www.blueprintstudios.org

[Blog : Latest Updates]

2021-01-01T12:00:00.017+08:00

[Upcoming Releases] excluding the ones who has enquired/hasn't confirmed.
01) Rika
02) NTU CAC String Orchestra
03) A Town In Fear
04) Hear Me Toby
05) The Sallys

Next available slot : March 2012.
Add yourself to this list by using the [Contact Me] link on the right. -ron

[Payment Procedures]

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Before start - Have at least $500/song estimate on standby.Unless you don't have a deadline in the process of the recording.

1) Form Deposit - $50.
2) Upon 1st drums recording - $250 deposit/song. (Lite Rate : $100/song.)
3) After recording/editing/reamping. Finish recording and paying first before I start mixing.
4) Before Mixing/Mastering - $200 deposit/song. (Lite Rate : $50/song.)
5) Initial Final mix/master stage. QC (Quality Control) changes.
6) After that, finish paying the rest before I finish the final master and release. If any excess, I will ask for your bank account number to refund to. (I guarantee I'm much more financially reliable than you are to manage what I owe you.)

Think of this as a Top-up/EZ-link/Cashcard system.

- If No deadline must inform and commit (recording/payment) if creating a new deadline later.
- Deadline of release = deadline of full payment.
- Deadline will be greatly affected if any delay in payment/commitment because I'm not on standby to work with just your band.Higher Priorities will be given to the other clients who pay/commit fairly.

[Frequently Asked Questions/Commented]

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This page is a compilation of all the past questions and misc stuff that was asked to my face, rumours spoken to someone else who told me or my bot automation scripts watching over some people.I've answered them in person hundreds of times and it's about time I collate it all to one page, but before you continue, First check if most of my template replies in the following answers your dissatisfaction/complaint/question -
- go somewhere else.
- don't record.
- don't play music.
- it's your problem, not mine.
- don't know, don't care, don't give a shit.
- Singapore Recording Studio List

Before you became an element of my BluePrint life , which went well without.
----------------------------
Q : Your form is stupid
I agree.I can fill it up for you at $100 per entry. (whoever can't fill up such a stupid form's gotta be much worse.)

Q : When's the best time to record?
Finalize your song writing and jammed until you feel nauseous. you're supposed to be puking playing the song by the time we release it. Apply for recording in advance, I'll advise your schedule (School,National Service,Work,GF,Family), financial planning etc. Have a dream and be ready to live it.

Q : Why do you charge additional $30/Song for rushed deadlines and what's considered not rushed?
My health gets compromised and scheduling goes tight (conflicts with my other jobs/trades) and sometimes passion burnouts occurs where I don't feel like f*cking doing anything so that cheers me up.
Bands usually apply from 1 to 3 months in advance. If you send in and tell me you need to record tomorrow and finish within a week. It's "rushed". If you change your mind LATER to take your time after I've worked my ass off to keep within deadline, it will still be applied. So make sure you change your mind BEFORE.

Q : What is Recording? What do you use for recording?
Google. For now it's none of your business.Ask me again while we're recording.I'll answer all your questions with dodgy answers at $50/hr. :)

Q : What is Editing and how is it charged ?
1) Putting drums/guitars/bass/vocals to metronome tight (quantizing).
2) Pitch shifting correction for singing vocals.
3) Clean up all noises/make it mix-ready.

Charged based on time taken and effort/difficulty.Any re recordings means re-editing etc, will be charged accordingly for the extra work.
3rd party studio/DIY tracks is $30onwards per instrument. (Individual Rates)
My own recorded tracks is subjected to discount.

Q : What is Reamping , what are you using and how is it charged ?
Standard signal is 1Guitar > 2Pedal > 3Amp

when I record it's 1Guitar dry (but I will be simulating distortion pedals etc when you're playing it)
I take the dry 1Guitar signal and run it through any 2Pedal or 3Amp sound of your choice and 4Record it without having to re-record.

I'm using my own modded AxeFX.

3rd Party Studio/DIY tracks is $30/hr.
My own recorded tracks - discounted or free.

If you want me to reamp at another location,another amp,with microphones of your choice, it's $50/hr excluding location rental.Transport/Labour charges will be included.

