Karaoke Forums

I tend to learn alot of songs I originally don't care for, just to get the experience.. Something interesting I find on occasion is a certain part of a song may sound a bit like another one that I know, so it's kind of a 'clue' to remember how it goes..

I only sing songs that I've always sung so I never have to learn new songs. Of course unless they are new old songs. I dont like new new songs so I only sing old songs that I have always sang or newer old songs that I dont have to learn. That's pretty much what I do Joyce. I know this contradicts my earlier comment but I've slept since then. Every day is a new day for me. I hope this helps you out.

i think its funner to listen to a melody off the karaoke disk and make it yours i dont go for imitating singers so much maybe a few old songs. but mostly own the song make it yours if another artist does someone else song they make it theirs. cheers everyone!

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:angel:

I think 1984 is about as close as I've come to today so I'm really not qualified to answer I guess.

Went over to our Daughters house the other day - I said I've got a song I just did for ya. Our 4 year old grandson said what is it? I said it's an oldie Parker.

He says, they're all old Pappy.

Touche

Since I rarely listen to Radio or watch Music TV anymore, any new songs I hear are over these boards!

Learning a new song has always been a challenge to me, not only because it’s new, but also due to my language limitations and pronunciation issues. . However, after listening to a new song a dozen or more times over my MP3 player, I also get the CGD and try to sing along until my version evolves! Once I get a feel of the timing, I try to polish up the rough edges. Listening helps me, but so does singing to the CDG (never mind how crude the first few takes might sound). This approach also helps me decide if the song is for me or not. Meantime, it also helps me work out my approach to mixing it once I learn it well enough! Having said all the above, I might dump a dozen songs before I get confident enough to sub one!


Ron

For me, it's very straightforward. As a lead singer for a cover band, with my guitarist demanding 5 or 10 new songs each week it seems, I've got a very specific way of learning the songs that he wants to play:

1) Obviously, I purchase the song in question (full version, not karaoke version)
2) After downloading the song, I download the lyrics
3) I copy/paste the lyrics into Notepad and print them out
4) The on-line lyrics that I have will almost invariably have errors
5) I listen to the song intently, following the words
6) Since I'm singing this live, I HAVE TO (MUST) listen for the guitar measures/riffs/repetitive guitar lines and/or other cues for the vocals to come back in
7) I follow the lyrics, making notes at how many guitar 'lines' that repeat before I come back in
When needed, I pause the playback so that I can fix and/or re-type the words. I usually transfer the lyrics to Microsoft Publisher. I make notes in Publisher next to the line(s) that need them, such as how many guitar 'lines' to wait for to come back in (i.e. 2 or 4).

Now I have a reliable worksheet to go off of. So I rehearse the songs when I can, and also listen to them in the car as much as possible. Point #6 to me is the MOST important point of all.

Hope that helps!

Dominic

Very interesting topic and informative too!

I don't ever try to learn a song I don't like. I don't see the point. So that's kind of where it starts for me. I don't often try to learn a song I've just heard for the first time. It seems as if it's got to germinate in my soul for a while before it occurs to me that I should learn in.

I try to be picky about what I set out to learn how to sing. I think I have a reasonably good sense of the kinds of songs I can sing and what I ought to stay away from. There are a few songs I would give just about anything to be able to sing. But I know that I can't make them sound good so I grit my teeth and go on to something else. It's a good thing there are so many songs around so I don't have to worry about running out of possibilities.

Years ago when I was learning a new song I tried to mimic the original artists version. I don't know if my ear isn't good enough or my voice doesn't have enough flexibility but for whatever reason I can't do that. I never really get comfortable with a song until I've adapted in to suit the way I sing. I'd like to call that artistic license but it's really just lack of talent.

One thing that I think helps me is that I'm a guitar player. When I was in high school I just sang but I really had no idea of what I was doing. That made it very difficult to analyze what I was doing and to figure out what changes needed to be made and why. I've found that knowing a bit about music and how it's structured has done wonders for me as a singer.

Oddly enough once I learn how to play a song it usually stays with me. But there are times I can't recall the first line of songs I've been doing for 40 years. I'd blame it on my age but I've always been that way.

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"Life is too short for diet soda and lite beer"

I only do songs I actually like, otherwise it doesn't work. Thing is, I dont know why I like a song exactly, its just that if it sounds good to me I go with it, and that can result in some really strange posts ...

