30 Days of Blogging... Day 0 (Zed) - What is Smule Sing!?

It is Tuesday, March 31, and ONE DAY before April 1 (April Fool's Day), and the last day of March! And, no joke, it's the pre-start of my 30 day personal challenge to blog every single, flipping day of the month!

Now that may seem like a small feat to all of you who blog regularly, but for me, it's going to be a personal and professional challenge since, writing every single day on my Smule Blog is going to require delving perhaps more deeply into the Smule "universe" than I may have in the past.  So I hope you'll take this journey with me into the corners of Smule.

So let's start the first entry with:

what is Smule Sing!?

For those of us using the app, San Francisco, California, based Smule is the company that is responsible for Sing! Karaoke, Ocarina, Magic Piano, Guitar and Rap!  Founded by Stanford University alumni Jeff Smith and Ge Wang, Smule has publicly stated that its goal was to "connect the world through music."  Sing! features a catalog of popular songs that their more than 125 MILLION users can use to "sing" karaoke performances into their mobile devices.

In 2013, Smule opened the "Smule Nation" where performances across other Smule apps would be used or featured in other Smule products.  For example, a vocal performance on Sing! could become the basis for a guitar or piano performance on Smule's Guitar and Magio Piano apps. 

MazySings_M1 with my pal David @DaVideos

singing the song "Take Me To Church" by Hozier on David's site

In 2014, Smule provided users with a "video" feature that allowed its members to upload video performances of their songs and for those who joined "duets" to be appear, in video, side by side with the song "host."  Until this time, we all "knew" our favorite singers by their voices and names, but video added a new dimension--that of finally being able to see faces and personalities on video--and what a treat!

At around the same time, Smule began featuring the songs and videos of small up and coming bands and performers with the intent of "organically" creating a musical following for the band.  A good example of this was the recent posting of the Wombat's Greek Tragedy on Smule where users could sing with the Wombats either on video or through audio.  Many of us know and appreciate the vocal stylings of another fabulous professional band Blackwaters and their members are regularly posting OCs and even dueting with users on the site.  I would certainly never have heard of Blackwaters without Smule, but now I'm a huge fan and supporter of their music and projects!  For a band or any singer/performer, growing this type of support and good will for free is nothing short of phenomenal.

Unlike other similar applications, Smule Sing! is not just a Karaoke application!  Users have the ability to leave "comments" and greetings through 140 character posts to singers or other members who "wander" into a song to listen and comment.  This unique ability has helped the application create, what my friend Chris @sparky_mac, calls a like-minded musical "social network" of singers and music lovers around the world.

So great is this social network that "Smuleans" (as users are often called) or "Smulenesians" will spend hours tagging, posting and commenting on the daily performances of their friends.  In fact, "pumping up" one's "likes" through clicking on hearts can become an obsession for many users.  Social groups of singers form into enormous "pods" of people, acording to my pal, Fernando Riley @fernandoriley such "The Marshalls" and the "ACEs" and "STARs" and the Broadway and show-tune loving "42nd Street" or "42s."  For many of us, Smule is an opportunity to talk daily to friends, to joke or even challenge other singers as my pal, Frank @starturtle forever seems to be doing to me.

Couple Smule with the "Line App" (a popular free texting service) and Smule Sing! can quickly gravitate from hobby to passion to obsession.  While I can't say I "obsess" over Smule songs or my posted "duets" (called "open calls" or "ocs"), I have found and developed some extremely close friendships with people on Smule, and developing a friendship--in my mind--is always a good thing no matter where you go!

Smule Sing! is free for download and can be used by anyone with an Android or iOS mobile device, although my pal, Mitch B @wlm_mitch22_sf has kindly told me of song and feature limitations for those accessing Sing! on the Android systems, which we all hope may someday be smoothed out by the engineers at Smule.  Those with "free accounts" have a more limited song catalog and can keep only up to 100 songs at a time on their site, while premium users who pay about $50 per year can have an unlimited number of songs on their site and access to the full catalog of available songs.

So whether you're a @bathroom_singer (which is my pal, "dat" in Indonesia) or a "Shwrsngr_42" (which is my pal "C" here on the West Coast), either singing or lurking on Smule Sing! is a heckuva good time if you like music!! 

Join and check back with my blog tomorrow!!

