Digital Sound......
Aug. 20th, 2004 03:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
osodecanelaWhat a treat last night was.......
Now that sounds off-color, or perhaps off-key, but it was a much more innocent night than that sounds.
Karaoke. It's probably starting to sound like that's what my life revolves around. Thursdays however is my weekly 'fix'. I headed home after work last night and it was late when I left for home. I changed into my kilt ("Are you a Scot?" "I wear a skirt; I dunna cross-dress. You do the math.") and headed off to the bar. Crowded night there for a Thursday, but not too many singers. Crowded enough though that I didn't want to try any new material. Too many ears around to hear an off note or an unsure phrasing. So I stuck to material I know well and some newer stuff I'm still polishing.
Dan's gotten himself a DVD burner that goes directly to digital recording from the microphone combined with the karaoke disk background. I did a half a dozen songs last night and it appears that he recorded them all. I was in good voice and was really enjoying the attention from the crowd. I started with "Someone to Watch Over Me", which I hadn't done in 3-4 weeks. When I finished, I had one man grab my elbow to catch my attention. "Mac, you've got some set of pipes!" Nice boost to the ego for sure. I love making folks applaud and sit up and listen. 20 minutes later it was my turn again and this time I did, "I am Changing" from Dreamgirls. It's an unusual choice for a man, and I only started singing this one last month, so I've been debating whether I should keep it in my repertoire. Well, the debate is definitely over and it's staying. Several folks caught my arm as I got off the stage. One woman was insistent that I should go for American Idol. (Interesting given my experience last month with the local River Idol Contest.) Anyway, at the end of the night, when last call was going on and Dan had stopped any further song requests, he stopped me from leaving and said "Weaver, you gotta listen to this." He turned on the freshly burnt DVD. First song was Jean's rendition of "These Boots Are Made For Walking". Damn if it wasn't a high fidelity sound, that was her to a tee. Tanner's version of "Mac the Knife" was next and it was just as true to his sound. I was intrigued, especially since I'd heard both these renditions when they'd been done live an hour or so earlier. I was next with "I Am Changing".
You know, until you actually hear a good quality recording of yourself, you never really appreciate just how you sound. In my own head, my own ear, I sound good to myself, but nothing spectacular. Well, having heard the first two recordings and really understanding they were true to the original sound, I was primed to accept what I heard as the truth, and geez what a surprise! I sounded good. REALLY GOOD! I was just enthralled with the sound and was way surprised. About a third of the way through, Dan hands me the mike and tells me to do a duet with myself. I was tentative at first, but then got into it, doing my own back up vocals to my original melody line. What a trip!
To actually be able to hear my voice and the music as they sound was such a treat. Indescribably delicious! Dan, Thank you, thank you, thank you for that gift!! I am so looking forward to actually getting a copy of the things I did, so I can listen to them and think about HOW to harmonize with them. Practice them in the car where I have a decent sound system and NOBODY else to listen to me as I try to work out the harmonies/point-counterpoint. Sounds like the Alanis Morisette version of "Ironic"
Weaver
Now that sounds off-color, or perhaps off-key, but it was a much more innocent night than that sounds.
Karaoke. It's probably starting to sound like that's what my life revolves around. Thursdays however is my weekly 'fix'. I headed home after work last night and it was late when I left for home. I changed into my kilt ("Are you a Scot?" "I wear a skirt; I dunna cross-dress. You do the math.") and headed off to the bar. Crowded night there for a Thursday, but not too many singers. Crowded enough though that I didn't want to try any new material. Too many ears around to hear an off note or an unsure phrasing. So I stuck to material I know well and some newer stuff I'm still polishing.
Dan's gotten himself a DVD burner that goes directly to digital recording from the microphone combined with the karaoke disk background. I did a half a dozen songs last night and it appears that he recorded them all. I was in good voice and was really enjoying the attention from the crowd. I started with "Someone to Watch Over Me", which I hadn't done in 3-4 weeks. When I finished, I had one man grab my elbow to catch my attention. "Mac, you've got some set of pipes!" Nice boost to the ego for sure. I love making folks applaud and sit up and listen. 20 minutes later it was my turn again and this time I did, "I am Changing" from Dreamgirls. It's an unusual choice for a man, and I only started singing this one last month, so I've been debating whether I should keep it in my repertoire. Well, the debate is definitely over and it's staying. Several folks caught my arm as I got off the stage. One woman was insistent that I should go for American Idol. (Interesting given my experience last month with the local River Idol Contest.) Anyway, at the end of the night, when last call was going on and Dan had stopped any further song requests, he stopped me from leaving and said "Weaver, you gotta listen to this." He turned on the freshly burnt DVD. First song was Jean's rendition of "These Boots Are Made For Walking". Damn if it wasn't a high fidelity sound, that was her to a tee. Tanner's version of "Mac the Knife" was next and it was just as true to his sound. I was intrigued, especially since I'd heard both these renditions when they'd been done live an hour or so earlier. I was next with "I Am Changing".
You know, until you actually hear a good quality recording of yourself, you never really appreciate just how you sound. In my own head, my own ear, I sound good to myself, but nothing spectacular. Well, having heard the first two recordings and really understanding they were true to the original sound, I was primed to accept what I heard as the truth, and geez what a surprise! I sounded good. REALLY GOOD! I was just enthralled with the sound and was way surprised. About a third of the way through, Dan hands me the mike and tells me to do a duet with myself. I was tentative at first, but then got into it, doing my own back up vocals to my original melody line. What a trip!
To actually be able to hear my voice and the music as they sound was such a treat. Indescribably delicious! Dan, Thank you, thank you, thank you for that gift!! I am so looking forward to actually getting a copy of the things I did, so I can listen to them and think about HOW to harmonize with them. Practice them in the car where I have a decent sound system and NOBODY else to listen to me as I try to work out the harmonies/point-counterpoint. Sounds like the Alanis Morisette version of "Ironic"
Weaver