Usually I strip vocals out of the original soundtrack, but I also use K tracks as well.

If I'm using a K track, i put the track into audition. So far everytime I use a K track its a song I know really well.

If I'm using an original track, i put that into audition in its original form. Then I put the song in a second time and mute that track.

In either case, I listen to the song a few times using audition and I sing along with the original singer or just sing if a K track. I may do this three or four times just to warm up to the song.

Next, I'll sing and record my voice in a separate track. So track one is the original song, track 2 is my vocal. This gives me a picture of where I'll be singing in the song, and I find the visual of where the singing takes place helps out. I may record that vocal track several times till it is more accurate...this helps to also practice the song.

Now, I'm ready to record.....

If i"m using an original track, I highlight the parts of the track where I'm singing, one part at a time, and edit/remove vocals just at that part of the track. I dont apply the remove to the whole track as it usually affects the quality. On the part of the remove, my vocals usually cover up any imperfections in the backing. Anyway, when I'm done removing all the vocals, then I mute the original track and unmute the devocalized track.

Now, I'll sing in earnest, but what I do is put the song together in parts. The easy parts are done quickly, but most of the time there is some part of the song that is hard to do. So i sing each part first, each on a separate track usually. This allows me to adjust each section separately if I have to, especially volume levels.

On the hard part or parts, I can now work on just that part and not have to sing the entire song over and over. I've found in the past singing the entire song over and over just to try to get the one difficult part of it right wears me out and makes me sick of the song actually, so I loose enthusiam to get it done. Its much better to divide and conquer.

When singing the harmonies, I put the other vocals for the harmony part each on a separate track. You need to play around with volume levels to get the harmony to sound right, as volume is a key factor. Sometimes the harmony is difficult so I'll do the harmony parts, all the parts, separate from the regular singing.

For me putting the song together in pieces gives the best performance I can do....

Having some knowledge about music helps to. For example, if a song is 4/4, i know there are four frames goin, and that helps me with singing timing, like when to jump in, etc.

After all that madhouse is done, I mixdown and its done......

Auctionmusic mentioned something that has always fascinated me; not knowing exactly why he likes a song. I don't know that there's an explaination but it would probably make all of our lives easier if we knew. I'm sure that to some extent it has to do with types of music that we prefer. But narrowing it down farther than that is tough. I happen to like oldies rock & roll, country and folk. So that's mostly what I sing. Every once in awhile I'll run across something I really like that's not in one of those categories. But it doesn't happen too often.

For me it could be the rythm or the words or the tune. All I know is that there is something, whatever that something is, in a song that draws me to it.

When I record with a karaoke track, I use software to convert the the background music to a .wav file that I import into my multi-track recording software. I use Cakewalk's Sonor Home Studio 6. I also use the Line 6 UX1 recording interface.

Then I create a vocal track and in most cases a guitar track as well. Sometimes I also create harmony tracks.

Once I'm comfortable that I can sing the song the way I want to I hit "record" and sing it straight through. If I make a mistake I don't stop. My software has a "punch" feature that allows me to mark a section of the track and then record over only that section. That gives me the chance to go back and correct my mistakes without having to sing the whole song over again. If I make several mistakes (that's normally the case) there will be multiple punched sections on the track.

Using the punch function is easy but I always have to remember not to change the mic levels, effects or emulations because that will make the punched part sound different than the rest. Otherwise it's impossible to tell where the punched sections are.

When everything has been recorded the way I want it I EQ the tracks to my satisfaction and then I do a final mix. That mostly involves setting the levels of the various tracks so it all sounds good together. Sometimes I might add an effect to the whole mix.

For me, the key is to make sure that I am comfortable enough with the song that I know I can sing it the way I want to before I start to record. Sometimes that takes awhile and sometimes I get it right away.

I find recording difficult under the best of circumstances. When I'm performing live I draw energy from the crowd and from the band. And in that situation I have only one chance to do the song; good or bad. When I record I'm usually alone. It's hard to create the same kind of energy that seems to happen naturally when I'm performing in front of an audience.

