Am I Really That Bad?

So I posted a cover on youtube a few weeks ago and alot of people have been saying it sounds pretty bad. It's probably just me, but I like the way it sounds. Yea... so I'm not really sure what to think. Can some of you give me advice please! Thanks!

Keep on truckin...

Hey man,
Doesn't sound bad at all . If I may be so bold as to make a suggestion though, I think the uke is either not synced up right or, the timing between all the different parts is off a bit. What program did you use to record? Most programs will let you fix the timing of stuff so you might be able to move things around to fit the timing better. Its really tough to get everything in time with each other especially when you're playing everything yourself. Although I don't always practice what I preach, you might want to practice with a metronome (I try to as often as possible). Before trying to fix individual hits, I'd maybe start by shifting the uke track 1 beat forward or backward (not sure where the drums are supposed to come in but I assume its beat 1). Just make sure the first chord stum on the uke matches up with the drums on the down beat of 1 and you should be good. Not everyone loves my vids, I get my share of haters too. The main thing is that you take the constructive criticisms to heart and ignore the rest. If you're having fun keep doin' it! Best of luck!

HAHA lol I was about to reply then saw your tags.

Anywho, I'm not one to say who can sing and who can't sing, but I don't know if it's just me but the singing is just kinda dull to me, like you're sitting still reading from a piece of paper. Put some heart into it! Don't be afraid of shaking the walls of your neighbors, if you are going to video yourself singing at least in my opinion, put some emotion into it . If you look at Seeso's video's or AG (two examples) yeah they can sing good but if they sang bad and put as much emotion into what they're playing it wouldn't matter.

I don't know if you can but try to match the instruments volume with the volume of your voice, so you're not drowning out the other two or they're drowning out you. Your voice is an instrument and as such should blend in well with the others.

Anyways I can't sing well (imo) either and can't play drums only my uke but that's my constructive criticism all in all good cover try to incorporate what you can from what we got from your cover for the next one. All in all keep trying!

I liked the singing. Reminds me of John Flansburgh from They Might Be Giants.

:cheers:

you ARE NOT BAD at all!!! My friend...you do need to look a bit more lively... you need to shake loose UNLESS that's what you were going for I hope not since FIREFLIES is really upbeatish..you know that guy david choi on youtube...he's like super talented but I cannot stand his NO SMILING policy thing urghh!!!!.and I agree with the vids and/or audio being a little off...but I enjoyed the entertainment value of your vid!!! good concept too....

Good job and I look forward to seeing your other vids..it takes a lot of courage to be examined and proded by complete strangers..it was your first and you did okay...anyone who's saying otherwise are HATERS!!! you should be happy not many people have haters lol!!

ur goin through what we all go through, ur first cover isnt going to sound perfect. Getting your voice to stay in tune takes a little practice but it comes as long as u keep making these, trust me. The first cover i made was terrible all becuz of my out of tune voice but now i can sing pretty in tune.

I give you mad props for posting ur cover up on youtube, that takes balls especially for the first few covers. I still havent even grown the balls to post up a cover yet.

Hey man, don't even worry about it. I thought the playing/drums was just fine, good for a first time. The only thing was that the singing droned everything out.Try to balance things. But these guys are right, put some feeling into your singing, at least. Fireflies is a very . What I got from it was that singing isn't your thing. I mean anyone can get better at singing, like you, but some just aren't made to sing. Maybe that's you too. I'm not going to judge though. Just do your best, and don't take offense to any advise we give you.

i thnk they are good...
but i think u can BE BETTER!!!
and the timing wise..
is it me...i feel its a bit some parts are off...

Timing is very important when doing videos in my opinion. It can kind of ruin the experience for the person viewing because they are getting distracted.

And as far as the singing goes, I'm not one either to say anything, I can't sing a lick (but I sing in alot of my videos) but it took me a looong time to warm up to doing it on camera and just letting loose. If you check out my first video on youtube that was put up compared to what I do now, you'll see that over the past year, well, you just stop caring and let loose, and you'll be suprised with the results!

Keep on it! Good luck!! Nice multitracking!!

Thanks everyone for the great replies! I'll try to use all of your advice while working on my next cover! I've even used a metronome while recording. It really does help! I'll also try to work more on getting everything in sync. I'm glad to hear that it isn't all bad.

I'm with joehempel and facemeltingukulele. If it were me, I'd work on polishing up the timing among the different instruments first.

How, exactly, are you going about recording the multiple parts?

In any case, congrats on posting a vid!