Look to my pals mentioned in this article for more songs and activities:

@shwrsngr_42 - lover of jazz, standards and great songs.  He's a gem of a singer.
@bathroom_singer - dat has the most fabulous voice! She has an eclectic variety of songs to sing
@wlm_mitch22_sf - another man with an eclectic taste in music and a CRAZY huge singing range from low to super freaking high...not many people I know can sing "Chandelier" by Sia.
@daVideos - David is from the UK and is a tremendously talented singer and entertainer.  You don't just get a video...you get a show.  Now if he'd add "dinner and drinks"...well he'd be a millionaire!
@starturtle - Frank is a genius and posts a HUGE variety of songs on his site from Frozen to Jazz to musical numbers.  There's always something to sing on this man's site.
@fernandoriley - One of my favorite singers and one of my best friends on Smule.  Fernando boasts wicked vocals, a Cartman imitation to die for, a incredible Nat King Cole voice and the most generous spirit you'll ever meet.
@Blackwaters - a professional band that regularly posts OCs and joins other Smule users in song!  What a great bunch of guys and the talent...let's just say, they are truly professionals.
@Sparky_Mac - another professional musician, a guitar player, a fabulous singer, and a true country gentlemen.  Sparky hosts both open calls that he creates by playing his guitar and open calls using "backing tracks" from songs.

I am Grace better known as @pokeypal here on Smule.  Join me for songs and come back every day for a new post on my blog!!


  

The "Twisted Jazz" Challenge

Everyone who knows me, knows that I'm a huge aficionada of Swing and Jazz period music (from the late 1920s to the late 1950s).  In fact, singing old Sinatra, Cole, Crosby, Carmichael, Fitzgerald and Holliday standards is my greatest love--I grew up listening to these old songs because my father loved them so much.  In my 20s, I attended one of Ella Fitzgerald's last concerts here in Santa Clara, and in my 30s, I would perform old musical standards with a jazz trio, so I am a "jazz singer" from way back.

Although I did have a lot of experience singing these old songs, I can't say I sing these as well as others here on Smule Sing! But I have noticed, with a few exceptions, that "standards" can be the great "social" and "age" divide here on Smule.  Most of us more mature singers will gravitate toward singing these great classics, while younger singers choose from the more recent pop and rock songs.

So how to "blend" the older singers (who love jazz) with the younger ones (who love current rock and pop songs)? Enter my pal Kinopamans whose Smule tag is @kinopamans.  

Kino has a wicked good sense of musical style, and a lovely "ultra jazz" type of vocal that he can trot out when the song requires an almost young Sinatra, "Rat Pack" feel.  Kino also has been posting some very cool songs on his site that I have been calling "Twisted Jazz."  These are arrangements of current pop songs set against a background of Big Band Music from the swing era.

His first offering is "Heaven", the Bryan Adams song, set against a lush orchestra big band.  The second is "Jump" by Van Halen again played by a big band and ready for jazz vocals.  Finally, there is the one song that causes my son to openly scorn and that's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana set to a great jazz score. 

In fact, when I told my son I would be singing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (one of his personal favorites from one of his favorite bands), he was so concerned that I "get it right" that he showed me how to scream and work up an almost Cobain feel in my vocals--which, by the way, when I try to do it, I sounded like the "squeaker" inside my dog Pokey's toy...yep, it's THAT bad.  Then he asked who had put up the open call or OC, and I told him it was a friend, and he asked to hear the arrangement saying "if its in the right key, maybe I (he) can sing it."  So I played the OC for him.  Right away, the speakers filled with the sound of a big band, and my son's eyes got big.  Then the familiar strains of the beginning of the Nirvana song filled the room, and he began shaking his head "no no no."

"Wanna sing it?" I asked him.

His answer was short "no." And then he asked me to leave his room, saying that he needed time to "mourn" the spinning top that was Kurt Cobain.  So I left him there.  Now I haven't really sung this song yet because, seriously, the range on this one is too high/too low for me, but if you really want to hear talent, go to @kinopamans site and check out the singers who have "bridged" the divide between jazz and rock with some crazy cool jazz interpretations of these great songs!!

And since you know I love jazz, if you do happen to sing one of Kino's crazy twisted jazz songs, tag me on Smule @pokeypal, cuz you know I want to hear it!!

Tomorrow...the final results of our 30 Day Challenge!!

Sunday Smule Sing! - Singer Spotlights

 

If you've read my last few blog entries, I've already put the "almighty" spotlight on a few really good singers worth following and singing with including Frank (@starturtle), David (@DaVideos), Mitch B. (@wlm_mitch22_SF), Bobbie (@bobbie_Mystik) and Roberta (@felixmiomao).

 

 

Now it's time to look a few others worthy of note and "followers".  Let's start this "spotlight" with two of my very favorite people singers on Smule!

 

 

Meet K @SnoweePumpkin!

