Hey friend! If you’re recording your own vocals at home, you’ll probably like this free masterclass on recording and mixing vocals that I put together for you 👉 www.producinginthebox.com/workshop
My issue is I typically like my voice recorded on a voice memo app. Sometimes I hear my speaking voice in a video and really really like my tone and clarity and then sometimes I hear it and my articulations worse and im more nasally. Recordings always sound so much more off tempo and attitude than just the voice memo lol
I understand the whole thing about familiarity, but it seriously seems like there's something wrong with my voice. It's too high pitched by default, and my pitch control in general is pretty bad. Your voice isn't perfect, but it does sound normal. It kind of reminds me of Ezra Miller. But my voice, it's just awful
Exactly that's what i have been dealing with too. While recording my vocal along with the instrumental it sounds so gorgeous and when i listen back it's so damn horrible. I really wanted to sing in a totally different voice than my own natural speaking voice and it seems like impossible for me to sing in a different voice.
When I was in high school, I hated the way my voice sounded in recordings. I dealt with it in a different way: I started taking voice lessons, eventually getting a degree in vocal performance. Your solution might be simpler, but I don't regret having taken my approach.
Well, when you put it that way,@@Trad_Baylor, it does seem kind of ridiculous. Fortunately, I got an engineering degree at the same time, for which I was on scholarship, so neither the overall cost nor the incremental cost for the music degree was that bad.
the familiarity thing also applies to photos. often people dont think they look good in photos, because no ones face is perfectly symmetrical, and we are WAY more used to seeing a reflection (and therefore inversion left to right) of our face. its just off enough to look 'wrong'.
I've heard this before but it doesn't sound convincing. That would mean you could just flip the photo and get the "familiar/good" look. Which isn't really the case. I think lens distortion could be what's actually making it look off.
@@alterego157 it is a risky thing for sure, but it was always surprising how often I came across this during my time as a wedding videographer back in the 80s. The photographers would take photos at the ceremony, then rush off, develop them, and print up a range of proofs to show at the reception. The photos of just the bride, before the ceremony, were often reversed to get more orders (no tell-tale ring on wrong hand before the ceremony). Bride and Groom, and group shots were printed correctly. Not the most ethical of practices for sure, but one that definitely went on back then. I agree that lens distortion etc. play a big part too. But in the chaos of a wedding the more obvious reversal of features is probably has a bigger impact on decisions.
I used to hate how my voice sounded, but then I had to go through the processes of singing on stage with in-ear monitors, editing a lot of videos, and recording multiple songs. Honestly, it’s just the lack of familiarity, but it comes with time.
Absolutely amazed by this trick! I tried your suggestion of aiming the microphone at my chest instead of directly speaking into it, and the change in resonance in my voice was astonishing. It's incredible how the microphone still captures every nuance of my voice perfectly. WOW, what a discovery! Also, allow me to thank you heartly. I'll definitely be sharing this video with my friends.
Hey 😅 It depends on the location of your microphone capsule and your mic setup. If it’s on the table or fixed to a mic arm, try aiming this part of your mic not directly at your mouth. Instead, aim it towards your chest and see how it works for you.
bro it's just that when I record my voice ppl are like "omg its so good" then when I hear it on that recording I sound like I'm trying too hard or like a dying cow 😭
Same here. I’ve got like 2 songs where I don’t positively hate my voice, and those are songs where I wasn’t emotionally invested in them turning out good…
I remember hating my voice a few years back starting, so I learned mixing to alleviate it, now I like my voice it took years and getting comfortable with its natural talents to realize what makes it unique and it makes it refreshing to work on songs nowadays cause it’s more about what tone and emotion more so than “does my voice sound good to me”
Will have to try this and start recording more. I've often been told I sang well, but everytime I recorded myself I just deleted it almost right away because I did not like what I heard
a tip if you are „scared to open the daw“: let it open automatically when you turn on the pc. this way, since it's already open, i've been working on my tracks at least a little bit every day.
I've been making music for 12 years now and I just finally got to the point where I like my voice. Exposure therapy & interest in figuring out how to get to that desired sound took so long but was worth it. It also has a lot to do with just accepting that you wont hear yourself the same as others and to also think that no one feels or has that miniscule outlook on you that YOU have on yourself as well. I finally released my first project last month where I feel genuinely comfortable with sharing and just want to let y'all know you will get to the point. Cheers to those in the thick of it right now. Please continue making art. Dice
This was interesting… I’ve avoided this video for a while because of the title. I thought “stupid clickbait”, but after watching 30 seconds my face turned into a smile. And I subscribed after another 30 seconds. I used to work as a commercial producer before I got burned out and we recorded a lot of people that had good voices but didn’t like how they sounded. You really have a good way of describing things! 👍 (For the ones just started recording other people: Don’t stress. Be a friend. Listen.)
Thanks friend! I appreciate the kind words. In another video I talked about people first and art second. I love the “don’t stress. Be a friend. Listen.” Love your insight! Thanks again
This brings up a great point, it's really important to keep practicing, don't take prolonged breaks if you can help it. I was becoming very proficient in FL Studio but due to the pandemic I took a long break, and now when I open up my DAW I get completely overwhelmed. I feel like I've started over.
Thank you for the recording advice, it's really helpful. I don't hate my recorded voice, but I hate how much "control" is lost when I try recording sometimes. I feel all these well enunciated and smooth words coming out and think I've nailed it, only to find all that smoothness gone, so your mic hack was very appreciated!
I've never seen your main channel but this raw style of content is personable and easy to watch. Tutorials in general tend to be loud, fast paced, and gimmicky which are draining to watch when half of the time creative blocks just need to be understood mentally and personally rather than with more plugins or equipment. Awesome channel.
