Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Vocal Recording Techniques

By Caleb M Sarikey   

Use the following techniques when recording vocals in your home studio.

Invest in good microphone:
In the long run, it will be worth it to invest a little money into a nice condenser microphone. There is no better way to capture clear, high quality vocals than using a high quality microphone! Generally, the cost of a good microphone starts at around $90 and goes up.

Pop Filter:
Having a pop filter is very important when capturing a great vocal performance. A pop filter is basically a screen that filters out all of the heavy "P", "H", and breathing sounds that otherwise distort the recording. Pop filters are pretty cheap. You can get a decent one for around $20. If you don't have the money or time to get a pop filter before your next recording, you can make a homemade pop filter. Simply wear a handkerchief that covers your mouth. You don't want it so thick and tight that it muffles your voice and effects how you talk, but just enough so it catches those unwanted pops and cracks.

Find Your Distance:
Every microphone is different. To get the best recording out of your microphone, be sure to play around and test it out for awhile before committing to a final recording. Some microphones are very sensitive whereas others require you to be very close to the mic. Find a comfortable distance from your microphone that gives a good volume level of recording, clear vocals, and no pops or distortion. Use this distance as your marking point every time you record so all of your tracks will have equal vocal quality!

Location:
When recording, you don't want to be in a huge room or a room with background noise. When recording at home, or just not in a studio, the most commonly used type of room to record in is a smaller, quiet, and closed room. This assures that there is no background noise or extra feedback from the surroundings.

Overdubbing, Ad-Libs, and Simple Effects:
The techniques of overdubbing and ad-libbing can really enhance your vocal recording. Overdubbing is when you record background vocals over top of the main vocal section that you already have recorded. The most common overdubbing technique is emphasizing the last lyric and rhyming word of each line. Ad-libbing is when you record other background vocals that do not lay directly on top of the main vocal recording. For example, repeating the last word of each line. These techniques provide a more powerful and full sounding vocal recording. Simple effects such as compression, reverb, and echo can also enhance your vocals. Adding a little reverb and slight echo makes the vocals sound larger. These are simple effects that can be found in most free software, such as Audacity or GarageBand.

I hope this information was of great help and that you can use it to improve the quality of your music!
Caleb Sarikey - Music Producer / Engineer

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