Okay, so i just used audacity on the fly, and poor hubby just walked in the door from work, and i told him " find the stereo plugs, or else!"
so, this are two songs I used to do, so know them pretty well.
My recording technique leaves MUCH to be desired - i could only record it LIVE - just one take, and the first one has too much vocals on volume, and the 2nd, not enough! Go figure, but you get the idea . . .
so, now you've SEEN me, you might as well HEAR me!
http://mysite.verizon.net/jillhumb/

Guess it's open season now!

thanks for all the support, btw . . .

Jill

Hi Jill,
Really enjoyed your songs. 'Boots' was excellent but 'We've only just begun' was wonderful!! I love Karen Carpenter and you really did the song justice. A shame that the vocal was a little low as you say but it did not spoil it for me Re-record it PLEASE I love that song ..... and I lurrrrve your voice!
Best wishes
Tony

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www.tonywmusic.co.uk

tony -
i promise i will re-record!!! I do a few carpenters songs, i love them so!!

thanks for bearing with the recording issues . . . i've got bare bones minimum to record with, but it'll have to do for now!

i'm off to check out your web site . . .

Jill

Jill,
For single takes, I think you did an
absolutely awesome job.
You have a beautiful voice and also happen
to look beautiful.
Anyone could nit pick, but the only major criticism I could offer you,is that the reverb/delay on "Only just begun"
should be adjusted for the first 2/3rds of
the song.
Keep up the good work.

[This message has been edited by Vquestor (edited 07-27-2005).]

yes GirlJam. Thats a great Job you have done there. The Carpenters song was really nice and you sang it beautifully!!

Thanks for that

Jill,

Nice job. I especially liked "We've Only Just Begun".

Tom

Jill:

Keep up the good work, you've made lots of progress with your site. I was there yesterday and you've since added some nice content. Great job with the songs, I enjoyed both very much.

Jill, thanks for sharing your 'on the fly' recordings. Though it obviously could benefit from engineering improvements, I really love your distinctively expressive voice.

Am I assuming correctly that you were singing along to pre-sequenced midi files on your songs? If so, I would have prefered that you performed & played the keyboard in auto accomp mode, selecting a similar (or perhaps entirely different style) to give your song a fresh twist of originality to highlight your own personal vocal interpretation instead of merely coming off as a cover tune re-creation.

My (personal) opinion regarding cover version re-creations is that they make you come off like a karaoke singer, which perhaps, in itself isn't bad, but I would hope that professional singer-musicians all move beyond this. Jill, knowing your piano lessons/extensive music gigging background, I would prefer to hear "We've Only Just Begun" sung & performed on your keyboard in auto-accomp mode with you playing live, minus all those kitchy sounding midi backing track fills poorly imitating the Carpenters original.

On the other hand, the backup accomp track for: "Boots" is far simpler & less obstructive, which (to me) allowing your vocals to be showcased with conviction. With a few engineering enhancements, and instead selecting (tweaking) your own auto accompaniment style & playing the kb live, this to me could be a terrificly successful 'signature tune' for you. Btw, though Nancy Sinatra's version was the original hit version, have you ever heard Loretta Lynn's version of "Boots". If not, I recommend checking it out. I've been a big fan of Ms Lynn since I was a kid. Can you believe this lady's (after all these years) STILL going strong with grammy hit albums? Checkout Van Lear Rose: http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=2986382

As a pro singer myself, I always find it both educational & enlightening to compare different artist's rendition & arrangement of a song.

Jill, looking forward to hearing lots of great things from you.

Scott

thank you all!

yes, sometimes the "cover versions" are a bit "kitschy", but at some places that we had played previously, THAT was the shtick they liked sometimes! That particular carpenters one was put together for an outdoor small wedding that I played.
When i have my "musican" hat on, i much prefer my own renditions!!
I'm still really tweaking all my new stuff, but hope to put up "summertime" this afternoon, and yes, it's just me and the keyboard! Albeit, still much practice is needed - i figure i'm still months away from going live anywhere as a solo!
Please keep ALL comments and suggestions coming, as this is how we learn! I'm still having a bit of a rough time with the audacity recordings, just can't get the mix right, but i'll keep plugging away!

Jill

Scott, I have a suggestion, when someone does not ask for critism, maybe it is better not to offer critic comments..I know you try to help with some comments, but they could have the opposite effect on some folks..

I think we all do this and sometimes do not put ourselves in thier shoes.

Jill, I think you did a great job...and I know how some of the places we play demand that we sound like the record..There is nothing wrong with that..

BTW, Scott, maybe Jill's time is too valuable to tweak the Yamaha styles to sound just right...