Thank you! I kinda felt like the main channel wasn’t everything I wanted to do. I wanted to start a conversation. I still think it’s super valuable. But I started this channel as a way to start a conversation and help in a less flashy way without confusing the other subscribers who subscribed for that type of content 😂
I don't hate my voice. But the way I hear it in my head is so different than the recorded one. I agree that the equipment used to record can influence the result, but still. I hear my voice deeper and even when I'll sing "with my guts" and pour my heart in it, the recorded one would sound like a cute emotionless strangled cat from some Disney movies. 😳😆🙄
That's exactly how it is with me; There's a reason why I don't sing out loud unless the music drowns out my voice. I can't hold a tune straight to save my life- and I know that even without recordings! My voice cracks and dies during the high notes, and constantly goes up and down when I'm trying to maintain a consistent tune. It doesn't help that I've known for years that unfortunately, my recorded voice IS my 'real' voice, and it's what people hear whenever I talk to them. I'm a 24 year old woman with a lower-pitched speaking voice and two speech impediments (stuttering and Rhotacism), but my own recorded voice is worse! It's so bad, I swear I sound like a little boy with a permanently stuffed-up nose. Now add stuttering and Rhotacism in with that... Yeah, if I had to choose between singing, 'Who's Loving You,' in front of a large crowd or shooting myself in the foot, I'd tell you to gimmie the gun.
According to the book about recording producers, 'Behind The Glass', John Lennon *hated* his voice. He used a few tricks -- one was doubling his vocals, another was passing his hand in front of his mouth at certain points in a song to avoid plosives and breaths being recorded.
this is gold for me and i believe for many others. 15 years of struggle demolished in a vid… i will find a way to give something back somehow someday. blessed be thy path🙏
With experience you can make accurate observations about your own vocal performance once you're able to hear, in your mind, your recorded voice and not your speaking voice as it exits your face. So just keep recording, everybody!
started playing acoustic guitar at 7, then when i was 12 fell in love w nirvana and WISH i could sing (too shy to really put effort on it) sooo when i was 14 i’ve bought a voice recorder (SONY) and i could use it with headphones, recording and monitoring at the same time i was mind blown, sometimes i would rehearse a song and do something specific, like making the voice to sound a certain way, then i would start recording and immediately realize i was in the wrong path i actually started to commit myself to singing only at 19-20yo now i play gigs, mostly vocals and acoustic guitar
One of the most important things you realize from recording your voice over and over is that you make the same mistakes. If you analyze why you'll improve quickly. Mine was pushing too much air on certain notes. Also, if you experiment alot with singing songs in different keys to find the right register you realize that a capo is a singers tool more than a guitarists tool.
i feel you on the amount of music recorded lol i have alittle under 500 online from over the years, but easily 4-5k songs on my harddrive (over the span of about 15 years) whether they be cuts from projects, or stuff i started and only got 1 verse or something. It helps alot to record that much. You get better, you can explore more styles, etc
I used to hate my voice. I did basically the things that you said, to just record and listen to the recordings everything's I recorded myself, and it worked. I love my voice now
thank you, Andrew, loved the explanation. That explains why we see that mic position in a lot of professional behind-the-scenes videos. That upward posture probably helps as well!!
The way he talked about how the daw can feel super overwhelming I love how he explained that perfectly in a way that I honestly feel now and unless I push myself to open it and to record myself I’ll find myself not wanting to do that and I love how he says to get familiar with it because that’s the reason why I’m posting my videos now even though they aren’t the best recorded content or quality because I know with time I will improve and I want others to see that to and I want to show how I trying to grow my confidence in myself and in my own voice that doesn’t sound anything like I thought it would haha
I recorded a voice over for a product i was selling. I sent it to my sister and she was like "wow this sounds like a TV commercial" Meanwhile the whole time I was hating the voice over and taught it was the worse voice in the history of mankind.
This is the best therapy ever! For me I got over the hated of my voice with I became objective about what I was recording and rerecording improving pitch , vowel placement , dictation breath , phrasing and intension as it relates to Transferring my ideas. Once I started listening to my play backs with the objective ear the subjective aspects fell to the side. I still find live performances difficult to listen to . It's a process.
That overhead trick is common for pro studio setups, yep! Another trick from an Audio Engineer for plosives/sibilance for close-mic'ing: Place the mic 45 degrees or so to the side, rather than directly in front of your mouth. It's still as close to capture that proximity effect, and aimed at the mouth to capture the clearest version of the voice, but most all of the air pressure from plosives and sibilance is moving forward *past* the mic, rather than directly into the diaphragm. It all but eliminates the need for a pop filter in the first place in most cases that aren't super exaggerated annunciations. It also has the added benefit to RUclipsrs of not blocking the middle of the face! As an audio guy myself it's puzzling why that's not the standard, especially since all these big-name podcasts should theoretically have actual experts consulted in set-up, but for some reason everyone who yaks for a living likes to feel the foam tickle their lips as they speak, I guess, and the rest of us just assumed that was the "right way" to do it (and to be fair, it SEEMS to be the right way, intuitively, but it isn't).
I usually use Melodyne to reduce sibilance. Does the 45 degree angle also reduce wavering in the pitch or tone? Just curious. Also, I have a Blue Yeti mic.
@@gigiwhite.mp3 I would say that pitch is a matter of how notes are sung rather than mic placement. However, if the singer moves around a lot and doesn’t keep the same distance from the mic throughout the take, then the tone will vary significantly, and possibly pitch as well, to a lesser degree. The Blue Yetti is a condenser mic and will be less susceptible to proximity variations than a dynamic mic like what he’s using in this video.
I have to thank u so much. I've been writing for years and after many things i'm finally having my pc and my starting - home studio, and i've been going throught lot of confidence problems with my voice and fights with the daw because of the unknown, checking every single tutorial to find the way to start recording and producing songs, even with all that buttons and questions unsolved. So thank you, for bringing answers and your experience.
Thanks for sharing your experience! It’s nice to know there are others out there who record tons of stuff as a form of practice and experimentation. I have steered away from vocals entirely for the past several years because no matter what I tried with singing styles, natural and/or digital affectation or EQ and mixing, it always just felt like the weak link in the music I was making. It’s pretty inspiring to know lots of people struggle with the same thing and most of that doubt is just the unfamiliarity and not purely being born with a trash voice lol. I’m gonna try some vocals again soon now thanks to this video!
