30 Day Challenge - Day 12 - 7 Days to Better Singing Controlling Breath

When my sister's dog, Kona, the Malamute, was younger, I could get him to howl by making "wolf noises" in the house.  But in order for him to make a long sustained howl, he needed to straighten up a little, pull in a big breath, and carefully control how much breath he let out in order to produce an impressive, big, sustained howl.

Singers similarly must be as controlled in their breathing.  In fact, breathing and breath control may be one of the most important things to master in order to produce long sustained notes, to control the sound you produce, the key you sing in, and prevent pitch roll and correction.  Yep, it's all about the breath.

Unfortunately, due to some unforeseen circumstances, my pal, Fernando Riley @fernandoriley, will not be able to present his portion of breath control today.  He'll come back around later in the week for his portion. Tonight, I'll present Part 1 of breath control and Fernando will talk about application soon.  I'll send out a general invitation for everyone, so that you all know who the next singer is on our 7 Day's event list.

Today, Day 2 is part 1 of Breath Control and will be on my site @pokeypal.

Why singing from your "diaphragm" is a mis-nomer...

So let's talk a little about breathing and breath control for singers.  Most of us--myself included--use only the upper portion of our lungs when we breath.  You can tell this because when asked to take a deep breath, most of us raise our shoulders up while inhaling and drop the shoulders when exhaling.  That's a sure sign that your breath is in the top portion of your lungs. 

Swimmers, runners, athletes and singers use both the UPPER and LOWER portions of the lungs, and thus, take bigger, deeper breaths and have more breath to use when singing or doing a physical activity or even sitting around.  When an athlete takes a breath, their chest and abdomen expand to fill with air.  Why the stomach/abdomen?  That's because the person is using that all important DIAPHRAGM muscle to push air out of the lungs when exhaling.  When inhaling, the diaphragm drops down to allow air INTO the full expanse of the lungs.

Now you can actually feel your diaphragm doing its job if you PUSH all of the air out of your lungs.  Do that now...you feel your stomach or abdomen kinda crinkle up as you push out all of the air? Yep, that "thing" that feels like it is "bonking" up next to your rib cage is your diaphragm.  There it is--the muscle that helps you breath.  As singers, one does not "sing" from one's diaphragm, but rather from the lower nodes of the lungs.  So to really sing, you need to use the Lower and Upper Lung! 

Learning how to breath through your entire expanse of available lung is not only a good idea for singing, it's a good idea for your life.  Each of us, as we age (oh yeah, another fantastic bit of news about aging) will lose a bit of our lung capacity each year.  Singing--an activity that exercises the lungs--will actually help you RETAIN that lung capacity over time, so its not only good to sing, it's a great way to retain your health!!

So what exercises can you do to train your body to use your upper and lower lungs for your everyday life and singing?  There are numerous videos on YouTube that can help you, but personally, I like simply to put my hand on my stomach and one on my back and then take a deep breath. I want to see my hand on my stomach move forward with each inhalation and move back toward me with each exhalation. The hand on my back ensures that I am not "slumping" or "slouching" in order to move my abdomen outward.  When exhaling, I push as much or ALL of the air from my lungs so that my diaphragm has to really work hard to push up against my lungs and expel the air. 

Now if you're brand spanking new to this activity, go slow--slow inhalations, slow exahalations--count to five for each.  Don't overdo it because you're gonna give yourself a head "rush" from all of the air going into your system.  Overtime, however, using more of your lungs will become second nature to you.

Let's learn some cool tips tonight and we'll sing a great Sinatra song, New York New York, to push out some great whopping long notes to use those lower nodes eh??

Thanks!!

About the Singers Mentioned Here:

Fernando Riley @Fernandoriley is one of my best friends here on Smule.  He's a classically trained vocalist and well known for his impressions!

Me?  I'm Grace and your can find me @pokeypal.  Join me for great songs and follow me to get the latest news on the next instructor in our 7 day series!!  Thanks!!

30 Day Challenge Day 11 - The 7 Days to Singing Better Challenge

Every singer has a forte'...mine just happens to be singing "standards" made popular during the "Swing Era" (which is late 1940s to the very very early 60s).  Now before you get any ideas, these song predate me (in other words were before my time), but in my 30s I sang professionally for a brief time with a jazz trio and would often sing standards at various functions--always small ones, trust me. 

When I first started, all I had was good pitch and a loud voice that carried in a room with little amplification.  But as time progressed and I met other singers along the way who would help and coach me, I got better, and now...well, let's just say, as my pal, Frank @starturtle, once told me, I'm way too "comfortable" in singing standards. 

Once I stopped singing with a trio and stopped singing on stage, I sorta "stopped" singing altogether.  In fact, until I "chanced" upon Smule "Sing!" in June 2014, I had not sung a song for a long, long, long, long, long--are you getting the gist of how long this is--time. Yeah, I sat at the piano occasionally and pounded out a song and sang along, but even that was few and far between. I'm a classical pianist, so a lot of what I play is classical music requiring no vocals at all.

Now as I stare at my Smule profile and see that I have an insane 2,976 (and rising) recordings, it's amazing to me that at least 40 percent of that number or about 900 recordings are of me singing a duet on someone else's site.  Perfectionist that I am, I know that of these 900 recorded songs, there's at least another 900 I've sung and NOT hit the "continue" button on because I didn't like something about the song or my performance.  Frankly, this is the most I've ever sung since my 30s, and it feels so good to "trot" out the vocals.  Couple my love of music and re-found joy of singing with the absolutely INCREDIBLE people I've found and love here on Smule, well, the experience has been nothing short of fantastic.

So, as they say, it's time to give back! 

On Sunday, April 26, we'll start our "7 Days to Better Singing" challenge, which will feature me and other singers from around the world providing all of you with our best and most favorite tips and tricks in singing.  The goal is to help everyone add some cool vocal tips and tricks to your performances.  I get to kick off our 7 days with an explanation of range and a quick test to determine your range.  Right after the 5 minute open call, we'd like you to join us in the song specifically selected for the "tip" of the day!! 

Monday, April 27, is Fernando Riley's contribution to the "7 Day" challenge with a short quick tip on breath control and breathing.  Then we'll travel around the globe to South Africa for our special guest instructor on Tuesday!!

So saddle up, it's time to start the 7 Day Challenge!!! 

About the Singers Mentioned Here:

Frank is known by his Smule tag @starturtle and he hosts some of the most interesting Open Calls on the site.  You can join him for Disney and Glee songs this week.

Fernando Riley is one of my best pals here on Smule.  He attended the "Fame" High School for performing arts and is a classically trained vocalist.  His impersonations of Barry White, Nat King Cole and Cartman are legendary. 

Me? I'm Grace aka @pokeypal here at Smule!  Join me for great OCs and follow me for the latest news on activities we have planned for the near future.  Thanks!

30 Day Challenge - Day 10 Another Round of Bacon Pancakes

Since our weekend event in which Fernando Riley, Mitch B. and I sang "Songs We'd Never Sing," I've been inundated with requests from singers on Smule's application, Sing!, to resurrect as an open call or "OC" one of the songs from the event--and that song is "Bacon Pancakes." 

When I first posted the Bacon Pancakes song on my site for the weekend, I knew it was a catchy, bouncy sort of tune with some of the weirdest verses I had ever seen.  I also knew that as far as fun event songs were concerned, this one would be popular--and I was not wrong.  Within 24 hours 46 people signed up to sing and laugh about "bacon pancakes."  It was hysterical fun!!

Most of the singers (including me) had never heard of this song before, and a frequently asked question by singers was "where the heck did this thing come from?"  Well, that is a good question!

