Oct 06, 2009 11:50 am I am very much in the same place as you, I had friends do the vocals on my music.
If you don't have a great voice, and you don't wanna autotune, you have two options:
1- voice lessons
2- outsource
Recording vocals but not a great voice, any tips?
Posted on Oct 06, 2009 11:25 am
HoTBoX Studios
Member Since: Oct 06, 2009
I am recording an artist who does not have a great voice. He is trying to sing songs but need alittle help with his voice. I want it to sound as natural as possible so i dont wanna use anything like autotune. any suggestions?
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Oct 06, 2009 11:50 am I am very much in the same place as you, I had friends do the vocals on my music.
If you don't have a great voice, and you don't wanna autotune, you have two options:
1- voice lessons
2- outsource
Oct 06, 2009 12:44 pm Hahaha, I think that most of us home recordists are in a similar position. dB's 2 suggestions above are 2 of your options.
Voice lessons will pay dividends for the rest of your friend's life. It's never a bad idea to get some voice coaching.
Also, keeping an ear open for anybody you know that can sing is a good idea. You might not even know that one of your friends can sing, but one day you'll be listening to the radio together and you'll hear them singing along in tune. Grab that dude and take him directly to your home studio.
But as far as what you can do now, try doubling the vocal lines to ease the sound of the off notes. Do as many takes as you can to get one vocal line sounding good. Punch in and redo all of the waaaay off notes. Get it sounding pretty close at least. Then, sing another vocal line along with that. Do the same, punch in and redo any way off notes, get it sounding respectable. Now when you play the 2 tracks together, one track helps cover up the slightly off notes of the other track and vice versa. As long as you don't miss the same notes every time, the net result is a little easier on the ears than either track would be on its own.
One thing that I've done when trying multiple vocal tracks is to sing one, damn the off notes. Then I sing another vocal track along with the first. This one tends to be a little more in tune than the first. Then I get rid of the first vocal track and sing a new one to replace it, singing along with the 2nd track. Keep alternating back and forth and I find that with each go-around, my vocal tracks tend to get closer and closer to the true pitch I'm going for.
Well, from one not-so-talented singer to another, I hope your friend finds some tips here that help his confidence and ability.
Oct 06, 2009 12:51 pm yeah i agree wid the above, you WILL sound **** before you sound better.
its a long road but hey, if youre not in your 60's then youve got the time. invest.
there are tips out there that will help in the first few weeks alone.
main thing is to do it, sing, and regularly. set up a little room or something and get some headphones and a mic and sing along to your fav tunes till you get a feel for it.
Oct 06, 2009 01:26 pm Yeah good point Deon. I forgot the most important advice of all, and that's to sing every chance you get. Sing in the car, sing in the shower, sing while you're making dinner, sing while you're getting dressed in the morning. Just belt it out any time you can.
Be sure to get warmed up before recording anything. Get nice and warmed up and it'll increase your confidence and your ability to hit the notes with much less effort.
Oct 06, 2009 02:05 pm 1.) Watch his breathing. Breathing is the most important part of singing, and it should not be a forced thing. Most people don't realize it when they sing, but typically take more breaths than necessary. This can make things sound a little forced at the beginnings of parts. As Tad and Deon said, the more he sings the better off he'll be, confidence is just as important as pitch. The song on my profile, John Doe, is a great example of this. The girl singing with me is a choir major and from what I hear she is pretty well respected among her peers...but she lacked confidence in her delivery and it just sounds...awkward. In fact, I'm pretty committed to the belief that making noises in general increases your vocal ability. I think of every sound I ever make as a potential for a vocal technique. Sometimes I do nothing but make obnoxious noises for the duration of my 45 minute drive home. Then again, I'm completely insane.
2.) Contrary to popular belief, drinking hot tea etc. doesn't help your vocal folds get in tip top condition, though some still swear by it. In fact if it's too hot it can make things worse. Have your friend gargle lukewarm water. You can feel it when you get the water on your vocal cords after you've been warming up (more on warm-ups later). It takes practice to get the water in the right place and then gargling is difficult at first...expect some choking, it happens. The goal is to break free anything that could be lurking between the vocal folds to keep you from singing the notes you intend to sing.
3.) If you hear this guy, "A-hem"ing between takes throw a shoe at him. Don't tell him why; that it will decrease his useful performance window...don't tell him that gargling and forcing a quick breath like a dog after a 10 mile run will work much better and allow him to sing for longer before his voice is shot...just throw something at him. That would be funny.
4.) Warm-up, as Tad said. I suppose the duration is debatable, but I took some lessons from a director for the Lion King musical that said 20 minutes is the ideal warm-up time. I hate that musical...but I follow his advice anyway.
That's what I know...or at least what I think I know. Good luck!
Oct 06, 2009 02:42 pm You know what loosens me up for a good vocal session? Beer, for the mental aspect that is.
Oct 06, 2009 03:44 pm haha, for me, maybe not for the recording session...but I've been known to take a shot or two before a big show to loosen up my nervous parts.
Oct 06, 2009 08:35 pm Capen, i couldnt agree more with that statement.
a bit of alcohol always makes me sing better.
in fact it increases my range and control 3 fold!
im not saying its the alcohol direct to vox chords doing it, but as you said, its a mental thing, it just loosens up me whole body.....screeeeeeeaaammmmiiiing becomes a stroll in the park.
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