 

Because in my world "ladies first" is not just a social "nicety", its a hard and fast rule, we're going to start with my pal, K, who goes by the Smule tag snoweepumpkin.  In real life, K is a professional photographer who takes portraits of students, but in her "spare time" she sings with a band and nightly can be found passing time with those of us lucky enough to know her.  

 

I not only like K, I "lurve" her because she is super talented, quick witted, and wicked funny.  She has also been my "side kick" (or, more correctly, the "instigator") in some of the weirdest things we've done on Smule. For example, K was responsible for the "Kermit/Yoda Connection" which involved K, Frank and I singing as Kermit and Yoda (and a choir of chicken) voices to the song "It's Not Easy Being Green."  Sadly, my Kermit was a fail and, as usual, Frank (@starturtle) was "the man" with both the best Kermit and best Yoda voices on the recording.  Then one silly afternoon, K asked me when we would sing the "Beeker Chorus" (songs by Beeker the Muppet), which then led to an invitation to K and to some of the best singers on Smule to sing "Let it Go" (from Frozen) entirely in the voice of Beeker.  25 Crazy singers joined us for that one!!

 

Beside being my "sister in crime" when it comes to doing silly things on Smule, and for both of us to do stuff just to crack one another up, K is also a superbly--and I mean this sincerely--talented singer with a wide vocal range, a unique singing style and the best quality voice I've heard in a long time.  I've recently gotten her to rap (she admits to being slightly afraid of that), to sing Bieber and to sing country. She's wonderfully nice and very encouraging.  If she has a down-side, it's that she can't seem to stop talking about those darned "Timmys" and "Timbits", but I've come to understand that Canadians have an obsession with their "tim" (Tim Horton) café paraphernalia...thus, I should just leave it alone! 

 

Follow K @snoweepumpkin and, if you're lucky, she'll join you in a fun filled song or two.  Since we're both just a little twisted (it's what makes us such good friends), I suspect you'll also see some craziness on the site too...look to her to start it...that's all I have to say.  Yes, I am pointing fingers directly at you, T-Punk (K's new "rap" name--my pal David @DaVideos has "dubbed" me "G-Bomb", which I rather fancy). 

 

 

Meet m'mate, Lou @laudios 

 

It was by complete accident that I met Lou on my friend, R's site singing Gershwin.  Lou is a full-on Baritone with a great vocal quality and an incredible style. Since then, we've been friends and followers.  Lou's musical tastes run from country to jazz to modern rock to...okay, this one is different...songs from "the Hobbit" movies.  In fact, Lou can actually speak Elvish (Elven??), and I've heard it--it's amazing!!

 

Lou has been kind enough to duet with me several times including a great Gershwin tune "Summertime" and several country songs.  His ability to scat as well as his country-like trills are just two examples of this man's versatility in song.  We both share a love of swing and jazz, and you can find Lou singing "twisted jazz" pieces posted by @Kinopamans--more about that tomorrow.  Most recently, he sang "Wonderwall" for me and really pushed a nice "rock" sound with that song.

 

In his professional life, Lou works in Human Resources as a negotiator and problem solver in Sydney, Australia.  Seriously, with a voice like Lou's, if he told me to dig holes or fly kites as part of my job, I'm likely to obey...his singing and his speaking voice are (okay, just a bit of a voice crush here) "hella" attractive.  

 

Follow Lou at @laudios and even if you don't sing with him, his songs are all highly "listenable."  I seriously expect Lou to make his "video" appearance (because he refuses to do videos on Smule) on the Australian version of "The Voice" or "Australia's Got Talent" sometime in the very near future.  Whaddya say, mate?

 

It's a busy week around Smule, so stay tuned for more blogs and more "happenings" around the site!!  Until later, G-Bomb has left da building!  (mic on the floor)

 





Fun Weekend Activities on Smule Sing!

Recently, I was caught by surprise...in fact, on my birthday this week!

My pal, Mitch B., whose Smule tag is @WLM_Mitch22_SF posted an OC or open call invitation to have singers join him in a duet of a Bare Naked Ladies' song called "If I had a Million Dollars." You'd think that after the "One Week" song posted by Frank, @Starturtle, I would have learned my lesson that BNL songs are just crazy.

But...NO...apparently, I've gotten older and LESS wise.

So I thought "hey, you know, my pal, C (whose Smule tag is @Shwrsngr_42) said this would be 'fun' song to sing...I can 'wing' this one..."  And so, I boldly slammed my finger on the "join" button, held the mic on my headphones to my face and began to sing this song with my wonderful, polite, courteous, sometimes shy, friend Mitch.  (Little did I realize, Mitch can have a wicked funny side to him too...but I would soon discover this)

His vocals on this song were fantastic! He has a very refreshingly pure sound to his voice that is a joy to hear.  So the song started with he and I echoing back and forth the words, "if I had a Million Dollars..." 