Q : What do you do in Mixing/Mastering, why don't you have a proper mixing studio and why can't we sit in and how is it charged?
I put individually recorded tracks (overhead/overhead/snare/kick/tom/tom/tom/guitar/guitar/bass/vocals) together into Mixed.wav

Because I only believe a mix that works is a mix that travels on iphone earphones/iem/headphones/hifi/pc speakers/car stereo etc. I don't have a fancy $50'000 mixing room with $8000 speakers (just like every other consumer) blasting lying to your ears, only to export to your ipod and leave you wondering why it sounds crap on generic iphone earphones.
You sitting behind me telling me how to do my thing is like me being non-musician telling you how to play your instrument. Don't cramp my style. If you insist - $100/hr. If I request for it due to a complex song it's $10/hr for my time.

My own recorded tracks - starts $50onwards/song
Mixture of both - starts $80onwards/song
3rd Party Studio/DIY tracks - starts $100onwards/song

Q : What do you do in Mastering and how is it charged?
I put it in a microwave and set it 2 minutes reheat. OR I make the Stereo.wav sound even more kickass.

My own mixed tracks - discounted or free. (most of the time free.)
3rd Party Mixed tracks - $50/Song

Q : What are transport/labour charges?
Petrol,ERP,Coupon/Cashcard parking,airticket,hotel,lodging whatever. If you need me to transport anything small like drums/cymbals/amps to another location before recording. Anything more engage a real mover.

Q : What are your working hours and where do bands usually do at?
Drums - Anytime limited to your waking hours at jamming studio opening hours/or your own drumpractise room. Preferably Sunday Nights when transport charges (parking/ERP) are friendlier. Try to choose a time where neighbours will not complain.

Guitars/Bass/DI recording - Preferably 3pm - 7pm, (dinner) , 8pm - end before your last bus/train limit or midnight. at my place.

Vocals Singing - Preferably 8pm - before midnight. at my place.

Vocals Screaming/Group Shout/Horns/Loud Elements - 3pm - 7pm. at my place / jamming studio.

Try not to bring people who are not involved in the recording or in the band if possible. If they distract the recording musician/compromise the sound in anyway, it's your call.

Q : Why are you charging for every little thing?
I see you have a fetish for hidden costs, I embrace exposed costs.Songs that actually don't take much work will be cheaper, songs that got me through hell and back will be justified so I don't feel like I ripped myself off.

Q: I'm planning to record with you real soon, why would you tell me you're fully booked on the upcoming week when your schedule/calendar states you're available?
Apply > confirm > deposit > then we may talk about schedules. The dates are reserved for current bands who has already done that.Plan stays as "talk" until action taken.

Q : Why must we deposit first before recording?
At the end of all the tiring recording and audio work, I don't see a point in me chasing after payment.These all should have been done first, you don't order food without preparing the cash after looking at the menu do you? Besides, I guarantee I'm much more financially reliable than you are to manage what I owe you.

Q : What if you run away with my deposit?
You may ask me this again if you've been playing in the band longer than I've done audio.

Q : How often does your rates change? I'm still recording with you on an old cost/agreement from last year, am I chargeable for the new or the rate we agreed on?
Whenever I feel like it/upgrade so learn to READ the fine lines before applying/agreeing.If you can't read, just pay blindly, the real world works that way.
With effect on the next track/project unless I agreed to do more than 1 track or the whole LP (10 tracks) , the new rates will reflect in the invoice.

Q : What's with you and 3rd party studio/DIY tracks being more expensive?
I prefer to wipe my own ass after taking a dump than to clean up/mix/master someone else's shit unless they shit goldbars.

Q : I want you to release individual MIXED tracks (for me to put together and claim credit for) because when I mixed your raw tracks it wasn't as good.
sure, I only work in 16bit 44.1khz , it'll cost $100/Mono Track and $10/hr of my time to export/send over to you and laugh behind your back at the same time.
(e.g 7 drum tracks = $700+$10/hr) Ridiculous? Then better leave the real job to the real man and focus on practising your instrument like a real musician.

Q : Why not package/per song?
sure. $5 million SGD per 20 years of recording.

Q : Why not per day?
Musician's Ear/mental fatigue starts from 4-6 hrs.you sure you wanna pay me 16 hours of cash (after 8 hours sleep) for 6 hours of your best performance? I don't mind. $800SGD per day.Cya at 8am tmr.

Q : Discount?
"Free" and "Discount" is a privilege that I give when I feel like it, not an entitlement unless a compensation cos I screwed up. The more you ask, the more I won't give because I know you're reprioritizing my worth to your luxury like a new gadget/cigarettes/clubbing/good food/dye hair/T-Shirt,Shoes,Overseas Music Fest etc.