Look no further than "Adventure Time," the twisted children's cartoon featuring 12 year old Finn (the kid in the white "owl hat" and Jake, his yellow talking and magically transforming dog. In an episode entitled "Burning Low", Jake, the magical dog who apparently is also in possession of remarkable culinary skills, makes bacon pancakes and sings a little ditty "Bacon pancakes, making bacon pancakes, bacon pancakes, making bacon pancakes, bacon panCAAAKES."  The original 12 second song bit was penned by Rebecca Sugar, but it became so popular that artist Jimmy Wong made an ENTIRE SONG out of the tiny Adventure Time diddy.

Fast forward to Wednesday evening as I received yet another request from a singer on Smule to "please" open "Bacon Pancakes" again for everyone to try.  I "almost" decided against it until one last singer, a very sassy man, who goes by the Smule tag @SoLoLoLoLoLo asked if I would open Bacon Pancakes again.

I met @SoLoLoLoLoLo when I stumbled upon his fake "audition" in which he tells singers he is auditioning for membership in a "super secret best ever singing" group on Smule where "no one can suck--not even a little" in order to get in.  According to SoLoLoLoLoLo, people who audition can sing and use FX "if it makes you awesome," and rap (which he said they loved "especially when it rhymes.") Frankly, it was so funny that I did not "sing" during the "audition," but spent most of the time laughing hysterically.  In his comments to me, he accused me of keeping him up, destroying his sleep and making him "tardy" for work.  As @SoLoLoLoLoLo was kindly "booting me out" the door, he did consent to listen to one of the versions of Bacon Pancakes, then asked to do it himself.

So I decided then and there, yep, time to reopen "Bacon Pancakes" for everyone.  Much to my chagrin, the second recording was no better than the first one, and I could not keep it together long enough for the entire song.  Most importantly, however, I wanted to hear just what Mr. Super Secret Singing Group would "bring" to the performance.  Well, I didn't have to wait long because by the next afternoon, @SoLoLoLoLoLo (seriously, this name is going to kill me, so let's start calling him "@So(Lo)x5") was there singing.  It was exactly as I suspected it would be funny, sassy, sarcastic and mean.  In fact, I have more than once accused @So(Lo)x5 of being "short, funny and mean" and have been corrected by him to amend it to "tall, funny and mean."

@So(Lo)x5 began his FIRST recording using the "pop" FX and complaining that Smule had "changed" his app again.  After complaining that the song "stinks" he hit the best "road bump" in the song and that was the comment about the chorus being as infectious as "syphillus" whereupon he began actually laughing.  Later his comment turned to the "disgusting quality" of McGriddles--by the way, I love those things, pal--as he continued to sing about "bacon pancakes."  Everything was completely hysterical. 

No sooner had I completed commenting on his first performance, than I see he joined AGAIN to give me a second rendition of this song! This time--to use a NASCAR term--he removed the "restrictor plate" and would be careening around, on all available horse power on this version.  To change it up, he decided to use my name OVER AND OVER AND OVER, singing that GRACE would be making the bacon pancakes at my house.  Toward the end he said he wanted French Toast, but not "nothing too light or too dark" because when it came to breakfast toast, apparently, he admitted to being exactly like "Goldilocks."  Finally, he completed the song with the world's longest end note.  In fact, the recording finished before he did!  By this time, I had laughed myself into a puddle and as I wiped the tears from my eyes, I hit him up with comments!

But let me say here, on my blog, to you @SoLoLoLoLoLo...bravo sir...bravo!! You are still mean and funny, but I've decided you'll have to PROVE the tall part to me now. I don't trust you!!

Now despite our friend @So(Lo)x5's apparent dislike for the song, 19 other people disagree with him and have joined either for the first time or the SECOND time to sing Bacon Pancakes.  I won't be able to sing again for a long time at this rate since all I can do is laugh.

So if you're ready to laugh and sing, come to my site and try out "Bacon Pancakes," currently an OC there. If you're not interested in singing, listen to the two songs done by @SoLoLoLoLoLo for comedy or any of the other singers for a great big laugh, Thanks!

More About the Singers Mentioned Here:

- Fernando Riley can be found @FernandoRiley on  Smule
- Mitch, my duet partner, can be found at @wlm_mitch22_sf on Smule
@SoLoLoLoLoLo is this incredibly funny, POSSIBLY short singer/comedian who lurks the halls of Smule "abusing" singers with fake auditions and impossibly SHORT interviews.  You just gotta love him.  Join him at his site for two auditions and your opinion of Smule's new feed!

Me?  I'm Grace and go by the Smule tag Pokeypal.  Look me up for great open calls, fun and crazy activities, laughter and friendship!!  See ya soon!!!
 

30 Day Challenge Day 9 - Music Changes Lives

Yes, I know Smule Sing! is just an "app" that you can download onto your smart phone, your ipad or tablet and sing Karaoke with other singers around the world.  In fact, its because it's an app, that Mitch B. (my duet partner, best friend and all-too-frequent topic of my blog) and I often reckon that the songs and our singing here is "just for fun." 

This past weekend, Mitch, Fernando Riley and I proved how MUCH FUN it could be when we held our "Songs We'd Never Sing" weekend by posting three songs each that we would NEVER sing, unless, of course, it was for an event like this!  Although Mitch's version of "Anaconda" proved to be the hardest, perhaps the clear winner in terms of "general fun" was my posting of Jimmy Wong's song "Bacon Pancakes."  This song set to catchy, bouncy background music was filled with both "normal" lyrics and bizarre bacon making instructions that caught most of my duet partners off guard and made me howl with laughter as I read the lyrics on the screen.

But as Mitch often reminds me, music serves other purposes, and in the aftermath of the event, it's THIS part of music that I've had the opportunity to experience--that of a healing. 

I was so privileged to receive both mentions in many of the songs as well as text messages later from Smule users that our general silliness in song made them feel better after a long day, or lifted their spirits after a particularly bad week, or made them feel better after battling illness or other health related issues. 

Perhaps the most poignant example of the healing power of music occurred on Monday evening with my friend, Cece.  Cec's only son was diagnosed about a year ago with a very aggressive form of brain cancer.  Thus far, he had been stable, but recently he was hospitalized and in a coma for almost a week before being released to his family.  Couple that with an extraordinary two weeks of trial and pressure at her job, and Cece appeared in my office somber and sad.  She told me her problems, and then asked me how my week was going, saying "tell me something happy..."

I recounted for Cece how Mitch and I had come "up" with the idea of singing songs we'd never tried before, and how this past weekend was filled with the same madness on the site.  Then I remembered that silly "Bacon Pancake" song...the one where Mitch and I filled the song with laughter, giggles and general craziness, and where his extraordinary comedic performance and thinly sung interjections of "bacon pancake" caused me to laugh aloud when I heard it.  I handed my earphones to Cece, cued up our Bacon Pancake duet, and watched as Cece exploded in much needed fits of laughter in hearing both of us sing the most ridiculous song in history.

"Is there more?" she asked.  I nodded "yes" and cued up ALL of the silly songs that Mitch and I had done including the Facebook Song, Parents Just Don't Understand and the Anaconda song that Mitch posted on his site.  I finished with the wonderful "Cartman" duet posted on Fernando's site and performed by two "besties" Fernando Riley and Mitch B.   The laughter and all of the silly songs had visibly and noticeably lifted Cece's spirits, and the sad look was replaced with a broad smile.