Old dog new tricks. I worked as a live engineer in the 80s and was prideful of my work. I was the preferred guy by some major artists. That said, I discovered late in life that I was a good singer. Now that I know what it’s like to depend on someone else to adapt to the room and monitors as well as live, I know I wasn’t as good as I could have been. I’ve never thought about the counter intuitive method of pointing the mic towards my chest. It really makes sense as to why besides being old, that I’m not able to pick up on lower register tones. This causes me to increase my vocal volume. Bingo, thanks
I can relate to your journey, starting out with a daunting DAW (for me it was Sonar), giving yourself exposure therapy to your own recorded voice and learning to accept it. Amazing tip about the chest-facing hovering condenser mic!
Good advice. It does seem odd when you hear your own voice. I remember as a kid listing to my own voice on recorded tape player and thought to myself, "I sound like that?" Now I understand why. This video helps as well. I love my own voice since I have been singing. Great tip withe the Mic also, works soooo much better. Thank you Sir.
this is the #1 reason I have not been able to work in my own vocals or even do voice overs for videos I want to make. My own voice fucks with me every time and I end up just walking away. The amount of times I've spent weeks making a video for RUclips only to leave it on private and never release it because I couldn't get past my voice. I think exposure therapy is a great idea. I'm going to hate it but I'd imagine once you get past that it really opens up a lot of creative options. Glad I found this video, thanks man
Thank you for this video!! People have always complimented my singing voice, but anytime i hear a recording i can't possibly understand why lol. My husband and i have done the RPM challenges the last two years and I've gotten a little more comfortable with the sound of my voice. I'm still working on "loving it" and for that it's February we will be doing our third RPM album, so hopefully this will help me love it more!!
I feel like I have a bit of an extra layer to this problem. For years I've understood why people generally hate the sound of their own voice, and have been trying to learn to enjoy my own voice, but for me it's not just the difference in sound that irks me. So growing up I had a very bad speech impediment. Not only did I talk way to fast, but I couldn't pronounce quite a few sounds. Sh, ch, s sounds, r sounds, and some th sounds. R sounds were especially hard for me. I spent a lot of school years doing speech therapy as well as just trying to improve on my own, and these days people say they don't really hear more than a slight accent never mind a speech impediment when I talk. But this is where things get crazy. When I talk, not only is my voice sounding different to me, but so do my words, and even the rate that I speak. I hear myself on a recording, and my speech is still a bit faster that I remember talking, I personally still hear many of my R sounds and occasionally other sounds not come out right, and hell, some of words just sound straight up slurred. But the way I hear myself is so much clearer, my pronunciation sounds fine, and I feel like I speak slower than the recordings show. It's not just how I sound that's different, but the way I talk too. This not only makes me hate my voice when I hear it on a recording, but even worse, it just makes me feel stupidly self conscious about how I sound in general. No one took me serous growing up because of how I talked and that was always a huge blow to my self esteem growing up, so hearing myself still struggle, even if people seem to think it's not that bad anymore, still makes me feel like I did when I was a kid. This is something I don't know how to fix.
LOL I was fittingly like #420. Thanks for this. I've dabbled in music for 30+ years and you just described some of my biggest issues and hang-ups. Hearing it out loud, and someone else saying it is motiational. Thank you for this.
"I used to hate my voice for a really long time, and over the years, I've learned how to not just hate it, but despise it with a burning and animated, explicit passion"
i got over this by not thinking about it, and the more i heard myself sing the easier it was to translate through my voice how i was hearing it through my skull 😂 "exposure therapy" is going to be your best bet because not eveybody can afford ribbon mics and sometimes you have to work with what you have or you are working with someone elses set up and you have to work with what they have. that way you will be prepaired to preform under most situations
@2:00 where you’re talking about expectations and growing up and now feeling at home in a bad situation. I think this has the potential to help some people make a positive change in their life, thank you for going there. All the luck in the world to you.
Idk I'm weird. Recording a low quality video with me singing is fine. But using a microphone that gets every facet of your voice.... yikes. I cringe at my voice in higher quality recordings only
Thank You!! I am definitely afraid of hearing myself and learning all of the technology. I like your tip to just record everyday and get used to it. Very helpful.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR being so vulnerable and authentic and relating to the struggles of not liking your own voice and what it takes to get over that!! INSTANT SUBSCRIBE
I entirely agree with this! For years, I practiced and tried to improve my singing sound. I did many (personal!) recordings and grew over the years. I even like my voice now. But to my astonishment: if I listen back to my old recordings, I now also like my voice that I had back then. It was mind-boggling to me, but this explanation makes a lot of sense 🙂
I am at point where i have heard my voice so often that I am completely used to it. Now it is difficult to spot when something is off. But doing live monitoring helps.
@@AndrewBarrMusictrue, but there’s a big difference between talking and singing. Hitting a high note better than anyone is impressive. Sounding like a baby in your 20s feels humiliating (even if it’s not)
I feel you. Just keep going and eventually it’ll start feeling less overwhelming. Start by just taking the next step. Write 10 words or record 1 verse. Take it in small steps. You’d be surprised how effective it is!
Im not a musician, but like many people, when I hear my voice played back in a voice recording or video, it always surprises me because thats Not what it sounds like internally...
I recorded my voice by using a cheap camcorder mic and thought... "Wow my voice is shnit..." then I used an SM7B through a Zoom effects unit and I was like "My voice sounds pretty dang good..." then I did a bunch of doubling/layering/editing.... and I was like "That sounds pretty dang good!"
OMG! What a wonderful summary of why I really hate my recorded voice (as most novices do). I'm going into saturation therapy, so simple and logical. Oh, and post.
Thanks for sharing! Not sure why it just popped up in my recommended videos....but wish I had seen it 9 months ago! Just sharing that in my experience...you've hit the nail on the head here. I have never much cared (as you state is common) for my voice.....But it was never really a thing in my life. Never recorded so rarely had to listen to it back. In February of this year.....at 59 years old...I started a podcast. For the first few episodes I struggled with this immensely. For a time...I even considered perhaps having someone else do the voice work....but had to fight through that because someone else...."telling my story" really didn't make much sense. Fast forward to my 43rd episode....and things are very different. I would not say that "I love my voice".....but I certainly am much more comfortable with it...and it gets better each week. Apparently, I have pushed my way through the submersion therapy you discuss here. So thanks again.....for giving my struggle a name.....and a few more tips on how to continue the journey. Well done Andrew!
