Tracks vs Songs (The dying vocalists)

That's a good idea LittleWing. I've made wikiloops posts on my Facebook page a few times. I will do this more often in the future especially for singers.

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I'd never be able to upload again if I had to supply the key... which would lead to choosing one at random to pass that hurdle. I can't be the only one.

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Can I just point out that vocalists are a perculiar type of people.

Some months ago I had to go as far as threatening Shi with proposing marriage just to get her to resume making appearances pushing the trolley. I even had the marriage vows covered with the vicar:
"Do you take this man to be your husband and do you promise TO SING AT LEAST ONE A WEEK ON WIKILOOPS?

All I got from this endevour was a one-off generous helping of cookies and a double espresso.

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This is a interesting subject thread. With no right answers that work for everyone. Such is the way of being a musician. For me solo piano and or rhythm and bass guitar work best for writing lyrics. So it's kinda the old debate of less being more when it comes to vocals. But their are exceptions. The vocalist with lot's of giging under their belt often can come up with lyrics and vocals over a full band playing. You won't find a lot of vocalist on music sites like this that have that much experience because they are out making money and are in high demand if they are that good. I've read comments about not having the right set up for vocals. I've never had the right set up for vocals. Or even the right set up for guitar. I use what I have. It has never stopped me from using what I have to present an idea to others. My personal perspective is that to much time is spent on highly polishing ideas that show off ones recording skills rather than adding to the idea of the music. A diamond in the rough is still a diamond. Most of my music and especially any vocals I have posted are very rough by others standards. But I uploaded them anyway.Constructive criticism can be hard to take, but also very helpful if your want to grow. I do believe their are many musicians here that would like to try doing some vocals. But they find the highly polished expectations to hard to over come. No one wants to flop. But every great vocalist had to start at the beginning.:)

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i think we all just have varying ideas and that's okay. like for me, uploading an HD file pointless, this is a 'jam' to me, i'm not shooting for a Grammy here and a perfect mix. if i wanted that, i'd collab with a group/band and really dive into creating something, which defeats my primary 'use' of the site, which is just to jam and pick and choose what i want to do here. others have other 'uses and expectations' but it's a great discussion on the varying ideas...great topic and discussion everyone! really enjoying the viewpoints from everyone :W

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Have you ever considered that you might be denying others the opportunity to indulge in THEIR goals for using the site by only providing a mix? Do you ever remix tracks for your additions?

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Having read most of the different contributions on this thread, I'm still convinced the major problem is that you need a quiet space to record vocals. I'm not talking about gear, even the cheapest microphone will do good today, I'm talking about a space where you can sing at least a little bit loud without being disturbed by your family or your neighbours. And there's the fact that vocals are very personal, it's you, it's not an external instrument, so quite a lot of people, including myself, are a bit shy about that and don't want others (family, neighbours) to hear their vocal recording process. Again, it's easier to plug an electric guitar / bass or keyboards or to program stuff on your DAW, nobody's gonna tell you to make less noise.

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Does a song come before/during/after the melody? Vast subject to be discussed at the Floidsdorf assembly!

For my part, I like making arrangements and solos when most of the work is done 😉

Ideally, in my humble opinion, the singer should be the first to enter the stage with his track and a little accompaniment.

Moonchild -what a singer! (but will she stay on WikiLoops with this much talent?) - does on some of her tracks. She likes to look for very particular atmospheres with her piano and 6/8 measures pose no problem for her!

I would be very interested in her opinion on the matter!

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Leaving motivation and ambition aside, I get the point Alex makes about the more personal aspect of vocals, probably not only in the recording process itself but also in the output.

(Shameless plug: Dick could probably arrange a vocal recording opportunity at the planned WL meeting in august for all those who are otherwise unable to record at home. Sorry Dick, just a suggestion)

Hmm, reading all the responses has taken me back to my original question. I think the trigger for starting this thread was listening to some tracks and wondering why they didn`t attract vocal inputs.

I know Joe (Little Wing) has done it, Zedders alluded to it, I think there are enough people here interested in chopping up tracks and remixing them with added vocals.

I am probably not the only one here with multiple reasons for thinking WL is a great place. It`s not just jamming and (re-)learning an instrument, trying to understand why certain outcomes are sometimes more than the sum of their parts and sometimes not and certainly also learning to re-arrange stuff to make it sound more "complete" to my ears. Taking the time to concentrate on one particular track wouldn`t be in conflict with jamming and my usual throwing keys at everything approach.

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I agree that it's really hard to have a place where you can belt out vocals without neighbors, family, cars racing up the street,dogs barking and other background noise. I can't sing or in my case try to sing with those distractions. I share half my house with someone. And when they are there I can't play or sing without disturbing them. Headphones don't work for me, I can't use them because of having unilateral hearing loss.

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this is a request to hear more of your singing Alex, always enjoyed that rocking French song you did :W

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if by "jam" we mean practicing your instrument on tracks, I tell myself that for a singer it's a completely different matter!
Write lyrics, analyze the track in sequences, determine the bpm, the tonality - not to mention the musical style -, bring out a melody etc. it's no longer a cushy jam but real composition!

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:D Sometimes it's frustrating, I want to add some vocals but no, I just can't because I can't scream and shout :o as I want. There's a track you did maybe 1-2 years ago, I managed to record some ideas but then I gave up because of that. I've got some songs in french in the archives, maybe I'll upload some sooner or later. Thanks for the encouragement Nick :W You've got some cool vocal tracks yourself here :W

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This is why my vocal contributions are sparse the past couple years. I had a practice studio when I first Joined the loops. Since I no longer have the privacy that my studio space provided, it is hard to find the time here at home to bust out with my pipes LOL. Especially when I am singing the more aggressive metal songs I don't want my neighbors getting frightened LOL

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On WikiLoops there are very nice singers who don't hesitate to leave encouraging comments that make you want to do more and better. Shi and Shamika are among them!

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