians succeed is their mastery of the craft.
You have spent a lot of time on style. The mimicking of James' mannerisms. The shirts. The website.
Problem is, you sorely neglected the craft. Without knowing the craft you'll always noodle around that "wannabe" level that you're currently at.

rumborak

To be honest, he also fails at style. Its all kind of goofy for me. The singing is just plain awful. Sorry.  Really no other way to put it if your being honest about it. I'm not saying Nicky can't learn how to sing better, but it will NEVER happen without legit guidance.

[OsMosis2259]

You can make videos but just take a seat and relax. I usually like watching videos of people performing etc because its entertaining but there is no need to do a lot of those movements that Labrie does.

Just take a seat and sing bro. If you are performing with a band then keep doing what you are doing

[chrisbDTM]

i still think this is all an elaborate troll

[duncan3dc]

i still think this is all an elaborate troll

A 2 year troll? That's dedication to the art

[chrisbDTM]

i still think this is all an elaborate troll

A 2 year troll? That's dedication to the art

some men just wanna watch the world burn

[Tick]

i still think this is all an elaborate troll

Definetly not a troll. He is just a delusional kid who just doesn't realize he can't sing. He is hearing something totally different than what our ears are hearing.

[olliemedsy]

what im wandering is, and please answer if you read this. we've recently been telling you things to practice instead of just singing DT over and over again, but what has your teacher been telling you to do for the last 2 years then?

[NickySpanjaards]

I actually never used one because I trained that skill long before smartphones existed, but a friend of mine tried several on Android. Don't remember which one he liked though

What I did back in the day was listening to TV and movies, and tried to play melodies on my guitar first try. So, I would go the intervals through my head, map them on the fretboard, all before picking up the guitar. Then I would try it on the guitar to see whether/where I was wrong. Was a nice combo exercise that taught me both intervals and the fretboard.

rumborak

OK, I'm going to download some of those apps and check which one is the best.

what im wandering is, and please answer if you read this. we've recently been telling you things to practice instead of just singing DT over and over again, but what has your teacher been telling you to do for the last 2 years then?

Basically we practised ballads (some of Kane and that sort of bands), listening, singing and hearing notes on a piano and stomach excercises.

[Syzzle]

This thread is full of so much win.

So glad I took the time to read through the whole thing.

[rumborak]

I take it we'll never hear Somewhere Over The Rainbow then?
And no bailing out of the "Somday I'll wish upon a star" part, that's where the cool key change happens.

rumborak

[jsem]

Practice singing jazz standards. It'll do wonders for interval recognition plus being able to hit more odd tones in the chords, like the major 7th or tritone.

I haven't listened to you much, but this is good practice nonetheless.

[Adami]

I take it we'll never hear Somewhere Over The Rainbow then?
And no bailing out of the "Somday I'll wish upon a star" part, that's where the cool key change happens.

rumborak

Of course he won't.

However he may give us a brilliant rendition of On The Backs of Angels in coming months. Judging by his history.

[reneranucci]

I take it we'll never hear Somewhere Over The Rainbow then?
And no bailing out of the "Somday I'll wish upon a star" part, that's where the cool key change happens.

rumborak

Of course he won't.

However he may give us a brilliant rendition of On The Backs of Angels in coming months. Judging by his history.

Hey guys here's a video of the entire AA saga! I did MP's vocals too!

[mrjazzguitar]

I take it we'll never hear Somewhere Over The Rainbow then?
And no bailing out of the "Somday I'll wish upon a star" part, that's where the cool key change happens.

rumborak

Of course he won't.

However he may give us a brilliant rendition of On The Backs of Angels in coming months. Judging by his history.

Hey guys here's a video of the entire AA saga! I did MP's vocals too!

i thought that you were him with that damn avatar

[jsem]

epic avatar

[OsMosis2259]

This thread is so legendary

[Tis BOOLsheet]

Honestly unless you're a trained vocal coach you should just tell Nicky to get a trained vocal coach instead of giving him specific advice (not that I know he would follow it)

[rumborak]

I do not agree with that statement. There's a lot of musicians on this board who have very good knowledge, and your argument is essentially that you shouldn't advise on driving unless you're a driving instructor. Which is ridiculous.
I *would* agree with you if Nicky made subtle mistakes that are tricky to rectify. As it stands, his vocal performance could land him in the first two episodes of any American Idol season.

rumborak

[theseoafs]

rumby is correct.

