DT vocal covers by Nicky Spanjaards

[NickySpanjaards]

Hey Everyone,

For the upcoming time I planned to do some DT/Winter Rose covers. This will be the standard topic for it because otherwise I stay opening new topics and that will become a mess. So everytime I made a new cover I'll let you know.

For now I did a cover of Goodnight Kiss, which you can see in the link below.

https://vimeo.com/14827606

Hope you enjoy and stay tuned!

Nicky Spanjaards


PS, I'll also take requests.

[rumborak]

*EDIT: Less inflammatory*

Dude, I have to tell you, your sense of pitch is horrendous. You were off by whole half-steps at times.

rumborak

[Martinman300]

Nice rumborak.

To be fair it was ok until the are you lonely bit, where you need to be higher.

[Plasmastrike]

Yeah, pay a lot more attention to your pitch. I'm baffled that you don't notice how off you are.

[ScioPath]

Well ..... You nailed the rhythm and lyrics......

[NickySpanjaards]

Sorry, I have to admit that I don't hear that I'm off-pitch. At least not in the verse. In the chorus indeed in some parts. But in the period I recorded this I didn't use earplugs. Now I use earplugs since a week so I can hear myself much better and now I sing better because of that.

On the James LaBrie forum I got the request to do a vocal cover of As I Am, so I'm going to record that next week.

[ScioPath]

Great! Looking forward to it.

[lord-ruler]

YOu nailed the guitar solo!

[MykeHavoc]

Didn't this guy make a thread for his Winter Rose cover? And wasn't it locked...?

[Adami]

Didn't this guy make a thread for his Winter Rose cover? And wasn't it locked...?

All of his posts have been about his vocal covers, he actually hasn't done anything else on the forum as far as I know.

[MykeHavoc]

I thought it was locked for...the obvious reason

[rumborak]

If I could make a suggestion, don't record yourself over regular DT tracks. Reason being, you get buried under JLB's vocals.
Instead of doing As I Am, I suggest you take one of the stem tracks off BCSL and record yourself over that.

rumborak

[TheVoxyn]

I already thought you were Dutch because of your name, but I can also hear the Dutch accent in your singing.

But indeed, try using the stem tracks. I had some trouble hearing you over JLB.

[splent]

As a fellow vocalist, I can hear that yes your pitch is off, probably because you didn't wear earplugs.  However, your vocal timbre is perfect for a song like Goodnight Kiss.  Make sure that you are using enough breath support when hitting the higher notes and you should be fine. 

[El JoNNo]

Looks and sounds to me like your attempting to chest voice the whole thing, James goes into head voice on a number of parts. Notice any time James' voice resonates louder in this song, he has already placed himself. Let your voice thin out as it gets higher, so you don't pull chest. If you have a hard time making chest and head sound the same, find a comfortable compromise between the two and work on it.

You sound like a baritone, James is a tenor, so his chest voice top end is high than yours. I am also a baritone it can be hard singing DT at times, I find James' makes full use of his ability to sing right in the middle of the baritone Passaggio (the fucker lol).

Here's what I would do:

1. Practice the song without the actual song playing. This will help make you aware of the pitch issues, as it will be easier to notice you are of pitch without James' masking your voice.

2. Once you have gathered a feel for where you need to be in regards to pitch. Hum the song or do lip bubbles (if you know what those are). This will help you find the correct placement for you voice and help you focus your resonance.

3. As mentioned before keep in mind breathe support. This is not necessarily hard support but merely consistency. If I were singing a song like this I would be exerting little pressure but my core is still firm and adjusting the different pitches.

4. Let the voice thin out as you ascend or you will just hit a wall.


I know you didn't ask for advice, non-the-less I hope this helps.     

[Perpetual Change]

Sounds good until the chorus.

[NickySpanjaards]

Thanks for the tips everyone! I'm going to work on it.

Which song would you like me to cover of BC & SL?

[El JoNNo]

The Count of Tuscany, it doesn't have any high notes and is fairly easy to sing.

[Perpetual Change]

Just watched all your videos on Youtube.

Dude, I'm gonna give you the most honest advice out of anyone so far. And please read the whole thing, because, as you'll see, there's good news at the end.

First off, your covers of Dream Theater and LaBrie's style are not good. Some, like the Asylum City one, are laughably bad. James' voice is very unique, and does not lend well to being mimicked. And your range is not suitable for his at all. Secondly, do NOT imitate James' mannerisms. They look funny enough coming from him. Coming from someone that can't quite pull off his voice makes it even worse.

Now, here's the good news. You're actually a good singer, and I can show you why:

https://www.youtube.com/user/NickySpanjaards#p/u/4/rLUWaDtgQRs

Your vocals here are pretty damn good, and I can really hear why you're the singer of the band! Your cover of Symphony of Destruction is also not too shabby.

So I'd say, stick with the lower stuff, and keep at it. And find a new hero. LaBrie's a great singer at all, but even he has a hard enough time with the higher notes-- and his voice is made for it.

You're not a wailer, but you're good. Stick with that real heavy, lower register shit and you'll do fine. Or find some way to work on your pitch, to keep your control from falling out when you go higher. But your gods should be Barlow, Hetfield, that dude from Type-O, older Ray Alder, etc. Not LaBrie and Dickenson.

[El JoNNo]

Just watched all your videos on Youtube.

Dude, I'm gonna give you the most honest advice out of anyone so far. And please read the whole thing, because, as you'll see, there's good news at the end.

First off, your covers of Dream Theater and LaBrie's style are not good. Some, like the Asylum City one, are laughably bad. James' voice is very unique, and does not lend well to being mimicked. And your range is not suitable for his at all. Secondly, do NOT imitate James' mannerisms. They look funny enough coming from him. Coming from someone that can't quite pull off his voice makes it even worse.