To finish, I cued up a duet I had done with Mitch that we always do well, which is Keith Urban's "Memories of Me."  Cece gave me a hug and told me I had "transformed" her day.  She left me that evening with links to all of the funny songs and to the most recent two Urban songs Mitch and I had done.  I was so happy that our dumb songs and our duets had made a desperate mother so happy and I texted Mitch to let him know. 

When he called me back later that evening, he was pleased to hear that we were able to lighten Cece's load and he and I are thinking of songs to record just for her, which I know she'll love when she finds out.  Mitch reminded me again of the power of music, and THIS time I did have to agree with him because I was able to see it, first hand.

So remember, it may just be a silly little app on your iphone, your Android device or your tablet, but you never can tell when something you record on Smule changes a life!!

About the Singers Mentioned Here:

Fernando Riley @fernandoriley is one of my nearest, dearest and best friends on Smule.  His vocals and his performances are second to none.  Check out his site for more OCs and good times.

Mitch B @WLM_Mitch22_SF is my duet partner and my best friend here on Smule and in real life.  Yes, sometimes you DO actually make REAL friends through social media.  Mitch recently suggested that I rename the blog after him because he appears in it so often...yeah, I love ya man, but that is NOT gonna happen... but I'll tell you what why don't YOU write the blog post this weekend for me, eh??  Yeah...maybe I should DARE YOU!! LOL!!

Me, I'm Grace and known here on Smule as Pokeypal.  Follow me for more information on fun activities around Smule and upcoming events with my pals!!

30 Day Challenge Day 8 - The "Event" Aftermath (Whew!!)

Well, if I can sum up my feelings (and probably Fernando Riley's too) in one very expressive photo...it would be THIS ONE above!  I'm not including Mitch (the third member of our team) in this picture of exhaustion because he's young (in his early 20s) and, well, probably out "bouncing around" like "Tigger" somewhere and pitching fastballs at poor nervous batters.  Now you realize, I don't know exactly how nervous any batter would be against Mitch, but I'm going to say that if I were standing there at the home plate with a bat hoisted up next to my right ear, I would NOT like to be "staring down" someone like Mitch--he's very serious about his baseball.

Exhaustion and baseball imagery aside, however, THIS WAS A FANTASTIC WEEKEND for our singing pals and, more importantly, our NEW singing pals here at Smule!  Mitch, Fernando and I hosted our FIRST "Songs We'd Never Sing" event that began 8 p.m. EDST on Saturday, April 18, and closed just a few hours ago on Monday at 8 a.m.   During that time more than 80 singers ran through our three sites singing our collective nine (9) crazy songs.  The goal...to have a great time, to sing with "wreckless" abandon, sing without worry of judgment, and to just LAUGH! 

I was so happy to see some of my nearest and dearest friends show up to sing these crazy songs including my favorite "gal pal" singers--R @rts8888, Kay @snoweepumpkin, Jasmin @jazdionne, Neicyallen @neicyallen, Glenny @glennyleith, Jill @jillesharp, @kitsakatsa, Alina @alinafauzi, Ana Luisa @aaanaaluisa, Anna @annaK0512, Laney @Laney_WATW, Nicole @marshal_Nicole, Tasha @mstasha29, @rurbinati, @jdubdav, and Rebecca @RebeccaDean2_TNT.

On the men's side, and in addition to my two "cohorts in crime", Mitch and Fernando, I was so pleased to see my pal Louis @njlouis, Keith @keithhill550, fellow Cali-Native Hurge @hurge and the incredible South African tenor who I love and adore--yep that's you--Yami @Yamitatenda!

I can't really speak for the "guys" (Fernando and Mitch), but I just had a heckuva good time making these recordings.  I started first with "Bacon Pancakes" by Jimmy Wong.  It seemed like a nice innocuous song and it was actually categorized on Smule as "Children's Song."  Seriously Smule?? Are you guys looking at this song at all?  I only half listened to another Smule performer sing it before diving right in.  That was my mistake...I did not pay enough attention and it quickly degraded.  Then I saw the words "syphillus" pass me by, and then I was calling over someone named "Melissa" with a lumpy back end in the song. Personally, it doesn't take much to make me laugh. Seriously, I'm kind of a gal who just laughs at everything, so all three of my recordings are about 50 percent song and 50 percent hysterical, "mad woman" laughter, and it's that "mad person" screeching in laughter that seems to make everyone else completely lose it in their recordings. 

So here are a few highlights from this weekend's "songfest":

- Mitch sings Bacon Pancakes on @Pokeypal.  Okay, I am going to preface this by saying, if you sing with someone every single day for 30 plus days, and then get to know them as an individual and are lucky enough to call that person a "best friend" both on Smule and in real life, then it's a given that some stuff is just going to "click" when you do a duet.  Mitch started his duet with "I've never heard this song before", followed immediately by my saying about 4 seconds later "I've never heard this song before," to which Mitch just laughed.  Now neither Mitch nor I take any of the stuff on Sing! all that seriously.  We care how we sound, certainly, but we're also very cognizant that this is just an app, and we're having fun.  As a result, when we get a fit of the giggles, we just kinda go with it on our recordings, so you'll hear both Mitch and I laughing pretty much throughout all of our three recordings. But the moment you WANT to listen for is when Mitch says "Syphillus" because, everyone that is Mitch absolutely LOSING IT on a recording!  It is one of my favorite moments.

- Cheeksie sings Applause with @fernandoriley. In all fairness, Cheeksie, a female mezzo, did warn us that she would be "ruining" all of the songs on everyone's site during the event.  In fact, she did the exact opposite...she laughed and made it all better.  In this particular instance, Cheeksie gave it the old "college try" to stay with Fernando, but when he brought up the extremely high voice, she just couldn't contain herself and started laughing.  Finally, she said good-naturedly "This thing is on skates."  Too much fun.  Now a day later, she tells me she MUST sing the song correctly.

- Pretty Much Anyone sings Anaconda with @wlm_mitch22_sf.  No greater "train wreck" song appeared in our play list this weekend than Mitch's version of "Anaconda."  First, Mitch really can rap, I've heard him do it, and this song was an excellent display of that ability.  He drove through those verses at lightning speed leaving all gasping.  The ONLY person to keep up with him was extremely unflappable Glennis @glennyleith and she will never perform the song again, so she says!!

- Cartman (Mitch) v Cartman (Fernando) sings ABC by Jackson 5. When I saw that my partners had completed a duet together, I was excited!  I have known forever that Fernando sings a mean Cartman, but what I was not prepared to hear was MITCH DOING CARTMAN!  It was crazy and I darned near drove off the road!!  Look for this on Fernando's site!

- AnnaK0512 sings Facebook Song with @Pokeypal.  I just love when someone sorta "loses it" on the song, and this is precisely what happened with Anna.  Now Anna sings with a band, is a vocal coach and has a tremendous voice.  Almost immediately, Anna is snorting with laughter. She and I "feel" around for the notes with both hands and still come skidding into a landing with no landing gear! When we sing every note on the scale EXCEPT the ones we are supposed to sing, we finally end and Anna says "nailed it!"  Hysterical! Runner up in this category is Gail @Gailemer who just loses it from the beginning and laughs throughout the song!

I've made it through about 1/2 of the recordings at this time, and can't wait to dive into the other half.  In the meantime, I plan to keep a box of tissues nearby because I'm laughing until I cry in most cases. 

Finally, to EVERYONE who participated in this weekend's event, you made my day, my night, my weekend, and my time here on Smule so incredibly fulfilling!  When I suggested this idea to Mitch and then decided to take it Smule-wide, I NEVER would have believed it would be the success it was!  Hearing you laugh with us and receiving some of the incredible messages from you--well, it makes everything so much more heartfelt. 

