Can't perform well in a studio

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I do vocals - the studio recordings are on gear more expensive than I can imagine. But I'm just unable to pull off the performance the songs deserve. Some things that inhibit me in the studio:

1. I can't hold the mic.
2. I can't move
3. I'm not singing to a crowd
4. Monitoring, no matter how amazing the headphones are, can never compare to having the band there behind me.

Any advice on how to remedy this? My songs in general are rock, and in live recordings my voice is a bit edgier. In the studio recordings, I sing like a pretty boy, more like a David Bowie than a Freddie Mercury. Get my drift?

Maybe I should take a couple of shots of scotch before singing... but then I quit drinking two years ago. But who's counting?
 
Change the atmosphere in the studio to fit your style. Bring in a bunch of friends to stand there like a crowd!
 
Oh, the "red light syndrom", I`ve been there, and I hate that feeling.......
It`s really hard to "let go" with someone listenig, maybe a
porn movie sidegig will help you ease up:D

Uh, maybe not....:)

Amund
 
The couple of shots of scotch will do the trick...

However, if you don't want to give in to that urge, you might want to ask the recording engineer if you can use a dummy mic, just something to hold on to. Some peple don't like to do this as there are problems sometimes with the dummy interfereing with the real one, but it's worth a try. As far as moving is concerned, you can't really move your head much, but if you can be quiet enough about it, you can move your body. It might let you get into the song better. There's not much you can do about the band actually playing behind you, but it might help to have the headphone mix a heavier on the kick drum and the bass. Also, bring yourself down a little in the headphone. You'll have to sing louder to hear yourself of course, but then again, when you're on stage you're probably singing pretty loud also. The crowd isn't so hard to replicate. Get your hand on one of those $20 halogen work lamps and set it behind some friends standing in front of you to simulate the a stage setting. Again, you'll have to pass this by your recording engineer.

You'll never get the same exact sound in the studio that you get live. The energy of a live performance just isn't there. But you might be able to fool yourself just enough to make it passable. There's a few more tricks that could work also, like recording a track of cheering crowd of adoring fans and playing that back in your headphone mix and closing your eyes, but that depends on the people running the studio (using an extra track, the extra time involved, etc...).
 
Put a 58 on a mic stand and monitor through some PA speakers. If you reverse the phase on one of the monitors and play a mono mix with both speakers equal distance from the mic it should cancel out a lot of the monitor bleed. Even if there is some bleed it may add to the vibe. Have a few drinks, dim the lights and go with it.
 
The phase reversal thing works in theory, but is much, much harder to impliment in the studio than simply pressing the phase reverse switch. You have to remember that if the vocalist can hear it, it's not canceled out If it does actually cancel out, you still have the room reflections to deal with, which are not 180 degrees out of phase.
 
So elaborate on that a little more - I'm open for ideas.

We already have the instruments tracking done and ready. And I'm pretty happy with them.

For me, a live recording has to be with the band - I'd feel really awkward singing these songs to a track in front of a crowd. I never did understand the R&B singers who perform to a track.

In which case the recording wouldn't be "clean".
 
Do it live and process it until perfection. Attempt to clean it up as well as possible. Or, the harder way. Bring the band members and let them get you pumped, have them jump around while you do your vocals or something.
 
You will grow tremendously by overcoming the "RED LIGHT SYNDROM"

Keep trying, and in a little while you will grow to love the studio expierience. Headphones are your friend!

TRUTH IS: You don't really sound any better when you perform live, you just think you do!

Because you forget what it sounded like as soon as the note fades out, your perception is that it was on pitch, in time and had the right feeling. BUT

You will improve your pitch, timing and performance by recording and noting the places you need to fix.

You may detect a pattern of going slightly flat or sharp in certain passages, reaching for a note and straining, or running out of breath support on long phrases.... etc.

BUT You will improve! Everyone I know in the music industry has had to work through this. The recording won't lie, it will be your best and most honest teacher.

DOM

:p :p
 
Try a Shure SM-7.

You can hold it in your hand, and thus, you can move....
 
So basically you want more of the blatant flaming pretty boy style of Mercury over the androgynous space cadet pretty boy of Bowie.. :D

seriously tho.. I think Dom is right. Have you ever isolated one of your live vocal feeds? I'll bet listening after the show you'll notice a lot of flaws you didn't catch during the performance.


You could always turn off the lights in the studio and close your eyes during takes. It may help you immerse more in the headphones and you could imagine you're in a show.
 
It's tough, Record a couple of scratch tracks first to throw away and have fun with it. then go for the real thing. (this is a B.S. trick but if you can get your mind to go along it works) If the real take sucks you go back to the recorded scratch tracks.

Most of all just try to enjoy what you are doing. Enjoy the music that you always enjoy. Try to create an atmosphere more pleasing for getting into the music. There will be a crowd of people, just later, do it for them, Have a couple of shots. See if you can record at night if you are not already.

You can do it. Singing is affected by emotions alot. You have to generate those emotions. I would be more worried about generating the emotion than singing well. If you can generate the emotions of the song the singing will come.


Good Luck

F.S.
 
Line up "in the studio" photos of all of your favorite rock stars throughout the ages, wearing their headphones and singing into the mic. Think to yourself, someday a kid will see a picture of me doing this and be inspired. Say to yourself "this is my big chance, this is what I have wanted to do since I was 5 years old" Do what all of your idols have been doing since Edison invented the Victrola, and master it!
 
Hawking said:
The phase reversal thing works in theory, but is much, much harder to impliment in the studio than simply pressing the phase reverse switch. You have to remember that if the vocalist can hear it, it's not canceled out If it does actually cancel out, you still have the room reflections to deal with, which are not 180 degrees out of phase.
Click to expand...

So what. A little bleed is no big deal. It can often help the tracks sound more alive.
 
I have had the same problem. There is a definite energy that is lacking in the studio experience compared to the live experience. I had to figure out a way to find the energy in myself. Kind of get pumped up for the studio performance. You will have to find your own way of doing that. It still doesn’t always work for me. That’s the nice part about doing it at home. I can try another day :D.
 
It's still a performance

You might not see them but the crowd is there, and they are listening every time they throw on your CD. I know it's an obvious statement and probably doesn't help much, but well, it's my 2 cents.
 
Alcohol does help with the butterflies, careful not to get slopy but...
 
Not to sound like I know what I'm doing but...

I've only done a couple of projects, all for the same band. We had one vocalist who sounded very good, but was very intimidated by the 'Red Light Syndrome,' :) as everyone has called it. He would have his most trouble with the timing and pacing of the words when the pressure was on. The first thing I did was to have him just speak the lyrics as they would be sung, without worrying about being on key. It helped to get the feel without overworking the voice.

The other trick is one I'm sure everyone's used (kinda like Freudian Slip suggested). I'd just keep telling him we were doing practice takes. When his confidence started to build I'd tell him, "Okay, one more practice take, then we'll go for the real one." At that point I'd arm the track and record the take. Sometimes I got the keeper, sometimes I didn't. But it usually helped him relax. When that stops working, you go as far as to say you're NOT recording a take, and record it anyway. In a home studio with no 'Red' lights, it works really well.

As they say, "Your Mileage May Vary," but it worked more than once, and not just with the singer. :)
 
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