Now, here's the good news. You're actually a good singer, and I can show you why:

https://www.youtube.com/user/NickySpanjaards#p/u/4/rLUWaDtgQRs

Your vocals here are pretty damn good, and I can really hear why you're the singer of the band! Your cover of Symphony of Destruction is also not too shabby.

So I'd say, stick with the lower stuff, and keep at it. And find a new hero. LaBrie's a great singer at all, but even he has a hard enough time with the higher notes-- and his voice is made for it.

You're not a wailer, but you're good. Stick with that real heavy, lower register shit and you'll do fine. Or find some way to work on your pitch, to keep your control from falling out when you go higher. But your gods should be Barlow, Hetfield, that dude from Type-O, older Ray Alder, etc. Not LaBrie and Dickenson.

Don't listen to this! At least not to the point of not aspiring to be able to sing like your favorites. Sure for now, if you are putting on a concert or showing off stick to what you are good at. But never ever let anyone tell you that you should not or cannot sing what you want, because it's bullshit. Keep trying to sing like JLB, you'll get it eventually and put your own touch to his material.

I do agree with Perpetual Change on not imitating his mannerism though, get your own. lol

[hefdaddy42]

What is this?  Constructive, respectful criticism at DTF?  Ye gods!

[NickySpanjaards]

Heey,

@ Perpetual Change: I know that James' voice is unique, but every singer has a different voice nad I don't try to mimick him, I try to put my own touch in it. Thanks for the tip, I'm going to change my mannerism.
Thanks, right now I do The Hunter even better. it's right that I sing better in the lower register, but I also want to sing in the higher registers. And since Era IV, the band I'm the singer in, wants me to sing Fear Of The Dark and some Judas Priest songs, I'll have to keep practising it. I already try to mix both the lower registers and higher registers for a couple of years.
Also, I keep getting better and better. I recorded my voice last year in the beginning that I sang along with DT. But if I listen to it now I think: Wow...that's horrible! In one year my voice has improved a lot. And I'm just 19, so my voice can still be heavily improved.

@ El JoNNo: Thanks man, I'll keep trying to sing like JLB. With my earplugs in, I sing better, with more control. And for next week, I'm going to cover The count of Tuscany. Thanks for that request, it's a great song!  

[Perpetual Change]

And honestly, I wish I was doing what you are doing at 19, because I can't carry a note in a bucket right now. But, I really do think your Iced Earth cover is quite good.

And, I think El Jonno is right. If you want to sing like James, keep trying. I do think you need to work on the pitch some, though. The fact is, you're consistently flat as soon as James leaves what I'll call your comfort zone. Do you practice with a piano, or something? You need to make sure you're hitting and hearing those notes right. I'd recommend, at the very least, sitting down next to a keyboard, and hitting the notes on it while trying to sing them to make you're singing the notes you think you're hearing.

[MykeHavoc]

Nicky the best piece of advice I can give you is to take vocal lessons. You need to learn breathing techniques as well as knowing pitch control. I would recommend checking out the wonderful (and free!) videos from Eric Arceneaux:

https://www.youtube.com/user/EricArceneaux

Study this stuff religiously for a few months and you will notice a severe shift in the quality of your tone the precision of your notes. Good luck!

[NickySpanjaards]

Hi MykeHavoc,

Thanks for the advice and those video's! I can really learn from that.

I also follow singing lessons by a vocal coach. This is the third year.

[rumborak]

 

[Adami]

....no signature? No quip? What is this?

[emindead]

Nicky the best piece of advice I can give you is to take vocal lessons. You need to learn breathing techniques as well as knowing pitch control. I would recommend checking out the wonderful (and free!) videos from Eric Arceneaux:

https://www.youtube.com/user/EricArceneaux

Study this stuff religiously for a few months and you will notice a severe shift in the quality of your tone the precision of your notes. Good luck!

So I'm not the only one?!!!

Also, I suggest to buy Brett Manning's "Singing Success". He's amazing. He trains Hayley Williams from Paramore and Taylor Swift among others. Hayley Warming Up Her Voice!

[Perpetual Change]

Also, I suggest to buy Brett Manning's "Singing Success". He's amazing. He trains Hayley Williams from Paramore and Taylor Swift among others. Hayley Warming Up Her Voice!

Uh, that one's absolutely terrible.

[Perpetual Change]

Dammit! I still can't forgot your Queen cover!

[rumborak]

Hey, you might not have liked it, but I don't think I had pitch issues.

rumborak

[Perpetual Change]

Neither does Nicky  

But seriously... after watching Nicky's Iced Earth cover... and his Disappear one... he's got potential. And this stuff is one take, not countless attempts in the studio.

It's just something that has to be overcome. I mean, LaBrie has had pitch issues his entire career, and he's still one of metal's premier vocalists. And don't even get me started on Dickenson.

[NickySpanjaards]

Exactly, thanks mate!

I don't have pitch issues, but I just need to learn to nail higher notes. One goes better than the other.
And, as Perpetual Change says, this is live, not countless times overdone in a studio.

Today I'm going to record As I Am and The Count Of Tuscany.

[emindead]

Also, I suggest to buy Brett Manning's "Singing Success". He's amazing. He trains Hayley Williams from Paramore and Taylor Swift among others. Hayley Warming Up Her Voice!

Uh, that one's absolutely terrible.

You may not like Taylor Swift. That's understandable. But saying she's a terrible singer is just

[Perpetual Change]

I still can't forget that "You belong to MEEEE(FLAT!!!!)" at the award show last year.