JJ

You've been given some good pointers, I think the timing issues once resolved will improve your feedback enormously but I just wanted to ask what are you using to record with because either it's the microphone or something is happening when the file is compressed that's making your ukulele sound odd. Or are you adding some sort of effect to the tracks? If you are I'd stop using that effect and just concentrate on mixing the different tracks together as people have already suggested.

Also YT can be a harsh environment for feedback so try and take the constructive advice on board and discard the plan rude stuff.

Don't worry too much - we all gotta start somewhere.
Keep making more after taking advice, and you should improve with each new recording

I think all you needed to do on that video was synchronise the tracks up better.
This can often be a challenge when you have multiple recorded tracks.

Dude-- you're not bad at all, especially for a newbie. There will ALWAYS be someone who just likes to criticize others, especially when they're protected by the internet's anonymity. Just keep on doing what you're doing and enjoying yourself.

I agree. I bet it'd sound pretty damn good if you synched up the track properly. You've been lucky enough to have some really knowledgeable people give you great advice in this thread. Work on what they've suggested and make sure you're having fun and enjoying it - that's the main reason we all play music

nkorb21 said:

Thanks everyone for the great replies! I'll try to use all of your advice while working on my next cover! I've even used a metronome while recording. It really does help! I'll also try to work more on getting everything in sync. I'm glad to hear that it isn't all bad.

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It's certainly not all bad. Keep at it.

And your attitude is great. When you ask for advice you take it in the spirit in which it is given. If only more people were like that. Many people would ask for criticism but then be unable to accept it. Your attitude will get you a long way.

Your first video is nothing but a bench mark. You get to see where you are and figure out a way to go from there.

Look at my first disaster I posted:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpL63qfr208

It was actually the first time I ever played the Uke with someone singing. There is nothing special about it at all besides the fact that it's my first one.

Now look at my latest vid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkmmoB4CEH8

6 month's after my first vid. You get in the groove of things and start to understand more about making vids, playing music. For you to do a sync-type vid for your first one is huge because they're hard enough already, for your first vid that's pretty good.

Be happy you had the courage to put up a vid. That's big enough on it's own. Look at it and see what you think you might have done wrong. Learn from it and make your next video even better.

You've already done the hardest part - publicly posting yourself performing.

Most people who speak and/or sing in public need to practice to have their delivery be more dynamic and lively - more natural sounding. So don't sweat the practice. Keep recording yourself and reviewing the recordings.

In our heads we may think we sound lively and dynamic, but in reality we usually come across much more mellow and reserved to those listening. So try a few vids just for yourself where you really cut loose and feel you are going over the top. Then watch it. You might be surpised to see how "normal" it looks as a viewer. If it is over the top, then you back off until you know what right amount feels like.

Consider moving your mouth more. Don't be afraid to open it wider and move your lips more when forming words, etc. If you watch trained singers or trained stage actors/actresses, they all move their mouths quite a bit. One exercise an instructor shared with me was to hold piece of hard candy (like those round pepermint things with stripes) in the back of your jaw (tall side between your teeth, not flat side between your teeth) with the molars, and then read or sing out loud. Really forces you to use and move your lips and tongue. The result is that you enunciate words more clearly and everything comes out a bit more clear and louder.

To help with volume, try laying on your back and practice breathing and singing. This makes you breath from your diaphram which then helps you project your voice more. Breathing from the diaphram helps to prevent the projection/volume from originating in your throat. This help you sing and talk louder, longer, and sound more natural.

Good luck!

thisnthat said:

I just wanted to ask what are you using to record with because either it's the microphone or something is happening when the file is compressed that's making your ukulele sound odd. Or are you adding some sort of effect to the tracks? If you are I'd stop using that effect and just concentrate on mixing the different tracks together as people have already suggested. .

Click to expand...

I usually use an older version of Mixcraft I got from a friend or Audacity. I used Mixcraft for this particular one though. I used an effect hoping to eliminate this twangy sound I was getting because I recorded a little close to mic without ralizing and didn't figure out that it was creating that sound until I had already posted my video. . It does sound better without it though! Thanks. I'm so excited about finishing my next cover because it will sound better thanks to everyone who has helped me!

Though I personally don't like this song, you did everything absolutely fine except for sync it up. Like I saw someone mention earlier, I too use Audacity to sync up my different instruments. It takes some careful listening to make sure they're just right.

Also, it's super awesome that you have an electronic drum set (and you know how to play it). As you post more videos, that is going to help you out a ton.