I’ve done a lot of recording over the years; back in the old days it was mostly in a 24 or 48 track studio, but more recently it’s been at home on Logic, one of the many good software packages available for the would-be recording artist. It occurred to me that there are a few basic rules and guidelines you need to follow to get good, professional sounding results on the vocals, so here are a few tips for the inexperienced producer and vocalist.

The first thing you should be aware of is that on a recording, the vocals are the most important thing. This may sound obvious, but if you think about it, when you do a gig, the drums and bass are much more important; primarily because they are the most audible thing, as guitar and vocal frequencies are high and are the first thing to go from your hearing when you are deafened by loud music, but also because getting people to feel the rhythm is an important ingredient in winning over the audience. Also live, the odd dodgy bit of tuning on the vocal won’t be remembered if the visual performance is good. However, on a recording, non-musicians will be listening primarily to the vocal and can play your tune repeatedly, so any imperfections will be noticed and preserved for all time! So don’t spend hours, days or weeks on the instruments and run out of time on the vocals; a good vocal will cover a multitude of sins on the musical backing.

It’s a good idea to set up a good vibe before you start; some soft lighting and pleasant surroundings can go a long way to getting you in the mood. Do a few warm-ups to make sure your mouth shapes will be properly annunciated, and tight to the beat. People forget that vocals need to groove just as much as the music.. tight timing on your delivery is very important. Rehearse your vocal several times before you record it; practice where you are going to take breaths, and the exact vowel shapes you are going to use.

A good mic to use is the Shure SM57, but an SM58 or good copy will do. Sometimes you can get interesting results using old microphones, like the ones that came with old-fashioned tape recorders. I even knew a singer who recorded vocals through a telephone rigged up with a jack lead!. If possible, put the mic through a mixer with phantom power.

When you’re ready to start, record a couple of run-throughs just to check the sound, and to see if you want to change the delivery in any way. Then just go for it; do several takes, as the beauty of recording on a computer is that you can ‘comp’ the vocal, ie. take the best lines from each take and compile a perfect rendition. Don’t forget to really try and put emotion and expression into the vocal; in some ways singing is like theatrical rather than tv acting, as in what seems like an over-the-top delivery to you will seem like a tiny variation on the recording, so go for it! When you’ve done a few takes and you think you have some good versions, do one more take with extra exaggerated delivery, you never know, the odd bit might sound amazing like that.

If you think your voice doesn’t sound full enough, you can get good results by double tracking; that’s why it’s a good idea to always breath in the same places and have your timings rehearsed; then all your takes should fit together if you want to comp two tracks for the double track effect. It can be a good idea to have the main vocal louder, and the double track lower in the mix. This gives the effect of thickening up the sound without sounding like Bananarama!

When you are mixing the track, don’t bury the vocals in the music… you may feel embarrassed to start with and cringe when you hear them back, but this will soon wear off and is preferable to not being able to hear the words.. you’re a lead singer, so go ahead and lead! If you want to hear more of the tiny inflections it’s a good idea to slightly over compress the vocal track, and add some top to the EQ. You can get that classic ‘radio’ sound that Muse use a lot by adding lots of top mid and treble frequencies, and removing the bottom end completely. A bit of reverb will help to sit the vocal in the track nicely, but don’t overdo it unless you are going for an extreme. Finally, don’t let the experience destroy your confidence; a famous producer once told me ‘it doesn’t matter if you’re the best singer in the world or one of the worst; the most important thing is to sound like yourself and no-one else… that’s what will get you known’!