Nowadays, everyone can get top-notch vocals using nothing more than their smartphone and earbuds. However, recording on your smartphone comes with certain complications. So if you are wondering how to record vocals on a cell phone, this article is for you. We will talk about little tricks to help you improve your sessions, make them easier, and get the best takes every time.
Prepare for your session beforehand
It is simple to get distracted during the recording process as you have a lot of things to consider. However, you should always prioritize the quality of your performance. To ensure that you are on track and get rid of the need to keep everything in your head, you should take notes of the takes you want to record before you start recording. Usually, it includes the lead, doubles, harmonies, and adlibs. However, the process depends heavily on the song, so feel free to change it every time you work on a new song. Just don’t forget to take notes.
Use a metronome to stay in sync
Some songs have a very pronounced rhythm that is easy to follow. But even in these songs, there are little breaks with no percussive elements. To make sure you stay in sync during these sections, you should turn on a metronome. It is always easier to prevent potential problems during the recording process than correct them in post-production. Good recording apps have a built-in metronome and they are user-friendly. Just put in the bpm of your track, and you are ready to go. Another tip is to turn on a one or two-bar count-in so you are not caught off guard when you need to start signing. For those of you wondering how to record vocals on iPhone, we can recommend you a good app called Spire. It works great for recording vocals. It is available on the App Store.
Avoid audio clipping
Sometimes during playback, you will hear that your audio is distorted or fuzzy. This effect is called clipping, and unless you want to use it as a stylistic element it is always better to avoid it because it is difficult to get rid of it during post-production. First of all, check your input levels. The simplest way to avoid clipping is not to keep your smartphone too close to your mouth and to adjust the input signal level. Sometimes there are different features or tools built into the app. Any good recording app has a meter, where you will see little dots. If the dots are green, you have nothing to worry about. But if they turn red, it means your audio is clipping.
Recommended articles:
- How to Mix Rap and Hip-Hop Vocals: Preparation
- How to Mix Rap and Hip-Hop Vocals: Compression, EQ, De-Essing
- How to Mix Backing Vocals Wide
- How to Mix Vocals with Music Better in 1 Minute
Make sure your audio is clean
It is easier to get into the mood and feel the song if you turn up the volume to the max, but it might be detrimental to your voice recording. If your instrumental is too loud, the microphone may pick up some of these sounds, and your audio will be noisy and muddy. We want to avoid this problem at all costs, so turn the volume up to the level where it feels comfortable. If you end up getting some of the unwanted sounds in your final draft, you can fix the problem with the help of noise-reduction features that come with some of the apps.
There you have it, several tips about how to record vocals on phone. We hope that these tips will help you get the best vocal takes using your phone.
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