WHen I was younger I hated my voice. sounded horrible. But when I started recording my voice I tried something new. I gave my voice lower end. Mostly cos it sounded more like myself when I sang alone. I heard that bass. and when I recorded it. I heard minimal bass. so i brought up my lowers and it felt and sounded so much more comfortable with it. and yes keep listening to ones own voice.
It's so wild that this video popped up on my suggestions page when I was just having this discussion with people last night when I was editing a Halo stream I had done previously on my stream lol. I got the question if it is weird listening to my own voice, and I explained it very similar to this, but you definitely break it down farther than I did. Like you touched on - Having a condenser mic and a good EQ of your voice is absolutely so important in so many fields of media too because it can bring back some of that tonality that you're used to hearing when you speak, which is SUCH a game changer in how you sound recorded. It always shocks people when I tell them I don't use a pop filter, like you said though, you can get away with it if you have a condenser mic and have it angled properly. Wonderful video, thanks for sharing!
What helped me was listening while recording. So I sing with my headphones on now. Another advantage of this aproach is my ears now instantly tell me what I'm doing wrong, which wasn't the case when I sung without headphones.
That exposure therapy advice actually works, and it makes you a better singer as you start feeling a lot more confident of your voice, and lets be honest, when you're not comfortable with the way you sound. it shows when you're performing
I've been singing with the Smule app and cringed at how i sounded. A few months later and I actually lisfen to my own singing in the gym. I love my voice now.
Oh my god, you are awesome. I have to record a short video for my company, actually speaking, using my smartphone to do it. Yesterday, I did the selfie-recording as most people would do it holding my phone regularly, camara up, mic down. You mentioned positioning the mic above your head, so I just flipped my phone 180° and recorded it again. My voice now sounds way more like I hear myself, which is way better than this crappy voice I had in my first recordings. You are a life saver!!!! Still don´t feel super comfortable with it, but at least I now know, how to create a video where I don´t sound like Bernadette from Big Bang Theory, thought I usually have a quite deep voice. Thank you so much for this life hack!
![ARGENTINA vs. PERÚ [1-0] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 12](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xtI25ENDDSY/mqdefault.jpg)
Hey friend! If you’re recording your own vocals at home, you’ll probably like this free masterclass on recording and mixing vocals that I put together for you 👉 www.producinginthebox.com/workshop
My issue is I typically like my voice recorded on a voice memo app. Sometimes I hear my speaking voice in a video and really really like my tone and clarity and then sometimes I hear it and my articulations worse and im more nasally. Recordings always sound so much more off tempo and attitude than just the voice memo lol
I understand the whole thing about familiarity, but it seriously seems like there's something wrong with my voice. It's too high pitched by default, and my pitch control in general is pretty bad. Your voice isn't perfect, but it does sound normal. It kind of reminds me of Ezra Miller. But my voice, it's just awful
After 11 minute of your video I hate your voice......🤣😆
At first I thought that I sound like Ariana grande but until I recorded my voice.. I sound like a deep voiced old MAN
I love the way my voice sounds it always sounds better on star maker
I really like my voice, it's everyone else that doesn't!
I love this comment hahah
Yeah I don't hate my voice either
😂
🤣
😂
“I don’t just hate it. I love it. “I felt that
I felt that too. I’m proud of myself for feelin that hah
@@AndrewBarrMusic
you got woosohed by yourself
I heard that and said, wait…what? Lmao
Can't speak English! Oh he's American, of course!
i think he meant like instead of hate
I sound so good singing . Then I record myself on my phone, and delete it instantly after hearing it.
Exactly that's what i have been dealing with too. While recording my vocal along with the instrumental it sounds so gorgeous and when i listen back it's so damn horrible. I really wanted to sing in a totally different voice than my own natural speaking voice and it seems like impossible for me to sing in a different voice.
For real my vocal everything is on point and i record it and bro i sound like a dead squirrel
bro thats me 😭😭
@@User-gtyfh23fh sameeeeee 😭
Bro use proffessional tools & instrument
The world needs more people who don't mind explaining stuff no one talks about, for different reasons. Thank you. I've hated my voice 90% my life.
When I was in high school, I hated the way my voice sounded in recordings. I dealt with it in a different way: I started taking voice lessons, eventually getting a degree in vocal performance. Your solution might be simpler, but I don't regret having taken my approach.
That’s also a fantastic approach too!
Nothing like a $50k degree to solve for vocal insecurity. Nah just kidding man that’s great.
Well, when you put it that way,@@Trad_Baylor, it does seem kind of ridiculous. Fortunately, I got an engineering degree at the same time, for which I was on scholarship, so neither the overall cost nor the incremental cost for the music degree was that bad.
😊😊😊
I'll start this off by saying im a hater i know, so don't take this to poorly but not a single soul asked.
the familiarity thing also applies to photos. often people dont think they look good in photos, because no ones face is perfectly symmetrical, and we are WAY more used to seeing a reflection (and therefore inversion left to right) of our face. its just off enough to look 'wrong'.
LOVE this! You’re so right
@@AndrewBarrMusicwedding photographers sometimes make reversed proofs of wedding photos to get more orders from the bride because of this.
I've heard this before but it doesn't sound convincing. That would mean you could just flip the photo and get the "familiar/good" look. Which isn't really the case. I think lens distortion could be what's actually making it look off.
@@alterego157 it is a risky thing for sure, but it was always surprising how often I came across this during my time as a wedding videographer back in the 80s. The photographers would take photos at the ceremony, then rush off, develop them, and print up a range of proofs to show at the reception. The photos of just the bride, before the ceremony, were often reversed to get more orders (no tell-tale ring on wrong hand before the ceremony). Bride and Groom, and group shots were printed correctly.
Not the most ethical of practices for sure, but one that definitely went on back then.
I agree that lens distortion etc. play a big part too. But in the chaos of a wedding the more obvious reversal of features is probably has a bigger impact on decisions.
Or I'm just ugly. 😢
When I sing I sound like someone having a very difficult and complicated shit.