Q : Why are your rates expensive?
1) There are "Lite" rate options available with cheaper student/pre-NSF/NSF price tag. You're just greedy.
2) Never said I was cheap. cheaper yes maybe, cheap no.
3) I'm cost-effective-justified.
4) Whoever told you I was cheap obviously compared me with the best/most expensive studio around. Welcome to the "better".
5) You're just saying that cos you're the one who's broke and too lazy to get a real job or have any savings. Now here's an important question from me, do you have insurance ?

Q : This other studio is quoting me cheaper etc / this other guy said this shit behind your back. bla bla bla etc etc etc Give me a good rate I'll recommend you with my friends to record with you. (using politics involvement to try get a better quotation rate from me)
Then go for the cheap one. or you know what, tell him "Ron is quoting you $30/hr" and get an even cheaper rate for yourself. Let me know and I'll play along for you. Thank you for making room recording slots for new sincere clients, you have no idea how precious time is these days.
As for the small fry whom I'm casting my shadow over on behind my back, he's also talking behind yours. =)
Then you better not recommend me to your friends because of cheap price tag because people come to me for my capability/reliability/quality, no special sauce rates.

Q : Do you take interns? I'm interested in learning from you.
No. Although if you want to learn something right now, you can give me $100 first. Then I'll teach you "Lesson #1 : You just got ripped off.Don't be so gullible.Thanks for the donation." = "why would I shoot myself in the foot, let you learn from me just so you can run your own show." However you may engage me to setup a bedroom studio which I've done for a few now.

Q : Which famous bands have you worked with?
I wouldn't know/care if they had become famous cos it's none of my business. Go see if you know anyone from this list then.Fame is what the band created themselves.Sound is what I create for the band.So I only ride on the sound to get heard and appreciated. Not fame.You mean when you become famous, you're gonna rename your band to "I-worked-with-Ron-BluePrint-who-worked-with-this-other-famous-band-so-it's-something-I-can-claim-fame-credit-for" ?

Q : Why don't you have a band testimonial page?
You can find the band's links under discography.if you really wanna know what my previous clients have to say about me, what other better way than to approach the band and ask them to tell you the REAL good and bad truths behind my back? After all they've moved on to their own diy music production , religion group , groupie fan club or some producer promising them big-nothings, I'm sure they'll be hardsellpreaching you over what you believe is right for yourself.

Q : Value Added Services ? Hookup shows/radio/tv?
You will not get famous recording with me.Someone promised you fame/etc? you're no different than abandoned pets waiting in an SPCA shelter on standby to be put to sleep.Get your ass out there and shamelessly whore your music, keep writing better songs, keep gigging, spam on FB whatever. You want exposure/fame, go suckup to newspaper column writers, local radio DJs, gig organisers, labels, people with contacts in the industry or hire a A&R PR/Marketing guy.
The most you'll get out of me is studio videos (if the camera's running) and gigvideos if I'm there for your album launch.

Q : You're just doing it for the money, what happened to the passion for your art?
I'm doing for both. There's 3 kinds of dreamers. one sleeps the dream, one lives the dream, one wished they had a dream as they wake up to a daily nightmare. My experience,wallet,head and balls will grow, you just get yourself comfortable and stay where you are.

Q : You're not a musician, how do you claim yourself to be producer?
Depends on what you think "producer" is. My definition of a Producer is : oversees the production goes smoothly and in order, on time, within budget estimate. Reflects and truly represents the musician's vision/story-writing in the song into the recording and on stage (unless they want studio magic 101 or live.)

3 levels of listening. Audio Engineer (listens to frequencies/production techniques), Musician (instruments/chords/scales/arrangement etc) , Consumer (melody/vocals).
Musician pays the audio engineer. consumers pays to buy the musician's merch and gig admission tickets. Unless you're a technical instrumental band whose target audience is "musicians". Every level is equally important.

I am the (non-musician) consumer + audio engineer perspective. So if you're talking about me insisting you how you should sound and re-write+recording your guitar solos and tell you to play it that way from now on. I'm not that "musician" producer, you got the wrong guy.

