@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)
@Ghost the only advice I can give you on your singing is to apply some of that stuff in the bottles behind you. 😂 that’s what I do.
btw, what is the bottle in the middle?
@David Lieder - 🤣 I'll give that a try. Only time I've been drinking and singing is at karaoke. The middle bottle is Embajador Tequila
Well I gave it a try with 2 mics and I still don't like the sound (I used a small cheap pencil condenser mic on the guitar) but this is my official cover because I'm tired of singing/practicing this song and time to move on. I'm only half satisfied with it, like I'm hitting some of the notes but just sometimes.
https://youtu.be/AV3H9L3dIgg
@Ghost Keep listening to it while drinking those bottles behind you and eventually you’ll be totally satisfied. 😂
@Ghost I fall into that struggle too at live gigs, especially if I'm playing with a band, I sometimes over-sing in an effort to be heard. I was listening to Brett Manning's podcast recently and someone made a comment that really stuck with me. They said, "It's better to sing it light and right than wrong and strong." This is definitely something I need to work on.
As for mic control, I tend to get right up against the mic for the softer parts and then move a little further back for the louder parts. It'll take some experimentation to see how best to handle that with your particular mic. Whenever I'm getting ready to record, my sound engineer (AKA @Nate Savage ) gets me to sing the loudest part before we start to make sure I'm not peaking. I've had many sound men get annoyed with me for clipping the system. LOL!
Hopefully that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions. :)
@Chelsea Amber - Thanks for the advice. I haven't really been paying any attention to mic control. I just kind of wobble in front of the mic and move my head whenever and where ever. I'll try to be more mindful of that.
...I need to learn some sound engineering, I have all the gear (for years I would buy everything when I saw it on "deal of the day" on guitar center's website) but most of the stuff I never even used and it sits in my closet.
Eventually the mic control will come naturally and you're on the right track by putting out YouTube videos regularly. :)
That's great that you have the gear ready to use! Looks like you already have a good setup for you videos. What software do you use for recording your videos? We use Logic.
@Ghost it is very impressive how you manage singing while playing. I am still learning to breath normally while playing because I tend to hold my breath in difficult passages - so I don't even start to think about singing :-)