@Chelsea Amber - Can you help me with something? 

I'm working on a cover of the song "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" by Jack Johnson. Even though I'm new to singing I'm pretty sure that this song is in my vocal range but when I record myself it's not coming out right. The original song he has like a breathy soft whisper like tone throughout the song, but when I cover it I lack that because I'm trying to match the volume of my voice with my guitar so I sing louder and when I sing louder I sound worse. For a song like this, should I move the mic closer to my mouth and sing in a lower volume, and then increase the volume (or hit it with a compressor) in post? I'm not sure how singers track their vocals to get them to sound better. I know that learning to sing better is top priority but I don't want to put off making covers while I'm learning. Thanks Here is me practicing the song (recorded with my phone, when I do an official cover I use a condenser mic) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fyTSyaMfC0