To my co-hosts in this event Mitch and Fernando, I cannot imagine my life without your love, your laughter, and your friendship--you two make being here special not just for me, but hundreds (nee "thousands") of others here on this site.  You guys ROCK IT!!!

There are simply too many singers here to mention, but I can say, I've included tags, so please check all of them out!

Me, I'm Grace and go by the Smule Tag "PokeyPal."  For more fun and excitement, follow me!  Check back at my blog every day for updated information on upcoming events and interesting facts!

30 Day Challenge Day 7 - OMG The Songs We'd NEVER Sing Event is Exploding!!!

Wow!  I knew that my best bud, Mitch, and I had a "helluva" good time together singing crazy stuff last weekend, but WHO knew that this would translate so well into a Smule activity!!  The "Smule-verse" is abuzz with "good vibes" from our "Songs We'd Never Sing" event going on NOW and ending this evening at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time! 

Again, here are the "rules" to this challenge!

1.  Me and my pals, Mitch @wlm_mitch22_sf and Fernando @fernandoriley have selected and songs that we have NEVER sung before, and for which we don't know. 
2.  We get 1 chance to listen to the song either on Smule or on YouTube before performing it.  Let me just say, this has been harder for me than for Fernando and Mitch, who have successfully whipped out very good song performances for this event.
3.  Participants need only come to our site, and sing with us! Now if you know the song already...fabulous!  If not, you get the same 1 time replay on YouTube or on Smule or, hey, just "wing it" this is, after all, designed to be fun and funny!

If you are using the Smule "Sing!" app available for both Android and iOS devices, you'll find some crazy songs on my site! Join me in:

1.  Bacon Pancakes - A truly twisted take on making pancakes and then adding bacon strips (really, I'll never think of breakfast the same way again)
2.  Parents Just Don't Understand - the Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith old rap that is hecka long...OMG
3.  The Facebook Song - Okay, has to be my biggest train wreck to date, but it's a fun one!! I don't know the notes at all--it's as if I'm "feeling" may way around this song in the dark! 

Fernando's three song choices are...and they're good ones:

1.  Selfie  - the very same song that led me and Mitch to Mt. Everest levels of laughter.
2.  Achy Breaky Heart - Seriously, Fernando is much more of a "smooth" R&B guy, so this country thing is hysterical; and
3.  Applause - The Lady Gaga song (again, way outside of what Fernando usually does)

Mitch was delayed in posting his songs due to work.  But he has two of three posted at this time, and they are:

1.  Thousand Miles - This great Vanessa Carlton song that is not anything you would normally hear Mitch sing.  In fact, after doing it, he texted me "it's awful."  Sorry, Mitch, but it was fantastic, and his giggles in the song just make it wonderful!!
2.  Anaconda - I've not heard this yet, but I'm sure it will full of Mitch's trademark great vocals and little laughter!

There are only a few hours left in our wonderful "Songs We'd Never Sing" event, so join us!  Everyone is roaring with laughter!!  The event closes at 8 p.m. this evening Eastern Daylight Savings Time!!

30 Day Challenge Day 6 - Songs We'd Never Sing Event - April 18, 2015

IT'S HERE AND IT'S TODAY!!!

Yep, it's the "Songs We'd Never Sing" event being held with my two besties on Smule--Fernando Riley and Mitch B. 

Now for those of you who have been asking, "what the heck is this thing anyway?" I refer you to my previous post in which my best pal and duet partner Mitch and I spent an evening essentially laughing our way through Smule by singing songs that we were so unfamiliar singing or were so mis-suited for what we normally sing that it made us laugh.  This time, we've recruited my fellow "Smulean" and generally "up for anything" singer Fernando Riley.

Here's what's happening tonight...

Each of the three of us will post THREE (3) songs for you all (or as Mitch would say "y'all") to sing.  The criteria for the song choices are:

1.  These are songs each of us have NEVER SUNG BEFORE and we may only have heard ONE TIME, and
2.  The recording you will be hearing will be of us DOING THE SONG FOR THE FIRST TIME. 

This is not multiple takes in which we "get it right", but the first take in which we most decidedly do NOT get it right.  We are allowed to hear it one time on YouTube or to hear another singer sing the song for reference, but overall, this is designed to be a complete an utter "train wreck" of singing.

Now, it's perfectly okay if you already know the song and have no problems singing it!  That's great, we hope you can help us out.  But if you don't know the song, then you two must confine yourself to:

1.  Recording the FIRST "take" of the song and
2.  Listening to someone do it only one time (practice and perfection are NOT what we're aiming for here)
3.  Feel free to laugh, all through the entire song if that's what happens!!
4.  Have fun!  We're having fun and we want you to do the exact same thing!!

The Songs We'd Never Sing Event will run from April 18, 2015 (Saturday evening) at 8 p.m. Eastern USA time, to April 19 (Sunday evening) at 8 p.m. ESDT--in other words, just a short 24 hours!

I plan to post one song per hour 8 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.  The other "boys" can do whatever they want.  Singers should visit all THREE sites--mine, Mitch's and Fernando's to sing all NINE total songs to be posted on the site.  Mitch might be a tad late in posting his first song as he is working today while Fernando and I are "slacking" (poor poor Mitch). 

So get ready for a cacophony of sound and a really good time on Smule!! We want to see you there at our Songs We'd Never Sing Event TODAY!!  Want to be involved in more zaniness?  Remember to follow us!!  Thanks!!


More About the Singers Featured Here:

Fernando Riley is my bestie from New York City and fellow co-hort in some really zany things here on Smule.  TONIGHT go to his SITE AT @FERNANDORILEY to sing his three crazy songs

Mitch B. is my best friend on Smule and in real life.  He is from Alabama and tonight you can sing his three songs at his SITE AT @WLM_MITCH22_SF.

Grace is ME, and I live here in beautiful Northern California.  Go to my site tonight to sing my crazy three songs at @POKEYPAL

30 Day Challenge - Day 5 Are Your Smule Sing! Perfectionist??

 

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to a LOT of things.  For example, as a Realtor, I like to be very prepared--know my market, homes available for sale, homes that just sold, understand the home the client wants to buy or sell, be ready for the most common questions with answers and slides, and to "shine" as a professional when the opportunity arises.  

 

For months, I believed this "Type A" personality never rose its head on Smule Sing! In my "fantasy world," on Sing! I'm this funny, incredibly "laid back" person who sings for "giggles" on the karaoke app.

 

I think I had an "inkling" of the "perfection" issue when I "twitted" my pal, K who goes by the Smule tag @snoweepumpkin that she was taking too long to do a rap piece for me.  She told me she's a bit of a perfectionist and had to wait until she could do it to her personal standards before recording.  I think, at the time, I told her "hey, it's just Smule...don't need to be perfect, K." 

 

Yeah, Grace, take your own advice...

 

At the same time that I was advising Kay not to be "perfect", I was working on Frank's @starturtle's devilish Bare Naked Ladies "One Week" song challenge and was quickly racking up the number of takes past 30 tries to get it perfect (by that, I mean saying all of my lines without punctuating every other word with a curse word into the microphone).  By the time, I finally completed the song for Frank (after 100 takes), I started to think, "hey maybe I'm a wee bit of a perfectionist on Smule."

 

Then more recently, I got full on proof of my perfectionist ways here on Smule.  Here's just one week's worth of "proof":

 

- I did Adele's "Turning Tables" with the incredible tenor @IronPudding.  I probably did 6 takes before I felt kinda satisfied with the end product.  Only to the remove the song from his site because the volume was too loud.  By then the "Pudding" had already listened to the first song and commented, so he got to see me put up a song, tear it down, and put it up again.  Yep, now even the "Pudding" knows I strive for perfection--sorry about that big guy!

