Sponsored Review
It all began with a casual chat with Careen, who is one of the bosses of United Music. She was in the midst of launching a brand new singing class for children in December and asked if I was interested to send the girls for the class. Why, of course!! My girls have always loved singing since young, and it would be wonderful if they can learn how to sing properly. Then somewhere during our chat, she realised that my 10th wedding anniversary was approaching, and she raised a suggestion that made my heart leap! She proposed to record a duet for hubby and I in their recording studio to commemorate the special occasion. What a superb idea! =D
You see, United Music is the only singing school in Singapore that provides the opportunity for you to merge singing lessons with studio recording, known as Vocal Recording Academy. When you take up a package with them, you will go through weekly lessons with a professional vocal coach, and then record a song in the studio as a finale to the course. When I heard that, I thought what a great idea it was! Not only will you be able to learn the techniques of singing such as correct breathing and phrasing, you can also leave the school with an actual fruit of your labour. With its own recording studio, your recording will be produced by a professional team of arrangers and sound engineers, so you can be assured what you receive will be of good quality.
So two nights ago, we excitedly made our way to United Music. Both hubby and I have never done any studio recording before, so we didn't really know what to expect.
United Music is a very cosy place on level 2 of a shophouse along East Coast Road. I felt comfortable the moment I stepped in. Colourful photographs of children having singing lessons are splashed on the wall.
By the way, if you do not yet know, Careen is the lead vocalist of the band - DreamFactory, who participated in the Superband competition previously. She is currently one of the vocal coaches at United Music. She and her husband, Eric, started United Music with a passion for singing and producing good music.
We were there to do our duet recording that evening, so the girls stayed in the children's playroom and were kept entertained by the toys. This is also the place where the singing lessons for the children are held.
The lyrics for the song we were going to record - 你最珍贵! Quite a meaningful song to commemorate our wedding anniversary? =D We were told to sing once through with the music, and then Careen gave us some tips on how to improve our singing and our pronunciation. She also shared with us some tips on reaching high notes by raising our eyebrows and by projecting our voices through our teeth. Not everything was easy to understand immediately for laymen like us, but Careen was patient and demonstrated how to do it. It was really interesting learning the different techniques, and we could hear the difference in our voices immediately. Amazing!
My first time stepping into a recording studio felt really surreal. I've always loved singing, and even as a kid, I used to record my own singing on cassette tapes using my mum's recorder, LOL! It felt like a dream come true for me! And to be able to do this together with my hubby was something I've never thought of before.
That's us in the studio with our earphones! We did one round of recording with both of us singing at the same time, and then using that as the base, we then did individual recording so that our voices can be better adjusted in the post production stage.
Eric handled the recording while Careen listened to the quality of the singing. Here and there, she would pause and make us redo certain parts that she felt we could do better. It was a lot of fun!
I'm sure you can tell I was having a lot of fun. =P Hearing my own voice was very strange, but it's definitely an experience I will never forget. :)
The whole recording was completed very fast, and Eric would work on the post-production while we nervously await the final product! Our girls were amazing - they kept themselves entertained while we were recording. Hubby and I really enjoyed ourselves - It was like a KTV session!
We were expecting the post production to take a few days, but Eric rushed it out for us the very next day! We were so grateful for that, because we can't wait to see the end product! =D
Presenting our song. :)
We love it so much! Eric even went the extra mile to edit in certain parts of our wedding montage and as some of our friends put it, the whole video now looked like an MTV! Haha! And as I watched it over and over again, I just felt so thankful and blessed that I have something so precious and meaningful to commemorate our ten years of marriage. This would be something we would look back years on and remember with fond memories. Definitely something to show off to our grandchildren as well! =D
Our experience with United Music was so wonderful that I would strongly recommend their services. You may have a passion for singing and want to learn how to sing better. Or you may just be thinking of celebrating a special occasion like us, by recording a song together with your special someone. Have a chat with the friendly bosses of United Music, and you may find something you really like. Best of all, their prices are very affordable and reasonable!
To find out more, check out their website: www.unitedmusic.sg or Facebook page. Or you can contact them at Tel: (65) 6344-1911/ Email: info@unitedmusic.sg. United Music is located at 136 East Coast Road #02-01 Singapore 428821 (very near to 112 Katong).
Thank you once again, Eric & Careen, for giving us such a memorable experience. :)
(This is Part 1 of 2 posts on the complimentary services provided by United Music & United Records.)
