Guitar is too close to the mike, overshadowing your voice,
so no I can’t tell.
I like the guitar playing, although yeah it is a bit loud.
Are you doing a reinterpretation or trying to get as close to the original as possible? That makes a difference in my opinion.
First off, your YouTube comments are way too harsh! You have improvements you can make, but the people responding were over the top and plain mean spirited.
Now, you’ll have to decide what you want to take from anything said here.
A question about your set up - why do you have a headset mike and a stand mike?
The guitar is not precisely in tune - the 1st and 2nd strings are a little out in the Mr. Jones, and the guitar is quite out in Holiday in Spain.
Specifically about your singing, I find you are kind of restrained. It almost sounds like you’re worried about making a mistake, and it squares up both your guitar strumming and your singing. - I’d like you to try two (totally contradictory) things.
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I’d like you to do a version of one of these songs in a total Leonard Cohen, Cowboy Junkies style. You know, so laid back and understated that it becomes a thorough reworking of the material. It has nothing to do with Counting Crows; I suggest it to stimulate you into working on your own personal style and that’s the first idea that came to mind.
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I’d like to hear you put down the guitar, stand up and sing something that makes you jump around the room, flinging your arms about, spinning around. You don’t have to share it with anybody - just get loose, get wild, make mistakes, sing with a ‘fuck you’ strut, get slobbering drunk if you have to, but explore something that extroverted and then come back to these pieces. Did it make a difference?
Looking forward to hearing more from you.
Re: Deserado
Consider playing in the key of A. The chord forms are easier than in the key of G (e.g., a D6 is easy, a C6 is a pain) if you want to follow the sheet-music chord sequence, rather than making substitutions. You can capo up one fret if you need to sing it in Bb.
Work on keeping consistent time. Play along with a recording or use a metronome if you need to. The variations in tempo (slowing down and drawing out some measures where it seems harder for you) are hard to listen to, and would be very difficult for anyone trying to accompany you. Better to do the whole thing slow but at the same pace than to play the easy parts fast and the hard parts slow. I cannot overemphasize the importance of this.
I gather that English is not your first language. That’s okay, but be aware that certain words or phrases need to be clearly and properly pronounced to avoid losing the heart of the song. For example, “The queen of hearts is always your best bet” sounds like “…always your b-bet” - the word “best” just isn’t there, which makes the phrase rather nonsensical. “You always want the ones that you can’t get” sounds like “…that you can get,” which is the opposite of the meaning there, and really doesn’t make sense. In these examples, “best” and “can’t” need to be clearly enunciated. Perhaps you can get a native English speaker to guide you on where it’s important to sharpen the pronuncitation.
Please don’t be discouraged. Getting joy from music is a wonderful human thing. It does take time and practice to get proficient at performing it.
How honest do you want? Are you trying to be a professional musician, or is this just for your personal enjoyment?
I hope to begin auditioning to play for people in restaurants and other places to make some extra money. I hope to audition this week. I belve my performance of holiday in spain is very romantic and good to play for couples in love at dinner.
I do sense some romantic emotion in the vocal. This is good - too many singers just put out the words with no feeling behind them.
There are technical shortcomings. The beat is not consistent (people who are really paying attention will find this bothersome). The guitar strumming is mechanical and simplistic. These areas are not up to my idea of performance quality.
Quintas, you aren’t good enough right now to be hired to sing and play guitar professionally. I’d be very surprised if you get hired anywhere with your skill at the level it is now.
I do not wish to be mean, but I don’t think you’re good enough to be a professional musician at this point either. Sorry, man.
Are you self-taught, or have you taken lessons? Guitar or voice? A good teacher can really help.
If you enjoy playing, then keep at it; you’ll improve. But don’t quit your day job quite yet.
I cannot speak for your music ability, but I will note that you seem quite tentative while performing and do not project confidence. It is like you are thinking too much about what you are doing.
Your tempo changes are hard to predict, your tone is timid and unclear, your enunciation is poor, and you sound flat. I could be wrong on that last one.
I think with practice you have a lot of potential, but sorry man there’s no way you’re getting hired to perform at this time.