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jmslp
User Leading Player
Posts: 406
Karma: 7
Re:new demo - 2007/06/25 07:32i only listened once, so these are my first impression critiques.
you have a very nice voice but (don't hate me for this) i don't really like your song choice. i think "o mio babbino" and "mack the knife" are good, but i would choose either "the night it had to end" or "lonely house" and put something else in there (is this an "album" or did you upload songs individually to myspace?) i feel like those songs are similar in their presenation and i've heard your other recordings on this site-- you are versatile and i would show more of it. even your "i dreamed a dream"-- though it is ballady like those two songs, it shows a different dimension to your voice. does that make sense?
i like your vibrato, but i was thinking maybe "less" of it on "mack the knife". i don't know if i would like it, but i was thinking that when i was listening. maybe if you kind of went against everything we are supposed to do and did something like: "when the shark bitessssssss" instead of "when the shark baaahites" (my attempt at the dipthong w/o IPA....) you did more of the bobby darin version than the version that is in the play, but i think it fits the style of the song more to be "short" than holding the notes. just an idea to play with.
open up and drop your jaw a little more on some of the "smile"/back vowels. that didn't happen all the time-- only once in a while. i noticed b/c that is something that creeps into my singing once in a while, too. something that sounds really good sounds amazing when it's all working right and you're open.
again, i enjoy listening to you. you have a great quality and ease to your voice. i like your overall control. if you get another chance at recording, post some more varying styles-- maybe you can post your "on the steps of the palace" on myspace.
i hope that was helpful!!!!!! They call me Jessica (like: They call me lady luck... lol)
Favorite roles:
Eva Peron, Evita; Jack's Mother, Into the Woods; Sonia, Godspell; Anything Goes, Reno Sweeney; Audrey, Little Shop of Horrors; Catherine, Pippin
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polarqueen
User Newbie
Posts: 17
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Re:new demo - 2007/06/25 11:40Thanks for the advice!
Unfortunately I won't have the opportunity to record again, but these comments are very helpful, as I use these songs for auditions all the time. I am a little irritated that I didn't catch the blatant sharp on the word "Babe" at the end of Mack the Knife before I went home; I'm listening to it again and I'm like...ugh. But, oh well. Would you mind giving me an example of a smile back vowel? I'm not exactly sure...lol
As far as song choice goes, I have four more songs on the CD to choose from, so I'll probably rotate them onto myspace in a few days. They are Unusual Way, On the Steps of the Palace, I Dreamed A Dream, and Blame it on the Summer Night. It's so hard to figure out which songs to put on there! I normally wouldn't send O Mio Babbino or Mack the Knife out as reels for musical theatre auditions, but I figured I might as well record them, and besides one place (American Music Theatre) is doing a standards show next year so I'll probably send them Mack and something else.
And, lol, as far as my vibrato goes, it seems to be hit or miss, as I've learned from my Youtube I Dreamed A Dream. Some people really can't stand it. I think I'd have more luck trying to tone in down on mid to high notes rather than low because I seem to have more control there at the moment.
Thanks for listening!
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jmslp
User Leading Player
Posts: 406
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Re:new demo - 2007/06/25 13:07not a problem! and i totally understand listening back to something and saying "ugh!" drives me nuts b/c it's so glaring to us when most people probably don't notice.
i really like you "unusual way" and "i dreamed a dream". sometimes i question youtubers' input! i don't know everything in your rep, but can you add more songs like "on the steps of the palace"? that was such a great performance and it would be good to get some audition songs like that.
your vibrato doesn't sound forced (you know-- you're not making extra unnatural movements to get it) and i think that works for certain characters. my thought for "mack the knife" was to make it plainer and let the words do the talking. but i bet if i listened to lotte lenya singing it, it would have a lot of vibrato.....
as for vowel placement, if you look at yourself in a mirror and say the vowels, you will see your lips and your jaw move different ways. depending how open your mouth is, you will see your tongue move, too (you can definitely feel it). depending on your region (you are close to me so we will have similar pronunciations) there will be variations in the chart but:
front vowels-- tongue is forward and you will feel your lips smile; as you go down the list, your jaw drops open, and though the tip of the tongue is still forward, the back of the tongue comes down ee "cheese" i "if" e "bet" a "bat" uh "but"
back vowels-- lips are rounded and tongue is not as high; again, as you go down the list, the tongue, lip, and jaw position change. oo "boot" uu "book" aw "law" o "hot"
the rest of the vowels are dipthongs which are slides-- the above vowels in a combination. like "long i" is a combo of "ah" and "ee"
when we sing, we modify these sounds a little so as not to cut off our sound, go sharp or flat, have a "dark" sound, etc. if kris has time, i am sure she will elaborate on that!
hth! They call me Jessica (like: They call me lady luck... lol)
Favorite roles:
Eva Peron, Evita; Jack's Mother, Into the Woods; Sonia, Godspell; Anything Goes, Reno Sweeney; Audrey, Little Shop of Horrors; Catherine, Pippin
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karijayne
User Supporting Player
Posts: 139
Karma: 7
Re:new demo - 2007/06/25 15:00I think it sounds great! I do enjoy your voice.
If we're getting real picky here (and it sounds like we are!), it seemed like you were kind of dragging in "O Mio Babbino Caro," in the sense that you were behind the piano in several spots. Is that by any chance a song that you feel less confident on? I only ask because it came across that way in the performance a little bit compared with the other songs you posted.
I think I agree with Jessica on "Mack the Knife." You're obviously very talented, but since the tone of your voice is so "legit," there's kind of a disconnect for me as a listener. To me, that song needs more of a laid-back, smooth vibe. It would be great if you played around with it to see if you could go for a jazzier pop sound on that one. It reminds me of the South Pacific soundtrack I have where Kiri Te Kanawa (world renowned opera star) plays Nellie Forbush. It's beautiful singing, but it just doesn't work for the style of the show, IMHO.
I didn't hear any of the vowel placement problems, if that makes you feel any better. Again, great voice.-- Kari
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polarqueen
User Newbie
Posts: 17
Karma: 0
Re:new demo - 2007/06/25 16:45jmslp - I think I get what u mean with the vowels...I especially struggle with those double oo's and my philly accent doesnt help, lol. I've managed to shed most of it for the purposes of theatre but long o's and words like food, look, saw, etc. still trip me up. My friend from school thought it was so funny I told her that wall rhymes with saw...I still think it does but apparently it doesnt...
karijayne - Thanks! I'm not as pleased with O Mio Babbino as I am with the others; the only part that I actually like it the Pieta at the end, lol. I do get nervous recording opera, because even though my voice is probably best suited for that genre, I don't have any hardcore opera training.
I see what you mean about Mack, I don't know how it would sound if I tried it poppy, but it's worth a try!
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I am a little irritated that I didn't catch the blatant sharp on the word "Babe" at the end of Mack the Knife before I went home; I'm listening to it again and I'm like...ugh. But, oh well. Would you mind giving me an example of a smile back vowel? I'm not exactly sure...lol
Again, great voice.