Having a Hard Time Recording Vocals

[DaveQuan]

i find myself struggling a lot when it comes to recording my vocals, my sessions are mixed decently, not the best, but good enough, i ca never wake up and get straight to recording like i really want to, because my voice sounds so sluggish in the morning, so i wait until like two o clock to record, then my voice just sounds weird, i dont know, its either my mouths too wet, or not too clear, then it gets dry from me trying so hard, then by the end of the day, my voice is wore out and i'll end up with a headache and just tired, its an everyday thing, its just a cycle, its just so hard and frustrating, i write so many songs and make so many beats, but have such a hard time recording all of them, so now im stuck with twenty songs and maybe two good songs that get recorded well, theres days when my voice sounds perfect, and i can get a song recorded, but thats so rare for me, i dont know what it is that causes my voice to change, is it what i eat, or what i do, i really need to know so i can record my songs, does anybody have any tips on preparing to record, or what to eat before recording, any mouth exercises, anything will help, thank you, much love

[alexis]

i find myself struggling a lot when it comes to recording my vocals, my sessions are mixed decently, not the best, but good enough, i ca never wake up and get straight to recording like i really want to, because my voice sounds so sluggish in the morning, so i wait until like two o clock to record, then my voice just sounds weird, i dont know, its either my mouths too wet, or not too clear, then it gets dry from me trying so hard, then by the end of the day, my voice is wore out and i'll end up with a headache and just tired, its an everyday thing, its just a cycle, its just so hard and frustrating, i write so many songs and make so many beats, but have such a hard time recording all of them, so now im stuck with twenty songs and maybe two good songs that get recorded well, theres days when my voice sounds perfect, and i can get a song recorded, but thats so rare for me, i dont know what it is that causes my voice to change, is it what i eat, or what i do, i really need to know so i can record my songs, does anybody have any tips on preparing to record, or what to eat before recording, any mouth exercises, anything will help, thank you, much love

Hey ... maybe a part of the problem is that you are not hearing your voice well enough when you are singing. How are you doing it ... playing and singing simultaneously, or singing to a backing track? Headphones?

[molecular]

Making sure you are comfortable with what you're hearing of yourself is definitely crucial.

I find that things like sugar and dairy products play havoc with my voice (including tea with milk in it), and any heavy foods will make my voice sound different and make me too sluggish to do anything useful. So if you don't already, I'd definitely try avoiding meat, sweets, soft drinks etc before trying... and keep a glass of water there.

I have also found that posture is a big help. As well as improving the general sound, I found that the other result of moving the mic further away was that I started singing up and out into the room rather than trying to point myself into the pop filter, which meant better results all round.

Can't help with proper vocal excercises, I'm afraid...

[Bob Bickerton]

Certainly there are times of the day that suit some singers better than others and mornings are often the most challenging. Avoiding dairy foods, well any food and drink that encourages mucus to form in the throat is a good idea.

But more importantly, I'd suggest voice training as a solution. The voice is as challenging an instrument to play as any other, and people often overlook this fact. There are techniques and tips involved in learning how to use the voice and so I'd recommend some lessons, if you can find a good teacher. They'll also be able to analyse the problems you are having and give advice about what to eat etc.

If you intend to perform live, when you have to sing regardless of what time of day suits your voice, then having more control over your voice and being more aware of its limitations will be useful.

Bob

[alexis]

Also ... warming up is key, in a very comfortable range, where you are definitely not straining, definitely *not* trying to project the voice during warmups. Much easier to sing hard later once you are all warmed up.

By the way, for the crowd ... has anyone ever tried using a decongestant, or an antihistamine nasal spray, an hour or two before singing, to dry up the mucus?

[ConcertinaChap]

Bob got there before me. A lot of people are afraid a singing teacher will try and make them sound like Enrico Caruso or something. What a good singing teacher will do in fact is try and help you sing better in the style you aspire to. A few lessons could be money well spent.

CC

[oneflightup]

Vocal coaching / lessons, as others have pointed out.

