With all the recent Martin love .... I thought Id add one.

[EuroAussie]

A lot of good discussion and samples on the D-35 recently, and when in the right hands great examples of the magic of that guitar.

 

I dont have a D-35 but I do have a wonderful, well broken in J-40. Love this guitar for the balance and also sparkle that 40 series Martins have.

 

Been listening to quite a bit of Ryan Adams recently (thanks to BBG's influence) and had a crack at this particular fave of mine ... Lucky Now.

 

Ive been working quite a bit on my vocals, trying to get my pitch issues sorted, while at the same time learn to sing through the registers and get a bit more depth and resonance.

 

Still quite a way to go but I feel its going in the right direction.

 

Anyway, here is my Martin contribution. Feedback and critique would be very much apprecaited as I would like to get this track to live performance standard.

 

cheers,

EA

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvJH6zZrs7c&feature=youtu.be

[flatbaroque]

Mate! What a friggen improvement.You really are heading in the right direction.You seem to be sorting out the pitch issues which were your main nemesis.Really enjoyed that.You faded out a bit softly at the end of some lines.But I don't see that as a big deal.You are pretty much staying in tune a whole lot better...an odd waver here and there but who doesn't.

Beautiful sounding guitar.You may have to invest in some Grecian 2000 to be stage ready...unless you are now going by the name of The Old Silver Fox .Well done.

[blindboygrunt]

Its the stress of choosing which of those magnificent guitars to play next.

 

I'll look forward to listening to this later when I get home.

He's still one of my favourite artists , especially the acoustic stuff he does.

Ryan Adams that is :)

 

Are you aware that he's recorded Taylor swift's 1989 album in its entirety? Can't wait to hear that

[E-minor7]

Gettin' forward, no doubt ^

 

- and it's easy to hear why this guitar is one of your favourites.

 

When was this gold-ax manufactured, EA ?

 

 

 

[EuroAussie]

Its a 2002 Em7. Picked it up here in Prague from a music store owner who had to get some cash flowing in. There is something about 2002 that made great guitars, the AJ and J-150 are also from that year and all have something special about them ... but definitely all are balanced now and open. No terrified wood used in the process !

 

Any comments on the vocals ? You were always a well intentioned critic in the past, and I appreciated your honest comments.

 

Gettin' forward, no doubt ^

 

- and it's easy to hear why this guitar is one of your favourites.

 

When was this gold-ax manufactured, EA ?

[MorrisrownSal]

EA... attaboy. Glad you are back in the fray here!

[duluthdan]

Nice guitar. In my ears you have a bit of a Bob Dylan mumble style here, and just every once in while slide off pitch by a hair. Sing louder, or with the PA, and I think you have this down pretty good.

[EuroAussie]

Cheers fellas. Good to hear the feedback, seems things are moving in the right direction.

[Lars68]

As you know, I am not nowhere near good enough to give singing advice :-)

 

This sounded very good to me! I'm also a big fan of Ryan Adams acoustic stuff. It is a little hard to pick out the lyrics. Maybe you can just put the camera a little higher on the desk, to make it pick up more voice and less guitar? I put the mic on a stack of books when I record and it works fine.

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Lars

[E-minor7]

Any comments on the vocals ? You were always a well intentioned critic in the past, and I appreciated your honest comments.

 

As mentionend one clearly hear improvements.

 

If we see singing like a bicycle ride and staying in pitch like holding balance, you manage that drive around the house pretty good.

A few touch downs here and there, but no ploughing through the flowers. Still there are miles to go inside the garden fence before you can take the bike on the road and hit town.

 

Don't forget that pronunciation is very important, but you get better at that too.

 

Maybe try to over-pronounce a bit as a rehearsal. Simply cut every phrase out in wood to get a 100 % 'view' on what you're actually doin' and work with it there.

Then withdraw to a natural expression later.

 

The closer you get, the more you'll find that every line is a song. After that you can begin to consider yourself a singer.

Next level is to realize that even every word can be a song - by then you will have gone slightly mad.

Final move is of course to forget it all.

Enjoy

[EuroAussie]

Thanks Lars. Singing for me is a major challenge, but a great reward. It doesnt come to me as easily as progressing on the guitar. I have to really focus on it and its very much a journey. But seeing and hearing progress is the key motivator.

I know youre on the same journey, keep making small steps forward and eventually it will come together.

Thanks for listening.

 

As you know, I am not nowhere near good enough to give singing advice :-)

 

This sounded very good to me! I'm also a big fan of Ryan Adams acoustic stuff. It is a little hard to pick out the lyrics. Maybe you can just put the camera a little higher on the desk, to make it pick up more voice and less guitar? I put the mic on a stack of books when I record and it works fine.

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Lars

[EuroAussie]

Yes. Very good point and pretty much how i see it. Feel like ive got the basics under some kind of control like pitch, resonance, dynamics. But its now about going deeper into the details and yes, looking line by line and even word by word. Repetition helps, remembering lyrics by heart, lets one get deeper into the song and feel it more, in particular the intricacies and subtleties.

 

Thanks for the critque, always appreciated.

 

As mentionend one clearly hear improvements.

 

If we see singing like a bicycle ride and staying in pitch like holding balance, you manage that drive around the house pretty good.

A few touch downs here and there, but no ploughing through the flowers. Still there are miles to go inside the garden fence before you can take the bike on the road and hit town.

 

Don't forget that pronunciation is very important, but you get better at that too.