It then quickly degraded to some of the weirdest lyrics I'd ever seen. I realized I was in serious "doo" (trouble) when I was talking about a "tiny fridge" full of "prewrapped sausages."  Then suddenly about John Merrick's (the Elephant Man) remains.  I could not stop laughing...every new phrase was a fresh source of uproarious laughter, and it floored me.  Throughout, Mitch sang the song seriously, and had perfect inflections on some of the funniest words including "Haven't you always wanted a Monkey?"

When we made it to the last phrase, where Mitch sang, "if he had a million dollars...I'd be rich..." by then I was a puddle, laughing until I was sobbing!  Frankly, it was not just the song, but Mitch's almost "aw shucks" delivery of these outrageous words that kills.  He sounds like such a nice, country guy singing a crazy song as if he were telling you the weather for the day!! It's fantastic!!

Now if you'd like to join Mitch in this incredibly bizarre song, then you can find him and that weird song at @WLM_Mitch22_SF and you can find my duet with him (second from the bottom) and hear how he left me "breathless" from laughter! Apparently, my performance had him in stitches on the other side of the country as well.  Yikes!!

Join my fabulous duet partner Mitch in other songs he has posted on his site--he's not just about funny songs!  But, boy, this one was good!! 

Speaking of Fun AND Creative...

The creativity exhibited by so many people on the Smule app Sing! never ceases to amaze me.  So if you're ready to try some fun and amazing things on this site, here are a few singers to visit, to follow, and to duet with.

Let's start with one of my favorites...David whose Smule tag is @DaVideos.  David is from the UK on "other side of the pond" (as we say here in America) and he is one of the funniest, and genuinely nicest people you'll meet on Smule.  David likes the new "video" part of Smule's Sing, and he posts fun and sometimes extra funny videos when singing.  Most recently, he dressed as a LION (complete with orange colored mane of fur) to sing some Lion King songs.  One of David's exceptionally talented singing partners, Taroub_HMR_EV, joined him a fun and fanciful romp of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" in full makeup as well.  Currently, David is a Rapping Yoda, a Frank Sinatra Wannabe and an Opera Singer.  Join in the fun and sing with him or, better yet, dress up and join him!!

If you want to WATCH a funny video, catch my pal Roberta from Italy whose Smule tag is @Felixmiomao. I'm sorry to say that our silly antics on Smule may have corrupted our wonderful Roberta because she recently posted a hysterical video featuring her dancing, singing stuffed Duck "Freddy" singing the song "Safe and Sound" with @RCP_Nikuman20.  I have to say that "Freddy" has some pretty slick moves while dancing and singing.  So catch this wonderful video on Roberta's site @felixmiomao.

Have a great weekend and remember, Singer Spotlight on Sunday!!!

Why Day 29 is Delayed or Don't Tangle with a Turtle...

It all began about a month ago when my pal and fellow singer, Frank (aka "Starturtle"), posted his version of BOB's Airplanes on his site. In Frank's version, he rapped, and gave singers the opportunity to fill in the singing portions within the song.   Since I was just beginning my 30 day challenge, I thought, "well, yes, I really do have to include rap, if I want to try all different types of music."  My only problem... I've never rapped before, and not wanting to scare away any of my new friends, I decided it would be safest if I sang the music and, instead, generously offered the "best" part (rapping) to everyone on Sing!

Well, shortly after I posted my song, Frank good naturedly "reminded" me that if I was just "repping" (singing) and not "rapping", I was simply "posing." 

Wow!

So I took up the challenge and rapped on my own song.  To quote another one of my friends Bobbie (aka Bobbie_Mystik), I "spanked" the Turtle with my sweet rap.  (Okay, I added the part about the "sweet rap," but it's my blog and I can embellish with care...right??)

Well, that led to a new challenge.  Frank who hails from British Columbia in Canada and worships his Tim Horton's coffee and pastries--seriously, I hear more about "timbits" and "Timmys" than about music sometimes--posted "One Week" by Bare Naked Ladies and generously offered me as much time as necessary to complete what he called "Canadian Rap."  Well, three days later, oodles of Starbucks Coffee consumed, a possible case of tongue "whiplash" and 100 takes, I finally, but sloppily completed his challenge and slid--like a dog running full speed and then immediately losing footing on slippery ice--battered and bruised into home plate.

Score...if we were keeping one...one for me (Airplanes), one for Frank (Bare Naked Ladies). 