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
me rn
So funny!
Why do you record yourself on the pot? 😂😂
@@yanasitta Bathrooms have very lively acoustics???🤣
I used to hate how my voice sounded, but then I had to go through the processes of singing on stage with in-ear monitors, editing a lot of videos, and recording multiple songs. Honestly, it’s just the lack of familiarity, but it comes with time.
That's right, the lack of familiarity is making you sound bad to you.
Mine scares me it's weird to hear myself I have never heard anyone that's sounds like me.
@@Heheha329😂 true never found anyone that sounds like me
Absolutely amazed by this trick! I tried your suggestion of aiming the microphone at my chest instead of directly speaking into it, and the change in resonance in my voice was astonishing. It's incredible how the microphone still captures every nuance of my voice perfectly. WOW, what a discovery! Also, allow me to thank you heartly. I'll definitely be sharing this video with my friends.
Don’t you love it when things work as advertised? 🤘😎
Just summed up the whole video for me lol thank you
Hey 😅 It depends on the location of your microphone capsule and your mic setup. If it’s on the table or fixed to a mic arm, try aiming this part of your mic not directly at your mouth. Instead, aim it towards your chest and see how it works for you.
@@MrMoeJoI think he said that’s what he did
@@paulneedham9885 😅😅😅
bro it's just that when I record my voice ppl are like "omg its so good" then when I hear it on that recording I sound like I'm trying too hard or like a dying cow 😭
🤘💀 “dying cow” SENT me hahahahahahaha
Me too 😂
exactly the same and then I cry 😭
Same here 😂
Same here. I’ve got like 2 songs where I don’t positively hate my voice, and those are songs where I wasn’t emotionally invested in them turning out good…
I remember hating my voice a few years back starting, so I learned mixing to alleviate it, now I like my voice it took years and getting comfortable with its natural talents to realize what makes it unique and it makes it refreshing to work on songs nowadays cause it’s more about what tone and emotion more so than “does my voice sound good to me”
Exactly! What emotion are your vocals portraying! Love it
Will have to try this and start recording more. I've often been told I sang well, but everytime I recorded myself I just deleted it almost right away because I did not like what I heard
a tip if you are „scared to open the daw“: let it open automatically when you turn on the pc. this way, since it's already open, i've been working on my tracks at least a little bit every day.
I fricken love this
sick, thanks for the tip
i would burn that device if i were you 😭😭
I've been making music for 12 years now and I just finally got to the point where I like my voice. Exposure therapy & interest in figuring out how to get to that desired sound took so long but was worth it. It also has a lot to do with just accepting that you wont hear yourself the same as others and to also think that no one feels or has that miniscule outlook on you that YOU have on yourself as well. I finally released my first project last month where I feel genuinely comfortable with sharing and just want to let y'all know you will get to the point. Cheers to those in the thick of it right now. Please continue making art.
Dice
This was interesting…
I’ve avoided this video for a while because of the title. I thought “stupid clickbait”, but after watching 30 seconds my face turned into a smile. And I subscribed after another 30 seconds.
I used to work as a commercial producer before I got burned out and we recorded a lot of people that had good voices but didn’t like how they sounded.
You really have a good way of describing things! 👍
(For the ones just started recording other people: Don’t stress. Be a friend. Listen.)
Thanks friend! I appreciate the kind words. In another video I talked about people first and art second. I love the “don’t stress. Be a friend. Listen.” Love your insight! Thanks again
I’d love to hear what other people’s voices sound like to them. It’s 2024 and we don’t have a way to replicate this yet.
I hope not, i naturally hate my voice, it's way too high pitched
I feel like I sound like this guy in my head. But it’s not what yall hear
This brings up a great point, it's really important to keep practicing, don't take prolonged breaks if you can help it. I was becoming very proficient in FL Studio but due to the pandemic I took a long break, and now when I open up my DAW I get completely overwhelmed. I feel like I've started over.
Keep practicing! It gets better, I promise!
Thank you for the recording advice, it's really helpful. I don't hate my recorded voice, but I hate how much "control" is lost when I try recording sometimes.
I feel all these well enunciated and smooth words coming out and think I've nailed it, only to find all that smoothness gone, so your mic hack was very appreciated!
I've never seen your main channel but this raw style of content is personable and easy to watch. Tutorials in general tend to be loud, fast paced, and gimmicky which are draining to watch when half of the time creative blocks just need to be understood mentally and personally rather than with more plugins or equipment. Awesome channel.
Thank you! I kinda felt like the main channel wasn’t everything I wanted to do. I wanted to start a conversation. I still think it’s super valuable. But I started this channel as a way to start a conversation and help in a less flashy way without confusing the other subscribers who subscribed for that type of content 😂
Wait what’s ur main channel?
Hate my lead vocals, but rather enjoy my harmonies. Gonna try this. THANKS!
I only hate my voice when listening through a janky phone recording. Condenser mics really limited the hatred of my own voice
I don't hate my voice. But the way I hear it in my head is so different than the recorded one. I agree that the equipment used to record can influence the result, but still. I hear my voice deeper and even when I'll sing "with my guts" and pour my heart in it, the recorded one would sound like a cute emotionless strangled cat from some Disney movies. 😳😆🙄
That's exactly how it is with me; There's a reason why I don't sing out loud unless the music drowns out my voice. I can't hold a tune straight to save my life- and I know that even without recordings! My voice cracks and dies during the high notes, and constantly goes up and down when I'm trying to maintain a consistent tune. It doesn't help that I've known for years that unfortunately, my recorded voice IS my 'real' voice, and it's what people hear whenever I talk to them. I'm a 24 year old woman with a lower-pitched speaking voice and two speech impediments (stuttering and Rhotacism), but my own recorded voice is worse! It's so bad, I swear I sound like a little boy with a permanently stuffed-up nose. Now add stuttering and Rhotacism in with that... Yeah, if I had to choose between singing, 'Who's Loving You,' in front of a large crowd or shooting myself in the foot, I'd tell you to gimmie the gun.
I'm straight up out of tune lol
According to the book about recording producers, 'Behind The Glass', John Lennon *hated* his voice. He used a few tricks -- one was doubling his vocals, another was passing his hand in front of his mouth at certain points in a song to avoid plosives and breaths being recorded.