 

Maybe try to over-pronounce a bit as a rehearsal. Simply cut every phrase out in wood to get a 100 % 'view' on what you're actually doin' and work with it there.

Then withdraw to a natural expression later.

 

The closer you get, the more you'll find that every line is a song. After that you can begin to consider yourself a singer.

Next level is to realize that even every word can be a song - by then you will have gone slightly mad.

Final move is of course to forget it all.

Enjoy

[blindboygrunt]

In thinking along the same lines as em has written .

There are a few lyric fluffs throughout and it seems like you don't know the song well enough.

I remember someone saying that you should almost be able to play the song backwards before you're ready to perform it in the open.

If pitch and phrasing is a problem then you shouldn't have to think of the lyrics any more then you do the chords, using part of the brain to worry about the words maybe takes away the ability to concentrate fully on the tune.

If that makes sense :-/

It's a struggle I have myself. I'm not a gifted singer by any means. I'm glad you're not giving up. It'll come you you just like singing and playing the guitar at same time did. I'm not saying you'll be doing bridge over troubled water this time next year . I'm saying that as someone who won't either , and mean it with the greatest respect to you.

 

If I play out with anyone else and they fluff while accompanying me in the background I'll go off pitch. I have to concentrate very hard to get a song out , while others seem to have less trouble , I certainly don't have a God given gift vocally. So I'm very much on your side Aussie.

 

10 years ago your guitar playing wouldn't have had the nuances and touches that it does now I'm assuming , it's these little flourishes and hammer ons and pull offs that decorate. They come without thought. But only once your fingers know the chord shapes subconsciously.They're very simple and it's a similar trick with a voice I think. You've gotta know the sing inside out.

Some lucky people get it by just having a natural ability , some have to practice like hell.

 

Sorry for being long winded ....

[Mafy31]

Hello, i found the sound of your Martin amazing, and the recording is pretty good.

Singing has always been a tough fight for me, luckily the wife is a music teacher and helps me out a bit!

Sometimes your voice falls soft a bit too much, and i feel like you often sing with your neck. As i think it may help, here is what she always tells me : "you need to feel like you're singing with your abs". I mean expulse the air with the abs, contract them, feel like you were singing with the belly ^^. I find that contracting abs helps to manage the air flow/control and voice volume. Increasing this volume helps a lot for accuracy.

 

Don't be afraid to increase your voice output ^^! You have such a nice tone of voice.

 

Sorry about my bad english skills...

[MorrisrownSal]

Sing louder... Easier pitch. He trouble is its hard to feel confident singing louder. Ask me how I know. !!!

[Smurfbird]

I'm curious to know if your singing improves when you can hear yourself with headphones.

 

I ask, because my issues with pitch largely subside when I record with headphones.

 

Unfortunately for me, I suffer from a serious continuing hearing loss and have gone from a largely in tune singer (in my teens) to one who has no business singing.

 

An in-ear monitor could make all the difference for you.

[AnneS]

Sounding real good, Mark--All advice here is sound, I'm sure, and all I can think to add is: just keep doing it. Sing and play as much as life allows--that's a pretty sure-fire way to improve. More important, you'll come to accept and use what you've got on any given day, and that'll bring a level of satisfaction that, in turn, makes its way into what you're doing.

 

They say our style is a product of our limitations--the less worried about your limitations you can be, the more naturally you will work with them. Not saying not to learn and practice with intention as you go, just don't forget to have fun and to understand that you're growing your style along the way.

 

I like hearing you sing and play--seems like it's been awhile; glad you posted this.

 

 

 

[EuroAussie]

Firstly, wanted to say BIG thanks to everyone who contributed with your constructive feedback. I can see that many of you have had a good listen and I genuinely appreciate that you took the time and thought about your response and also the depth - really fantastic and thats when forums are at their best.

 

Some interesting points that popped out:

 

FB - Thanks for the vote of confidence, Ive seen your progress and admired it, hence its nice also to be heading in that direction. Mrs EA like the silver look btw ... ;-)

 

BBG - absolutely right. I still dont feel or know the track fully. When I was signing I still had to look at the words and I know that has a huge impact. I need to memorise the word because then i can focus on delivery and feel rather than remembering lyrics. That makes a huge difference, I know. And like Em7 said, each sentence, each word can be a song in itself, so phrasing and feel is really key.

 

Mafy - Singing through my chest voice rather than head voice has been the key focus during my recent training. Im striving to sing much more through the reisters and really focus on using the abs and diaphram more to get more resonance and control in the voice. Its getting better but listening back I know I can still get better with this aspect. I practice quite a few songs to warm up that are 'breathy' and require strong control of diaphram and abs and will continue those exercises. Excellent point.

 

Dan / Sal - signing louder is not somethign Im trying to aim for at the moment. When I do that I automatically switch to my pitchy head voice and feel like Im shouting. I need to gain more control first and use my diaphram and the power coming from that will also result in greater volume. Then I will aim for more projection and dynamics.

 

Smurfbird - yes, when I use an ear monitor it definitelly helps, and I always try learn new songs with a monitor as you can see and feel straight away what working and whats not. Good to not forget that !

 

Anne - putting your own perosnaity and style is really important into the song. You do that really well and your songs are very distinct, and ....you. That will come with time as I get more confidence with the voice no doubt, another great point.

 

Thanks again for all your input, I really do appreciate it and will take it on board !