How to Improve the Quality of Your Voice When Recording Vocals
Attempting to record your own music may have been an option for you. However, you could have felt disappointed after overdubbing your voice into the instrumentals. The fact that your recorded voice is poor has caused you to get irritated. You’re not the only one who’s been through anything similar.
A large number of recording artists have gone through what you have gone through, therefore you are not alone. This is due to the fact that your perception of how your voice sounds differs from your real voice. Now, please bear with me while I explain.
Your voice is heard in two distinct ways by you in your natural environment. First and foremost, you hear your own speech as a series of vibrating sound waves that pass through air and reach your outer eardrum. Then the vibrating sound waves contact your eardrum and cause it to pop.
Following that, the soundwaves are converted into electrical impulses, which are then sent to your brain for interpretation. You also hear yourself speak because vibrations are going through your skull and into your ears.
Additionally, these vibrations strike your eardrum. It’s difficult to get a clear picture of how your voice really sounds when it’s captured using these two methods of hearing it. The major reason why you believe your recorded voice differs from your genuine voice is also due to this factor.
Improve your singing voice for recording by following these simple steps (Prior To Recording Session)
My recorded vocals were a source of frustration for me as I was making my debut album. Even when I try to make my recorded voice sound more bassy, it typically comes out crisper and higher in pitch. As previously stated, the cause for this discrepancy is straightforward: my perception of my voice differs from the reality of my speech.
A few pieces of advise from my voice coach followed, including suggestions for how I might improve the quality of my vocal recordings. Fortunately, his recommendations are straightforward! Moreover, they are really efficient! For this reason and others, I’m passing them along to you. For your convenience, I’ve included the following concise recommendations:
Start by putting yourself in a relaxed state.
Efforts to relax are the foundation of every successful recording. Without a doubt, the studio’s environment will have a significant impact on your degree of relaxation. You will not feel calm if the ambience is not right.
Getting into your comfort zone will allow you to better project your voice in subsequent conversations. Relaxed and secure in your own skin, your own voice will undoubtedly emerge.
Assume the Proper Posture in Step 2.
Maintaining proper posture during recording is essential for successful recording. Stand with your feet slightly apart in order to achieve this position. – In order to maintain a tiny forward lean in your weight, place one foot front and the other slightly back. While you are relaxing your knees, bend them gently. Relax the muscles in your hands, as well as your body.
In addition, you should relax your abdominal and back muscles. Slide your shoulders back to allow your spine to straighten. Maintain a similar relationship between your chin and the ground as well. When singing, it is important to maintain proper posture.
Step 3: Warm Up Before You Begin Recording Your Song
To get your voice chords to open up, you should practice some easy warm-up exercises. Yowing helps you stretch out your facial muscles, as well as those in your throat.
Your diaphragm and neck will be relieved as a result of this technique. Once you’ve done that, cough very lightly to imitate a cough movement. Humming and lip trills might be done afterward as a finishing touch.
Start with a low pitch and work your way up to a high pitch by rolling your lips. Then, reverse the direction of your lip roll by beginning with a high pitch and working your way down.
Step 4) Singing Scales Exercises
Work your way up the scale starting with the lower notes. You may begin with your scale warmups by using the “me” sound. Maintain the intensity of this exercise until you feel as though your voice chords have begun to open.
Practice the song (Step 5)
Before you record anything, practice it first. Examine the stanzas and the lyrics to find out what they mean. Make the stanzas and the wording of the song as perfect as you can! Those syllables and words that need emphasis should be emphasized as much as possible.
Don’t put any pressure on the words that don’t require it! Investigate how those outstanding musicians word their songs as well. When they are singing, pay attention to how they intersperse their breaths.
Also pay attention to how they emphasize certain words and how they pronounce key terms. With these amazing artists, you will undoubtedly gain knowledge.
Foods that are good for your voice should be consumed in Step 6.
