The Gang of Five
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Please see this post for more details.

"Always There" Karaoke! (FULL)

action9000

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Hi everyone, it's round 3 of Karaoke night at the Gang of Five! B)

This time, our song will be:
Always There, from LBT 5

What are we doing?
For those of you who have done GoF singing before, you all know how it works..
For the rest of you, here's what we do:

First of all, We pick a song (which has already been decided).
Next, I write up a MIDI file of the song.
Thirdly, I use some high-quality virtual instruments to convert the MIDI into a high-quality MP3 version of the song, with the singing instruments removed.

That's where You come in!  Record yourself singing the song to the MP3 that I post up.  Feel free to use either Mp3 on my website to listen to while recording, to keep the timing right and what not.

Send the recording to me via MSN, Yahoo, Yousendit, Megaupload, whatever.

I'll mix everyone's recording together to get a Gang of Five rendition of the chosen LBT song!

So where's the fun?
Everywhere! :P:  Nobody who has ever applied has been a professional (or even a particulary good) singer.  We'll likely offer awards for various aspects of the song when it's done.

Awards?
A couple of award possibilities are:
Best Singing
Funniest Blooper (bad attempt at recording)

so send me all your funny out-takes!  It may be up for Funniest Blooper! :D

So where can I get the music to sing to?
Right here:

http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/friendsalways/lbt.html

Feel free to download either, or both, versions of the song.  Use these Mp3s to sing to while recording.  it ensures that everyone will be singing at the same speed, so they will all synchronize for the final song.  It may help you to say in tune and in time with the music, if you sing to the version that has the instruments playing the vocal parts.

What can I use to record myself?
First, you need a microphone or headset that can connect to your computer in some way, or a recording device that can transfer your recording to your computer, such as an Mp3 player with a built-in microphone (good idea, Petrie :p).

Ok, but what software / programs will I need?
I recommend Goldwave v4.26:
http://www.goldwave.com/release426.php

It's light, free (well, you can use the free version enough to accomplish this purpose), and easy to learn.  If you have any questions about how to use the software, feel free ask me. B)

What file format should I make my recording, or what audio quality?
In Goldwave, the first question it will ask you when you select New, is the quality.  Please choose CD Quality (44.1 kHz stereo)

When you finish recording, you will need to select a file type to save the audio file as.  Please choose one of the following:

.WAV: signed 16-bit, Mono, 44.1 kHz.  NO 32-bit please!  24-bit is ok if you insist, but I will downmix it to 16-bit later, for compatibility reasons, anyway.

.MP3: 192 kb/s or better, Mono, 44.1 kHz.

Ok, ok, enough computer-babble!
Sorry! :P:

How many people are you accepting?
We are accepting the first 2 people (4, including Malte and myself).  Hurry and get your place! :P:

Remember, first come, first serve.  Post here to sign up! :D  :P:

[EDIT]
This project is Full.  Feel free to post ideas for the next song in the LBT Projects forum. :yes
[/EDIT]


Petrie.

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*raises hand*  Ooh, ooh, pick me! Pick me!  :lol:

If I catch you on MSN or Yahoo later in the day I want to send you a file I did with a different mp3 player....it records better than my other one but doesn't quite fit the specs you ask, so you'll have to use your judgment on whether or not I can use it.

Are we choosing singing parts too?  I don't mind if I'm doing a solo part or just the refrain.


action9000

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Great! B)  Now we just need One more!

Quote
Are we choosing singing parts too? I don't mind if I'm doing a solo part or just the refrain.
Nope. if you don't mind, would you sing the entire song?  I will use my judgement to decide who will sing which parts, based on who sounds best in which sections.


Littlefoot Fan

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Oh wow, one more person?

*raises hand ever so slightly in the corner*

Naw I don't want to take it if someone else really wants to do it. I just love this song :)

I think you guys are probably getting aggrivated with me though. I keep signing up for these songs and then never send in the recording! But I think I found another way to do them without my house being empty.


action9000

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Coolness: B)
Welcome aboard, Littlefoot Fan!  If you will, please sing the entire song and pass that along to me.   :)


Petrie.