I really appreciated this advice. I thought that having an awful sounding voice was the end of the story. It's given me fresh hope.
It’s never the end of the story! Keep making music!
this is gold for me and i believe for many others. 15 years of struggle demolished in a vid… i will find a way to give something back somehow someday. blessed be thy path🙏
With experience you can make accurate observations about your own vocal performance once you're able to hear, in your mind, your recorded voice and not your speaking voice as it exits your face. So just keep recording, everybody!
started playing acoustic guitar at 7, then when i was 12 fell in love w nirvana and WISH i could sing (too shy to really put effort on it)
sooo when i was 14 i’ve bought a voice recorder (SONY) and i could use it with headphones, recording and monitoring at the same time
i was mind blown, sometimes i would rehearse a song and do something specific, like making the voice to sound a certain way, then i would start recording and immediately realize i was in the wrong path
i actually started to commit myself to singing only at 19-20yo
now i play gigs, mostly vocals and acoustic guitar
One of the most important things you realize from recording your voice over and over is that you make the same mistakes. If you analyze why you'll improve quickly. Mine was pushing too much air on certain notes. Also, if you experiment alot with singing songs in different keys to find the right register you realize that a capo is a singers tool more than a guitarists tool.
YES 🙌
i feel you on the amount of music recorded lol i have alittle under 500 online from over the years, but easily 4-5k songs on my harddrive (over the span of about 15 years) whether they be cuts from projects, or stuff i started and only got 1 verse or something. It helps alot to record that much. You get better, you can explore more styles, etc
I used to hate my voice. I did basically the things that you said, to just record and listen to the recordings everything's I recorded myself, and it worked. I love my voice now
Thanks a lot Andrew!!! This is a subject that is missing in RUclips and you address it perfect!!!
Thank you!!!!
thank you, Andrew, loved the explanation. That explains why we see that mic position in a lot of professional behind-the-scenes videos. That upward posture probably helps as well!!
Thank you RUclips recommendations… this is some serious wisdom and it seems self evident now that you lay it out!
Thank you! I appreciate your comment. Means a lot
I just dgaf anymore 😐 I'll post it anyway...
The way to be
This is exactly what I decided to do!
ON GOD😂😂😂😂😂
The way he talked about how the daw can feel super overwhelming I love how he explained that perfectly in a way that I honestly feel now and unless I push myself to open it and to record myself I’ll find myself not wanting to do that and I love how he says to get familiar with it because that’s the reason why I’m posting my videos now even though they aren’t the best recorded content or quality because I know with time I will improve and I want others to see that to and I want to show how I trying to grow my confidence in myself and in my own voice that doesn’t sound anything like I thought it would haha
I recorded a voice over for a product i was selling. I sent it to my sister and she was like "wow this sounds like a TV commercial"
Meanwhile the whole time I was hating the voice over and taught it was the worse voice in the history of mankind.
Haha for real. We have that tendency to hate the sound of our own voice. Super weird
Because we all know if you want an honest opinion, you go to family
@@silkroad1201 typically sisters won't lie to you. usually they're more honest than friends or other close family bc they dgaf about your feelings lol
This is the best therapy ever! For me I got over the hated of my voice with I became objective about what I was recording and rerecording improving pitch , vowel placement , dictation breath , phrasing and intension as it relates to Transferring my ideas. Once I started listening to my play backs with the objective ear the subjective aspects fell to the side. I still find live performances difficult to listen to . It's a process.
The thing about daws, i really needed to hear that. I'm encouraged to try again, thank you Andrew.
Thank you, bro. Keep going. You cannot lose if you do not quit!
@@AndrewBarrMusic mixing rn, it’s not even as bad as I thought it’d be lol
@@VesselForHonor LETS GOOOOOOOO
That's true bro I record everyday my voice for song ideas. The key here is voice familiarity
That overhead trick is common for pro studio setups, yep! Another trick from an Audio Engineer for plosives/sibilance for close-mic'ing: Place the mic 45 degrees or so to the side, rather than directly in front of your mouth. It's still as close to capture that proximity effect, and aimed at the mouth to capture the clearest version of the voice, but most all of the air pressure from plosives and sibilance is moving forward *past* the mic, rather than directly into the diaphragm. It all but eliminates the need for a pop filter in the first place in most cases that aren't super exaggerated annunciations.
It also has the added benefit to RUclipsrs of not blocking the middle of the face!
As an audio guy myself it's puzzling why that's not the standard, especially since all these big-name podcasts should theoretically have actual experts consulted in set-up, but for some reason everyone who yaks for a living likes to feel the foam tickle their lips as they speak, I guess, and the rest of us just assumed that was the "right way" to do it (and to be fair, it SEEMS to be the right way, intuitively, but it isn't).
I usually use Melodyne to reduce sibilance. Does the 45 degree angle also reduce wavering in the pitch or tone? Just curious. Also, I have a Blue Yeti mic.
@@gigiwhite.mp3 I would say that pitch is a matter of how notes are sung rather than mic placement. However, if the singer moves around a lot and doesn’t keep the same distance from the mic throughout the take, then the tone will vary significantly, and possibly pitch as well, to a lesser degree. The Blue Yetti is a condenser mic and will be less susceptible to proximity variations than a dynamic mic like what he’s using in this video.
@@erikmolstad8820 Thanks bro!
I have to thank u so much. I've been writing for years and after many things i'm finally having my pc and my starting - home studio, and i've been going throught lot of confidence problems with my voice and fights with the daw because of the unknown, checking every single tutorial to find the way to start recording and producing songs, even with all that buttons and questions unsolved. So thank you, for bringing answers and your experience.
Thanks for sharing your experience! It’s nice to know there are others out there who record tons of stuff as a form of practice and experimentation. I have steered away from vocals entirely for the past several years because no matter what I tried with singing styles, natural and/or digital affectation or EQ and mixing, it always just felt like the weak link in the music I was making. It’s pretty inspiring to know lots of people struggle with the same thing and most of that doubt is just the unfamiliarity and not purely being born with a trash voice lol. I’m gonna try some vocals again soon now thanks to this video!