You should avoid certain meals if you want to keep your voice healthy. These individuals should be avoided. It is important, however, to consume foods that are beneficial to your vocal health as well. Fruits, whole grains, veggies, and warm water are some of the items that are recommended.
Substances that are harmful to your vocal folds should be avoided in Step 7.
The quality of your voice may be diminished as a result of certain drugs over time. Spicy meals, cigarette smoke, milk products, salty foods, alcoholic beverages, and even certain citrus fruits are among the items to be cautious of while eating. In order to protect your voice, you need be very cautious about the chemicals you consume and absorb into your body.
In The Course of the Vocal Recording Session
There are typically two factors to good voice recordings. In order to increase your vocal quality, you must first discover how to do it. Then you should make certain that you have the greatest voice recording equipment available. Some basic suggestions for improving the quality of your voice recordings are as follows:
Prevent dehydration by following these simple steps:
Make sure you are well hydrated before recording voices. Ensure that you consume lots of fluids and that you have a sufficient quantity on hand. In order to stay adequately hydrated, you should drink enough of clear water or mild tea.
Carbonated beverages and coffee should be avoided. As an added precaution, it is recommended that you maintain a comfortable room temperature that is neither too chilly nor too hot.
Choose the Proper Microphone (Step 2).
If you are recording at a high-end studio, you will notice that they have a variety of microphones to choose from. Their microphones are developed specifically for voice recordings in certain cases, while others are not! For voice recordings, they are quite particular about the microphones that they utilize.
If you are setting up a home studio, you should look for high-quality voice microphones. A high-end microphone should not be considered a luxury item. In part, this is because the kind of voice recording microphones that you use will have a significant impact on the final product of your vocal recordings.
Choose big condenser microphones if you want to sound professional! Large-diaphragm condenser microphones with a high level of versatility and build quality are used in this configuration.
A cardioid microphone should also be available if you want to capture your audio in your own house.. When recording your voice, you may want to consider using an omnidirectional microphone, which allows you to roam around the microphone.
It is recommended that you utilize a dynamic microphone if you are the sort of singer that takes an aggressive position. Your voice will sound warmer thanks to these microphones. The ability to reject background noise is another advantage of these headphones.
Step 3) The placement of the microphone is critical to the overall quality of the vocal track.
Affecting the quality of your voice recordings is the distance between your lips and the microphone you use. Determine the proper distance between yourself and the microphone as a result of this.
Test different distances between your lips and the microphone to see what works best for you! Spend some time finding out how far away you are from the nearest city center.
There is no short-cut to achieving success in this endeavor. You should also be aware of how important the distance between your microphone and your recording is to the quality of your final product.
4. Determine the optimal placement of your microphone and pop filter.
Most musicians place their microphone just over their lips, which is called a “lip position.” Approximately six inches away, the mike was positioned downward. I had to spend a lot of time figuring out the proper distance between the pop filter and the microphone when I first started recording in my home studio.
Experimentation is required in order to determine the optimal distance between the pop filter and the lens. If you create even the smallest sound, dynamic microphones will catch it up.
Even the smallest purse of your lips would be detected by them. To reduce the popping noises that occur while recording, a pop filter is used. More importantly, placing the pop filter at the proper distance from the microphone is essential to getting the best possible recording results.
The pop filter should be placed a little farther away from the mic when utilizing a cardioid condenser microphone. During the vocal recordings, this will help to guarantee that there are less changes in the tones and loudness of the vocalist’s voice during the recording session.
Step 5) Adjust the levels of the recording.
After determining the appropriate placement of the microphone and pop filter, you should check to see that the levels on your interface are adjusted correctly. You should set realistic goals for yourself.
The average level of the sound should be 18dBFS. The sound pressure level should likewise be about 10dBFS at its highest point. As an added bonus, its maximum level should not be more than 6 dBFS.
