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Sounding flat while singing live

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aravindmadis

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Hi Folks, 

I am not an accustomed live singer.  I have slowly built up my voice over the years.  I am used to singing in my home studio where it is a controlled environment and I am always having my headphones on.  

I have been trying to do some live gigs.  My band mates tell me that I am flat(which I possibly am).  It is surprising for me, because I don't use any auto-tuning and my recordings are decent pitch wise.  Why I am I facing this issue only when I sing live.  

What can I do to overcome this problem... 

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My first thought was that you are doing one or two things, which are almost always the culprit for being slightly flat:

  1. You can't hear yourself nearly as well, and push a bit harder (naturally) because of it.
  2. Your resonant anchoring (vowel narrowing and positioning) isn't being utilized as well, likely because of #1, but can be for other reasons as well. 

Besides turning up your monitor or using in-ears, the best thing I've seen have immediate results is to sing "up and over" your mic. That will lift your voice up and forward again, placing you very well for solid singing vowel resonance and correct your pitch.

 

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People will often throw out the word "flat" for anything. I have heard singers who sing in tune, but lack projection, being labeled "flat". Or maybe they are talking about expressiveness. it is not always pitch related.

So, I'd first get someone who can really isolate what the issue is.

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46 minutes ago, kickingtone said:

People will often throw out the word "flat" for anything. I have heard singers who sing in tune, but lack projection, being labeled "flat". Or maybe they are talking about expressiveness. it is not always pitch related.

So, I'd first get someone who can really isolate what the issue is.

What is projection issue>? How is it caused? Improper mic technique? 

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1 hour ago, aravindmadis said:

What is projection issue>? How is it caused? Improper mic technique? 

Projection = Air support amplifying resonance, thus making you sound louder.

It's worth considering, but since you sound fine without the band, I think overprotection is a more likely culprit. However, out of 300+ students, 90% of the time it's been resonant placement causing the issue. "Up and over" your finger or mic fixes that almost immediately, as does paying attention to a solid horizontal embouchure.

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1 hour ago, aravindmadis said:

What is projection issue>? How is it caused? Improper mic technique? 

Does your voice stand out as clearly in the live mix as in the home studio mix?

It is just an example.

Check what they mean by "flat" before you try to correct it!

Some people call an airy tone "flat", or singing that isn't cutting enough through the mix, "flat", etc., even though the pitch is fine when they really listen.

The size or environment of a venue can physically expose aspects of your voice that work fine in a home studio.

It may get compounded if you find yourself "pushing" to compete with other instruments, which I think is what Draven is saying.

I can't post it here, but I devised an exercise to help with this. It involves practising singing over your own vocals playing at volume on your headphones in your home studio environment. You have to aim for the same key, but with a different tone to your voice. It will train you to overcome a lot of distraction and find a correct slot in the bandwidth to project your voice into.

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39 minutes ago, Draven Grey said:

Projection = Air support amplifying resonance, thus making you sound louder.

It's worth considering, but since you sound fine without the band, I think overprotection is a more likely culprit. However, out of 300+ students, 90% of the time it's been resonant placement causing the issue. "Up and over" your finger or mic fixes that almost immediately, as does paying attention to a solid horizontal embouchure.

A good sound man is needed in a live situation also. The voice shares frequencies with other instruments unless separated through proper equalization.  Not to mention the fact that most musicians believe that louder is better when separation and clarity adds power when volume only makes things harder to distinguish one instrument from another.

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  • 1 month later...

Are you sure it's not just you having the time of your life and dancing all over the stage?
Even slightly bobbing around will make you sound flat if you haven't done your breathing technique exercises 

If it's not that, and is what Draven Grey says, then the best way to work on it is to change your studio to be more like your stage. or your stage more like your studio.
Either sing louder in your studio, or quieter on the stage.
And since you don't want to wear headphones on stage, then try to keep them off in the studio too. you only need them when you're recording, not when practicing, so listen to the speakers instead.

Good luck!

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