Last week my wife and I went to a Tina Turner tribute concert. This song was played (of course) which has always been a favorite of mine to listen to. Just a fun song. So I figured what the heck, why not give it a go :).
This is my first “real” video here. By “real” as some of you may recall I have posted a couple of previous videos but that was using a very poor quality audio and video laptop. This one is my ipad with an external mic.
So quite nervous. It is not by any means a technical song. I have attempter to tackle much much harder songs. But the challenge here is to at least try to play it with a little gusto. This is a song where -no gusto- -no good- …lol.
as always feedback very welcome.
In retrospect I should maybe have had a couple of beers before this one.
(rookie here, if the link doesn’t work please let me know)
Great strumming, the groove really worked. Liked the opening riff, just keep practicing to smooth the transition to it after the strumming.
Cerainly not lacking in gusto so your singing brought that. Ever so challenging in terms of the range. I’m no expert so can’t really critique it. Maybe it was a little strained at times but heck, trying to emulate Tina is a huge ask. Maybe try standing up which enables stronger support. Also maybe fiddle around with a capo or transposing. Maybe able to adjust the key to better fit the highs and lows of the song into your range. I know lot to say for somebody without much real know-how.
The recording and video production a huge step forward. I know production quality isn’t the primary and your previous recordings with both video or audio-only have been fit-for-purpose. This setup works really well.
And based on this, I’d suggest you are ready to make a few more to become even more comfortable (you looked perfectly comfortable here) and then consider performing at a Community Open Mic.
As for the song, I also love that, both by Tina and the Deep Purple Mk I cover.
Hi Mike,
Nice guitar playing and the video is great, what a huge garden you have in…
Fast guitar strumming nicely done with an enthusiasm/no lacking in gusto … that can be clearly seen and heard on the video…
Greetings,Rogier
Hi Mike, well done. Lots of enthusiasm and lots of gusto. You just need to work a bit on your timing to get the guitar and vocal phrasing to sync a bit better.
Yes, a bit of experimenting with a capo will help you find a better key to suit your voice. I think you had Tina singing in the back of your mind. Best to forget that and do your own thing.
Good steady strumming too.
@DavidP@sairfingers@roger_holland Thank you all for the comments and the feedback, much appreciated.
Two of you hit on -suiting my voice- . This is a challenge I struggle with finding a means to address. I understand the concept quite well I believe, it’s putting the understanding into practice where I struggle. Reason is because I guess I just don’t have a good ear for “key” and especially where the concept of key pertains to vocals. I know some people can simply chose to sing in a chosen key. I simply don’t possess the talent to discern not only what key someone else is in but even (and perhaps even more so) what key I am in.
Justin has a lesson he called “how not to suck at singing” where he discusses his own challenges with getting help with vocals. I related very well to his lesson. He tells a little story about getting lessons where he fell into the same issue I did. I found it refreshingly funny and could relate to Justin well.
Anyway, any suggestions on how to develop this awareness and talent would be well received.
I greatly appreciate your comments and suggestions.
Dave, because these forums are full of people with big hearts who want to help it is often difficult to tell if a compliment is genuine as opposed to someone being kind-hearted. Your suggestion of considering performing at a community open-mic helped authenticate your kind words. Thanks! Maybe once I get my confidence a bit stronger I just might muster up that courage.
Roger thanks for the comment on the yard. I have a large yard. A lot of work but I really enjoy it! I just built that deck on the pool as well. A fun little project.
I can appreciate the sentiment about wondering about the authenticity of comments. I think sometimes people do find it hard to find that balance between encouraging and offering the feedback that could be construed as criticism and break the confidence and motivation of the player. Particularly as we are mostly people in the early stages of developing proficiency. All I’d suggest is don’t dwell on it.
WRT your reflections on having that good ear for key. My suggestion is don’t worry about it. You could try putting a capo on and moving it up and down the neck, perhaps between the first five frets. I used to wonder how making the guitar higher-pitched would help when I was struggling to hit the higher pitched notes (as best as I can). Eventually I understood the idea of the octaves, and the point that when raising the guitar I drop my voice lower overall so the high notes are lower and in the key.
Alternatively the song is in D then maybe try it in C or G say. Now sometimes changing the key in that way leads to some awkward chord shapes and makes it hard to play.
And both may result in guitar accompaniment that isn’t pleasing.
But maybe worth playing around, and perhaps you hit on a way to play the song that results in the vocal feeling more comfortable. Note I say feeling. I don’t think you need worry about the theory of key and hearing a key that suits your voice. Just sing and when it feels good and sounds good then voila.
Keep on keeping on, I’ve known you what feels like an age, and can testify to the progress made in every respect. Really great, and the video was truly enjoyable.
Hi Mike, that was a really good attempt and I much enjoyed it.
I struggle with this aspect too, sometimes I can sing very nicely and sometimes I can’t but I can’t tell in which part of the neck or key is the best one for my voice and I find experimenting with capo committing.
I’m not able to give good suggestions, here it makes much sense David’s
We develop skills and awareness even when we don’t see it, the process is very slow but with love for what we do we can improve and grow. Focusing on the feeling as David suggests is surely a very good idea.
that can be clearly seen and heard on the video… 