The dBFS level will be easily visible on the channel meters of your DAW. Request that the singer shout out a song right now. Next, increase the gain to a point wherein the level is already averaging approximately 20dBFS on average.
Tips for Singers on Setting Up a Home Recording Studio
6th Step: Make a trial recording of 10 seconds of silence to use as a reference point.
As a precaution, record around 10 seconds of quiet before to beginning to record the vocals.
You can determine whether or not the microphone is taking up a significant amount of background noise in this manner.. When recording, it is preferable to filter out any background noise. This will make the audio editing process less tiring later on.
Measurement Step 7) Adjust the microphone levels to your liking.
The preamp and the DAW should be checked often throughout the warm-ups and recording settings to ensure that all sounds are at the proper volume. The mic levels should be adjusted safely slightly below the warning light.
In this way, you may avoid the distortion that occurs when the levels are raised too high. When you use the correct levels for your microphones, you may reduce the amount of compression that you need to apply after the recording.
Make every effort to avoid sibilant and popping sounds in Step 8.
When recording voices, the popping sounds and sibilance are the two most unpleasant noises to hear. When you pronounce plosives consonants such as the letters P and B with power, you make popping noises.
Several of these plosive noises may be suppressed with the pop filter. Sibilant sounds, on the other hand, are those that occur when you pronounce the letters S or F. When you’re merely speaking, you’re unlikely to detect these noises.
During recording, however, these noises might become too unpleasant and cause your voice recordings to sound distorted. If you just shift your distance when you pronounce certain sounds, you may significantly lessen their volume.
Check to See That You Sing with Emotion in Step 9)
There are many different kinds of emotions elicited by different kinds of songs. If you are singing a love song, you should sing it in such a manner that the passion of the song comes through in your performance.
Additionally, as you are recording, it is important to understand the message that the song is trying to convey.
As you perform the song, you should allow your emotions to permeate through your performance. The spirit of the music that they sing is internalized by great performers. For this reason, their performances of musical numbers are consistently excellent.
When recording, professional performers often pretend that they are singing for a specific person or group of people. It’s as if they’re singing to that person in their head. Attempts are made to establish contact with the fictitious individual.
Additionally, you should strive to emulate the techniques used by these painters. In order to make a relationship with someone, you must first establish a connection with them via your voice.
To begin audio post-production (mixing and mastering the recorded song), use your headphones to listen to audio playbacks for a while.
Using your headphones, you should spend some time listening to audio playbacks to find out how your voice recording was created while you’re figuring it out.
You will be able to hear the specifics of what you have captured in this manner. Moreover, you may determine what needs to be edited or enhanced, and which parts of the document should be changed.
Do not overdo the vocal editing in Step 2.
It is customary to do some voice editing prior to mixing a track. When it comes to voice editing, a decent piece of software can assist. When it comes to the voice tracks, it may provide you a tremendous amount of control.
The true quality of the voices is something that some vocal editors strive towards.
These individuals like vocal renditions and recordings that are “in-your-face.” Depending on how good the singer’s voice is, this may be a fantastic opportunity.
You may need to perform some easy editing, though, if the singer’s voice isn’t so fantastic. However, be careful not to overdo it in order to avoid ruining the natural mood and quality of your voice.
Step 3) Create an incredible mix for your recording.
A brilliant performer, such as Karen Carpenter, who seldom made errors while recording, would almost certainly provide a wonderful vocal performance more often. You may, on the other hand, depend on voice editing and precise mixing if you are not Karen Carpenter.
Although it used to be a component of the recording process, mixing is no longer a need. More specifically, it is about improving the voices after they have been recorded.
Although it does not directly affect the sound quality of your recordings, it does play a significant influence in them.
In addition to the EQ, compression, distortion/warmth, reverb/delay, and other effects, there are other aspects to consider while mixing.
A mixing specialist might be hired to conduct this work for you so that you can rest your ears while still getting the best mix possible for your recorded work.