[Tis BOOLsheet]

I do not agree with that statement. There's a lot of musicians on this board who have very good knowledge, and your argument is essentially that you shouldn't advise on driving unless you're a driving instructor. Which is ridiculous.
I *would* agree with you if Nicky made subtle mistakes that are tricky to rectify. As it stands, his vocal performance could land him in the first two episodes of any American Idol season.

rumborak

It's not that they're not knowledgeable. It's just that now the kid has like 345,875,053 directions from like 124,538,634 people, none of whom is close to the situation. It's getting muddy and probably just confusing him.

[Adami]

Aside from the guy who suggest Jazz standards, we're all giving him essentially the same advice.

[theseoafs]

I do not agree with that statement. There's a lot of musicians on this board who have very good knowledge, and your argument is essentially that you shouldn't advise on driving unless you're a driving instructor. Which is ridiculous.
I *would* agree with you if Nicky made subtle mistakes that are tricky to rectify. As it stands, his vocal performance could land him in the first two episodes of any American Idol season.

rumborak

It's not that they're not knowledgeable. It's just that now the kid has like 345,875,053 directions from like 124,538,634 people, none of whom is close to the situation. It's getting muddy and probably just confusing him.

The thing is that he's gotten the "get a private teacher" suggestion many, many, many times. It's probably the most common suggestion he's gotten.

EDIT: The situation is made all the worse by the fact that the teacher he has/had doesn't seem to be helping whatsoever.

[mrjazzguitar]

This thread is so legendary

i always picture Larry David speaking when I read your posts lol

[Vivace]

Aside from the guy who suggest Jazz standards, we're all giving him essentially the same advice.

Pretty much this. I would stay away from Jazz for the moment. Jazz in my mind is like defensive driving for the learned. You don't dare tackle it without a foundation first and that's where everyone is trying to steer Nicky right now. Back to basics and to know them.

[rumborak]

I actually don't buy that he's taken singing lessons, I think he said that so that we would be convinced of his skill and that he's taking the craft serious. A while ago he said the next music school is really far from where he lives (which of course is a somewhat hilarious statement given he's from the Netherlands). And honestly, it's highly unlikely that anyone would make that little progress with regular singing lessons.

rumborak

[OsMosis2259]

Ran into this and I think it's a big improvement especially on Through Her Eyes

Nicky Spanjaards: School Of Christmas Rock - Bootleg 2011

Dream Theater - Through Her Eyes
Dream Theater - Under A Glass Moon
Dream Theater - Love Lies Bleeding (Elton John Cover)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4OENXpcD2E&feature=plcp

[Nick]

Yo dawg, I heard you like covers, so I covered a cover so you can interpret while you interpret.

[BlobVanDam]

Through Her Eyes was actually a pretty solid live performance. A few of the usual pitch issues with some sharp notes, but overall it was on melody, the tone was consistent, and it had some style, and was admirable for performing in front of a crowd.

Then UAGM came on, and it sounded like the usual. If he'd stopped after Through Her Eyes, the crowd would have left with a good impression. I think UAGM undid that. That's tough even for a seasoned and well trained vocalist like JLB, and was just way out of range, and you could hear the voice cracking and just not reaching those notes.

Stick to songs in the appropriate range, and know your limits. And also, stop copying JLB's exact mannerisms. It was too obvious.

[MondayMorningLunatic]

Through Her Eyes sounded great. But what was up with the guitar part? It sounded a little out of time.

[BlobVanDam]

Through Her Eyes sounded great. But what was up with the guitar part? It sounded a little out of time.

I noticed that. My theory is that he used a karaoke effect to remove the existing vocals, and it removed the main guitar lead too, leaving only the delay?
You can hear the same thing on UAGM, although because it's a full band song, it didn't work as effectively there, and you can hear the drums sound empty and echoey, and you can still hear JLB enough for the audience to hear what the vocals should have sounded like.