[Captain_Trips]

That I made up recently. Cheap mic which breaks up and doesnt do me justice, but Id say most of them are at least watchable.

Two Grateful Dead covers, Althea and Stagger Lee.

One traditional folk tune, Pretty Peggy-O.

One Bob Dylan cover, Its All Over Now Baby Blue a la the grateful dead.

Feedback is appreciated.

http://www.youtube.c...r/paulmichael01

[dadfad]

I think your voice is pretty good, especially for that trad-based kind of stuff. (Better voice than mine.) Yeah, you didn't quite hit a few notes dead on here and there, but that kind of stuff comes with practice. (And not in-your-room practice so much as open-mic or gig type practice in front of live people. When the "heat is on" it makes you get better real quick.)

Your guitar work was good too. Some nice lines and I didn't hear any mistakes. It could be stronger (as in more powerful), but that's another thing that comes with live work and the kind of a psychological interaction you get with a live audience. (After the fear subsides of course! )

I'm like that too. When I haven't played live in front of people recently I sort of hold back I guess you could say for awhile. But after a gig or two I'm back to playing with more enthusiasm and dynamics, I hit the notes a little better and sing stronger, etc.

Anyway, I liked it. I think your voice fits really well with that trad-based stuff and would sound great going even "deeper" toward trad (as in even purer forms of Appalachian, Old-Time, Country-Blues, even Proto-Jazz, etc.) You have a good "musical-storyteller's" voice.

Thanks for letting us listen.

[ninjato]

I think you have improved a lot since the last time you tried something.
You are hitting notes better w/ your voice and not as off key as you used to be, but you still need work on your range, and delivery.

I think you are a little off in timing w/ Althea between your playing and singing. The little lead in happens in the last 1/4 of the 4th beat but I think you are adding a 1/4 beat to 4 beats and stalling the lyrics put that riff in there.

Overall better. Still not hitting the melodies in a way that is melodically smooth.

[Captain_Trips]

Thanks for the listen and the tips guys.

[noodle69]

it was cool , i think your self confidence needs addressing and you should n't wear a white vest . i think army green would suit you better .

good songs !

[Captain_Trips]

Really? Self confidence? I didnt feel like I was holding back at all. I probably could have sang louder but I was using a crap webcam mic so I didnt want to overmodulate it.

[dadfad]

I don't think it was exactly a "self-confidence" thing either. Think of it this way... You're telling a story basically (that's how you should kind of mentally perceive it, i/m/o anyway). When you play at home, it's more like you're reading a story. In front of an audience it's more like you're actually telling a story, with all the little inflections, nuances, emphases, etc, etc you'd normally use. Think of telling a story to a little kid maybe and how that would be different from simply reading it for yourself.

Like... whatever... "Staggerlee" (I do that one myself sometimes, different versions, but basically the same story-theme). You're telling this folk-story to your audience (with musical accompaniment) like it's your own story you're about to tell or you're just passing on a story someone told you... (I'll use one of my versions because I don't remember the Dead's)... "Late last Sunday evenin' I heard my bull-dog bark. He was barkin' at two men who were gamblin' in the dark... etc, etc."

As you sing it, you think "story" (as opposed to "song"). And I think to a large degree that's not something that can really be practiced, except in front of people. I don't know how often (or if) you do gigs or open-mics yet, but that's where that sort of "undefined quality" will start to sharpen up. Yeah, you can practice guitar licks or hitting perfect notes vocally at home by yourself, but not that interaction thing.

Anyway, like I said above, your stuff sounded prettty good. Maybe a you missed a few vocal notes here and there (Like I should talk. I couldn't hit some notes if you gave me a Remington over-and-under loaded with #7 turkey shot.), but it was pretty good. Play it in front of people and it'll get even better.

[Captain_Trips]

Thanks dadfad. I think I have the confidence to really polish a couple of tunes and do them at open mics. I love to tell a story.

[dadfad]

Good! Getting that audience-connection thing going is important and it gets a synergy going both ways, from the performer to the audience and back again from the audience to the performer. It's really an art in itself. My old teacher John Jackson was the best I'd ever seen at it. He'd walk out on a stage and inside of three minutes he'd have 20,000 people sitting on his back porch.

(The next best I've ever seen was probably (surprisingly) Paul Simon. One of the worst (also surprisingly) was Bob Dylan. (Second only to Leon Russel.) Both came out and played as if there was no audience there, not even a simple acknowledgement, and then walked off. (Leon actually had his back to the audience.)

Anyway, yeah start playing live when you can. It'll get you going. And if you're not used to an audience at all, don't let "the jitters" of the first few times shake you. It'll soon change from horror to a personal gratification that makes all the practice and sore fingers and money spent worth it.

[ninjato]

Ok. I just listened to It's All Over Now Baby Blue.

I hate to say it but that was horrible. It doesn't sound like you even know the original melody to the song and just "making it up" pitch wise to get the words out. It also looks like you rely on the sheet for the lyrics and reading it....

Same w/ Peggy-O
Same w/ Stagger Lee

Althea was probably the best one and even that is "off" now that I was able to listen to it at a louder volume.

I'm not sure what advice to give other than I think you need to nail the songs original melody first before attempting to singing it off the cuff.

Sorry to be so harsh....I feel bad to dump on ya like that.

Your guitar playing however has gotten a lot better than before (just needs to smooth out)

[Captain_Trips]

No worries Lan, the truth is what I am looking for.

I suppose I do need to spend some more time learning the actual vocal melodies of the tune. I thought I was pretty close on Stagger Lee and any Bob Dylan song is going to be tough, because the way he presents it is often . . . . very unique.

[noodle69]

thats where my self confidence remark sprang from - although i didn't mean it to sound like you didn't have any - everybody has a self confidence issue to some degree .