Recording as a noob

+1 to the singing.

You simply MUST get into singing and recording it. It's just too valuable a tool to overlook. It's a lot of fun too. :)

The singer is not only the focal point of the band, but they get to tell the story. You can play a very basic set of chords and still hold an audience if you can tell a story with your voice. And that applies as much to singing a song to your own family as does to playing a public gig. It's also the number one song-writing tool. If you can tap out a rhythm with your hand or foot, and sing a melody line then you've got all you need to work out the basic backbone. You can compose in your truck as you drive, or tap on your chest and sing in the shower (interesting possibilities for composing duets there...).

The ideal is to practice your singing as seriously as you would any other instrument. I guarantee that if you do, the pay-off will be huge, in both results and enjoyment. You should should also learn to sing both with and without playing (i.e be able to play or build up backing tracks and then sing on a separate track later). As others have suggested above, getting some sort of half way decent mic, and then getting in touch with your inner crooner is a logic step - especially with your background.

Trust us.... once you get into singing you'll wonder why you ever hesitated. :)

Cheers,

Chris

I don't doubt you at all. :wink: What I mean is that I haven't developed the coordination to sing and play at the same time. Now that I'm more and more into music, I'm amazed at the skills musicians and singers have. I think of how John Lennon and Paul McCartney played and sang at the same time, together.

My fantasy/dream/goal is to get in front of a group of people... family, coworkers, friends (oh wait I don't have any friends :P ) and play and sing in a little band. Like maybe at a backyard barbecue, company party, etc. People would look in amazement as we came out with our axes, we started playing and singing and say "hey, that's Frank!?" (my real name).

So what do I use now?

Audacity = free
Small Behringer Mixer = $39 (they are $45 now)
Behringer USB interface = $29
Cheap dynamic mic = $25 stand and all

So, back to a modest setup, it has come full circle, however the sound quality and flexability are at an all time high! :mrgreen:

And that can all be done with and through the pc, including the video!?

I reckon the easiest way to record yourself is through a video camera, be it a handheld one, a mobile phone camera or even a computer camera. Pretty much everybody would have one of these at home.

It allows you to record yourself as a whole and you get to check how you look, how you stand, posture, hand-positions, singing and playing at the same time. It's like giving a public speech, recording yourself allows for a lot of feedback, and you can do it in the privacy of your own home.

The best way for me to learn singing and playing guitar was to take a simple song (some early Beatles songs are good, or basic 12 bar blues numbers) and learn the words. The first round is to sing the song on its own. Second, sing and tap your foot or clap your hands in a simple beat (4 to the bar). Third is to sing and play just a single guitar string (don't worry about the key). I'd say that this should generally be possible for most people to do. You can sing it very slowly, no need to try a song at 120bpm. Once you have mastered all that, use one guitar chord and strum along at 4 strums per bar whilst singing. I believe that from then on, it's just a matter of practice to start changing chords and trying different patterns.

Most beginner's books start with songs like Get Back, Mull of Kintyre (3/4), Sailing (3/4), This land is your land, etc...

Well, I kind of did it. I say kind of because the video quality is not that good. Aw heck, the whole thing is not good. But I got it to work! :D I got my crappy little Labtech mic today. It worked flawlessly with my Logitech webcam.

My singing sucks; I felt I was pretty flat throughout the song, and was pretty dismayed. I was pretty nervous and didn't "let myself go". I can sing a heck of a lot better in the truck. :roll: Plus, I was concentrating on playing, which I flubbed in a few spots.

Oh well... :oops:

OK, here goes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3N2HKFkb5o

Well done and what a great effort!! I have to say this sounded exactly like me, and I don't think that I'd have the guts to put a view of me singing and playing on youTube.

I can play quite a few similar songs in a similar way, easy 3 or 4 chords songs with a decent strumming pattern, and my singing is woeful at best - and still, I love it. I love to be in the moment, keep up with the tempo, manage the chord changes and feel the beat and rhythm of the song.

I'd say, if you got a bit more movement into your guitar playing and extend the dynamic of your singing, you have a decent performance on your hands. Makes me want to go out now and try it for myself...

Well done :D

Well done and what a great effort!! I have to say this sounded exactly like me, and I don't think that I'd have the guts to put a view of me singing and playing on youTube
...

I'd say, if you got a bit more movement into your guitar playing and extend the dynamic of your singing, you have a decent performance on your hands. Makes me want to go out now and try it for myself...

