Recording Vocals Pitch Issues

H

hcaulfield

New member
Long story short, I am a pianist/singer having trouble tracking good vocals. When I'm practicing at home, I'll set up a small recorder for playback and I normally don't hear too many problems with my pitch... but as soon as I start recording, my pitch seems to go WAY off course. I've tried just about everything and would really like some input from you fellow singers on what makes you most comfortable when you're recording vocals. Any advice would be appreciated.

DAW: Logic
Mic: Shure Sm7b
Headphones: Sennheiser HD-380 pros.


Thank you :D
 
Hi,
Do you keep the headphones covering both ears when you're recording?
Some people find that off-putting. It's not uncommon to slide one ear off so you can hear yourself naturally while you record.
 
Thank you for the quick reply.

I have tried both ways and seem to feel most comfortable with one on and one off. But with that being said I still tend to fall in and out of pitch much more frequently then when I'm just practicing.
 
What about the volume? If you're sure your pitch is fine when just practicing, maybe it's just a case of finding the right balance?
Sometimes I'll adjust the mix to deemphasise anything off-putting. Maybe try boosting a strong melodic instrument like guitar or piano?
 
I normally only utilize 2 tracks. One for vocals and one for piano so I don't have much going on.

But I am pretty new to computer recording so I do have a hard time with finding a good balance without anyone helping me.
 
Could it possibly be the headphones I'm using? I know the 380s are good headphones, but everyone has a different preference. Does anybody have any other recommendations for vocal tracking headphones?
 
If you believe your pitch is fine, a way to try would be record your piano to a metronome. Have the piano play for a bit off the song and then drop out. Record your vocals over the piano/metronome. So you hear the piano for a bit then it disappears but you keep singing, following the metronome to keep your solo vocal in time.

Then put the piano back in after recording and check your pitch.

Also, what you hear with your ears when you speak/sing live is totally different to hearing yourself on playback. Dislike of your own voice alone can make you think it's out of tune. Maybe your pitch is OK but your ears don't like your voice.

You could post a sample of what you believe to be 'off pitch' and let us be the judge?
 
Hi Mr. Clean,

Thank you for your knowledgeable reply. I will take that into consideration next time I record. I will try and post a sample tomorrow at some point, but the quality won't be very good.

I don't dislike my voice, but I just feel like my biggest problem is with my mix balance as steen said in the previous post. I've tried loud vocals against leveled piano and I've tried quiet vocals against leveled piano. But I just can't seem to find a comfortable level.
 
Forgot to say, I'd be surprised if the brand of headphones has anything to do with it.
I have the 280s and find them to be brilliant for the money. I track with them all the time.
 
As much as I enjoy the 380s I feel like they don't provide what I, as a vocalist need to hear. I do pitch better with them then other headphones I've tried, but I feel like If I had something that could give me a much more accurate representation of what I'm so used to hearing, id be much better at getting some better vocal takes.
 
hcaulfield said:
As much as I enjoy the 380s I feel like they don't provide what I, as a vocalist need to hear. I do pitch better with them then other headphones I've tried, but I feel like If I had something that could give me a much more accurate representation of what I'm so used to hearing, id be much better at getting some better vocal takes.
Click to expand...

I don't think this could cause you to be off-pitch since they are good headphones. Generally when you sing you get a feel for the notes in a song as well as the pitch themselves so you can stay on pitch even if what you're hearing isn't accurate.

Still, if you wish to try and trouble shoot that, record a vocal track with your piano track playing in the background on regular speakers, no headphones. If you are on pitch with that, then you know it's something about covering your ear/ears that is throwing you off.
 
Hi morodiene,

Thank you for your reply.

You make some very valid points. When I had tried tracking using my monitors I did notice much better pitch accuracy because I felt more comfortable, but because I would rather not deal with the phase issue, I would prefer to use headphones.
 
hcaulfield said:
Hi morodiene,

Thank you for your reply.

You make some very valid points. When I had tried tracking using my monitors I did notice much better pitch accuracy because I felt more comfortable, but because I would rather not deal with the phase issue, I would prefer to use headphones.
Click to expand...
Of course, but it's important to know what exactly is causing the problem in order to find a solution. I recommend doing several recordings of the same piece or even segment of a piece. In the first take, do it with a monitor and no headphones. Listen to the recording to make sure everything is in tune. Then the next take, use a monitor still, but then have headphones over one ear which nothing coming through it, just using it to cover up an ear. As you are singing, alternate having one ear covered and not so that you will have a few seconds with it on and few seconds with it off while you are singing a phrase. Listen to the quality of the recording, hopefully your pitch will still be in good shape. You can then try this with having the sound coming through both headphones and monitor, but still alternating with having an ear covered and not while you sing. Check the pitch again. You can also try with the monitor very low, but headphones at normal volume and keep the phones on one ear the whole time, and repeat until there's nothing coming through the monitor.

