My voice sounds different recorded

[mdainsd]

I heard my recorded voice, once. I havent spoken a word since, Lol

 

[instatic]

everyone sounds different in their own heads. i cant stand recordings of me singing and other people probably cant either but that doesnt stop me!

 

[grimtraveller]

everyone sounds different in their own heads.

This gets repeated so much that it eventually becomes true. But it isn't for me. I've been doing some vocals this week and whether I record a whole tone sped up so on normal speed I sound like a jaded old man or a whole tone slowed down so on normal replay I sound like a threatening young buck, it still sounds like me ! And the funny thing is, it's how I think I sound in my head. Because it is !

 

[JimmyS1969]

My voice sounds perfectly fine to me when I type. lol.

Put a mic in front of me, and it is a different story. Once an artist realizes what his/her voice actually sounds like to others, is when it can be worked and directed to a personal taste. Anyone can try impersonation of another. Usually, it sounds better to the one doing it than to others. Finding your own voice, it's uniqueness, and what it is capable of, is where you will gain power of expression. Worrying about how it sounds weird to you, is just not knowing yourself yet.

 

[instatic]

This gets repeated so much that it eventually becomes true. But it isn't for me. I've been doing some vocals this week and whether I record a whole tone sped up so on normal speed I sound like a jaded old man or a whole tone slowed down so on normal replay I sound like a threatening young buck, it still sounds like me ! And the funny thing is, it's how I think I sound in my head. Because it is !

That's interesting, I may be wrong but you must be in the minority. Has this always been the case or did it happen over time? I ask because I can't get used to my own voice and hope that over time that will change.

 

[Steenamaroo]

I think finding the right songs makes a huge difference.
I recorded a bowie cover a while back and hate the sound of my voice on it.
Did some sinatra a few weeks ago and thought it was fantastic!

I know what I'll be doing in future,lol.

I'm the opposite of Grim though. I'll sing around the house and stuff and I'm always convinced that it sounds great, no matter how many times I record myself and prove otherwise.

 

[grimtraveller]

That's interesting, I may be wrong but you must be in the minority. Has this always been the case or did it happen over time? I ask because I can't get used to my own voice and hope that over time that will change.

I remember when I was little and my Dad had a reel to reel and he used to record concertos and stuff from the radio and I was fascinated that his microphone could record my sisters and I. I thought we sounded so funny. Then as I got older and had my own cassette I would tape myself periodically and I was sometimes surprized at my voice, spoken or otherwise. Up until not that long ago, I thought it sounded like I was on drugs, especially on the answering machine at home. But it gradually occurred to me that there was never a time in my life when I actually thought "this does not sound like me". It always did sound like me, which was why I may have not liked it at times or been embarassed about it or thought it was a lousy voice. As is often the case, it was other people that would say "I like your voice". As such, the real change for me was in accepting the voice I have and realizing that no one I've come across sounds like me {although ironically, when I would phone my parents or my older sister, they often thought it was my younger brother !}. So I'm well used to it.

I'm the opposite of Grim though. I'll sing around the house and stuff and I'm always convinced that it sounds great, no matter how many times I record myself and prove otherwise.

Well, I never think I sound great ! Though I sing as I drive about, I rarely make the effort to get things right ~ until I need to. Strangely though, I always make the effort to hit the notes. I hate being out of tune. For me it's like walking about having just been shat on by some pigeon.

 

[VomitHatSteve]

Being able to identify it as your voice and not hearing any difference between your voice in your head and a recording are somewhat different beasts.

Not hearing a difference at all would mean either some severe hearing problems or a weird, non-resonating head!
Being able to identify it as yourself just means that your ear is attuned to it.

The only times I can remember saying "who's that voice" to recording of myself recently is when it's a really distorted recording (e.g. when talking to a friend who has me on speakerphone, and I hear the echo of my voice picked up by his receiver.)
Otherwise, recordings of my voice (especially spoken ones) just sound like a slightly-deeper me.

 

[grimtraveller]

Is there a reason why my singing sounds bad when it is recorded ?

but when i went to record, my voice sounded really bad.

Is it just natural that i sound amazing to them and horrible to myself and i just have to accept that or will i get used to it later on?

Being able to identify it as your voice and not hearing any difference between your voice in your head and a recording are somewhat different beasts.

Not hearing a difference at all would mean either some severe hearing problems or a weird, non-resonating head!
Being able to identify it as yourself just means that your ear is attuned to it.

The last point is true but the implication in the original post is that the OP only thinks the voice is 'bad' when recorded. Which leads me to conclude, in the absence of any additional info by said OP, that the OP thinks their voice is OK when they're singing. So they hear a 'difference'.
Obviously a voice sounds 'different' in one's own head to when you hear it recorded, in the same way that a song 'sounds' slightly different depending on the system it's played on. Or whether it's in a front room as opposed to a car. It would've been helpful if Minuk21 had come back to tell us what they meant by 'bad' but I think part of that could well have been 'different'. And that's what I meant when I said my voice doesn't sound 'different' to me when I hear it recorded. That it may be a little deeper or not often depends on the mic that I use although on a standard tape recorder it does seem deeper. And that I'm now attuned to it is indisputable.

 

[whirlwindRA]

I haven't really been singing that long (about 2 years), but I remember how embarrassing it was to hear my own voice when I first started recording myself. But now I sing in front of others and get recorded all the time, so I've learned to love my voice. Like the others said, everyone experiences it and it just takes some time getting used to.

 

[Steenamaroo]

It's not an easy thing to 'get over' but I always thought it was stupid.

I used to get the same thing. Kinda embarrassing listening back, but it didn't stop me singing live.

It's like these people who cringe at photo's of themselves and won't let you see their passport.

What's the point?? I'm looking straight at you now?!?!?!?

 

[CapacityWKS.]

if you really want to know if there's a difference... during the playback, sing with it.
When I first did that, I was shocked when I sounded exactly like what I recorded.