The Wagtunes Corner

[layzer]

ah Wags, you dirty old man. this was great (sugar pop)
i got a buggles - video killed the radio star vibe from it.
i give you a 10 on everything, even your singing

[wagtunes]

ah Wags, you dirty old man. this was great (sugar pop)
i got a buggles - video killed the radio star vibe from it.
i give you a 10 on everything, even your singing

Thanks man. It wasn't half bad at that. LOL.

[Allomerus]

Listened to little bird. It sounds good. Nice music and lovely lyrics.
I'll disagree with you on one thing the backing vocals take away from your innocent voice.
Well done!

[wagtunes]

Listened to little bird. It sounds good. Nice music and lovely lyrics.
I'll disagree with you on one thing the backing vocals take away from your innocent voice.
Well done!

Thanks for the listen. Appreciate it.

[vurt]

ah Wags, you dirty old man. this was great (sugar pop)

totally! perv!
but yes, it was great. and you can actually hear youre having fun

i got a buggles

yeah buggles or devo type vibe for me too, that sort of ironic pop thing they had going on, being as catchy as hell but pushing as far as possible within the pop arena.

not giving you a bloody ten! not if i cant get one on my own bloody scale

9.789


im really liking the ones you sing on. they open the tracks up, just with the human micro signals we give off when communicating, so we can tell how a line is meant to be taken.
think of it like text. sometimes what we say can be taken the wrong way because we don't get the inflection of sarcasm or a jokey tone. that to me is the difference between vocaloid and you singing.
and im sorry, i know you hate us saying it. but we don't say it to be harsh, we say it because we want the best for your little child

[wagtunes]

ah Wags, you dirty old man. this was great (sugar pop)

totally! perv!
but yes, it was great. and you can actually hear youre having fun

i got a buggles

yeah buggles or devo type vibe for me too, that sort of ironic pop thing they had going on, being as catchy as hell but pushing as far as possible within the pop arena.

not giving you a bloody ten! not if i cant get one on my own bloody scale

9.789


im really liking the ones you sing on. they open the tracks up, just with the human micro signals we give off when communicating, so we can tell how a line is meant to be taken.
think of it like text. sometimes what we say can be taken the wrong way because we don't get the inflection of sarcasm or a jokey tone. that to me is the difference between vocaloid and you singing.
and im sorry, i know you hate us saying it. but we don't say it to be harsh, we say it because we want the best for your little child

Thanks. I did enjoy doing this one and I do get what you say about the vocal delivery being so important. Only humans can do that.

I'll probably be doing more singing as time goes on until the voice really does go.

[beanpole]

Really enjoying your songs from Ten Years Later where you are singing yourself. You should do more as I think you have a really good voice that is well suited to the music you produce. Think they improve the songs considerably rather than the vocaloid ones.

[wagtunes]

Really enjoying your songs from Ten Years Later where you are singing yourself. You should do more as I think you have a really good voice that is well suited to the music you produce. Think they improve the songs considerably rather than the vocaloid ones.

You know what's funny? And I mean this sincerely. I would not make something like this up. 40 something years ago when I first started writing and recording, my friends would say to me, "Wag, please don't sing." Except they didn't put it quite so nicely.

So, I don't know. They never liked my voice. I never liked my voice. I guess saying I'm better than Vocaloid isn't saying a lot, but I'll take it.

As far as how long I'll continue to sing, no clue. But at least I'm not ruling it out anymore. My voice seems to have improved since 2013 when it was really bad. Maybe the allergy shots are helping. Maybe my diet is helping. I don't know. I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.

[wagtunes]

7th track from my upcoming CD "Ten Years Later"

Me singing lead again. This one was done for fun. I did a song similar to this about 34 years ago.

Dirty Little Mind

How I love your dirty little mind
You know it makes me insane
The way you stare when I walk in the room
Makes me want to kiss your brain

How I love your dirty little mind
The crazy things that you think
The thoughts of love that are wildly insane
Makes me want to take a drink

If I could only have a night with your thoughts
Imagine all the wild things I'd be taught
How I love your dirty little mind

Instrumental Break

Repeat Bridge

How I love your dirty little mind
The crazy things that you do
The way you hold me and look in my eyes
Makes me in love with you
How I love your
How I love your
How I love your dirty little mind

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... kup-vocals

[aaron aardvark]

wagtunes,
Thank you for the review! Now your tune "Sugar Pop" (not the latest now, but you asked me to review this one): very good synths, the best I've heard you do! The Cars are still among my favorites. Male vocals are OK, they kind of remind me of someone, but not sure who; a tiny bit like Ocasek. I understand why someone mentioned the Buggles. I wouldn't be shocked if you currently use some pitch correction on your vocals, but if you don't, I think Melodyne could help (I use it: I spend about one minute experimenting for every second of my vocals). Other than a little pitchy-ness, I think your singing is fine. The female vocals are very good, the best I've heard from you! If you didn't tell me, I would have thought they are real (with lots of effects). Instrumentally, it sounds excellent. Very good melodies all around! Audio quality on everything is very good. Overall, I think this is the best song I've heard you do. It's not too sugary pop for my taste. I like this sort of music.