Well done :D

Thanks. You can't imagine how much that (positive) critique means to me! :D We're our own worst crtitics. I've never really heard my adult voice for an extended period. And without being immodest, I think it's got a good quality. I need to learn how to use it properly.

You are right that I need to put more movement and I daresay force in to the playing and singing. I have to get over the shyness. I think that's all it is. I should have made a few more practice runs, but I was excited that I got the darn thing to work! :lol:

I woke up this morning with the same hungover-like feeling that you'd have after a night of unconsciousness and doing lord knows what... "I did WHAT!!??" :shock:

I got some feedback at another site (not a guitar site, just a site I hang out at where people asked when I would do this). On the whole I think his feedback was positive, but I'm not sure I understand a few things. I didn't want to pursue it there, at the risk of seeming offended. :oops:

Hi mate, ok lets get right too it, the overall quality was poor, the guitar is out of tune and your playing it in the wrong key for your voice. That?s all the bad things out of the way now lets see if we can improve it for you.

ps, all the above about the guitar assumes that it was tuned in concert pitch, A.

My response was

Thanks for the feedback. I did tune the guitar, but not by ear. I have a Korg electronic tuner. I'm not experienced enough yet to know what key to change to, since all the transcriptions show it capoed at the 2nd fret. I've seen videos of him playing it that way. As I mentioned, the odd thing is that I can follow him note for note just singing with the recording.

I agree the video is poor quality. It's just a cheapie webcam mounted on the monitor, and desk mic. There is much work to be done.

Yes, well done! :D

I don't listen so well (I'm using my laptop speakers) but it seems in tune. Sometimes the sounds of the recorded electric and your guitar seem strange, perhaps it just was a wrong chord or something like that.

Anyway, your strumming and timing is good. And the chord changes are very smooth! Why do you not post it in the Beginner Videos thread? There you will receive many more comments!

Congrats! 8)

Yes, well done! :D

I don't listen so well (I'm using my laptop speakers) but it seems in tune. Sometimes the sounds of the recorded electric and your guitar seem strange, perhaps it just was a wrong chord or something like that.

Anyway, your strumming and timing is good. And the chord changes are very smooth! Why do you not post it in the Beginner Videos thread? There you will receive many more comments!

Congrats! 8)

Wow, thanks! I appreciate the encouragement. I didn't even think about the Beginner's Videos, since I was still on the track of this thread. D'oh!

Hi, a few more comments and insights (hah!) from a beginner....

Don't worry about the video quality, those webcams don't really do a good job of recording, and once you convert it to a small size, the quality deteriorates even more.

As for singing and playing in the right key - at this stage, I personally don't worry about this at all, I am just happy to strum and sing along and enjoy it. For a beginner, there are a couple of issues to deal with. Generally, I don't know what keys most songs are in, and very often, transcriptions or chord charts etc will be in a different key altogether, so when you play along to a record, you'll be out of tune immediately. As for singing - look, I've got no idea what key I am singing in, and I'd be lucky to actually hit a tone correctly most of the time. Nevertheless, I sing with joy and sheer pleasure, even out of key - although I am somewhat more reluctant these days to sing in public.

The feedback you got from the guy in the other forum was excellent, and it's what I'd expect to hear from a seasoned and experienced musician. Perhaps set yourself some goals to tackle one of the improvements at a time, first the right key, guitar tuning to match recorded song, then later on have a look at your singing and they key your voice is at.

Also, remember that a lot of people in the music business are perfectionists and will want to have everything right, and they sometimes tend to forget that they were beginners once as well. So keep it up, one step at a time. It's the journey that counts, the experiences and pleasures of learning and succeeding along the way. Rock on! 8)

I seem to remember posting a question about determining what key you sing in. And I think the answer was you don't sing in a key, but in a range. For example, I read that most men are baritones. So I guess they were saying to change the key I'm playing in to suit my range. But that's kind of beyond me now.

And I wonder (someone will answer this, I'm sure) for example, why Paul McCartney dropped his guitar a whole step for Yesterday, but didn't for any other songs.

Ahh, maybe I'm overthinking it. :oops:

Great stuff! :mrgreen:

For a first attempt at recording your singing and playing together that was excellent. As Nuno said, your overall timing was a lot better than I was expecting to hear - and certainly well ahead of my attempts at the same stage.

No stopping you now - you're on the way!

Cheers,

Chris

PS Your singing reminded me of Lou Reed, and you have a good enough voice to take it wherever you want, if you put the time on on it.

Thanks Chris... much appreciated. :mrgreen: There's soooo much more to learn!