Also, try drinking Green tea.... a very famous Australian rock singer who's been around some 40 years and still going strong drinks it before a gig, and even has some on stage (instead of the vodka he used to drink) and from all accounts it works amazingly well. Give it a go.

Best of luck,

Nick

[alexis]

Vocal coaching / lessons, as others have pointed out.

Also, try drinking Green tea.... a very famous Australian rock singer who's been around some 40 years and still going strong drinks it before a gig, and even has some on stage (instead of the vodka he used to drink) and from all accounts it works amazingly well. Give it a go.

Best of luck,

Nick

I hate to ask ... any specific kind of green tea (I don't know much about tea)?

[Bob Bickerton]

Vocal coaching / lessons, as others have pointed out.

Also, try drinking Green tea.... a very famous Australian rock singer who's been around some 40 years and still going strong drinks it before a gig, and even has some on stage (instead of the vodka he used to drink) and from all accounts it works amazingly well. Give it a go.

Best of luck,

Nick

I hate to ask ... any specific kind of green tea (I don't know much about tea)?

The sort you can smoke?

Bob

[James Perrett]

Ever thought of getting an experienced producer or engineer in to help you? Sometimes some encouragement and pointing in the right direction is what is needed.

[petev3.1]

My old singing teacher (Cynthia Glover - once quite famous) used to recommend a glass of sherry before a performance. On the other hand the best female vocalist I ever played with used to recommend a bottle of Jack Daniels once or twice a day and carefully stuck to her own advice.

I reckon the trick for a voice that keeps changing through the day is regular exercises. Particularly long held notes with a crescendo and decrescendo for control. Problems are very often to do with breathing and with unnoticed tension, and a decent teacher would probably be the best way to sort out these problems. Sometimes four ears are better than two.

[Drew Stephenson]

as well as the advice above I'd suggest a couple of options, 1) try a vocalzone - little black throat sweets that just seem to help sooth the throat without leaving any kind of residue. 2) if you're singing with headphones on, try singing to monitors (you may have to re-position things to minimise spill and make sure you're muting anything that you don't want in the final mix), it can be a much more natural experience and help to relax all kinds of things.

[CS70]

Also ... warming up is key, in a very comfortable range, where you are definitely not straining, definitely *not* trying to project the voice during warmups. Much easier to sing hard later once you are all warmed up.

Just a note to this - a singer should never, ever strain. Singing loud, high, projecting - all this occurs within the normal muscular capabilities, which are built up over time. If you feel yourself ever straining when singing, you're doing it wrong.

You may still do faces, but that's just for show

[CS70]

i find myself struggling a lot when it comes to recording my vocals ...

I find that some water with lemon drops helps. That said, I'd suggest you stop thinking about how your voice sounds. Your wording suggests you have a template in mind - and you can't reach it in the morning, afternoon or evening Well, if I tried to sound like Pavarotti, I just couldn't: besides training, talent and girth, the simple fact is that my throat muscles, lungs, diaphragm, air intake and so for are different. Same training, talent and girth, my voice would still sound different.

Forget how your voice sound and when it sounds in a certain way. Forget if you like it or not. Sing in a range you're comfortable to (near your top if you want to improve), sing in time, hit the pitch, put expression and accents in your thinking, *believe* in what you're singing, feel emotionally connected to it.. and you'll be just fine.

This what shines thru, this is what makes a performance good - or great. Not your particular timbre - that, is mostly what you are born with.

[Dynamic Mike]

*believe* in what you're singing, feel emotionally connected to it.. and you'll be just fine.

I find this is inversely proportional to the number of takes I do. The more comfortable I become with the song, the more detached the performance sounds.

Also I agree that you're pretty much stuck with the timbre nature bestows upon you. Unfortunately it's easier to find a genre that suits your voice, than it is to adapt your voice to suit a particular genre.