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action9000

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I think I already won the blooper award. 
You're probably going to be in the top 2, at least.  That was quite funny. :P:


Malte279

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Which one are you talking about? I guess my worst is in the fourth recording of Always There which I still need to send to you Tim.


action9000

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I guess my worst is in the fourth recording of Always There which I still need to send to you Tim.
Which reminds me:  I shall send you, Malte, and Adam, mp3s of how you sound singing by yourself, with the music.  If you wish to make another attempt at the song after you hear how you sound, feel free. B)

Adam - Always There
Malte - Always There

I did not spend much time cleaning up the volumes, equalization, or anything else in these MP3s.  They are just rough examples of what you sound like next to the music.  If you wish to try the song again, I'm always willing to accept more recordings. :yes  If you're happy with how these sound, just let me know and I'll start the detail work using these recordings.


action9000

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I did my recording on Always there today. I think it came out reasonably well, and I'll post up a version of my solos, shortly


Littlefoot Fan

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God if I can just get this stupid computer running, I could get all these recordings done right away lol. It might be just as easy as unplugging and plugging in the drives or something, I don't know.


action9000

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If I was in the area, I'd drop by and take a look at it.  It's probably nothing too serious.


action9000

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Anyways, here's the link:
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?acti...EC64CE117C1B06A

As you can see, I really can't handle the high stuff very well! :lol  :p


Littlefoot Fan

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Wow action, that was nice :) You didn't seem to have that much trouble hitting the high notes really, you sung the chorus pretty good :DD


Littlefoot Fan

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Well my computer's getting fixed :P: Hopefully it'll be done soon :unsure:


Malte279

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Really a nice one Tim! You sure do much better on that spoken "almost" than I do. It really gives me a very hard time trying to speak a word during a song without varying extremely in pitch and volume.


Littlefoot Fan

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Well my computer's fixed and running :) Time to get dem recordins done :lol:


Littlefoot Fan

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Uh oh :unsure: Yesterday I found out that I needed a new fan (The current one doesn't cool the processor off enough). So my dad ordered it and it's supposed to come in a few days. If I try to use the computer it'll lock up at anytime. So now I have to wait for that :(

I'm sorry about this :cry2 It seems like everytime I participate in one of these I'm always delaying the entire thing. If I ever do join in on any more of these, I promise this won't happen again :cry


action9000

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Uh oh Yesterday I found out that I needed a new fan (The current one doesn't cool the processor off enough).
I find that one a bit strange.  You were mentioning to me that your processor is only running 45 - 50 degrees C.  That's fairly normal for a processor.  Mine runs around 45 C regularly and it used to run around 65 C to 75 C in the summer, for months, before I cleaned the dust off my procesor cooler.  My processor survived that heat just fine.  Right now, my processor is 56 C because I'm compressing a lot of large files and it's demanding on my processor.

Oh well - to each computer his own!  LOL  Your computer sounds like it's being a royal pain!  Then again, I shouldn't be talking.  The hard drive in my computer with Windows on it is being a little strange.  I think I should probably format it and clean it up. There's a lot of junk on it.  I've just been too lazy to, but I do have it backed up at least.


action9000

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Thank you to all participants in this song!  The Mp3 is (finally) complete!  I'm sorry for the delay; I kept getting distracted by life. :slap

Unforunately, Littlefoot Fan decided not to enter his recording so this is just Malte, Adam, and I performing.  Hey Littlefoot Fan, you can still enter your recording and I'll add it to the song!  If you ever decide you want to join in, feel free. B)

Anywho, the song can be downloaded here:
http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/friendsalways/lbt.html

The format is 192 kb/s Mp3 (44.1kHz, Stereo).  If you'd like the song in any other format, just let me know! :DD