As I’ve mentioned recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the recording realm and inherently comparing live vs recorded vocals. I have pretty good pitch, but even I notice how unforgiving it is to hear your own recorded vocal back. We might only be talking about just one or two notes in a 3 minute difficult performance that are off, but they can completely change the perception of a vocal take being good vs bad.
Here’s a basic test for you to see what I mean. Here is a clip of an incredibly consistent and incredible live singer – Peabo Bryson. I go on about him because he is excellent. He is often held up by recording engineers and producers as being a “one take wonder”, where he can just record a single take and it’s basically perfect.
Here is a recording of Peabo singing on an old TV show. Just him and a backing track. It’s a sub-optimal performance environment, but that’s perfect for our purposes.
TEST 1: “LIVE” – Watch (say) the first 30 seconds whilst watching the video yourself. You’ll likely enjoy it and recognise how skilled he is. Even if it’s not your style, you should (hopefully!) appreciate the quality in his voice and the performance.
TEST 2: “RECORDED” – Rewind to listen to the first 30 seconds, BUT make sure you scroll up or down the page so you can’t see the video at all. Your brain is now only receiving JUST the audio at this stage. Treat it like you were listening to a live album and see how you react.
The take home message:
Do you see how suddenly you notice every imperfection in the vocals? What were previously excusable or perhaps even ignorable pitching issues become quite offensive to the ear.
Such is the “perfection level” of recordings and albums nowadays, we have created a double standard for our listening. In a live environment we recognise tiny issues but can dismiss or even ignore them… but on a record, those imperfections become an issue and can really stick out to us as blemishes in the performance.
Have a watch, then a listen. I found this very enlightening as to how we’ve acquired such double standards in our listening habits and our perception of other singers, as well as ourselves!
Learn More: Related Articles
If you want to learn more about recording, you can find out more by visiting these related articles:
Recorded vs Live Performance: Which is harder?
Recording Studio on a Budget
How to Sing When Recording
Vocal Comping to Get the Best Vocal Take
Five Common Vocal Misconceptions (check number 5)