My ears are very much valid enough to do what I'm doing :
tonometric.com
May 2008 -
adaptive pitch test : 1.2hz (1st try)
rhythm test : 92% (no replays used. 10 left)
tonedeaf test : 86.1% (1st try) / 94.4% (2nd)
AMVI test : 75% (1st try) / 85% (2nd try)
...Pitch discrimination: 71.0% / 85.5%
...Musical memory: 70.0% / 86.5%
...Contour discrimination: 79.5% / 81.9%
...Attention: 72.0% / 82.8%
...Musical/visual abstraction: 74.0% / 81.9%

Oct 2011 -
adaptive pitch test : 0.75hz (1st try) , 0.6hz (2nd) [same test]
rhythm test : 80% (no replays used. 10 left) [new beats since 2008]
tonedeaf test : 88.9% [same test , remembered some.]
AMVI : 90% (1st try) [same test.]
...Pitch discrimination: 91.3%
...Musical memory: 91.0%
...Contour discrimination: 86.7%
...Attention: 88.2%
...Musical/visual abstraction: 86.4%

3rd time onwards is somewhat cheating. Have fun and be honest with your results. =)

Q : What's with your attitude?
Musicians are really nice people, just like their art, they're composed and command a stage presence. Here's my answer : I'm NOT a musician.

Q : Ron, you're an a$$ , I hate you, you suck, F* you. -anonymous
Thank you for the honesty, that means you're here because you appreciate my art and definitely not here for my personality. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to suck on my woman's 5th alphabetitties and difference between us is you're f*cked and I'm f*cking.

If your questions are not answered here - [Contact Me]

[Schedule]

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How To Use :
1) List all available dates which the Band members are involved in the recording.
(e.g Band leader is the Guitarist, will accompany Vocalist during recording.)
2) List all available dates the "location" (e.g Room rental/Jamming Studio slots) are available.
3) Match dates 1) and 2).
4) Take those dates and match with the dates NOT LISTED "BUSY" on the list on the right here ---->
5) Contact me via email/phonecall/sms/facebook ! This is not an "online application" system for anti-spambots/saboteur security purposes. there's nothing to click here.

I'm not available every 16th of each month, birthdays and usually English New year - Chinese New Year period.

All dates are subjected to availability.
[calendar.blueprintstudios.org] for a full page view.

Recording Hours - What time and where :

Drums - Anytime limited to your waking hours at jamming studio opening hours/or your own drumpractise room. Preferably Sunday Nights when transport charges (parking/ERP) are friendlier. Try to choose a time where neighbours will not complain.

Guitars/Bass/DI recording - Preferably 3pm - 7pm, (dinner) , 8pm - end before your last bus/train limit or midnight. at my place.

Vocals Singing - Preferably 8pm - end before midnight. at my place when it's most quiet.

Vocals Screaming/Group Shout/Horns/Loud Elements - 3pm - 7pm. at my place / jamming studio.

Try not to bring people who are not involved in the recording or in the band if possible. If they distract the recording musician/compromise the sound in anyway, it's your call.

All transport charges apply. Should there be a thunderstorm for a "microphone" recording (e.g Vocals. there's a chance of recording session being cancelled for concerns of natural noise)

[About Me]

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I speak my mind.
I am BluePrintStudios.Org. It's not a studio.It's not a group of people. Just me.
I'm married.
I'm a sec sch dropout (PSLE) , started working@early age, the guy your parents warned about.
I work on formulas based on cost efficiency, experience, fun and freedom.
I'm a quiet person because my mind is so full of shit, I got nothing good to say.
I'm a talkative guy because you seek my advice knowing I can help you make a better decision. If I appear a nag that's your problem, you're the listener.
I'm a nice guy because I give a shit.
I'm an a$$hole because I give you shit.
I'm the man behind the microphone/videocamera/computer/steering wheel.
I am not a musician, I don't play a single instrument. (surprising and ironic isn't it.)
I am not after your first impression , I only aim for end results, your sound.without the overhyped cost.
I am the producer who will (try) give you the results you want via his methods. Not be given your methods and instructions to get the results.
I cater to all musicians of all budget and requirements and their needs.
I'm not a starstruck guy unless you're nick launay , chris lord alge , jerry finn , rob cavallo or you're simply a person who's going to give me 3 million SGD to make my life easier.
I don't care how young, old, broke (fact : your facebook will reveal how un-broke you are anyway), rich , small fry, big shot, regardless race/language/religion. In sound/mix, everything is equal.

I am only human, Singaporean, and I do what people do professionally, for fun.
I just wasted 100 seconds of your life and unfortunately it is non-refundable.