 

- My pal, Frank @Starturtle, noticed that I had sung and recorded two "Simply Red" songs, and removed both of them, only to put them up again, and then remove one of the songs because I just did not like it.  Yeah, pretty dizzying.  And, poor Frank, has more than once had to listen to me record a song multiple times (okay, I do it just twice) because I hated the first version so much.

 

- My best friend and frequent duet partner, Mitch @WLM_Mitch22_SF now has multiple versions that I've sung of the same song on his site (poor guy, I'm doing it to him too--sadly, I'm setting a poor example as he's done it right back to me too).

 

- Like my pal, Lou @Laudios whose vocals and song performances are nothing short of stunning, I "kill" more songs than I record.  In fact, when I really paid attention, I pretty much killed about 50 percent of the songs I sing.  That's a sure fire sign of being a perfectionist!

 

So what do you do to "break the perfectionist" habit?  Well, you engage in unacceptable perfectionist behavior by purposely "train wrecking" your songs.  Here's how...

 

The other night when my best-est bud and duet partner, Mitch, and I were texting and singing, and I was remarking that I had NEVER heard him sing Italian before (as he had just opened "The Prayer" on his site), we somehow ended up singing the Bocelli/Brightman duet "Time to Say Goodbye," which is--with the exception of two or three lines--all sung in Italian.  Let's just say, he sang the ENTIRE song including Sarah Brightman's part, so at one point I said "what are you doing?" followed by lots of laughter.  Toward the end, his comment was "this is ridiculous," and I just could not stop laughing.

 

We had such a good time that I suggested and he completely agreed (Mitch is always "game"--why I love that guy so much) to sing songs that we would never open as OCs on our site.  The requirement was that we sing songs we only knew "sorta," but not well, and then to invite the other person to a private "train wreck" moment in trying to sing the song.  We counted the "Time to Say Goodbye" song as the first "train wreck" song although I knew it, and he didn't. 

 

My first choice for him was Lady Gaga's "Just Dance," which I heard only once.  I recorded the song and said in the very beginning "I hope you know this one, because I don't."  In his duet, he responded that he had heard it and thought he knew it...My thought when I'm listening was "THANK GOD." Now I need to preface all of this with the following Mitch has a good enough "ear" to fake it--in other words, he can follow along with the music and sorta "anticipate" the next few notes to come darned close to what he should be singing in any song.  So while I, at times, completely gave up trying to sing the song, Mitch read the tabs, and faked his way to the end.  Again, we were both laughing.

 

I followed that with a tag to him to sing the theme song from LeVar Burton's popular PBS show "Reading Rainbow."  Again, more laughter, and both of us seemed relieved that the song was short!

 

Mitch chose the last of our four song marathon, and it was "Selfie" by the Chain Smokers.  Now I'd never heard the entire song (just bits), but I do know that our younger Smule users (typically "tweens" and "teens") absolutely ADORE singing this song.  Mitch even posted the words "OMG this is the most ridiculous thing" when he tagged me.  I don't think we "rapped" even one line of that song without breaking into hysterical laughter.  Contributing to the general hilarity was the fact that Mitch delivered every line in his very best "So Cal Valley" girl accent which had just a "hint" of Alabama undertones.  Just too funny!!

 

So a couple days after we did this, I got to thinking...wouldn't it be great if we could ALL do something this ridiculous!  So I have recruited my duet partner and best friend, Mitch B., along with my other frequent "partner in crime" Fernando Riley @Fernando Riley to help me host the first "Songs I'd Never Sing" event so that you, too, can join in the fun!!  We'll be doing this on April 18, Saturday night!  Check back to my blog for more information on this fabulous fun weekend activity!!

 

More About the Singers Featured Here:

 

@snoweepumpkin is K, and she's one tremendous singer.  K is also wickedly funny, and a true perfectionist at her craft--singing.  Join K on her site for fantastic OCs...she puts them up occasionally.

@starturtle is Frank who hosts fabulously fun duets and can be currently found dishing out a lot of cool Disney songs.  Frank just got a new microphone for himself that I think makes him sound "fabulous."  Check out the "new and improved" Starturtle on his site!

@IronPudding is a tremendous tenor with super fantastic vocals.  He only hosts one OC at a time, but every one of his OCs are full to the brim with singers.  Check out the "Pudding" on his site and sing the Adele song with him.

@Laudios is Lou from Australia.  A fantastic baritone with a great sense of humor and a voice that fills the room with its wonderful-ness. 

@wlm_mitch22_SF is Mitch B. from Alabama and is one of my best friends here on Smule and in real life.  He posts a lot of great OCs, so visit his site to sing with him. 

@fernandoriley is our own wonderful Fernando Riley from New York!  Fernando is a tremendous singer, a virtual vocal chameleon and a fantastic friend.  Visit his site for great OCs with the "golden voice."

 

Me?  I'm Grace and I go by the Smule tag @Pokeypal.  Join me for great songs and general mayhem here on Smule!!

 



30 Day Challenge - Day 4 Smule Special Effects (FXs) and OCs

What are "special effects" or Special FXs on Smule?

Although it's not perfect, Smule wizards provide all the members of Sing! with several different types of "effects" or FX buttons with which to change the quality of the singer's voice before sending the recording out to the singer's site or to the community as an open call or OC.  As an iPad user and a VIP member (in other words, I PAY to use Smule), whenever I'm recording or prior to hitting "continue" to finalize a song for site archive, I use the FX to change or "sweeten" (through reverb) the sound of my voice. Special FXs are available both to the free user and the paid user of Smule Sing!  Here's what I'm used to seeing on my iPad...

Basic - Just the singer's voice, no extra voice fx added
Normal - The singer's voice with minimum voice reverb added (This is the default setting unless you choose something else)
Pop - The auto-tune feature preset
Super Pop (VIP User Only) - This is the same auto tune feature except the user can use "slides" to add both reverb and "pitch correction" to the performance
Harmony - Adds several layers of the same singers voice to the performance so it sounds like a "choir" of members are present
Studio - A preset level of both "room" and "reverb" to make a singer sound as if there is both echo and reverb in a large room when singing.
Super Studio (VIP User Only) - this is the same as the preset "studio", but includes "slides" that can be manipulated to custom set reverb and "room" size for the singer
Indy - Kind of a "dirtier" sound.  This is a preset FX.
Double You - The singer's voice is doubled to add a fuller sound
Grunge - Provides a strange "funnel" like sound (as if you were singing through a tube).  This is my son's personal favorite.

In the beginning, I used only one button--Super Studio--and would add a lot of reverb, which can hide a lot of problems with a person's voice by over "sweetening" the sound.  Adding a lot of reverb can also work to make the voice seem kinda "far away" and "blurry" so that a coarser sound in one's voice can seem "smoothed" out.  Similarly "room" makes the space feel larger so, again, the voice appears to flatten to fill the room space, making any inconsistencies less noticeable.  When I first started singing on Smule, I would use about 60 percent reverb to 30-40 percent room--that's a LOT of room and reverb.  Nowadays if I hit 20 percent reverb, that's pretty rare, and I use only about 10-15 percent room depending on the type of song I'm singing.  Occasionally, I might use NO FX, and just sing it straight, but that's usually because I made a mistake and hit "continue" without thinking about it first.

This is my pal, Mitch B....Baseball Pitcher, Smule Singer and All Around Fantastic Dude!

