Singing for Dummies Was a Smart Move!

Last night the rain didn't turn to snow and so I was able to return to the studio for our weekly Tuesday night session. The goal- To record vocals for Stand.

Now for those who have seen my dorky video updates, you know that I have been practicing my vocals using a Singing for Dummies CD on my morning and evening work commute. And let me tell ya I really feel like it has been paying off. Just the other day when I picked up my guitar in the apartment and started singing a bit, Melissa noticed that my voice had gotten a much richer tone...which is awesome! I have struggled in the past with holding notes confidently and not breathing the way I should be. With these exercises, I think my overall tone is improving.

With all this practice and validation from my girlfriend, I had a lot of confidence stepping up to the mic last night to begin singing verses for Stand. I noticed with the first few lines that I had a lot of control and the tone sounded great. As time went on, I started getting tired and despite constant sips of Throat Coat tea, my voice was getting scratchy and worn. This wasn't so bad for the end of the song but I needed to make sure I could retain that rich and soft feel of my voice for the verses and the falsettos in the choruses.

Much to my surprise, we finished up the song after some regained confidence and upon listening to the takes in the control room I was very pleased. I haven't had that much confidence in my voice in a long time, much less been so proud and excited about it on recordings. There were a few trouble spots that I am hoping will not be noticed with the addition of the backup singer for this song but overall I was very pleased.

I feel excited to take on the challenges of the remaining songs and actually inspired to return to my initial takes on Horizons, as I am not at all impressed by what I have done on that song thus far. Being the first song of the record, it deserves the same treatment in confidence that I gave to Stand and I want the first song you hear to sound as best as it can be.