Hi ,

Brand new to the forum and not sure what is next ? I am an old , retired live alone semi handicapped fellow so am stuck at home with my PC pretty much . I have extrememly slow dial-up out here in the country in Texas so can only forward an MP3 if anyone is interested . I sang along with a converted midi file -- The Shadow of Your Smile . Not sure if I could be used to sing a demo for a songwriter or what ??? Love music and just looking for something to do .
Thanks ,
Jamie ( netsinger )

Jamie,

Welcome to the JPF, there's lots to do and read here, even if you have slow dialup. If you do have an MP3 that you want folks to listen to, you could always join www.soundclick.com and start an "Artist" account -- it's free. Yea, it would be slow uploading MP3 files, but it can be done.

Again, lots of lyrics to look at on the lyric boards and there are a bunch of Texans here -- some law-abiding, some with outlaw tendencies!

Kevin

Howdy, Jamie. Welcome to the forum. Plenty to see/read and do here, that's for sure! I expect in no time you'll feel like an old hand. Am I correct in assuming you're a singer? Have a look around, get to know others. Someone may well be looking for a vocalist.

Donna

Hi Kevin ,

Thanks for the welcome . I attempted to upload an MP3 in my Hotmail and would not allow it because of the slow speed and time involved . I finally sent it to myself from a high speed connection PC so now have it to forward from here and can do that . I noticed somebody in Texas has a studio and thought perhaps I could send it to someone ??

Thanks also for the information .
netsinger

Hi Donna
Thanks for the nice welcome . I attempted to sing in public years ago and was apparently not a performer . I recently discovered that neat free program called Audacity and have had a lot of fun with it , but feel as though I am cheating in that I can add bass and echo which almost makes me sound NOT like me !! Have not tried to sing anything in years and years and made this MP3 ( and several others ) for my sweet sweet 90 yr. old Mom .
Thanks again Donna ,
netsinger

howdee fellow Texan

Hi Jamie, welcome to JPF. If you are able to send MP3s, you could open an account for free with Soundclick/Showcase Your Music/MySpace/ Songramp/IAC and many others and then simply post a link here. it wouldn't be good to use the covers but you could sing something which comes to your mind simply to demonstrate your voice and songwriters could listen and get in touch with you if you are interested in collaborations. Whatever you decide, enjoy JPF.
Nadia
http://iacmusic.com/artist.aspx?id=137230
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=936270
http://www.songramp.com/homepage.php?userid=27495
http://www.showcaseyourmusic.com/nlcripps

Welcome aboard Jamie! There are a lot of old fellows around here. But we're young at heart!

Best, John

Hi Nadia ,

Thanks to you also for the nice welcome . I am fairly new to the computer world , but shall take a look at the site you mentioned . Not sure what you mean by not good to use the
" covers " and not even sure I will know how to use the site , but I surely look at it ??

Thanks ,

netsinger

Hello John ,

Nice to have a welcome for a fellow Texan and apparently a few of us are law abiding ( to a point !! ) !! Heee!!

Thanks ,
Netsinger

Hi Gary ,

Got you mixed up with John who is not from Texas . Thanks for the welcome Gary . Surely have met a nice folks from all over already . Tis a nice website .
netsinger

Hello John ,

Guess I had a " senior " moment at the young age of 72 and mixed you up with the note from Gary . Trying to do too much at one time and about to look into the site mentioned for posting a home-made MP3 .
My apologies ,
netsinger

Yeah, I'm well aware of those moments.

My wife Sandra is always testing my memory. I tell her I have selective memory. No sense in remembering those things that annoy you.

Have a great time here Jamie!

John

Hi again Jamie, I thought the shadow of your smile was a cover song, not the one you've created. Sorry if I was wrong. Anyway, good luck with the sites. It doesn't take long to start uploading MP3s, if I can do it, you surely can as well. Good luck.
Nadia

Hey Nadia ,

I have very little idea about what I am doing . I finally got my MP3 to upload to that site and may have infringed on something since I sang along with a midi file and is actually the great older song -- Shadow of your Smile . Guess I don't know what a " cover " song is ! David Bate had the nice midi file on his site and said I was welcome to use it anytime .

You may have to visit me in jail !! Oh Me !!!

