Relativity

Let's talk about the speed of light.

how fast it that?

speed of light =

299,792,458 m / s

What about the speed of sound?

speed of sound at sea level =

340.29 m / s

And how fast does electricity travel?

Well, theoretically, electricity travels at the speed of light…  BUT! Physics insists that the wire through which it travels offers resistance, however slight…

You see, I’m having this issue in the studio…

Fearless Leader thinks I’m behind the beat.  I think I’m on top of the beat.  He thinks I need to be ahead of the beat…

So, we dialed in some new equipment.  Early on, Fearless leader set it up so that the final output feeds back into my headset and I could hear exactly what is recorded.  Yes, I could hear an echo, but even when the echo effect was removed, I heard a delay.  I failed to explain this clearly.

Later, I sang along with a pre-recorded song so he could dial the equipment in further and play with microphones.  With the final output coming back to my ear, I could adjust for the delay and sing ahead of the music so that my vocals ended up in the right spot rather than late.  I was coming in as much as 2 words early in some spots to compensate for the delay.  I also failed to explain this clearly.

This is what I *think* is happening…

1 - The music tracks are already recorded, so they are instantaneous.

2 – The music must travel from the computer to my headphones at “the speed of electricity” where it converts to sound than then travels from headphones to my ear at “the speed of sound”.

3 – I anticipate the beats and the music that I will hear and time my vocals to come in on the beat.

4 – the vocals travel at “the speed of sound” to the microphone where it converts to a digital signal and travels at “the speed of electricity” back to the processor, which then PROCESSES the vocals before RECORDING the final output.

Remember that delay I hear?

5 – Upon playback, the vocals sound delayed.  Late.  Behind the beat.

I continue to fail to explain this effect to Fearless leader.  Am I crazy?  Is this delay a common thing?  How am I supposed to sing at the right time?

He will be testing for latency...  Can't wait to hear what he finds out!

VIP!

Yes.  It's official.  I'll be attending Kamelot's performance with Delain and Eklipse.  And I will be VIP.

I might feel a little girlish for being excited about my VIP ticket, but Fearless leader is just as excited as I am with his own VIP tickets...

It's like getting published!

Thank you, Fearless Leader!

I learned this morning that we have been selected to be included on the ProgPower 2013 compilation CD.
http://www.progpowerusa.com/index.html

What a fantastic way to start the morning!

Will you be there?

Losing Time

So, I was hanging out in the studio and laying down some vocal tracks with Fearless Leader.  He was trying to refine the timing on a section I was trying to sing.  I could tell he was getting a little frustrated.  I just wasn’t producing the track that he wanted.  It was ever so slightly off.  So, we turned on the click track!  How can you miss the timing when you have a metronome tapping the top of your head?

Seriously, that is what the click track feels like in the vocal booth.  Back into the vocal booth I go!  Well, actually, I hadn’t left the booth yet, so I guess it was “so, in the vocal booth I remained.”

Again, and again, we tried to get it right.  Then, I was ready to come in on my cue, and the click track sped up!  It was as if it skipped a beat!  Things just unraveled from there.  The light-headedness never really went away...

We decided to take a break.  I sat next to the freshly opened window with a fan on me.  I started feeling a little more normal.  I just could not wrap my brain around the entire scenario.  I never made it back into the vocal booth…

Upon reflection, I think I was suffering from a little bit of oxygen deprivation.  The vocal booth is not well ventilated (that might let in extra noise we don’t want), and I *was* singing…  Have you heard of Soprano high?

I’m not doing THAT

You’ve said it, too, haven’t you?

I was watching some live performances on Youtube with Fearless Leader.  Suddenly, the singer just bends over and flings her hair up and down in traditional head banging fashion.  I have never been inspired to move in such a manner.  I looked at Fearless Leader and said those fateful words.  He smirked at me and replied, “Oh, yes, you will.  You’ll get caught up in the moment and you will.”

Fast forward.  My vocal coach had recommended that I sing in front of a mirror.  Now, sometimes, I deliberately stand in front of the mirror, analyzing every little thing as I warm up and sing.  Other times, I’m just rocking out with the music as I cook or clean or whatever.  During those episodes, I peek at the mirror occasionally to see if anything looks amiss.  Sometimes I see things that need fixed.  Sometimes I take a moment to sing to my reflection and work on a little bit of stage presence.  And, sometimes I totally forget that a mirror is there and jump because, out of the corner of my eye, it looks like someone is coming out of the hallway into my space!

Understand I have played in the orchestra.  I have sung with the choir.  I get into the music and nod my head, or even nod my entire body!  I understand that the heavier the beat, the more one is likely to move.  I really do get it.

Anyway, I’m rocking out to some Within Temptation…  I’m unpacking groceries and putting them away, or sorting out what I need to make dinner…  Cats are watching with rapt attention…  And what did I see?  Someone in the hallway just did a full-out head banging thing!  It was only for one beat.  Did I really just do that?

Fearless Leader thinks I’m coming over to the dark side...  What makes him think I haven’t already been well on my way?

Audition

Have you ever walked into an audition with absolutely no idea how it might go?  I did.

I’m exploring my “rock voice.”  I’ve explored my “country voice” to the limits and back again.  I'm very comfortable with it.  I’ve trained my “theater voice”, and I continue to train the limits of my vocal range in both directions.

I auditioned with a band.  They have a set of music they want to perform and seek a vocalist that can deliver.  I have no idea if I am that vocalist, but it is yet another opportunity to explore and train more of my “rock voice.”  I learned three songs that were  released before I was born.  I’d never heard them in my life.  I showed up to sing them as well as I could.  One of these songs was 10 minutes long!  I can’t come in where I am supposed to if my life depends on it…

It’s funny.  You can listen to a song for several weeks and think that you know it.  You sing along with it on the radio (or mp3 player, or whatever).  Then, you try to perform it and realize you were just kidding yourself.

So, three hard rock songs.  Released before I was born.  Performed my male artists.  It was definitely an experiement!  It could have gone worse...  I saw the band members rocking out while we sang.  I saw smiles.  I saw some winces, but I got the impression that those were all self directed.  Lord knows, I winced myself many times...

When it comes to putting myself out there, this has to be the most vulnerable audition I've ever had!