Old dog new tricks.
I worked as a live engineer in the 80s and was prideful of my work. I was the preferred guy by some major artists.
That said, I discovered late in life that I was a good singer. Now that I know what it’s like to depend on someone else to adapt to the room and monitors as well as live, I know I wasn’t as good as I could have been.
I’ve never thought about the counter intuitive method of pointing the mic towards my chest. It really makes sense as to why besides being old, that I’m not able to pick up on lower register tones. This causes me to increase my vocal volume.
Bingo, thanks
Glad this helped you!
Love that you've started posting on your personal channel bro
bro how do you have so little subscribers, the quality and the knowledge, underrated
Thank you so much! Means a lot!
I never had this problem except on phones. If it’s not bad phone quality, I like my voice.
I can relate to your journey, starting out with a daunting DAW (for me it was Sonar), giving yourself exposure therapy to your own recorded voice and learning to accept it. Amazing tip about the chest-facing hovering condenser mic!
Good advice. It does seem odd when you hear your own voice. I remember as a kid listing to my own voice on recorded tape player and thought to myself, "I sound like that?" Now I understand why. This video helps as well. I love my own voice since I have been singing. Great tip withe the Mic also, works soooo much better. Thank you Sir.
So true! Glad you enjoyed the video!
this is the #1 reason I have not been able to work in my own vocals or even do voice overs for videos I want to make. My own voice fucks with me every time and I end up just walking away. The amount of times I've spent weeks making a video for RUclips only to leave it on private and never release it because I couldn't get past my voice. I think exposure therapy is a great idea. I'm going to hate it but I'd imagine once you get past that it really opens up a lot of creative options. Glad I found this video, thanks man
i really like these raw honest videos, really great!
This is actually really solid advice. Keep up the good work bruv
Thank you so much!
Thank you for this video!! People have always complimented my singing voice, but anytime i hear a recording i can't possibly understand why lol. My husband and i have done the RPM challenges the last two years and I've gotten a little more comfortable with the sound of my voice. I'm still working on "loving it" and for that it's February we will be doing our third RPM album, so hopefully this will help me love it more!!
What is this rpm challenge?
Practice, practice, practice. Improves your voice and you also get used to your true sound
I feel like I have a bit of an extra layer to this problem. For years I've understood why people generally hate the sound of their own voice, and have been trying to learn to enjoy my own voice, but for me it's not just the difference in sound that irks me. So growing up I had a very bad speech impediment. Not only did I talk way to fast, but I couldn't pronounce quite a few sounds. Sh, ch, s sounds, r sounds, and some th sounds. R sounds were especially hard for me. I spent a lot of school years doing speech therapy as well as just trying to improve on my own, and these days people say they don't really hear more than a slight accent never mind a speech impediment when I talk. But this is where things get crazy. When I talk, not only is my voice sounding different to me, but so do my words, and even the rate that I speak. I hear myself on a recording, and my speech is still a bit faster that I remember talking, I personally still hear many of my R sounds and occasionally other sounds not come out right, and hell, some of words just sound straight up slurred. But the way I hear myself is so much clearer, my pronunciation sounds fine, and I feel like I speak slower than the recordings show. It's not just how I sound that's different, but the way I talk too. This not only makes me hate my voice when I hear it on a recording, but even worse, it just makes me feel stupidly self conscious about how I sound in general. No one took me serous growing up because of how I talked and that was always a huge blow to my self esteem growing up, so hearing myself still struggle, even if people seem to think it's not that bad anymore, still makes me feel like I did when I was a kid. This is something I don't know how to fix.
Thanks this has helped a lot and made some positive reinforcement within
Explained with excellence. Thank you
You beat me to it - I’m an audio engineer and I’m planning to make this. But I still have my own take
Do it! People need to hear your take on it too!
LOL I was fittingly like #420. Thanks for this. I've dabbled in music for 30+ years and you just described some of my biggest issues and hang-ups. Hearing it out loud, and someone else saying it is motiational. Thank you for this.
Thank you for your comment! I always appreciate the supporting words! I’ll glad I could motivate you!
"I used to hate my voice for a really long time, and over the years, I've learned how to not just hate it, but despise it with a burning and animated, explicit passion"
Been struggling with this for a while now and this was extremely helpful. Thanks Andrew 🐐
Glad this helped you!!!!!
Dude is giving us a philosophy AND recording lesson.
HAHAHA I try!
i got over this by not thinking about it, and the more i heard myself sing the easier it was to translate through my voice how i was hearing it through my skull 😂 "exposure therapy" is going to be your best bet because not eveybody can afford ribbon mics and sometimes you have to work with what you have or you are working with someone elses set up and you have to work with what they have. that way you will be prepaired to preform under most situations
This 🙏 be prepared to perform on most situations. The pros win in any situation that is thrown at them. GREAT comment.
@2:00 where you’re talking about expectations and growing up and now feeling at home in a bad situation. I think this has the potential to help some people make a positive change in their life, thank you for going there. All the luck in the world to you.
Loved this video completely man, you're so kind to put this into words so clearly, hope your channel grows big asf 🔥
Thank you!
You won’t understand how this video helps me as a Beatboxer. Amazing work!Much appreciated!
Idk I'm weird. Recording a low quality video with me singing is fine. But using a microphone that gets every facet of your voice.... yikes. I cringe at my voice in higher quality recordings only
I purposefully use lofi filters to distort my voice for that same reason.
Do you EQ, compressor etc.?
Thank You!! I am definitely afraid of hearing myself and learning all of the technology. I like your tip to just record everyday and get used to it. Very helpful.
I’m glad this helped you!!
I still hate hearing myself...finna try this trick soon, i have some interesting thoughts i want to share with the world 😮💨
Do it! Share your stuff with the world!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR being so vulnerable and authentic and relating to the struggles of not liking your own voice and what it takes to get over that!! INSTANT SUBSCRIBE
Thank you, Spencer! I appreciate the kind words
I entirely agree with this! For years, I practiced and tried to improve my singing sound. I did many (personal!) recordings and grew over the years. I even like my voice now. But to my astonishment: if I listen back to my old recordings, I now also like my voice that I had back then. It was mind-boggling to me, but this explanation makes a lot of sense 🙂
I love that! I’ve noticed the same with myself
I am at point where i have heard my voice so often that I am completely used to it. Now it is difficult to spot when something is off. But doing live monitoring helps.