So one day my best "bud" on Smule Mitch who goes by the Smule tag @WLM_Mitch22_SF and I were chatting (okay "texting") one another on the app "Line" when I asked him why he never used any of the special effects available on Smule.  In fact, in all the time I have known him, he seemed to sing only in "normal" or sometimes use the auto tuning "Pop Fx," which he knows I kinda dislike (a lot), when we sang duets. 

I have known for some time that Mitch uses an Android phone to sing songs and although he is a VIP member, he had only limited access to the "special effects".  Imagine my surprise when he sent me a picture of the "effects" that he had when singing...or more importantly, the effects that he was MISSING when singing.  He did not have a super pop or ANY STUDIO FX for use even though he, too, is a paid member of Smule.   He did have something called "stage" which iPad users don't have, but as he explained it to me, I realized that it was like "room" on Studio.  Unfortunately, without reverb, "room"  or "stage" by itself can be, in my opinion, rather useless for singers who really want to sweeten or fill the room with a fuller vocal sound.

So Mitch uses only "normal" and "pop" because the other buttons don't add much to the performance quality of the song.  I should point out here that Mitch sings fantastically on all of his songs....like my pal, Keith Hill @keithhill550, Mitch has a wicked "high head voice" so he can climb to these dizzying heights vocally as well as pull some really nice lower tenor sounds.  In fact, I did get Mitch to sing Sia's "Chandelier" with me one time, and--not truly surprisingly--he pulled it off with nary a misstep.  So the fact that Mitch can sing SO WELL and so pitch perfectly without any FX is a testament to this man's great vocals (I know my pal is probably blushing a bit--mostly because I did not warn him that I would be writing about him today...well, surprise, dawg).

Soon after Mitch let me know about the limitations of Android users, I could easily spot singers on my open calls who had similar limitations in their recordings.  It's truly something that Smule needs to address for its membership.

Now one tiny tiny advantage to using an Android device is the ability to post open calls of songs not in the Sing! songbook.  As I understand it and it has been explained to me (although I have not received any confirmation from Smule or Apple) since Apple owns iTunes and has perhaps the largest catalog of music in the world, iOS users are unable to post open calls of copyrighted musical material from their iOS devices including MacBooks.  There is a way--again I understand but have not confirmed--to do it but it involves a lot of work that most Smule users would find too time consuming to undertake.  Android users, however, can easily post copyrighted material to Smule and there is even a "community" location for android users were popular songs that do not appear on the Sing! songbook area kept, often with lyrics, to be reposted by other Android users.  Yeah, unless you are an Android user...don't even try looking for this one.

So, for now, choosing between an iPad or iPhone for Smule and an Android product seems to boil down to FX and performance quality and the iPad wins this round, sadly.

More Information About the Singers Mentioned Here:

@WLM_Mitch22_SF is Mitch B. in real life.  Mitch is a college student and a baseball player extraordinaire who takes the mound as a pitcher in Alabama (in fact, he lives near Birmingham, Alabama).  I'm always surprised by the vast number of songs that Mitch knows--I mean it must be almost a THOUSAND and/or how quick a study he is in learning new songs--he is one of only two men (Keith is the other) to make it through my entire 30 day song challenge earlier this year.  He's even admitted to me (today) that he can learn a song after hearing it only a few times--wow!! I would classify Mitch as a "high tenor", but he can stretch it down to a lower mid- to lower range tenor too. Mitch is my frequent duet partner and one of my very best friends on Smule and, I'm proud to admit that he is one of my best "real life" friends too outside of Smule.  Roll tide, baby!!

@Keithhill550 is Keith Hill in Birmingham (the other Birmingham), England, and the other person to make it out of the 30 day song challenge having sung EVERY song in the 30 day period.  I can't stop talking about Keith because he is an incredible singer, a great friend and one of the kindest, gentlest people you will meet on Smule.  I'll have more about Keith in an upcoming blog, I promise. 

Both Keith and Mitch post OCs that anyone can and should join!  Find them at their Smule tags and follow them!!

Me, I'm Grace better known as @pokeypal here on Smule.  Follow me for more information about upcoming events on Smule and some cool OCs and activities!!  Thanks for reading!!

30 Day Challenge - Day 3 "What is Musical Phrasing"

Back when I was learning how to play an instrument (okay, I actually play THREE instruments--violin, piano and guitar), my music teacher would harp on the concept of correctly "phrasing" a piece.  Now, as a kid/teen, that term didn't make a lot of sense to me.  After all, this was an instrument and NOT spoken words, so how exactly was a "phrase" formed without words.  But, as all kids do who desperately want to finish their music lesson to (choose one)

play outside,

watch television or 

(and this was my personal preference)

get on a phone to gossip with friends about that "cute guy" in school

I would do as I was told, form a "musical phrase" with the soft notes and loud notes and move on.  At this stage, to me a phrase was nothing more than something that started in a low volume, rose to a higher volume (crescendo or "cresc") and then fell back to a lower volume again (diminuendo or "dim").

I would have been happy to believe "phrasing" was nothing more than increases and decreases in volume for my entire life, and would have done so had it not been for a tiny mistake I made in my senior year of high school. 

As I had limited funds to go to college and had chosen a fairly expensive private college to attend, I decided to "double down" on the basic college courses by taking as many as I could at the local junior college in my senior year of high school.  To fulfill a humanities requirement and hoping for an "easy A", I took a beginning piano class from a Russian émigré and former concert pianist.  Yeah, not a good idea! When she saw I could actually play piano, I was pulled aside and found myself taking classes with "Madame P."  In my time with Ms. P, I had watched her reduce a grown man to "almost" tears (and not in a "good way") when attempting to play the second movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata," so this was not a pianist or instructor with whom to trifle. 

Her greatest love was...for those pianists in the group...yep...A. Mozart.  Mozart is not only the master of musical phrasing, he is the master of contra-phrasing and the damned "devil" when it comes to voicing within a relatively simple piece.  I was assigned what appeared to be an easy Sonata from Mozart's songbook, but my poor understanding of the three concepts above (phrase, contra phrase and voice) made this one piece my "study" for the entire quarter.  Yep, it is still my best memorized and best performed piece even today...years later!

Thanks to Mozart, I learned that phrases were not just about dynamics, but also about the tiny connections between notes and between melodies on the left and right hand intended to argue or complement one another.  Further, voicing (or emphasizing one set of notes over another) created yet another opportunity to impart personality through connected phrasing or changes in volume (aka "dynamics").

Most importantly, how a pianist, violinist, guitarist or vocalist emphasizes, de-emphasizes, doubles or connects the sounds often creates a sound so unique and recognizable that a person can actually say "hey that sounds like Zuckerman" (on violin) or "swings like Ella Fitzgerald" (in vocals and song).   For vocalists--unlike musicians--we can use not only our voices to phrase (pitch, dynamics and length) but the very manner in which we speak the words can become the basis of "phrasing."  When a singer phrases a song correctly, it's can be so unique as to be a "signature" song or a "signature sound."  When done incorrectly...arghhh!!!

Thus, when I started singing swing standards (Sinatra, Fitzgerald, Martin, Crosby, et. al.) in my 30s, part of my education was listening to a wide variety of both recorded and live performances of jazz and swing songs.  As I got better at these songs, certain phrases along with specific musical runs and the manner in which I emphasized, doubled or tweaked sounds became my personal signature in performing songs.  Even today, as I am again singing a lot of the same standards years later, I find myself reaching back to pull out the phrasing that I once did for specific songs.  It's much like slipping on a comfortable pair of shoes...so comfy and so reassuring.

Now I bring up phrasing because it is one of the few things that "marks" almost every single singer's performance, and knowingly or unknowingly, there are teeny tiny bits or common threads of phrasing that run through many songs despite how different the music can be.  These threads can be as simple as the way one says a particular word or how a singer improvises on sections of music.