Larry

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"Life is too short for diet soda and lite beer"

You know Larry, I have done some looking into it. If you are familiar with the circle of fifths, it teaches that if you pick a chord (a pie slice), then the closer the other pie slices to the one you picked, the more "consonant" the sound, and if you move many pie slices from the original chord (pie slice) then the more dissonant the sound. I checked some songs I like and the chord sequence was more distant on the pie slices...hey I'm gettin hungry ....

russ

I don't know how Steven John does it but he only listens to a song once & he get's it & does it in 1 take... after all he is a genius with a high IQ, I guess that might have something to do with it... his memory is Amazing... he says he uses the radio in his head, I can't even use the radio in my car

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MUSIC+DANCE=LIFE

I've lately taken to learning songs that are really new (like, released this month new) and I guess all I can do is describe the pattern.

1. Close listening: notice the patterns in the song, the way the lines of the verse hook up, they way it gears into the chorus, any unusual twists.

2. Repeated listening: You need to get it "into your ear," so this means just listen to it as much as possible.

3. Wordless singing: sing along with the melody parts on nonsense syllables. This'll get it from your ear to your voice.

4. Sing it at karaoke before you really know it. I know, this is scary, but the easiest way to figure out which parts you don't yet know is to screw them up in public. And often you'll be surprised to find that you know most of the song already.

Twenty repetitions later, you should be able to figure out how your particular voice fits in with the song, and work out all the finer points.

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See/hear the serial version of Michael's karaoke novel, "Outro," at outronovel.blogspot.com

Many good ideas here.
I certainly agree that repetition is the key. I usually prefer to obtain a copy of the vocal sheet music when I'm learning something new. It can really come in handy when putting the final touches on a song. I think another important aspect is not being afraid to "make the song yours". In other words, unless you're going for a dead-on impression, utilize your own talents and abilities to make the song unique and more comfortable to perform. This can come in the form of subtle changes in timing to better accommodate breathing or simple modifications to lyric pronunciation.

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I sing, therefore I am.

Well, yes I have to like a song. I mean why on earth would I want to learn a song I didn't like?

For me, it's 50/50. I listen to the song enough to get the tune in my head, but I don't want to sound like Nora, or Stevie, or whoever. If I listen TOO much to a song then I don't put enough ME in.

So I get the tune first, then I look for where to breathe, as I've seen that some of you do as well. The phrasing is important on many things, especially like.. Jewel songs, especially the early ones. Absolutely no way to breathe if you don't get the phrasing. The other one that comes to mind for me is Silent All These Years by Tori Amos. You can pass out trying to sing that without figuring out where to breathe first .

(UMMMMM don't ask me how I know)

The easiest.... Nora Jones, Don't Know Why. And I don't know why. I didn't know the song, but it flowed.

I just learned Stevie Nicks TALK TO ME... same thing.. it flowed. Either I'm familiar enough with her style, or it just suited me, I don't know, but I learned it in a day.

I don't sound like Stevie OR Nora on those songs, it's okay. The emotion and flow of the song itself is what I concentrate on, so it works for me.

Sometimes I even sing the correct lyrics.

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Teri Jo
...May the road rise to meet you... just, not too quickly, and not too hard!

I listen to said song ....I then sing it my way ...as long as timing and breathing are in sinc with the melody it will flow .....i sing stylistically (meaning my way ) on most songs ...i like to make it my own.....as for learning the words ...its karaoke and the words are right there ....but eventually after singing it several time you get the words in your head.......Belle[font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

Well I've gotten VERY lazy with lyrics being totally spoiled with CDGs. Eventually I do know the words, but .. not as fast as I would If I TRIED to learn them.

BUT usually I know them well enough to keep going if my screen freezes. I do one in Spanish... and another in Italian, and THOSE, well. . If I lose my place I am DONE FOR.

Well, actually only on the Italian one... I'm much better with the Spanish one.

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Teri Jo
...May the road rise to meet you... just, not too quickly, and not too hard!

I tend to work best by listening over and over and trying to absorb it the best I can... I'll listen to the song while doing something else, aka housework etc and eventually it sinks in well enough to attempt it. Of course if I am hasty I always go back later and say "Awww crap, I did that part wrong!" then want to redo haha.

The last while I've been much less in a hurry to do songs so I learn them a bit more slowly. I never record songs in bits though, I prefer singing straight through, then doing parts that overlap etc after.

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Te audire no possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure. (I can't hear you. I have a banana in my ear.)

I repeat and repeat the song in one minute increments until I learn each minute and then I throw it all together and voila! I know the song.