There are a lot of singers out there who worry that you can’t improve. They always think what you hear is what you get. Not true. Your singing voice is like an instrument. You can get better with your singing just like you can get better on guitar or bass or whatever instrument you play. In the past, I used to never take vocals seriously and from this point on, I think I will take vocals more seriously. I want to sing good. I’ve been practicing as you can tell. I’m trying to sing with more range, passion and to sing a little higher as well. I am not a screamer yet but I would like to get there someday.

A few quick tips on how you can be able to sing better are: 1) Never hire a vocal coach to work with. Always be self taught. You want your own style of singing. You learn from someone else you’re gonna get their style. 2) Always drink warm liquids… either warm water or hot green tea are recommended. Forget coffee. You want your throat to be dry when singing. When you’re done singing for the day, then you can go back to drinking cold liquids. 3) Practice vocal exercises through singing instructional books/DVD’s (they are always helpful) 4) Practice 20/30 minutes a day, don’t over do it. 4) The goal is to have that buzzing sensation in your head… you want to get all of that sound out 5) Listen to your other favorite singers like I do for example my favorite singers are Robert Plant, David Bowie, Johnny Cash and Neil Young. They are my inspiration of me wanting to sing myself.

If you want to become a better singer, go for it. There are always ways of making your voice sound different. I don’t mean to sound egotistical or jerk myself off but I feel that I’ve gotten better with my singing. I found that I can’t sing my older songs anymore and that says something. I’m sure you’ve noticed a slight improvement… hopefully, I’ve been working on trying to sing every word clearly too… working very hard. Hard work pays off.

Kev

Yes, I definitely plan on getting the new “Grand Theft Auto V”. Like most people out there, I am a huge fan of the GTA franchise. So far,  I still think “San Andreas” and “GTA IV” are the best of the series. Will “GTA 5” be just as good? I’m sure it will be a bad ass game to play.

I also plan on getting the new Stephen King book, “Doctor Sleep” (the sequel to “The Shining”) and that book comes out this month.

Don’t have the cash for these right now but will in a couple of weeks.

Kev

I think I just found a way to hook up my Maudio interface into the Ipad without using “too much power” which is the error that comes up. After seeing this how to video in youtube and doing more googling on it, I found that you would need a powered usb hub. Next time I go to Best Buy, I’ll still see if they have that Irig Pre adapter in stock — if not — I’ll look into buying a powered usb hub there instead. I’m sure you can find a usb hub that would cost around $10 – $30.

I think a power usb hub would definitely take care of all the ground loop problems too.

Kev

After a little googling on what kind of mics I can use for the Ipad, I don’t really need to buy a separate USB mic at all. I can just get one of these Irig Pre adapters, and I’ll be able to use the two Shure mics that I have right now. I once tried to connect my MAudio interface into the Ipad but it doesn’t accept that kind of hook up. If I get that adapter, I’ll be able to use my condenser mic too. Next time I go to Best Buy in Saratoga, I’ll see if they have that adapter in stock. If not, I’ll have to order it online.

Kev

I think there is nothing I can do about background hissing when recording at home ’cause the room needs to be sound proofed. I don’t have a sound proofed room. I think I’ll keep getting hiss no matter what kind of recording gear, software or mic I use ’cause this room isn’t sound proofed. 

For musicians who do have their own home studios… they have sound proofed rooms. That’s why they are able to record perfectly clean successfully without any background noises. There’s gotta be simple and affordable ways to sound proof this room better. 

I’m still planning on re-recording the vocals for the “Leave This Place” song without the preamp and maybe that will reduce the hissing. 

I kind of wish I never got that preamp. I got it hoping that will help remove the hissing in the vocals and I guess that didn’t solve anything. Maybe the preamp needs a shorter XLR connection ’cause I did read somewhere that the connection needs to be a short cable connection. I’ll consider buying a shorter cable sometime. 

I’m still planning to buy a USB mic for the Ipad to give that a try. I heard that microphone sounds on the Ipad has good sound quality. 

As you can see, I’m still trying to investigate on how to find ways to get a clean sound at home when recording original music. If I can’t find a way, no matter what I do… I guess the only way to get a perfectly clean sound is that I will have to record at a local studio somewhere. 

Even though home recordings don’t have the best sound quality… they are just good for recording song ideas, at least. 

Kev

This morning, I just tested out my Behringer mic-preamp when recording vocals over guitar parts. On the preamp, you can’t hear the humming and the hissing that well. It’s barely noticeable the way I heard it. The preamp actually sounds pretty decent with the vocals. I guess the humming and hissing is pretty normal. Nothing you can do about it at all So, I guess I’m all good with the preamp so it’s actually worth the purchase.

Gonna record vocals for a song today.

Kev