[Affiliations]

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http://www.soft.com.sg
http://www.blkmarket.sg
http://yourmusiceducation.blogspot.com/
http://www.lookforbeez.com
http://walkandrollproductions.wordpress.com/

[ok]
www.epicstudio.com.sg
http://www.myspace.com/thelitheparaloguestudio
www.liveamp.com.sg
Ninja Soukutsu/Shogun Studios - u/c
www.fiftyseven.com.sg
tinyurl.com/atticjammingstudios
www.woodworkz.com.sg
www.myspace.com/scapestudio
www.odiocrib.com
www.studioqunlimited.com.sg
BMC Wee Lee (Aljunied)
www.guitar77.com
www.livin-forte-production.blogspot.com
www.chapter6production.com
www.fadmedia.com.sg
charlie studio
www.urbanlegend.com.sg - *Moved/Inactive*
www.tiet.sg
www.greendoorstudios.com.sg
www.boonmusical.com
www.beatmerchantstudio.com
www.fourtonesmusic.com
www.shiinstudio.com.sg
lcubemusic.chocoboard.com
www.myspace.com/thesoundportal
club paradise
music ensemble

[pending]
EFX Studio @ Ming Arcade

[no k]
www.zaistudios.com

[Garage Sale]

2001-01-01T12:00:00.101+08:00

http://tinyurl.com/blueprintsale

Washburn Southside Jr 15 Watt Amp - $100

(Gibson Les Paul STD Copy) Aria Pro II LS450 w/Gibson Electronics,Hardshell case - $700

[Rates] (Currency : SGD $Singapore Dollars)

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Standard Rates :
Recording $50/hr excluding location rental, Edit/Mix/Master totalled $150onwards/song.
(Location rental will vary from different jamming studios e.g. Drums@$16/HR Studio and will be arranged by the client)
All transport/labour charges will apply.

Lite (Digital) Rates :
(Drums Recording - May not be available to some abusive genres due to E-drumset fragility.)
Recording : $30/hr
Location : Siglap , East.
Mixing/Mastering : $30onwards per song.

Individual Rates : (Working with 3rd party studio/DIY's tracks)
-Recording : $50/hr excluding location rental.
-Editing* (Fix musician tempo/pitch errors) : $30onwards/instrument
-Reamping* : $30/hr
-Mixing* : $100onwards/song
-Mastering* : $50/song
-Producer* : $10/hr + $10onwards/song online consultation.
-Supervised Rental : Contact me with the list of gear you require and what you'll be recording. My presence is $10/hr (Producer) + $XX/hr depends on the gear rented.My role will be advising assistant recording engineer/producer.
(All transport/labour charges will apply.)

* = Subjected to discount or free in Standard Rates
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"How much could it all cost my band?"
Lite Semi-Live : $60onwards/song estimate
(Recording all instruments at once.Then vocals separate.)

Lite Layer : $150onwards/song estimate
(Recording all instruments individually.)

Full Layer : $500onwards/song estimate

Estimates vary due to number of band members, level of performance, particularity, location rental, song structure complexity, effort, may result more or less than stated. The example stated above is for a 5member simple straightforward pop/rock genre with a 4 minute song.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Customized Situations]

Recording DIY or recording with a friend for free?
Editing : $100onwards/song
Mixing/Mastering : $100onwards/song + $50/song

Recording and Mixing yourself? / Recorded/Mixed elsewhere, doesn't sound good?
Mastering : $50/Song

DIY Recording/Mixing/Mastering yourself but need an experienced ear/opinion to guide and oversee the entire production?
Producer : $10/hr in recording session + $10onwards/song online consultation.
Supervised Rental options available if client does not have better microphones/preamp.

Already recorded yourself but the tracks are not in timing/vocals out of tune?
Editing (Fix musician tempo/pitch errors) : $30onwards/instrument layer

Wanna build your own digital recording studio in your bedroom/home so you can record in your own time without paying per hr?
You can either check out www.soft.com.sg for my posts, or engage me for a house-visit-one-to-one consultation at $50onwards/visit. (usually requires around 2 visits, 1 for computer , 1 for DAW Setup)

DVD 1-cam angle-video of our live gig/jamming session with clear stereo recording for audition?
$50/hour for 5 songs limit. (If performed 4 songs, it's still $50 in that hour. If performed 8 songs, it's additional $10/song)

DVD 1-cam angle-video of our band performance with multitrack recording?
$50/hr for 5 songs limit additional $10/song within that hour after song limit + $30/hr+$30onwards/song [Lite Digital Rate]

Multi-cam angle-video ?
Please contact me with situation details, prior deposit required because I will purchase/rent additional vidcameras and look for cameramen specially for your event. Hope you'll be realistic with your budget.