[wagtunes]

wagtunes,
Thank you for the review! Now your tune "Sugar Pop" (not the latest now, but you asked me to review this one): very good synths, the best I've heard you do! The Cars are still among my favorites. Male vocals are OK, they kind of remind me of someone, but not sure who; a tiny bit like Ocasek. I understand why someone mentioned the Buggles. I wouldn't be shocked if you currently use some pitch correction on your vocals, but if you don't, I think Melodyne could help (I use it: I spend about one minute experimenting for every second of my vocals). Other than a little pitchy-ness, I think your singing is fine. The female vocals are very good, the best I've heard from you! If you didn't tell me, I would have thought they are real (with lots of effects). Instrumentally, it sounds excellent. Very good melodies all around! Audio quality on everything is very good. Overall, I think this is the best song I've heard you do. It's not too sugary pop for my taste. I like this sort of music.

Thanks for the feedback Aaron. Yes, my voice can be a little pitchy, which is why I really don't like to sing. But I've been giving it a shot and doing the best I can. I did use pitch correction on this one. It did need it.

[aaron aardvark]

wagtunes,
Here is what I have found with Melodyne Assistant, and it may seem counter-intuitive. Using the stand-alone Melodyne (as opposed to the Melodyne plug-in), I typically listen to the vocal only, and pitch correct the best I can. The thing that takes me the longest time is taming my vibrato. If I pitch correct the vibrato too much, it starts sounding artificial and weird. That's why I do a bunch of trial & error; for the vibrato. Anyway, if I put the pitch-corrected vocal back in the song (move it forward .020 to .030 seconds in time, partially because I'm often a little late), and combine it with the somewhat lower volume non-pitch corrected vocal, it gives what I call pseudo double-tracking, and it usually sounds less pitchy than only playing the pitch corrected vocals (and more full). I think that's because my brain can't focus too sharply on the individual tracks, and it smears together as something not terribly pitchy. If my original vocal is too pitchy, this ain't going to work well, then I pitch correct the non-pitch-corrected vocal about half as much as the fully pitch corrected track. At least that is what works for me.

[wagtunes]

wagtunes,
Here is what I have found with Melodyne Assistant, and it may seem counter-intuitive. Using the stand-alone Melodyne (as opposed to the Melodyne plug-in), I typically listen to the vocal only, and pitch correct the best I can. The thing that takes me the longest time is taming my vibrato. If I pitch correct the vibrato too much, it starts sounding artificial and weird. That's why I do a bunch of trial & error; for the vibrato. Anyway, if I put the pitch-corrected vocal back in the song (move it forward .020 to .030 seconds in time, partially because I'm often a little late), and combine it with the somewhat lower volume non-pitch corrected vocal, it gives what I call pseudo double-tracking, and it usually sounds less pitchy than only playing the pitch corrected vocals (and more full). I think that's because my brain can't focus too sharply on the individual tracks, and it smears together as something not terribly pitchy. If my original vocal is too pitchy, this ain't going to work well, then I pitch correct the non-pitch-corrected vocal about half as much as the fully pitch corrected track. At least that is what works for me.

Sounds like you put a lot of time into this. Unfortunately, I only have a very basic pitch correction that came with my DAW and can't afford Melodyne at the moment. So I do the best I can with what I have. Again, the reason why I avoid singing if I can.

Some people just aren't singers.

[vurt]

you could still try the pseudo double track trick though. might help, might not. but worth a go considering it's a few mins work to line em up

[wagtunes]

From "Ten Years Later" something a little different from what I'm used to doing. It's always good to try to stretch yourself even if it's a bit out of your comfort zone.

Me again singing with the loids on backup.

Stop The Music

On the dance floor where I am not
Girls are shakin' what I ain't got
Missin' out on all the good times
Time to go out and make it mine

Party music is where it's at
Go and get my cool party hat
Get on out there and strut my stuff
Go and dance til I've had enough

Stop the music so I can get on board
Stop the music cause I can't afford
To be left out of this great scene
Dance all night cause there ain't no in between

Midnight's coming and I'm real beat
I just can't stand up on my feet
Dancing too long room starts to spin
Come tomorrow I'll do it again

Stop the music so I can go home
I assure you won't go there alone
Got my dancing partner with me
Gonna make love til quarter past three

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... kup-vocals