[dre]

Brokedown and Birdsong are two songs that are difficult to sing and play at the same time. Try some simpler tunes that require a little less guitar thinking in your head to hone your singing.

You obviously have decent pitch because of your guitar playing. Tune your voice to the key that the song is in, so like strum a G chord and then match it with your voice. Might help you getting off on the right foot with the song. Keep rockin!

yea but I think I know bird song blindfolded now lol.. it would probably do me some good to change it up while practicing though. It helps a lot to check in here every so often for people to point things out cause when you practice something everyday it starts to become a wash of sound kinda.. too close to it to be able to hear the mistakes much anymore. If I come back to this recording in a week though I will be shocked to hear how it sounds I'm sure. It's funny I usually find the guitar sounds better than I thought it was initially and the vocals sound worse.. pitch wise. odd how that works out.

But all in all I do think this was probably an improvement from the last one I had up.. would like to hear from someone who heard the other one like blobweird. If I'm still as flat as I was before then I may just as well stop singing alltogether lol considering the time and effort I put into practice. Or get some professional vocal training maybe.

[GDTRFB]

The guitar playing sounds great! Did you get the riff tab from here? I've been trying to learn this song for a while, and I've never gotten it down

E-------------------------------
B-------------------------------
G-------------------------------
D--------4---------7-4----------
A----4-5---7-5-(7)-----5-7------
E--7----------------------------

Doesn't sound right to me. What's the correct notes on the riff?

[dre]

The guitar playing sounds great! Did you get the riff tab from here? I've been trying to learn this song for a while, and I've never gotten it down

E-------------------------------
B-------------------------------
G-------------------------------
D--------4---------7-4----------
A----4-5---7-5-(7)-----5-7------
E--7----------------------------

Doesn't sound right to me. What's the correct notes on the riff?

Thankya
I learned the song by ear, it looks right. try sliding into the first note a bit (be sure to use your pinky so you are in position to play the rest)
and maybe hammering on the 4 to the 5

[GDTRFB]

The (7) doesn't sound right. Another F# sounds better I think. This should be that hard a song to learn but it's always given me fits.

[shakedown_04092]

Ok...constructive critisism isn't something I'm great at (I've been told I come across a little more harsh than I am intending), but since you asked (and I did listen to both versions)....

I think your guitar playing is very good. The chops are well pronounced, not too fast, not too slow, just nice and easy and natural. Very impressed and would like to see more videos of you playing, though I'd prefer to have a close up of the guitar - personally, I don't care what you or your mug look like singing - no offense.....I'd just really rather see up close what your fingers are doing.

I think your voice needs some work. A lot of work. Now, mind you, I am no expert, wouldn't say I have a great voice either, and one could kind of say "isn't that calling the kettle black?"....but your voice is tough to listen to sometimes. Sounds like you are struggling or trying to hard to get in key/pitch and it shows.

HOWEVER -

do not give up on it, because that'd just suck. So what if you're not great now. I bet when you first picked up that guitar you weren't great either. Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day, and your vocals aren't gonna be either.

I think maybe you haven't "found" your voice yet. Don't try to sing like Jerry or Bob or Trey or whoever - sing like you. Use your voice and just sing with what's comfortable. Maybe even try "talking" the words a little more, rather than stretching to sing them, which is how I'm hearing them come out - it sounds forced.

I also think that mic you are singing with sucks. It must, because it's very dry....maybe you can adjust it and get some reverb/echo/anything in there to give it a little flava flave.

Anyways - kudos for balling up and not giving a shit, in terms of what people say. Way to have the confidence to do that - most can't or won't or just don't want to. But try something else w/ your voice or maybe like you said go take some training. But mos def turn over every stone before you give up on it.

[dre]

Your criticism was quite constructive some people just have thinner skin than others. A lot of what you said makes sense and is appreciated. thank you.

the mic is just a cheap headset I used for gaming voice coms lol.. ill have to get somethin better eventually.

[dre]

Use your voice and just sing with what's comfortable. Maybe even try "talking" the words a little more, rather than stretching to sing them, which is how I'm hearing them come out - it sounds forced.

Thinking about this made me realize that I am definately singing these jerry tunes in the wrong key and it's forcing me to strain to hit the pitches..making it sound offkey and weird. I went ahead and tried it in D and it was so much easier for me.. sounded a lot more natural and smooth. I gotta toy around with it in this key for a while, I'll put up a version in D sometime in the near future.
Was messing around with sugaree and I noticed I couldn't really sing that either without straining.. till I transposed it from B to A.

[Rev_Roach]

Hey dre. Just wanted to say thanks, definitely got some pointers and ideas for playing the song from your vid. Don't get yourself down about the vocals, i consider myself an ok singer but Bird Song can definitely be a pain in the ass!

[dre]

you're welcome glad you could get something from it, and thanks for the comment.. it sure can lol.

it's been interesting learning the early 70's version of it now.. even if my singing still sucks in D hopefully you guys might get a kick out of it. i've got a nice tone goin on with some light overdrive to make it just exactly perfect. ;p

[shakedown_04092]

but Bird Song can definitely be a pain in the ass!

I have to agree here - if I sing this song (which I don't, we don't even play it), then I'd have to almost whisper it, sort of like how Jer did it in some versions. It's a very soft song to sing and you have to be right on it to do any justice.

And Dre - if changing keys for songs to fit your voice is what it takes, I highly recommend it. Musicans, including Garcia, did it/do it quite frequently. There was a song he did w/ Grisman "Dark As A Dungeon" (fucking awesome song btw, if you haven't heard it; you'll find it on an acoustic disc he did w/ him...maybe "All Around This World" ???) where the original song is in G and he switches it to A....or maybe it's the other way around. Either way, you get my point.

Do what works, whatever that is. Stick w/ it and you'll find it.

[CaptainTrips]

Yeah dre, I listened to the second version and its better but still lapses out every now and then. But I agree with everyone else Bird Song is an incredibly hard song to sing. I cant even come close, but if you practice your singing scales and keep on truckin you will get there in all due time.