The vocal is the most important element on almost every record it appears on, and the one most affected by how the session is run. Great vocal production starts long before the red light goes on: with preparation, a comfortable singer and a producer who knows what they want.
This module follows a vocal from microphone to mix - mic technique, editing, tuning, stacks, processing and mixing - the way professionals do it.
Before the singer arrives
- Prepare the session. Tempo set, markers on every section, a click if needed, tracks named and record-armed, inputs tested. Nothing should need setting up while the singer waits.
- Know the key. Confirm it suits the singer's range before the session, not during it.
- Print the lyrics. Large, clear, laid out by section, with space for notes. One copy for the singer, one for you.
- Have a guide. A guide vocal or a melody line the singer can follow if they are still learning the song.
- Set up the microphone and check levels with someone speaking and singing at roughly the singer's volume.
The headphone mix
The single most important technical decision in a vocal session is what the singer hears. A bad headphone mix produces pitch problems, timing problems and an uncomfortable singer.
- More vocal than you think. Singers need to hear themselves clearly to pitch.
- Less low end. Heavy bass masks pitch.
- A little reverb on the vocal in the headphones helps many singers feel comfortable - it does not need to be recorded.
- Ask, and adjust. "More of me, less of the track" is the most common request. Some singers like one ear off the headphones to hear their voice in the room.
- Watch the click. If the singer does not need it, turn it off.
The room and the singer's comfort
- Temperature, light and water - room temperature, not iced.
- A music stand at eye level, so the singer is not looking down and constricting their throat.
- Somewhere to put the lyrics that does not rustle near the mic.
- Privacy. Many singers perform better with fewer people watching. Clear the control room if you can.
Warming up
A cold voice is a limited voice. Warm-ups should be done before recording, not on the first take.
- Gentle humming and lip trills to loosen up without strain.
- Sirens - sliding smoothly from low to high and back - to connect the registers.
- Scales and arpeggios across the range the song needs.
- Running the song at half voice.
Most singers have their own routine; give them the time and space to do it. Record the first full runs anyway - sometimes a relaxed early take has something later takes lose.
The producer's job
Your job in the session is to get the best performance the singer can give and to capture it well.
- Know what you want - the emotion, the delivery, the energy of each section - and be able to describe it.
- Encourage. Confidence is audible. Say what is working before what is not.
- Be specific. "Sing the second line more quietly, like you are saying it to one person" is useful. "Do it better" is not.
- Keep the energy up. Long silences while you edit drain a singer. Make notes and edit later.
- Know when to stop. Voices tire. Two hours of focused singing is a lot; quality falls long before the singer admits it.
Do this now
- Build a vocal recording template in your DAW: a vocal track, a headphone send with reverb, markers for each section, and a lyric file in the project notes.
- Write a warm-up routine you would give a singer, five minutes long.
- Record yourself or a friend singing a verse twice: once with a quick, careless headphone mix, once with a carefully balanced one. Compare the pitch.