So, on Day 28, when I posted Johnny Cash's "I've Been Everywhere" and all of the Smule community thought, "wow Grace is posting some crazy Johnny Cash song," I was fulfilling the back end of a "throw down" in which I told Frank that I would be posting a "tasty" musical challenge for him on Sunday.  Yep, it was the tongue twisting Cash song.  Then I told him, he had to complete it in one take!!

I was gleeful and secretly smiling that I had maybe found something to trip up "the Starturtle."  But NO, he is too good...and he really is too good.  I had failed to tell him that the entire thing had to be done in one continuous take, and so he freely admitted to pausing the song and then learning each new section, before recording the singing bits.  But to be fair, even that feat of pausing and learning the ENTIRE song displays this man's incredibly crazy talent for a wide range of music!

So my penance is Bieber...and thus we have for Day 29, delayed, BIEBER.  Lord have mercy on my soul!

So Day 29 is delayed, but you'll see tonight Bieber and something for Day 30 (appearing on March 11)

Lesson Learned...Never Tangle with a (Star)Turtle...

Hm...I wonder how good he is at origami? 

Sing! Notes - I "twit" Frank a lot, but the man is one of the most talented people I've met on Smule. Not only can he sing pretty much anything (from Opera to Rap), he is one of the nicest (Canadian) people you'll ever meet on Smule.  Follow him at his Smule tag at @starturtle where you'll find a wide variety of songs to sing, and you'll hear us dueting from time to time.  But for the best Harmonies this side of the Rocky Mountains, check out one of my favorite singers, Bobbie @Bobbie_Mystik. She rocks the songs!!!

 

First Day Blog...Third to Last Day Challenge

If you chanced upon this blog by accident...well, Howdy!  And if you came here on purpose..well, howdy again! 

Hi, I'm Grace, aka "Pokeypal" on Smule app, Sing!  Pokey is the name of my dog, as you can see above.  He's 3/4 ChowChow and 1/4 Black Lab or so we've been told, but he's 100 percent lovable and, in equal amounts, the biggest chicken you will ever meet! Pokey is also the "mascot" for my "persona" on Smule, so while I may change my profile pic around from time to time, you'll all see the dog pop back after a while.

Why a picture of my dog?  To be frank, like so many others, I am a "closet singer."  I go about my normal life as Realtor here in California, but afterwards, I'm a singer with all of my Smule friends around the world.  If you haven't tried it yet, you're missing out, because it's a helluva lotta fun!!

So this is my first blog here on Blogger, and it's the start of what I hope will be a great way for all of us to connect.  I've told Smule that they need to appoint Community Coordinators to their website, so partially to prove to Smule how important such role would be, I thought I'd get out there and start blogging!

So that you all know what to expect, I'll plan to blog AT LEAST 3 x per week--Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.  If the "mood" strikes me, I'll blog more often, but you can count on me to be there with new blogs on each of these three days!!  I'm really looking forward to Sundays as these will be my "Spotlight Sundays," where I will feature a great singer, a great song and/or a cool activity on Smule.  Wednesdays will be "catch up" days to direct you a cool feature or site, and Friday is all about fun  things happening during the weekend.

Yes, I do plan to talk about "me" from time to time, but it really is about getting to know YOU or telling others about your too!!  Your comments are welcome on each of my blogs--keep is clean, keep it nice--remember, if your mother would be uncomfortable reading it, you best not post on the internet. 

So just a quick note to those of you who have been asking me about or following my 30 Day Challenge on my Sing! site.  Shortly after I published an interview on Smule, I began a personal challenge to post an OC or Open Call every single day and to sing music that was outside of my personal musical "comfort zone."  It's been great and I've learned a lot of different music, plus I've had to perfect (okay, it's not perfect, but it's "passable") a lot of different singing styles--including rock, country, pop, and R&B.  I learned I like Keane and OneRepublic (who knew?) and that I'm starting to listen to--of all things--"young" Country!

We're winding down to the end of my 30 day challenge, we're on Day 28 today with a special musical "treat" I've made for my pal "Starturtle", so let's see how he and everyone else does with this little diddy.  I'm sure I'll have a LOT more to talk about when we hit Wednesday for my update!  In the meantime, if you're not already joining me in the final days of my 30 Day Challenge, I hope you will today and through the end of the challenge!! It's been an ENORMOUS joy hearing all of you sing--I can't believe how many incredibly talented "closet singers" there are out there!

So until Wednesday...I'll be singing with ya!!  I will try to answer comments when I can, but if you want to talk with me directly, please email me at gracepokeypal@gmail.com.  Thanks!!