I think this is the site ??
<a href='http://www.showcaseyourmusic.com/72'>Singer's

netsinger

Hey Jamie, the link wouldn't open. It also doesn't look as the link should I think.
Here is mine: http://www.showcaseyourmusic.com/nlcripps

Hello Nadia ,

Guess you didn't think you were gonna take me on to raise !!? I got it uploaded and then it asked me for the name of the music and a url thing . I didn't know what to do from there ? Did I need to proceed with Facebook ( whatever that is ?? ) ??

netsinger

Wonder if this will work ? I don't know why it is not in colored print like your url ?? Apparently I am not doing something right .
netsinger

http://www.showcaseyourmusic.com/myaccount.php

OK . I tried this and it won't get to the right place either . Maybe I am supposed to be on My Space ? I don't want to fill the forum with novice stuff so shall toss this idea .

Thanks for your time Nadia .
netsinger

Hello Nadia and ? ,

This might work ??
http://www.showcaseyourmusic.com/showcases.php

I just tried it and it got to the site . I then clicked on showcases at the upper left and got to a page of new posts of files . Mine was at the top and just said singer ( no photo ) .
It is the Shadow of Your Smile .

Let me know if you can finally get to it . I sent them an e-mail asking how I am supposed to post the correct link .

Thanks ,
netsinger

Hey Hey Hey, welcome aboard. As I'm sure yer finding out, this place is just too good to be true. I've only been here a few days, and can't get enough of it. I can relate to the partially disabled part of your intro. (see my post in the General Messages forum titled "Please Read"). There is so much cool stuff to see and hear here, (hear, and here, could be a song)hehe. Look around, enjoy yourself. The people here are the greatest. If ya have any questions don't be afraid to ask someone, anyone. We are all very gentle, except for some gal named Polly, watch out for her. hehe She's gonna have a cow over that.
Have Fun!!!

Hi Media Guy ,

What a nice welcome . I am in need of knee suegery which is nothing like the challenges you have had or have . I admire you so much and remember that it is better to have " found " the guitar strings sometime in your life than to have never found them at all -- like myself ! Can't play anything amd just enjoy singing along with beautiful music from the web . Such a shame there are so many nice folks yet the evil ones seem to dominate our lives . At least they can't take our music from our hearts and we all know that the best is yet to come .

Take care and thanks again for the warm welcome .

netsinger

Nothing wrong with a Texan with outlaw tendencies lol

It's the ones with no brains that I cant Stand.

Welcome Old Timer, and enjoy. nothing wrong with being an old timer, they can draw on years of experience.

You will find a few Psuedo Texans here, glad to say they are in the minority.

You can do a lot with dial up, some with fast connections spend too much time on the boards, consequently they never write anything worth looking at or listening to, still "Cest La Vie" or That's life.

Non Texan

Hi Jamie, your link will work. When you go on the
http://www.showcaseyourmusic.com/showcases.php
then click on Singer which is your real site and then copy and paste the link which will come up at the top. I think your voice sounds slower then the music. Anyway, it will give some idea of how your voice sounds although I'd remove echo(if you are interested in collaborations as a singer) but if you are interested to collaborate as a songwriter it's better to record your own songs, just my opinion. Enjoy JPF. My recordings are far from ideal and I'm sure you'll get a good advice from other members here. Good luck.
Nadia

Welcome to the board Jamie. I'm on dial up too, which can be a pain, but it is better than nothing. LOL

Audacity is a lot of fun.

This link will take people directly to your page.
http://www.showcaseyourmusic.com/72

Your voice sounds very pleasant indeed. I agree with Nadia, though, that the echo should be removed. It's a distraction rather than an enhancer.

Enjoy the site.

Donna

Hey netsinger,
Welcome to the boards. There is nothing wrong with being from Texas. As I understand it there are those from Texas and those that want to be. I spent a few years down in Corpus Christi. If you write just keep writing. You might check out J. Gale Kilgore at http://www.eyeball-records.com. From Texas. Just click on the link.

Just listened to the demo mp3. Very nice singing. Yes, you should reduce the reverb/echo/delay on the vocals so that is just on the verge of being noticed!

Welcome again,

Kevin

Welcome Netsinger....nice to know you and hope that you jump right in and become one of us. You have come to the right place. This is such a great community of artists and songwriters to be a part of. Everyone here has your best interest at heart and try to help on a daily basis....all you have to do is reach out and they are there. We're all in this together.

I just listened.....you have a wonderful smooth voice....very nice tone to it....very easy to listen to. Reverb was too much. I just want to hear clear vocs. You don't need so much echo at all....not with a voice like that.

Welcome and let me know if I can help at all...I'd be happy to do so. If I don't have the answers you seek, believe me....someone here will. You've come to exactly the right place....best songwriting, musical site on the net....in my opinion.

Good luck to you with your quest...

Jan

Hi Janice and all ,

Good advice I know , but I feel I need 4 times more echo so listen to the next one . I think I will then sound like 4 or 5 people ! Heee!!! Just kidding .

