00:00
00:00
Newgrounds Background Image Theme

mcd410 just joined the crew!

We need you on the team, too.

Support Newgrounds and get tons of perks for just $2.99!

Create a Free Account and then..

Become a Supporter!

Mad Microphone Test

Share

Author Comments

{Disclaimer: I could not sing well to save my skin; especially not while trying to play the piano at the same time}


It seems that not only the world is mad, but I am too, for uploading this XD

But I figured, what better way to celebrate that I now have 200 fans than to embarrass myself in front of them all :D? (Chances are about 50% of them will leave after hearing this, but oh well).

I also figured that it might be good for me as an artist not to be afraid to put anything out there, no matter what and how bad it is.

I first got the idea to upload something like this when @krichotomy uploaded his cover of The Age of Agression: http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/607109. Only difference is, he actually knows how to sing, and well of that matter!


The second reason I did this was that I wanted to test out the microphone I received as a birthday gift!


As you may notice, there are two different versions here (if I was smart, I would've sung the second half of the piece in the second version, but eveidently I'm not. And well, I don't know more than the first half of the lyrics by heart).


What I'd like you to tell me is which of the versions sounds better? I mean that from an audio engineering standpoint.

In the first version, I'm super close to the microphone (which is why my voice sounds shaky; that, and I have weak lungs).

In the other one I'm further away, which also allowed me to sing a bit louder.


I'm leaning towards the second verion, but I'd still like to hear your input :p


(I also have a very minor lisp, especially when I sing in English (which is my third language). There's only one place you can hear it here, as I tried to sing in such a way that it wouldn't be evident, which is also why some of the words that should end with an "s" end a bit prematurely).


AND A HUGE THANKS TO ALL YOU 200 PEEPS FOR FANNING UP, YOU SILLY YOU :'D!!!

I never expected to gather that many cool people this quickly, if at all, ever.


Well then, I think that was that.

I will now retreat back in my dark shell, and probably never show myself to the world again...


P.S. If you think this is funny, you should've heard the "redneck" version which I did for fun XD

Log in / sign up to vote & review!

Notbad

The singing as you say needs some ironing out but the music part of it was very nice, I do feel that the singing can be better but as you say it was a test of sorts So for the most part this was kind of interesting the quality was better then expected really good work here You have a new fan here and will look for much more of your sound just like you presented here so nice work indeed, keep singing

~X~

I really like the use of reverb! The singing isn't bad :D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

It is bad though, haha xD

Wow, you're such a good singer. You know how to hit pitch really well, and I think with some practice, you could become a very good singer easily (things like rhythm, intonation, quavering, etc. are secondary to understanding how to reach pitch!)

I liked both sections, but I think the second half was slightly better because, being further away from the mic, you had some more freedom with your voice to do stuff like quavering (2:26, 2:52) and more adventurous stuff (2:07, 2:49). Also, the reverb towards the end of the second half sounded awesome. One thing I'd say about your piano is that, personally, I find it interesting when the melodies played by the piano differ from those sung, so you have even more melodies playing at once!

Hearing this, I want to hear you sing something in a language you're more familiar with! Hopefully, your cranky neighbors will move away soon so we can hear you sing more. Great work!

also 2:22 voice crack lel

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hahha, you came back to review this anyway XD

It's funny how most people have been complimenting my singing. It's probably just a smart illuminati way of encouraging me, but I guess it worked. In the future, I will upload more singing, I guess... But probably lazy singing like this, with not much practice nor great mixing :p

As for the pitch, I'm pretty good when it comes to the main melody. Just in case, I played it as well. But if I'm sining with others, I need to really focus in order to get tenor/bass right (mostly, because they're pretty boring to remember though).

Nice catches at all the points you mentioned! 2:22 was 100% intentional though XD

"I find it interesting when the melodies played by the piano differ from those sung"

=> This, I'm super bad at. I'd like to be able to play different rhythms and meodies while singing, but it's IMPOSSIBRUUU!!!

I might sing "Vem kan segla förutan vind" sometime. Davy Jones Theme is probably "stolen" from this. It's so similar, and in the same key that I find it hard to believe that it's 100& accidental :)

Thanks for the uplifting review!

Lovely piano-playing, as always! :D Don't worry - I'm not going to leave. Not even close. It's kind of funny how when most people sing in English, even if they're from the U.K., Australia, etc., I usually can't tell the difference between their voice and that of an American, yet I can sort of tell you're a European by your singing voice, which is cool. Anyway, I don't think the singing was nearly as bad as you made it out to be in the description. As a pianist, you naturally have a superb since of pitch accuracy. The main thing that made the vocals sound less-than-superb for me was that they wavered a lot, especially whenever you changed notes. Maybe some breathing exercises would help? Another thing is that you might've just been nervous when you recorded this, or you just didn't warm up. Still, I think your voice wouldn't waver as much if you were more confident in your singing ability. Did you practice at all? It helps to hear that you can sing it well before you record it. :) Anyway, I definitely admire your ability to play the piano and sing at the same time. I could not play the cello and sing at the same time...ever. XD I'd love to hear more songs with vocals from you, LSD! Keep it up! ^^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I chose this song because the piano playing is actually pretty easy, luckily. I just can't play something complicated while trying to sing :p

Yeah, in this song it's pretty easy to tell that I'm European. But I can sing just like your avarage American too, if I want to :p I wasn't aiming for any specific accent here, which is probably why it gets a bit messed up in such regards. The redneck version that I didn't upload though!

Well, you say I've got good pitch, but then you notice that I'm actually playing the melody with the piano as well, in order not to stray away XD
Partly, that's so that I can play the rhythm more easily, of course.
My pitch hearing is unusually bad for a pianist though, probably because I barely ever practice that :(

I DID waver a lot. Partly, it's because I had the microphone pretty close both times, so I couldn't sing too loudly, or it'd clip. But I needed to have the microphono on a high volume-receiving (whatever) level, so that it'd catch the piano too :/

And I definitely would need breathing excersises too! I have a weird form of asthma, which may or may not impact, but either way, I've got pretty weak lungs :p
I didn't really warm up either though, and this is definitely not the song that I know best. The problem is, I'm horrible when it comes to remembering lyrics D:
So I only know like 10 songs or so by heart, while I know snippets of thousands XD

I wish I could play much more complicated things on the piano while singing. And you shouldn't worry! I can't play the Cello at all ;)
I aslo wish that I'd find a time and place to practice singing... By myself and online tutorials, like I learn most things. But we have paper thin walls here :/

You'll probably have to wait a while before hearing more songs with vocals though!

And wow, you're really wuick at this! You almost caught up already, somehow 0.o
Only three tracks more to go.

Thank you, a lot. Reading your reviews fills me with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside :3

I like how much expression you put in the singing. That really does make this track pleasant to listen to.

I prefer the first version.

I agree - Singing while playing piano is hard. o_o

Thanks for the mention! ^^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Why hello, and thank you :)
Interesting; most people ahve preferred the second version!

No problem! But it annoys me very much that the link html was removed from descriptions; now I have to go through like 50 of them and do corrections -_-

Credits & Info


Listens
1,608
Faves:
4
Votes
8
Score
4.05 / 5.00

Uploaded
Apr 11, 2015
7:21 PM EDT
File Info
Song
3 MB
3 min 18 sec

Licensing Terms

Please contact me if you would like to use this in a project. We can discuss the details.