For Existing Clients -
Karaoke Mixes (Left Panned Vocals) , Minus One (No Vocals) , Mixed but not Mastered (Sending somewhere else for mastering) , isolated tracks for rehearsal due to new band members or any customized situations. Will be charged $10/hr taken for my time.

[M-WWW]

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Welcome to http://m.blueprintstudios.org .

My rates are - Recording : $50/hr excluding location rental, Mix/Master : $100onwards/song.
(Location rental will vary from different jamming studios e.g. $16/HR)

You can reach me by http://contact.blueprintstudios.org with your contact details and situation/enquiry.

To hear my works, you will have to have access to a flash enabled browser on a laptop/desktop and go to my main site at www.blueprintstudios.org

-Ron

Vocalist's Guide/Checklist For Improvement

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[About]
This "checklist" is not in anyway to replace vocal teachers/coaches or will make a diva out of you but to help you have a higher awareness of your current state and limitations AND practise slowly to go beyond.In short run, this checklist should help prepare before any vocals recording in the studio or before a big gig. In long run, no guarantees, but so far I see permanent effect on myself (after 8 years) as a guinea pig.

[1-Lyrics]
grammar.vocab.noun.spelling.etc.
make sure the words make sense, keep with the flow and relevance.Once I recorded this female vocalist who was singing the love-breakup song by the male guitarist written for his ex. If it's necessary, change the lyric's "gender". cos I thought she was a lesbian when I heard the lyrics. Can you imagine if you were a guy and you sang "Always Be My Baby" which is a Mariah Carey cover with the words "BOY,don't you know you can't escape me"... anyway I always felt that the great love songs are written by gay people. George Michael.. Darren Hayes (Savage Garden).. Elton John... unless you wanna go that direction.

[2-Tempo]
to combine "lyrics" with "tempo" also includes "syllables" , ever felt that you were trying to squeeze too many darn words into a short melody ? sometimes little/simpler, is better. Take note and know when to breathe cos that helps with the "Pitch". A sub-topic about breathing, try to balance breathing between nose/mouth or both. Because nose don't have a "vocal box" , it's got a nice "clean breath-in" , cos I know some people do this unwanted pitch "HURRGGHH" when they breath in using their mouth.

[3-Pitch]
some people have trouble hitting right notes. i see some sing the tune together with the piano key to help practise. but to combine "tempo" / "pitch" together with the situation, sometimes fast songs are damn hard to sing cos the pitch goes low then mid then high then low high low high you can't tune your vocals fast enough to keep up, then my suggestion is sing the song 2 to 5 times slower like some celine dion titanic song. then slowly learn to speed up.

[4-Pronunciation]
e.g Can't
american - k-air-nt.
british - k-ah-nt.
e.g Take.Make.Don't Know.
good english - T-ay-ke.M-ay-ke.Doh-un't(silent h,u,t) nou.
goot engrish - tek.meg.DONCHno.

Accent : engrish assent? singlish? japanglish? american english? jamaican reggae? aussie? indian? malay?
Don't mumble.if you wear braces or born with lisp or short tongue, exaggerate your pronunciation. you'll feel dumb but you'll sound good.
another one is, keep that smile on your face when you sing. It reduces the "P-F-T-H" i believe it's called sibilance. I read about an experiment that a guy tried to sing infront of a burning candle and no matter how he sang the candle blew out. when I smiled as he sings, the candle flame stays. one very good example is, observe Jon Chan (hope i got the name right) of Plainsunset when he sings. he looks a little cramped with his face at times but who cares if you sound great?

most importantly, be yourself. because pronunciation is presentation of your spoken words of your teeth and lips. If you try to fake an accent and you do a bad job, you sound worse than if you sang it singlish. at least it's sincere.

[5-Feel]
songs are musical stories, so portraying the emotions of the story
there're times. there's a fine line drawn between "corn" "cheese" and "cool". (as in corny / cheesy lame) , but sometimes corny lyrics or tunes may fit just into the song simply because the song is chirpy or funny , comedic or just simply feels like rainbows and sunflowers are coming out of your pants. remember if it sounds right, if feels right, it wouldn't be wrong right? SO SING IT LIKE YOU F*kin MEAN IT!