I don't read or write music so must depend on already written songs . Not really trying to do much of anything with it other than make music mostly for Mom and thought I would see if Mom was my " only " fan so tried the showcase . I do have one more " fan " and I tease her about the fact that I am the only singer with ONE groupie ! HA!!

Thanks also to Nadia for figuring out the link .
Blessings to all ,
netsinger

Welcome netsinger! These people are the greatest. Polly brings spice to the board, so don't let Media Guy scare you.LOL I consider myself very lucky to have Polly as a friend. I kinda admire you for being able to spend the day on this board!


redwing

Hi Donna ,

Thanks for the link . I just tried it and thought it was not gonna work , but is my slow dial-up . Just had to wait ( and wait ) .

Wonder if you have heard of David Lacey of Cruisemusic in the UK ? He is a super talent and super nice .
netsinger

Hi Redwing ,

Thanks for the welcome . Guess I have not " tangled " with Polly yet . May fear her more than singing in public ! Hee!!!

I just posted another song and this one has a little less echo , but still has some !!!

Thanks all ,

netsinger

http://www.showcaseyourmusic.com/72

Hi Everrett ,

Thanks for the welcome and just noticed that you are in Canada . I went to school in Edmonton in 2nd. grade . Loved the folks there and made some wonderful friends .

Thanks again ,
netsinger

Hey Jamie, enjoy JPF. If you don't compose songs, may be you'd like to listen to the songs many of us post on MP3 forum and if you like any of them, you could PM the songwriter and see whether he/she would be happy for you to record a demo with your voice. I'm sure many her would be happy but it's always good to ask. Good luck. I'm sure you'll have more then 2 fans.
Nadia

Hi Nadia ,
If someone listens to my two songs at the Showcase my Music site ( http://www.showcaseyourmusic.com/72 ) , and feels I might be
" useable " on a demo , I would be more than happy to see if it might work . Not sure what the going rate is , but think a cut rate of $1,500.00 for the first would be reasonable . Heeee!! Just kidding --of course ! I would be happy to " try " for nuthin , but am limited on range and talent and have found very few songs that I feel I can sort of do justice . Not sure if it is OK with the site for someone to contact me directly for this purpose , but I surely don't mind -- jlrdds@hotmail.com .
Thanks ,
Netsinger

I've listened to all 3 songs. The last one, "What a Difference a Day Made" sounds the best in my opinion. You have talent, Jamie and I'm sure many songwriters will be delighted to collaborate with you. I would be interested as well but my recordings are not really brilliant I'm afraid. Anyway, please take a listen and if something speaks to you, you are very welcome to PM me.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=936270

Hi Nadia ,
I'll listen as I can . My dial-up makes it close to impossible and took me 23 minutes to upload that last song on the showcase site ( 26.4kbps ) . I have a friend in Ft. Worth who has high speed , but her PC is out of commission for 3-4 weeks . If you have a song in particular that you feel might fit my voice , just e-mail the MP3 if you like .

I do like that last song too ( what a Difference a Day Makes ) , but nobody does it like Dinah washington .

I have a dear dear e-mail friend in London whom I met after finding that we both have an interest in the flight simulator . He was a computer programmer for The London Council before retiring .

By the way -- Mom told me an interesting fact the other day that her Uncle gave Lawrence Welk his start ( sort of ) . I also have a cousin who had a song he wrote put on an album by Garth Brooks . Just some interesting tid-bits .

Thanks for being so very nice to me Nadia and your comments mean a great deal . There are a lot of super nice folks on this site .
Jamie ( netsinger )

Unfortunately, Cruise Music is no longer in business (though I think they're still listed in Songwriter's Market).
Do you mean David Lacy in Manchester? (He has a myspace page.)

You have a really fine voice, Jamie. If someone wanted you to provide vocals, do you have reasonable recording equipment (e.g. a good microphone)?

Donna

You are very welcome, Jamie. Good luck with your singing. I'll be in touch.
Nadia

Hey Jamie...

Big welcome from Oregon...look forward to your posts..

You couldn't find a more supportive group at any price...

Larry

Hello Donna ,

Yes I have a nice $500 PC and and expensive $29 mic that I got at Radio Shack . My recording studio is an expensive $3,500.00 dilapidated house trailer . I use a free sound recorder to convert midi's to MP3's and Audacity for recording and editing . I live alone here in the country and have no pets so is usually very quiet . I thought the mic might pick up the refrigerator cycling , but didn't seem to at all . What more could one want ? Heeeeee!!!!