[FV]

I would like to recommend you get Cari Cole's vocal warmups:

http://caricole.com/product/singers-gift-vocal-warmups/

I use her system and it worked wonders for me. I was losing my voice from singing with too much strain. Her program turned me around completely.

If you learn to sing without strain and with warming up properly, you can sing for hours without ever losing your voice, and the quality of your singing will improve immensely.

[CS70]

I find this is inversely proportional to the number of takes I do. The more comfortable I become with the song, the more detached the performance sounds.

I guess there's only so much emotion that can go into fifteen takes.

There is to say that after singing a song a lot it becomes easier to "mimic" the expressiveness even if you are a bit detached. Certain songs we've gigged for three years - I could do the inflections and nuances while watching reruns of Battlestar Galactica, with both voice and guitar! I always try to stay connected tough, simply because it's no fun at all otherwise.

I remember listening to an interview with Suzanne Vega, where she stated to the same approach. But I also recall a SOS article about some producer back in the '50s or '60s who was getting the singers very tired on purpose - the last takes where the best according to him. Don't recall the details - was some motown production or something similar..

[Mixerman]

i find myself struggling a lot when it comes to recording my vocals, my sessions are mixed decently, not the best, but good enough, i ca never wake up and get straight to recording like i really want to, because my voice sounds so sluggish in the morning, so i wait until like two o clock to record, then my voice just sounds weird, i dont know, its either my mouths too wet, or not too clear, then it gets dry from me trying so hard, then by the end of the day, my voice is wore out and i'll end up with a headache and just tired, its an everyday thing, its just a cycle, its just so hard and frustrating, i write so many songs and make so many beats, but have such a hard time recording all of them, so now im stuck with twenty songs and maybe two good songs that get recorded well, theres days when my voice sounds perfect, and i can get a song recorded, but thats so rare for me, i dont know what it is that causes my voice to change, is it what i eat, or what i do, i really need to know so i can record my songs, does anybody have any tips on preparing to record, or what to eat before recording, any mouth exercises, anything will help, thank you, much love

It's exceptionally difficult to produce yourself, which is essentially what you're attempting to do. If your goal is to release this music for commerce because you wish to be an Artist professionally, then you need help, and you should find help. I've been recording, mixing and producing records since the late 80s, and I would never attempt to produce myself. Why? Because of precisely the problems you're having here. And if you're recording it for fun, then why are you making the process so miserable for yourself?

That said, I will give you my advice as a producer, which is the same advice whether you're serious about being an Artist or just mucking around. First thing is first, you need to let go a little. Have fun singing. Perform the songs and stop being so hard on yourself.

Frankly, it sounds to me like you're in a bad feedback loop. You're obviously extremely frustrated, and that only makes matters worse. Here is something specific that I might suggest in order to break the cycle: Record yourself singing down the song every day for 3 days. Make sure you warm up your voice really well so that you're able to perform the track without straining. I'm sure there are all sorts of Youtube videos that can take you through a proper warm up routine. Sing the track down twice. Don't listen to your performance at all after you record it (other than a spot check to make sure you're recording what you think you're recording). Do this for 3 days until you have 6 takes (which is way more takes than you generally want to have, but we're trying to break a cycle and boost your confidence here.)

On day 4, listen to all the takes in order, and evaluate them. Pick the three best takes, then choose the best lines from each take and edit them together to make one take (called a comp). Listen to that. I'll bet your voice isn't as wildly different day to day as you make it out to be. I'll also bet you had more fun. That alone will improve your results tremendously.

Now, if you really want to have some fun, after you have a finished comp, try to sing the track down again. This time perform it in an overly expressive manner. Is that better or worse than your comp? Now sing it normally. Is that better or worse than the comp?

The last thing I'll say for now is you're far better off recording your vocals the best as you can, and moving on to the next song, then looping endlessly on the same song. This only brings self-doubt into the picture, and that's destructive to even the most seasoned professional. Complete as many vocals as you can over the course of a month, and then see where you're at with it. I'll bet you hear a significant improvement.

Resist going back to the completed songs. Move forward.

Mixerman