[6-Tone]
somewhat related to feel, but this is more vocal tone than emotions
combine with "feel" : falsettos/vibrato/spunkypunkyhusky/sexy/sounds emo like you're singing with a penknife on your wrist.
mysterious like muse? grunge like kurt cobain ? cannot-take-u-serious-voice like poppunk tom delonge of blink182 ? Beegees? some people possess the voice that's a double edged sword, as much as 100 people love it, 100 people hate it. e.g I hate suede's vocals.
check if your vocals have a distinct feel and study how you can use it to your advantage.
Another trick is, if you have alot of ppl saying that you "sound like this vocalist in this famous band", try to figure out what style compliments his/her voice, and not necessarily "imitate/replicate" his/her vocals but to embrace the plus points and then make your own unique/distinct trade mark as you mature.

[7-Condition]
As I always say recording vocals is like recording a shapeshifting tube amp.

a) Digestables
avoid spicy/dairy food especially before recording.
drink luke warm water with honey.
don't whisper when you're having a cough it makes it worse.
dont drink cold water before recording, shrinks your wind pipe
semen. kidding.

b) Health
auto abit ,if you know it's the flu season, wear the flu mask or gf's bra over your face I don't care just take care of yourself. If you're asthmatic or had your testicles removed and you're on medication, bring it along cos you don't want to go all dying during recording vocals.

c) Observation Case-To-Case Basis
Study on what foods you eat/what you do that may compliment or totally screw over your vocals. some people sound great/crap when :
sing when you just woke up..
after they drink alcohol.
after they drink alcohol, knocked out, woke up and hang over.
when they actually have flu. (if i'm not wrong Blink 182 - Dammit, Mark Hoppus had flu or something but song became a hit anyway)
personally for me, tabasco sauce clears up and opens up my voice cos I read somewhere contains some kinda content found in COUGH syrup.

for smokers, if you had to record the best take of your life. try this , first 1 cig. sing, after that another cig. sing, when you feel like your vocals giving way and out of breath, one shot 2 to 3 cigs. this is highly hazardous (but hey, i'm sure you've read the warning labels before you started to pick up) , and go for it! them cigs act as some kinda steroids or painkillers like how some cancer patients smoke weed to numb the pain. but as I already said, you know the warnings, very bad for your health. music is your life right?

d) character-pattern
every vocalist like tube amps have their own character, some perform under moods/momentum, like 11pm last bus a phone call comes and say "Ron I got the mood, i'm heading over to record" or some vocals are sadomasochistic , it needs to be abused for the 1st 3 hours , then it'll peak performance for the 4th, and 5th hour it starts to melt and rot. hahah. some need to record blindfolded, or with aircon off, or with aircon or with pegs on nipples. Some genres run on "energy" , they need a "dummy chair" to put a leg on (as if monitor speaker), they need to hold a fake mic in their hands but sing it facing the real vocal mic, they need to do 100 pushups and crunches, they need someone to preach them that Singapore government is the best in the world before they feel a need to protest and get the word across (if you're recording a punk band. i guess.)

[Miscellaneous]
"How come I sing so good in KBox and when I go singing competition the judges say I'm totally crap?"
1) the judges is tone deaf and their musical background is accountant, property sales agent and a car mechanic in Ubi Industrial area..
2) Echo effect on the Kbox machine.
3) Minus one (music without singing) has background vocalists + traces of the original vocals in perfect pitch backing you up.
4) you got "good friends" who don't want tell you the bad news to your face : YOU SUCK!
5) your friends can't sing any better than you do : THEY SUCK!
6) That's why you pay to sing. Ppl don't pay you to sing. If ppl paid you to stop singing, you must suck really bad.

If you're singing for work (in a pub) , if you're singing for fun (in a karaoke), or if you're singing while you're taking a big dump (in the toilet), it's not the same as singing with your heart on stage or in studio.

[Final Say]
In the final studio production, unless you're just doing singing (without any background music) , being a part of a band, or even an orchestra or background music, you have to compliment with the music and the rest of the band members have to compliment your vocals.

P.S : I just realised this is for SINGING vocalists.Growlers/Screamo/Rappers not included haha. I haven't gained enough experience to guide on other genres.