this may sound retarded, but its making me nuts!

airyellis

airyellis

New member
hey guys,

i finally got to the point where i can record a song and whatnot in my apt. but im always embarrassed the neighbors might hear. i like my voice and think i sing decent, but just the fact that i can think they can be like "what the hell is she doing"?

does anyone else feel this way?? :facepalm:

(i didnt know where to post this lol)
 
airyellis said:
hey guys,

i finally got to the point where i can record a song and whatnot in my apt. but im always embarrassed the neighbors might hear. i like my voice and think i sing decent, but just the fact that i can think they can be like "what the hell is she doing"?

does anyone else feel this way?? :facepalm:

(i didnt know where to post this lol)
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That's your mind trying to give you an excuse not to do anything. Think about this...will your neighbors be the final say on what you create? Do they really matter in the long run? Even if you're doing this for fun, who cares what others think? You won't get any better at your craft by sitting around not doing anything. As long as you're mindful of your neighbors at night so they don't call the cops on you, then during the day just belt away! You never know, they may like what they hear and compliment you on it. I just wrote a post on how to build a homemade recording booth. Put one of those together if you don't already have one and that should dampen your acoustics and reverberation. They may never even know you sing. haha! Good luck!
 
yep. I know the feeling well. I am extremely self-conscious when recording my vocals if there is anyone else around, because:

a) I don't like the thought of others listening while I wail away tunelessly; and
b) I don't like anyone to hear my stuff unless I am ready for it to be heard.

Having said that, there are times when you just gotta grit your teeth and do it.

And so I have to say to myself, "who cares what the neighbours think" and just get it recorded.
 
gecko zzed said:
yep. I know the feeling well. I am extremely self-conscious when recording my vocals if there is anyone else around, because:

a) I don't like the thought of others listening while I wail away tunelessly; and
b) I don't like anyone to hear my stuff unless I am ready for it to be heard.

Having said that, there are times when you just gotta grit your teeth and do it.

And so I have to say to myself, "who cares what the neighbours think" and just get it recorded.
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Same here. I recorded my first album in my old student house and would only record the vocals when i knew my housemates were out. If they were in and i really had to record vocals (uni deadlines made this happen) i sang so quietly and with so little enthusiasm that i nearly always hated the take because i knew that's not how i sounded normally.

as gecko said, you just need to say to yourself "who cares what the neighbours think!" and throw yourself into it. the more you do it, the more confident you become, and the easier it is :)
 
gecko zzed said:
yep. I know the feeling well. I am extremely self-conscious when recording my vocals if there is anyone else around, because:

a) I don't like the thought of others listening while I wail away tunelessly; and
b) I don't like anyone to hear my stuff unless I am ready for it to be heard.

Having said that, there are times when you just gotta grit your teeth and do it.

And so I have to say to myself, "who cares what the neighbours think" and just get it recorded.
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Exactly! I used to be the same way. But I realized it started stagnating me. I was being unproductive. You can't advance or get better if you don't practice or start using your talents more. Look me up sometime on one of my links when you get something done. I might can throw you a few pointers I learned along the way.
 
The way I always feel about performing is that I'm happy to play on stage if I'm on the bill (or whatever) because I kind of feel like I'm supposed to be there and I'm not annoying people with my playing/singing. I feel uncomfortable just playing and singing at a party, say, but I'll happily get up in front of a hundred people and perform.

I think it's similar when recording - I don't want people to be annoyed and am also aware that they're not hearing the product - I don't want them to think that's the final thing that they can hear (i.e. me performing badly several times to try and build a decent take). Even if it's my just me and my girlfriend in the house (as it usually is), I get quite embarassed.

Anyway, I guess that you just have to suck it up sometimes - you can't always get people to go out or move to the furthest room from you. I'm looking to buy a house in the near future and an out-building some distance from any neighbours is high on my wishlist!
 
You could just knock on their door and tell them you're gonna be singing. Like a preemptive strike, so they know that you know that they might hear you. If you put up a front like you don't care, they might not think anything of it when they do actually hear you. Say something like "hey I'm getting into home music production, and you might hear me doing some singing." You can beat them to the punch.
 
I can't sing if anyone's in the house. It's totally mental. I know that nobody can hear me outside when I sing, but I still close all the widows to be comfortable. I' got no problem recording drums, guitar, or bass. But vocals, I have to know no one can hear me while I'm tracking.
 