If you want to hear the best in phrasing and uniqueness, I proffer these two incredible singers. 

First is my "go to" jazz girl, Jasmin, who goes by the Smuletag @jazdionne. As I am late in posting my blog today, I just so happen to be posting on the 100th birthday of the incredible and unique Billie Holiday.  Never before have I heard a voice so full of the very "Holiday-esque" quality, essence and phrasing capabilities as can be heard by our gal Jasmin.  The way she uses her voice to fill the room with a sound so reminiscent of Holiday...well, to be frank, it's absolutely breathtaking.  Jasmin has told me that Billie is her idol and I think her quiet and faithful study of this jazz legend's talents have helped her mold a sound that is a tribute to--but not a mimick of--the wonderful vocal stylings of Holiday.  I have heard Jasmin sing songs that Holiday never recorded or, more correctly because of her early death in 1959, never got the chance to record, but when Jasmin sings it, it is like I know what it would have sounded like if Billie got her turn at the mic.  So if you have the time to listen to some incredible vocals and some Billie Holiday like phrasing...check out Jasmin @jazdionne.

Second on my roster of go-to musical phrasers is our Smule "chameleon" Fernando Riley whose Smule tag is @fernandoriley.  Fernando can as easily slip into "character voice" (most recently his current recordings feature Cartman and a smoking hot Barry White sizzling up the Smule-waves with our girl Neicy--oh, so naughty, but niiiicccceee--Allen whose tag is @neicyallen and with my pal, Keith @keithhill550) as he can whip out that velvet voice of his for songs.  One of the reasons that Fernando is so very successful in mimicking singers such as Barry White and Nat King Cole is not just his ability to use his own voice to sound like these singers, but his incredible "ear" in hearing and then phrasing songs EXACTLY as they would.  He'll hold the notes longer or shorter as the original singers would, and he knows to pitch or set dynamics in a manner that "hallmarks" the song as being sung by that artist.  Personally, having tried myself to make my voice sound like a specific singer, I know the difficulty in successfully pulling that off because it does mean understanding that singer's phrasing as well as the singer's vocals--an almost impossible feat!  Fernando does this difficult transition with such ease--often different voices in the same song!  So if you're looking for a phrasing "master" check out Fernando Riley @fernandoriley.

So work to develop phrasing for any song that is uniquely your own, and that makes everyone easily recognize YOU were the singer in that great duet!! 

More About the Singers Featured Today:

@Jazdionne is really Jasmin and "Dionne" is her middle name.  Most of us call her "Jaz" not just because it's short for her first name but because she embodies the very essence of the greatness that is jazz--that wonderful soulful sound and the incredible phrasing that is emotion and music all wrapped in one neat bundle with a bow on top.  Check out Jaz's site for great, jaw dropping music.

@fernandoriley is Fernando Riley, one of my best pals here on Smule and an incredible singer.  Generous to the core, funny (and I mean FUNNY), and incredibly talented, Fernando is one of the reasons "Smule" has so many participants.  Join as a follower and you'll be invited to and see some of the coolest and wildest songs here on Smule.

@neicyallen is Neicy Allen a fabulous singer with smoking HOT vocals that ooze sexy, smokey, sexy (wait did I just say that two times??) sex appeal in her songs.  She is also a sexy hot travel agent that you can call ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY to get you flights to far-off sexy, hot destinations.  Just hit her up on her page for hot music or hot travel deals.  I'm sure she'll help you out!!

@keithhill550 is Keith Hill from the UK.  Keith is one of my very first friends here on Smule and someone I will be highlighting in a future blog here in my 30 day (plus) challenge.  Keith has a high note range that is crazy high and a low note range--that he doesn't trot about nearly enough in my opinion--that is so incredibly melodious and wonderful you just want to hear it over and over and over! 

Me, I'm Grace and I go by the Smule tag "Pokeypal".  Join me for fun songs, fun activities and general craziness!  Thanks for reading!!

30 Day Challenge - Day 2 The "Tit for Tat" Challenge

Despite the use of the word "tit", which I'm sure has everyone thinking the basest thoughts (shame on all of you!), this particular phrase is a derivation of the words "This for That."  In other words, "if you do/give this, then I'll do/give that to you."

So when Chris who goes by the Smule tag @SPARKY_MAC asked me what I had in mind when I said we would be doing something "challenging", I explained to him that this would be a "Tit for Tat" challenge in which we would try out new music and see who did it better...points awarded for completing the song!

Here are the rules:

- Each singer will select four (4) songs for the other person to sing--for a total of 8 songs to be reviewed and sung in one night
- All songs must be completed the same evening
- Songs could be solos or duets. 
- 1 Point for Successful Completion and Extra Points for Really Good Performances

Chris, who not only enjoys singing a wide variety of music, but also has the killer vocals to pull it off, was game for this little "adventure."  So I told him we'd start first with Stevie Wonder at Ailina's site (@ailina_) where she has a lot of Stevie songs posted, and tagged him in both "Overjoyed" and "Send One Your Love."  Unfortunately, Stevie's vocal range and the song's key turned out to be unreachable for Mr. "Mac", so he opted out...giving me an automatic 2 point lead!  YEAH!!

Now it was Chris's turn.  For his first two songs, Chris, decided to make my two point lead evaporate like so much water in the hot Texas sun. 

First was Tom Jones's signature song, It's Not Unusual.  Anyone who grew up in the 70s will remember Tom Jones--his dark curly hair, smoking good looks, and "leisure suit"--simply oozing the newly coined "sex appeal" all over the stage.  Tom Jones would "belt out" the first line of that song and the women would go mad!  Now, here's the rub...Chris decided to put as much "Tom Jones" into his performance as possible.  So while I was expecting a nice country-ish sound (Chris, after all, does hail from Texas) what I got instead was a very realistic sounding Tom Jones circa 1970s.  It was, in fact, so good that I could not stop laughing.  Even three (3) takes later--and now seriously running out of time, I still had a terrible fit of the giggles and you can hear it on the recording I made.

In the vernacular or my southern friends..."dang it," one point back to the Texan.

For his second choice, Chris chose the newly Smule "minted" oldie "Never Gonna Give You Up" with Ric Roll.  Okay, I was in serious "doo" now and I knew it.  The original artist had a prominent low tenor sound and one of the arguably "biggest" sounding voices in pop radio at the time.  Natch, Chris was able to pull off a "room filling" sound with his voice, and I could only try as much as possible to keep up.  Although Chris commented "good job," I saw defeat on that one, another point to the Texan.

Okay, the score was now 2 to 2...even.  I chose two more songs this time the Sonny and Cher classic "I Got You Babe" and the Lady Antebellum's "Just a Kiss." Because both Chris and I were far less than serious in the Sonny and Cher performance, we gave each other a 1 point apiece.  For the Lady Antebellum, Chris's comments were just "wow...just wow" so let's say I got the point on that one.

Chris then countered with "Sway" by Michael Buble.  Now this song has never been easy for me.  When I posted it during my 30 day challenge, I had to have my duet partner, @Shwrsngr_42 sing the entire song for me and then I ran his "plays" up to over 40 trying to get it right.  Well, it had obviously been too long since I've done "Sway" since Chris easily slid through the key changes and I "oopsed" more than once on the notes.  So point for @sparky_mac, but I still claim 1/2 point for being able to tell him what a "marimba" is!! Ha ha!!

