The Key:
Vocals sound good only when they are “in tune”. If a singer is “flat” (or sharp) the vocal performance doesn’t sound as good and can even sound poorly recorded.
The Problem:
A singer sings in tune when he/she gets a good “pitch reference.” The ears, however, are not always correctly “hearing” the pitch.
When music is played loud, a person hears the bass frequencies flat. How Flat? A lot flat as much as the pitch difference of the next key on the piano and even more. In recording the singer hears the band through headphones. If these headphones are loud and bass-heavy, the singer will try to “tune” to what he/she hears and usually sing flat.
Its interesting to observe that if a singer is off during recording, it is usually because they are flat - not sharp.
The Solution:
The solution is simple. If the singer sings flat, reduce the headphone volume and reduce the amount of bass-frequencies in the headphones. This may require a little “training” for singers to get used to using lower volumes and less bass than they want in the headphones.
When singers insist on loud bassy headphones and always sing flat, I will suggest an experiment:
1. Have the singer sing a verse with the headphones loud and bassy. Record this on a track.
2. Have the singer sing the same verse on with the headphones much lower and with less bass. Record this second performance on a different track.
3. Without telling the singer which track is which, play each track with the music and ask which one the singer likes best. They will always choose the track done with the lower-volume, reduced bass headphone mix.
Conclusion:
Two rules to record vocals by:
1. If the singer is having problems with intonation (being in tune), use different headphones volumes - usually turn down the volume and turn down the bass.
2. Use the minimum amount of reverb possible when doing vocal recordings.
Vocals sound good only when they are “in tune”. If a singer is “flat” (or sharp) the vocal performance doesn’t sound as good and can even sound poorly recorded.
The Problem:
A singer sings in tune when he/she gets a good “pitch reference.” The ears, however, are not always correctly “hearing” the pitch.
When music is played loud, a person hears the bass frequencies flat. How Flat? A lot flat as much as the pitch difference of the next key on the piano and even more. In recording the singer hears the band through headphones. If these headphones are loud and bass-heavy, the singer will try to “tune” to what he/she hears and usually sing flat.
Its interesting to observe that if a singer is off during recording, it is usually because they are flat - not sharp.
The Solution:
The solution is simple. If the singer sings flat, reduce the headphone volume and reduce the amount of bass-frequencies in the headphones. This may require a little “training” for singers to get used to using lower volumes and less bass than they want in the headphones.
When singers insist on loud bassy headphones and always sing flat, I will suggest an experiment:
1. Have the singer sing a verse with the headphones loud and bassy. Record this on a track.
2. Have the singer sing the same verse on with the headphones much lower and with less bass. Record this second performance on a different track.
3. Without telling the singer which track is which, play each track with the music and ask which one the singer likes best. They will always choose the track done with the lower-volume, reduced bass headphone mix.
Conclusion:
Two rules to record vocals by:
1. If the singer is having problems with intonation (being in tune), use different headphones volumes - usually turn down the volume and turn down the bass.
2. Use the minimum amount of reverb possible when doing vocal recordings.
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