How important is vocal control in the recording studio? When you have it, you can sing what you want, how you want, with more vocal ability in general, more accuracy of pitch, and more communicative nuance of phrasing and tone. You will have more strain-free vocal range and dynamics, too, AND it will take you less time to get to performance magic. So wouldn’t it be awesome to have some hacks that can instantly increase your vocal control? OK, in this post, I have five for you.
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#1 – Use your hands or a drumstick between your palms.
Why?
Pressing the fingers from both hands into each other or pressing the drumstick lightly between your palms will widen your ribcage without you having to think about it. This stretches out your diaphragm, like a drumhead or trampoline, and gives you more breath control.
#2 – Stand with your feet closer to the microphone.
Why?
Because you can then move your head back, opening your throat channel, without moving your mouth too far from the mic. If there is a music stand or cue box in the way, simply move them back or to the side (or ask your engineer to do this). Oh… and notice how this stance also encourages your ribcage to widen!
#3 – Turn the bass and any swimmy instruments down.
Why?
Because they can pull your ear’s perception of pitch off center. Sometimes strings, electric guitars, acoustic slides, harmonicas and the like can help you sing more powerfully or emotionally, but sometimes they are vocal control saboteurs. Swimmy or busy instruments should be turned down or completely off in your cue if they are distracting.
And the bass? Even a bass that a tuner says is in tune will have upper harmonics that distort a bit and are not true to pitch up there where you sing. I noticed this in my own studio work and now I know that if I or someone I’m producing is having pitch issues, turning these instruments down or off can make a huge difference.
#4 – Sing THROUGH, not TO, the pop filter and microphone.
Why?
Because your voice won’t know what to do. You might sing well technically, but you’ll NEVER get the vocal performance magic that you could by focusing your voice to the one heart your song is talking to. The goal of getting that heart’s response to the message of your lyric is what gives your automatic nervous system or lizard brain its instructions as to how your voice should sound. And good luck getting a response from that pop filter!
#5 – Try singing with your headphones half-off one ear.
Why?
Sometimes – not all the time, so you’ll need to experiment – it can help you hone in on the center of pitch by hearing a your voice acoustically as you sing. Don’t take the headphone all the way off because both of your ears need the balance of hearing some track. Just slide it back enough that you hear a bit of the sound of your voice in the booth.
These are fast fixes!
Because of their effect on vocal control, all five of these hacks can make an immediate improvement in your studio vocals. There are a ton more tips and strategies that can skyrocket the quality of studio vocals in my two studio courses: Singing In The Studio (for singers), and Vocal Production Workshop (for audio engineers and producers who want to be heros to their clients), so be sure and check them out.
Now You:
Please let me know your experience in the comments if you try any of these hacks. I am adamantly for whatever works, even if it’s weird… and you can ask my production clients: that drumstick can be a studio singer’s best friend!
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Great tips. Thanks.
Thank you, Judy, for your always-professional and right-to-the-point advice. Your posts are so easily understood and there is always something that anyone can use, no,atter their level of professionalism.
Oh… Merry Christmas my dear friend. ♥️