This is really what I have , but is home and I guess the quality is almost acceptable anyway ? This is what I made the MP3's with . Not sure this would be good enough for a simple Demo for somebody or not , but am pretty much home-bound now .

Jamie

P.S.

I have not heard from David Lacey in a month or so and not sure where he is from in the UK . I'll check on him and hope he is OK . Lots of folks stuggling now and America is in big trouble with our current administration . So glad we have music and good friends . Best part of life anyway .

Sounds like you're well set up, Jamie.
A "good microphone" needn't be an expensive one.

Anyway, your "studio" sounds just fine for a decent worktape or pre-demo.

If you were going to sing to someone's bedtrack, how would you go about it? Import it into Audacity and then lay a separate vocal track?

The David Lacy I saw (spelled "Lacy") was a young guitarist in Manchester. Don't know if that's who you mean.

Donna

Hi Larry ,

Thanks . I always appreciate all of the nice welcomes .
This is a nice warm place to be . I am not trying to do much with my singing at this age and only seem to have only found 2-3 songs that I could sort of sing , but has been much fun . I just dicovered that free Audacity program is is quite a gift to folks like me . It is wonderful that so many talented programmers were willing to do this at no cost to us . Pretty amazing !!
When I think of Oregon I think of a pretty cheerleader we had in High School who was from Oswego , Oregon . Funny I should remember that , yet have forgotten so many important things -- I think ??? Ha!!

Have a good day Larry ,

Netsinger ( Jamie )

Hey Jamie. If you need any help with audacity, please have a look on YouTube. There are many suggestions on different videos.
Nadia

Hi Donna ,

I don't think that is the same David , but may well be if he had Crusiemusic . He is a super talented pianist and arranger for sure and guess he might also play the guitar ? Would not surprise me at all . Wonder how I could send you a midi he made specially for me ? Not sure how we are supposed to communicate individually here ? He said I was free to share it with anybody and is beautiful .

As for all of my " professional " recording equipment ( HA!! ) --
I import the MP3 accompaniment into Audacity and then sing on another track over and over and over till I get it almost like I want it !! The mic does pick up some of the accompaniment too . I then add bass and " too much echo " to my voice track .

Pretty fascinating to do it all with no tape !

Jamie ( netsinger )

By the way Donna ,

The David I know is older . Also I wonder if you have ever run across Jan Visser over there somewhere ( Holland perhaps ? ) He is a remarkable musician and also a programmer extroadianaire . He has created some of the most beautiful and realistic airplanes for the flight simulator that have ever been programmed .
Jamie

Hi Nadia ,

I guess I can use Audacity enough for my simple purposes and is hard to believe it is a free program .

Jamie

Oh, I know who you mean. I think I spoke to him last year when I phoned Cruise Music to ask about submitting some songs. He told me that he'd closed down the publishing end and was just going to focus on his music.

I'll PM you with an address. (To see PMs, scroll to the top of the page, and you'll see a heading "My Stuff". Click on the little down arrow and a menu will open. Then click on "My Messages". Et voila.

Donna

Well Jamie...

I bet they stil have some...Did you go to school in Lake Oswego...?

Hi in3piano ,

No . I went to school in Ft. Worth , Texas and and was a cheerleader with Sarah Patterson who was from Oswego . Oswego seems to be an easy name to remember . I have never been to Oregon , but have a cousin who lives in Brookings . He was an assembly line test pilot for Lockheed in Calif. and he and his wife live near an old friend who won Oscars for directing ( I think ) for High Noon , The french connection and Tora Tora Tora . My cousin Glenn was the " Russian " pilot in an old movie Jet Pilot that you occasionally see re-run on TV . When Janet Leigh ( supposed to be a Russin defector ) was supposed to be flying the jet , Glenn was actually doing the flying in those scenes . John Wayne was also in that old movie .
Just something interesting . I e-mail with Glenn and Marjorie frequently .

netsinger

Hi Netsinger:

Welcome to JPF. I used Donna's link to your page at JPF and listened to your cover tunes. Very nice. I think it was Kevin who suggested that you reduce the amount of reverb just a touch.

I hope you'll stick around and enjoy all the fun and games that go on here. Lot's of nice folks and a few just plain nuts... LOL!

Hi Dave ,
Thanks for taking the time to welcome me Dave . I am aware of the comments regarding too much echo , but if I remove that it will sound too much like ME ! Ha!!!!
I unfortunately have extremely slow dial-u so have not listend to much , but is a nice site with great folks . I was not seeking " stardom " , but stumbled onto this site and wondered if many would care for my singing ??? Has been a nice response .
I'll be away from my PC for about two weeks .
Thanks again Dave ,
Netsinger