[Singing] At wit's end

[MV-Jin]

Hey everyone- I don't know where else to post this, so this seemed as good a place as any.

Anyway, lately my biggest frustration is singing into a microphone. Of course anytime I'm singing with family, or friends, or whatever- they tell me I'm a good singer. That's an inherent thing about friends and family, right? They're a never-ending source of positive reinforcement.

I've been taking vocal coaching for the last few months and it's still incredibly frustrating to listen to myself sing. Everything sounds great to me in my head, but when I'm playing the recording back to myself, everything sounds unemotional and like I'm just sitting in a corner humming to myself- no matter how loudly or how much I'm pushing my voice. I'm on pitch when I sing, but something about the quality of my voice when it's captured onto a mic is so horribly frustrating. I don't know what's causing it- whether its the microphone (which might actually upset me more if I wasted money on it), or the acoustics of my room or just my singing voice sounding bad.

I've tried tinkering with the microphone, recording at various distances, tried adding some reverb with software, but no matter what, whenever I hear how uninspired my voice sounds, it's all I can do to keep myself from ripping the mic off the stand and bashing the walls in. I can both hear and feel the differences in my singing these past few months as I develop better singing technique, but it's like the moment my voice enters a microphone, it becomes a horrible, mangled, ugly audio nightmare.

What am I to do? Is it the microphone? Is it my surroundings? Am I just an inherently bad singer? I'm at the verge of ripping my hair out trying to get ideas of what I'm doing wrong, but I honestly don't know what the problem is. Is there anyone that might give me some insight as to what might be wrong?

[Marpix]

An artist's worst critic is always themselves. Maybe put a little something on Vocaroo?

[CeruleanAsh]

Imma agree with what Marpix said. We're our own worst judge of talent and skill. Everything you mentioned in your post, I am guilty of as well and I am 100% positive we're not the only ones. You just have to stop being so overcritical of your voice and learn to love it. You should also post some clips, or hell, even a full song. Maybe hearing back from other people on how you sound might lend a hand in helping you develop a love for your own unique voice. It's hard in the beginning when you first hear yourself recorded... It will get easier ;) Relax a bit. Let us know when you post something!

[monisstar]

Yes, I agree with what CeruleanAsh pointed out.. When I heard myself on the speakers for the first time, I instantly had a dislike for my voice.. It sounded too tomboyish (when I spoke) and un-emotional according to me and I didn't want to sound that way.. I just had to get used to listening to my voice, that's all..
Although, I really don't know what kind of quality your microphone gives.. If it gives amazingly BAD quality, then you not liking your voice seems obvious.. Maybe put up a recording of yourself sing (box.net or something?).. We can help you by telling you about the things you can improve on, recording-wise as well as singing-wise.. :)

[Jorrich]

Literally record and send me your singing. Regardless of who you are I will give you a 100% honest answer. I tried singing once. NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPETTY NOPE NOPE. I can't and (probably) will not ever try again. I just don't have that kind of voice, but when I audition for things, I force myself to only use First Takes for things, because if I try and get it perfect, I won't let myself send in the audition because it's never good enough. When I record anything with my voice, and I make a mistake, and I am incredibly inclined to re-do it. But ... I'm also lazy.

If you suck, you suck, doesn't mean you can't improve.

If you're great, you're great.

Regardless of whether or not you send me your singing. Good luck.

[SSMusicProductions]

Everyone is their own worse critic is so true. I work with quite a few VAs and vocalists and they all hate hearing themselves. I hate hearing myself too, but you get used to it the more you do. We always sound weird when recorded, when we speak the acoustics of our ears and head is very different to what others hear as it's a projected sound. Mics don't really capture the true nature of a voice, unless it's a very high end mic, and environmental acoustics makes a huge difference to how we can sound. Mics can capture voices very differently so maybe try another one if you can. Some color the sound more than others and you may prefer the sound of another mic. Constructive feedback can be very useful too.

[cken]

I'm pretty much echoing what's already been said, but have a few people critique your singing. Personally, whenever I sing and record a song, I have to take a few days away from it, then re-examine. After those few days, you do notice holes and find ways to improve it. Try researching other vocal exercises (different vocal coaches offer different approaches). It also depends what you're trying to get across vocally and expecting. Are you trying to mimic a particular style? If so, does your vocal range match up or are you forcing it? If you post a song of you singing, people could provide more precise advice.

[Labamba]

I actually have a very similar issue. When i sing i can hear myself and i sound nice.

then i record and playback.. its a totally different voice it seems.
SO LET ME KNOW what u get pleassssssssssssse <333