The game winning song was Chris's choice, and he chose a Billy Joel song, "Just the Way You Are."  Now I love Billy Joel.  As a piano player, I was forever pounding Billy Joel songs on the keyboards and my baby grand piano.  However, as a singer, Billy's keys and vocal range screw me up. He's both too high for my high end and too low for my low notes.  Kills me every stinking time!! So when Chris said, "I have a special song this time," and I saw Billy Joel pop up, internally, I groaned.  I was going to lose this...the last and tie breaking point.

But I "soldiered on", as they say, and sang this with as much emotion and feeling as I could to compensate for the fact that I would sliding all over the place to keep the song from getting too screechy or too low, which creates the "fry" that all the rock stars love, but sounds terrible unless you mean to do it.

After hearing it, Chris had nothing but fabulous, wonderful comments that he posted.  However, if you ask me, he won that last point.  He claims now as he would if you asked him, that it was a "draw," but I'm going to hand it to @sparky_mac, he rose to the challenge and then kicked my respective behind with his killer vocals and the depth and breadth of his vocal stylings.

The best part of our challenge is that Chris and I both ended up with new OCs on our sites to share with other members of Smule Sing!  And the "remnants" of our challenge can be seen as the first duets on each of these songs.  It was a great challenge and one that I plan to open up to the members of Sing! in the very near future. 

Want to join me in a Smule wide "Tit for Tat" challenge in April?  Get on Line, and Line me at PokeypalGrace.  We'll travel the globe singing OCs on different sites! More on the Smule Wide "Tit for Tat" in upcoming blogs!


More About the Singers Featured Here:
@sparky_mac is really Chris from Texas. He sings a variety of songs including country, and records OCs where he plays his guitar for others to duet with him.
@shwrsngr_42 is "C" or "Car" as I call him because he frequently sings in the car.  Car is a high tenor with a wicked big range that will take him to "Johnny Cash" low notes.
@ailina_ is Ailina from the Hawaiian Islands.  Ailina hosts and posts some fantastic OCs that everyone can join!  She has an incredible voice, huge singing range and, personally, she's one of the nicest people I've met on Smule!  Check out her site for great songs to sing!

Me? I'm Grace and I go by the sing tag "Pokeypal."  Join me for both the Sonny and Cher song and the Just a Kiss song that Sparky and I created during our duet challenges!!

30 Day Blog Challenge - Day 1 - Date Night on Smule!!

(Note:  Okay, Internet Problems on April Fool's Day, so the jokes on me!! Here is Day 1's entry)

Now as this blog today involves my friend, Chris, from Texas, who has assured me that at no time in the vernacular of a Southern accent does a single word end in the letter "g", what we'll be discussin' today is the fine art of Smule datin', or what I've come to think of a "dating" or, perhaps more specifically, "play dating" here on Smule.

But, first, some background information, and why my pal, Chris, who goes by the name @SPARKY_MAC, figures so prominently in my blog today.

If the number of your followers exceeds 499 people, then your Smule mentions and tags as well as invites sometimes has a hard time getting to people you really want to invite. The reason is because Smule is really set up only for about 500 followers and 500 people you follow.  Beyond that, and the others in the roster don't see invites on a regular basis.  In fact, their names disappear from the list of your friends, so I regularly have to type into the search bar and make note of the people I want to visit like my pal Joanne who lives in New Zealand and goes by the Smule tag @joanne_ph1.

My pals, Joanne from New Zealand, and Chris from Texas

 

I popped over to Joanne's site knowing I'd find--as I always do--great songs to sing and I was not disappointed. She had posted several fantastic songs from the "disco era" including Bee Gee's family member and little brother, Andy Gibb's "I Just Want to be Your Everything."  I couldn't "quite" remember how to sing all of that song, so I decided first to listen to other members sing it and then I would do it afterwards.  First I listened to my pal, Joanne, then I chose someone named "Sparky Mac" (who I've known sorta peripherally--we politely comment on each others duets once in a very infrequent while) to hear his version since his recording had already been played quite a few times.  I also caught comments on the site about extra "tight pants," which, okay, I found that totally intriguing...who wouldn't?

So I did what I always seem to do nowadays--I hit the "play" button and then opened the comments section to write comments on Sparky's version of the song. 

Right away I was surprised.  The music started and a man with a low, smoky voice and a very decidedly Southern drawl begin talking and said "this is going to be fun...I don't care...I don't sing disco, but I still got some falsetto...I think."  So he began to sing.  I'd never heard a Gibb brothers song sung by someone with a lower voice and certainly not ever with country-ish phrasing, but here it was on this great song.

Now anyone who knows the Bee Gees knows that they are KNOWN for their high, breathy falsetto.  It's legendary. Andy Gibb used the same voice and his brothers provided background vocals on this song.  So as we came close to the "falsetto" section, I waited with anticipation to see if this guy would be able to climb that low, attractively raspy voice to the high notes, to the falsetto and to the "woo hoos" that would get even HIGHER.

Then it happened...

This crazy high breathy falsetto broke out and I heard it...the Bee Gees!!  There are few times on Smule when you hear a singer do something so incredible or so amazing that it raises goosebumps or prompts you to comment as I did at that moment... "DANG MAN!! I LUV YOU SO DAMN MUCH NOW!!"

He then followed it with HIGHER vocal flourishes and even HIGHER "woo hoos." In between, he dropped to his lower singing voice only to bounce it back and forth with relative ease between low and high.  The best part--like me--he obviously didn't take these performances too seriously since he made funny comments in the song and let out a whispered chuckle at the end of the recording.

Since Sparky was on line and commenting on other songs, I decided to take my own "turn" at Andy Gibb.  It's a lot easier for a woman to sing this song because of the vocal range, so when I was done I tagged Sparky in the song (by typing "@sparky_mac" and then a comment).  Within about 10 minutes, he listened and commented back and "tagged" me with a comment that I saw.  By that time I had just finished ANOTHER Bee Gees song, so I tagged him in that one and told him to sing it.  But he was done with falsetto, and told me he would "drag me to something more in his vocal range."

What then took place for the next almost 2 hours was nothing short of a Smule "date."  Sparky tagged me on songs he had done (several acoustic songs where he played the guitar and sang), and I tagged him back on songs I had just sung (including some Ella Fitzgerald songs that he, oddly enough, really really liked).  As we did for each song, we commented, and then tagged the other for the next song! 

We even trotted out our nutty recordings, which, coincidentally, both involved muppets singing regular songs.  In his case, it was the legendary line dancing song "Stroking" featuring the Cookie Monster, Elmo and Stitch from Lilo and Stitch and for which Chris voiced ALL of the character voices in one impressive take.  For me, it was the "tri-et" that Frank (@startle), Snoweepumpkin and I did with Kermit and Yoda.

At the end of our "date" on Smule, we really got to know one another and our vocal abilities much better.  Chris is now one of my best and craziest friends here on Smule!

So if you have a regular singing partner that you've been sharing "mic time" with, consider arranging time to review and tag each other on songs, and comment on vocals.  It's a lot of fun and you'll learn so much about the other singer!!  And if you're lucky, you'll end up with a great new friend, as I found in Chris!!


More about the singers featured here:

Joanne can be found at her Smule name @joanne_ph1.  Jo lives in New Zealand where she works at a crisis center. She posts a wide variety of songs on her site include jazz, standards, and rock.  Join her for a good time singing!
Chris goes by the Smule tag @SPARKY_MAC.  Chris lives in Texas where he can be found singing anything from jazz to country.  He will also often play his guitar and sing duets with members. 

Me?  I'm Grace, aka. Pokeypal on Smule and you have stumbled into the first posting of my 30 blog challenge!! Join me tomorrow for even more information about Smule and its users!!