Am i the only one who hears their own voice and thinks they sound like a five year old. I don't think I can ever be okay with sounding like that.
That happens to me too. When I speak I sound way more normal for someone my age but on a recording I sound like my 3 yeard old nephew lol I hate it
A higher pitched voice is not a bad thing. Kellin Quin is a beast of a vocalist and has a higher pitched voice!
@@AndrewBarrMusictrue, but there’s a big difference between talking and singing. Hitting a high note better than anyone is impressive. Sounding like a baby in your 20s feels humiliating (even if it’s not)
Has anybody ells said anything about how young you sound?
@@StompGojiStomp HAHAHA I do sound young HAHAHA
thank you a lot, i never thought that the main reason was bc i wasnt familiar with my voice
Great content! I'm definitely trying this mic tip for sure. I just subscribed, thanks a lot!!
Thank you for watching! Glad I could help
Been struggling with this for a while now and this was extremely helpful. Thanks Andrew
Thank YOU!
great advice on that mic placement 🙏🏾
this is so true, tysm I wanna try this now every day but I am still so bad at writing and recording because it's so overwhelming 😭
I feel you. Just keep going and eventually it’ll start feeling less overwhelming. Start by just taking the next step. Write 10 words or record 1 verse. Take it in small steps. You’d be surprised how effective it is!
Seriously i was seeing myself singing like that cats outside mentally 😂 good luck to my neighbors.
Im not a musician, but like many people, when I hear my voice played back in a voice recording or video, it always surprises me because thats Not what it sounds like internally...
You’re not alone. It’s probably one of the most common phenomena ever haha
How I hear myself is super deep voice and when I listen back sounded like mickey mouse singing...😂 And i'm like what the hack?!
I literally sound 10 years younger when I listen to my recordings
The pointing the mic towards the chest trick is wild, thanks for sharing!
Everyone compliments my voice but I'm still not hearing it. Its been a battle motivating myself to start recording again.
I’ll be making a video about motivation soon! Keep an eye out for that! I hope you start making music again!
Tupac Shakur thought the same thing back in 88. You have to try
So insightful at such a young age... Thank you, Andrew!
I recorded my voice by using a cheap camcorder mic and thought... "Wow my voice is shnit..." then I used an SM7B through a Zoom effects unit and I was like "My voice sounds pretty dang good..." then I did a bunch of doubling/layering/editing.... and I was like "That sounds pretty dang good!"
Haha everything sounds better on an SM7B
When you put in the reps, tasks become easier, lawing you the space to experiment and discover new and better ways and expand your abilities.
Actual recording technique/ min 8:00
OMG! What a wonderful summary of why I really hate my recorded voice (as most novices do). I'm going into saturation therapy, so simple and logical. Oh, and post.
Thank you!
I was cursed with steve urkels voice and think it might just be easier to become a shadow writer.
Thanks for sharing! Not sure why it just popped up in my recommended videos....but wish I had seen it 9 months ago! Just sharing that in my experience...you've hit the nail on the head here. I have never much cared (as you state is common) for my voice.....But it was never really a thing in my life. Never recorded so rarely had to listen to it back. In February of this year.....at 59 years old...I started a podcast. For the first few episodes I struggled with this immensely. For a time...I even considered perhaps having someone else do the voice work....but had to fight through that because someone else...."telling my story" really didn't make much sense. Fast forward to my 43rd episode....and things are very different. I would not say that "I love my voice".....but I certainly am much more comfortable with it...and it gets better each week. Apparently, I have pushed my way through the submersion therapy you discuss here. So thanks again.....for giving my struggle a name.....and a few more tips on how to continue the journey. Well done Andrew!
WHen I was younger I hated my voice. sounded horrible. But when I started recording my voice I tried something new. I gave my voice lower end. Mostly cos it sounded more like myself when I sang alone. I heard that bass. and when I recorded it. I heard minimal bass. so i brought up my lowers and it felt and sounded so much more comfortable with it. and yes keep listening to ones own voice.
You are so right about this cause that is exactly what I feel like.
I learned to sing, and now love it
It's so wild that this video popped up on my suggestions page when I was just having this discussion with people last night when I was editing a Halo stream I had done previously on my stream lol. I got the question if it is weird listening to my own voice, and I explained it very similar to this, but you definitely break it down farther than I did. Like you touched on - Having a condenser mic and a good EQ of your voice is absolutely so important in so many fields of media too because it can bring back some of that tonality that you're used to hearing when you speak, which is SUCH a game changer in how you sound recorded. It always shocks people when I tell them I don't use a pop filter, like you said though, you can get away with it if you have a condenser mic and have it angled properly. Wonderful video, thanks for sharing!
What helped me was listening while recording. So I sing with my headphones on now. Another advantage of this aproach is my ears now instantly tell me what I'm doing wrong, which wasn't the case when I sung without headphones.
That exposure therapy advice actually works, and it makes you a better singer as you start feeling a lot more confident of your voice, and lets be honest, when you're not comfortable with the way you sound. it shows when you're performing
I had never heard about that recording hack, gonna try it today ! thank you !
I can't wait to try the mic positioning. Thanks man
Any time! I hope it helps!
I've been singing with the Smule app and cringed at how i sounded. A few months later and I actually lisfen to my own singing in the gym. I love my voice now.
Oh my god, you are awesome. I have to record a short video for my company, actually speaking, using my smartphone to do it. Yesterday, I did the selfie-recording as most people would do it holding my phone regularly, camara up, mic down. You mentioned positioning the mic above your head, so I just flipped my phone 180° and recorded it again. My voice now sounds way more like I hear myself, which is way better than this crappy voice I had in my first recordings.
You are a life saver!!!! Still don´t feel super comfortable with it, but at least I now know, how to create a video where I don´t sound like Bernadette from Big Bang Theory, thought I usually have a quite deep voice.
Thank you so much for this life hack!