Holding back when recording live piano and vocal

  • Thread starter Thread starter cjacek
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cjacek

cjacek

Analogue Enthusiast
Hi,

I'm not sure how typical or common this is but I always find myself holding back (vocally) when trying to play piano and sing at the same time. I like the "live" feel but I'm not my best vocally. Another issue is that I sometimes screw up playing and something the vocals are off. It's never 100% for both. My energies seem to be divided too much. I'm now thinking about overdubbing but I'm afraid the live feel will be gone. Plus I don't like singing to playback with headphones. How do you guys deal with this sort of thing? Any advice, the pros and cons?

Thanks!
 
I used to think that, but I play and sing everything separately now.

It may be different for different people, but I don't find separate recording has any drawbacks for me.
Singing with headphones is something you'll get used to with practice.
Try keeping one hear off so you can hear your voice in the room.

Bottom line:Try it and see. :)
 
I keep it all separate too.

I know some folks like to do the acoustic guitar and vocal thing simultaneously...but you're always dealing with mic bleed and while in some cases it sounds good and works for the song...most times I prefer to have minimum bleed, especially for a vocal track.

You just have to practice it and get use to the backing tracks in your headphones...after awhile it will become comfortable, and I think somewhat liberating, as you will then be able to track each element more deliberately and without compromises.
 
"liberating" is indeed the word. Thanks guys, I'll definitely try it ;)
 
It's just a different skill. Gained with practice. Not being able to break out of the "I must play and sing at the same time" routine is really limiting.
 
After getting used to it, you'll probably find that its much easier to do one thing well at a time than 2!
 
Exactly. I have no problems with people doing it deliberately, as a recording choice, but if it's all you can do, then it's limiting...
 
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