If at any time your pitch suffers, then revert back to the last step and make sure it's secure before proceeding. This may be more helpful over a period of days rather than one sitting, so if you get to a step where your pitch does suffer, make note of where you stopped and then return to the previous step the next day and work forward. You're just teaching your ears how to listen differently and not get confused by the headphones. When I record I only cover one ear as well, I think that is probably the best way to do it.
 
One way that might help is turning off the vocal monitoring, drop one ear piece and then sing. If you are having any latency in the monitors, it is going to affect your vocals. Try just using on side of the head phones so you can hear the music and sing. Normal. You can then play it back and focus on your troubled areas.
 
Good catch DM.
I forgot to say I mute the vocal whilst recording.
It's music left ear - real voice right ear.

Of course that's not a rule, but it's something to try.
 
Steenamaroo said:
Good catch DM.
I forgot to say I mute the vocal whilst recording.
It's music left ear - real voice right ear.

Of course that's not a rule, but it's something to try.
Click to expand...

Yea, this is something I started doing as my vocals were coming out lifeless. I know I am not a great singer but thought, surely I can do better than this. Seems to make my voice sound more natural. The pitch issue is just practice and rehearsing the song. When you are first composing, you are still learning the song.
 
Haha. I wish I could do that. I only have one ear that works though so I'm buggered.

Good suggestion though :thumbs up:
 
Morodiene said:
Of course, but it's important to know what exactly is causing the problem in order to find a solution. I recommend doing several recordings of the same piece or even segment of a piece. In the first take, do it with a monitor and no headphones. Listen to the recording to make sure everything is in tune. Then the next take, use a monitor still, but then have headphones over one ear which nothing coming through it, just using it to cover up an ear. As you are singing, alternate having one ear covered and not so that you will have a few seconds with it on and few seconds with it off while you are singing a phrase. Listen to the quality of the recording, hopefully your pitch will still be in good shape. You can then try this with having the sound coming through both headphones and monitor, but still alternating with having an ear covered and not while you sing. Check the pitch again. You can also try with the monitor very low, but headphones at normal volume and keep the phones on one ear the whole time, and repeat until there's nothing coming through the monitor.

If at any time your pitch suffers, then revert back to the last step and make sure it's secure before proceeding. This may be more helpful over a period of days rather than one sitting, so if you get to a step where your pitch does suffer, make note of where you stopped and then return to the previous step the next day and work forward. You're just teaching your ears how to listen differently and not get confused by the headphones. When I record I only cover one ear as well, I think that is probably the best way to do it.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the info packed reply! I like the trial and error approach and will give it a shot!

DM60 said:
One way that might help is turning off the vocal monitoring, drop one ear piece and then sing. If you are having any latency in the monitors, it is going to affect your vocals. Try just using on side of the head phones so you can hear the music and sing. Normal. You can then play it back and focus on your troubled areas.
Click to expand...

So you're saying, one can on and one off, piano in the headphones and vocals just natural with my open ear?

Steenamaroo said:
Good catch DM.
I forgot to say I mute the vocal whilst recording.
It's music left ear - real voice right ear.

Of course that's not a rule, but it's something to try.
Click to expand...

How has this affected your pitch? Have you noticed better accuracy? More comfortable?

DM60 said:
Yea, this is something I started doing as my vocals were coming out lifeless. I know I am not a great singer but thought, surely I can do better than this. Seems to make my voice sound more natural. The pitch issue is just practice and rehearsing the song. When you are first composing, you are still learning the song.
Click to expand...

Have you noticed the lifeless vocals improving by muting the vocals?
 
I think most of my pitch issues came/come from inexperience/fear of singing into a mic, combined with not knowing the song well enough to sing it uber confidently. It's not like I can sing pitch perfect now or anything. Far from it.

I learned a lot about how to sing into a mic just recording myself singing along to a few of my favourite tunes. It made it really easy to hear where my volume/pitch/sibilance was going off having someone who knew what they were doing to compare myself to.

But you should post a sample, so we can hear if you even have anything to worry about.
 
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