RAMI said:
I can't sing if anyone's in the house. It's totally mental. I know that nobody can hear me outside when I sing, but I still close all the widows to be comfortable. I' got no problem recording drums, guitar, or bass. But vocals, I have to know no one can hear me while I'm tracking.
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Same here. My neighbors can't hear me (the studio is pretty tight and I'm in the country) but it still freaks me out.
 
RAMI said:
I can't sing if anyone's in the house. It's totally mental. I know that nobody can hear me outside when I sing, but I still close all the widows to be comfortable. I' got no problem recording drums, guitar, or bass. But vocals, I have to know no one can hear me while I'm tracking.
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Same....I think this list could keep building.

I like Greg's idea!!
 
Unless you have one of those with the "I'm perfect" attitudes, this is a common thing, obviously. The way to get past it is just to keep trying. If you're in an apartment with only neighbors to worry about, assume/pretend they can't hear you and wail away. If you get out and do some open mics, or can sing withothers, it will help you build confidence in yourself.
 
I'm not interested in blowing my own trumpet; I'm an OK singer, and of course there are going to be exceptions,
but generally I notice that the people who are shy about it are pretty fecking good at it!

RAMI = prime example....Throw the doors open man. ;)
 
Oh man... I never thought about this before.... Now I am. :(

I usually record at night when everyone is asleep. I don't much care if the family hears me belting it out, but I'm a little conscientious if the neighbors hear me. But they've assured me many times, they never hear anything.

If I were in an apartment, I don't knwo what I would do. It would definitely affect my performance.
 
But here's the thing . . . even though I get squeamish about people hearing me, the one's that come in to record vocals never seem to have that same problem. They all seem happy to belt away no matter who is around to listen.
 
Well, I lived in an apartment until a short time ago, and I'm guessing the guy in the apt. above and the woman in the unit below heard me singing more than once, but I didn't care. I was more worried about them making noise and ruining my recording. That would drive me nuts! I'd be all warmed up, ready to do some vocal recording, and the guy upstairs would arrive home--I'd near him trudging up the back stair, and I'd sink. Or he'd suddenly decide to play some music on his stereo--when up 'til that time, he'd been as quiet as a churchmouse. I wouldn't worry about it, if I were you. Unless you're really belting it out, relax and don't worry, until they actually say something. My building was actually pretty quiet; I knew what kind of cars the other tenants drove, and more than once (usually on a Sunday afternoon), there was literally no one in the building but me.
So, try and work around them if you're really self-conscious.
 
RAMI said:
I can't sing if anyone's in the house. It's totally mental. I know that nobody can hear me outside when I sing, but I still close all the widows to be comfortable. I' got no problem recording drums, guitar, or bass. But vocals, I have to know no one can hear me while I'm tracking.
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Chili said:
If I were in an apartment, I don't know what I would do. It would definitely affect my performance.
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Which I find amazing because Chili and RAMI are two of the top singers here on HR. I've thought this for quite a while, particularly in RAMI's case, he generally gets praise for his writing, playing, multi~instrumental skills and drumming but I think those distinct vocals are the strong suit there.

gecko zzed said:
But here's the thing . . . even though I get squeamish about people hearing me, the one's that come in to record vocals never seem to have that same problem. They all seem happy to belt away no matter who is around to listen.
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I've always found exactly the same thing. Initially, they'll be shy about singing in front of me on a recording. But I would calm them by pointing out how nervous I am having to play them a song I've written and recorded not knowing what they might think. And then after that, all nerves go. No one's ever worried about the neighbours.
I've generally been fortunate with neighbours. Pretty much from the start they've been great with my noise and like Greg pointed out, I've often pre~empted a strike by giving notice of any impending sessions and I won't run past 7 for anything acoustic.
I do feel a bit self conscious sometimes when I'm doing vocals but I never used to until one of my neighbours said they were standing outside the window listening and they thought I was giving someone singing lessons. I felt really self conscious after that. But never so that I won't record, even if my wife or kids have friends around.
 
we recently had new neighbours move in, they came round to complain one afternoon because the piano was a bit to loud.. (Granted i was highly annoyed and decided to drum out the phantom of the opera overture as loud as possible at 6:00 am..) so thats justified..

Then because at 9:30pm they wanted to go to bed and somehow could hear the TV in the downstairs lounge in their upstairs bedroom, even though my mom is pretty deaf and just reads the subtitles, the volume was on 8 i couldnt even hear it in the room...

ive never cared what they think and i just belt away (at reasonable times), but if it was infront of people that i know well i think id be more cautious/weary, its a weird one, some situations i feel really uncomfortable, then others i just dont care...

Btw im not a bad a neighbor as it sounds! ha
 
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