Recording Vocals with a Cold

[wetland10]

I'm supposed to record lead vocals in the studio this Sunday and I have a bit of a cold at the moment. Could get better, could get worse. Anyone have any tips for recording with a cold? Not worth doing, can get by, etc.?

Any thoughts or tips are appreciated.

Wayne

[colonelrobert]

Originally Posted by wetland10

I'm supposed to record lead vocals in the studio this Sunday and I have a bit of a cold at the moment. Could get better, could get worse. Anyone have any tips for recording with a cold? Not worth doing, can get by, etc.?

Any thoughts or tips are appreciated.

Wayne

I just recorded my CD (eight songs, one after another & two prerecorded) while I was very horse. Maybe I'll sound soulful. In my case I had folks coming in from nashville and S.C. So I had to tough it up and get er done. It turned out good. The gruffer the voice is the better the trucking song sounds!

But only you know what you can do. Hot tea and with lemon. I kepted a Luden's cough drop in my mouth between songs. It seemed to help.

I hope it turns out well for you.

[TheGoodTexan]

I can pull off a very convincing Bill Gibbons when I have a chest cold.

"Rumor spreadn' round...in 'dat Texas town...'bout dat shack out side La Grange."

[shakedancer]

John Lennon had a very heavy cold their 1st time in a recording studio, when he did Anna etc. He also did Twist & Shout that day. Between his cold and the fact the song was the last one recorded that day after 12 hours, his voice was shot, and that is why his voice is hoarse and breaks up on the song. He was always unhappy with that version!! Listen to Anna and Misery, you'll hear his voice is deeper, but he pulled it off and sounds great!! He drank alot of tea that day and sucked on cough drops.

[wetland10]

Originally Posted by colonelrobert

I just recorded my CD (eight songs, one after another & two prerecorded) while I was very horse. Maybe I'll sound soulful. In my case I had folks coming in from nashville and S.C. So I had to tough it up and get er done. It turned out good. The gruffer the voice is the better the trucking song sounds!

But only you know what you can do. Hot tea and with lemon. I kepted a Luden's cough drop in my mouth between songs. It seemed to help.

I hope it turns out well for you.

Good points, thanks. I'm trying to get it all done this weekend so we don't have to deal with it any longer. We want it done already. I'll try to tough it out and see what gets on tape.

[goldtopper]

Dylan made a career out of it- you could be the next Dylan! Good luck my friend!

[SixStringSlinger]

Originally Posted by TheGoodTexan

I can pull off a very convincing Bill Gibbons when I have a chest cold.

"Rumor spreadn' round...in 'dat Texas town...'bout dat shack out side La Grange."

We need a recording of that "A-haw, haw, haw, haw!"

[woodman]

when i've recorded with a cold, i've noticed a resonance my voice doesn't have when i'm well. as long as you're not wheezing or totally blocked in the sinuses, it may sound better than you think!

[ghosttour]

I use Cold Ease (sic?) zinc lozenges religiously whenever I get a cold and it helps me get over it pretty quickly - you might give 'em a try.

[Durtdog]

I like my singing voice when it gets hoarse. Sounds sexy (or so my wife sez). It usually sounds like geese farts on a muggy day (ala Leo Kottke).

Slight derail: ghosttour, I like the music on your page...and I like the sentiment even better..."making music for no purpose whatsoever".

[wetland10]

Thanks for all of the comments. Seems people PREFER having a cold for recording. I guess I can see that. If I don't get any worse between now and then I should be alright.

Wayne

[hekawi]

George Harrison recorded the entire "Dark Horse" album with a bad cold. because of the sound of his voice on those tracks, some fans refer to the LP as "Dark Hoarse".

[TheGoodTexan]

Originally Posted by SixStringSlinger

We need a recording of that "A-haw, haw, haw, haw!"

My natural singing voice is fairly poor.....unless I'm trying to imitate someone.

I'm sort of a cut-up and comedian by nature....so I've learned over the years how to catch people's manirisms, and do impersonations of them. Friends, family, co-workers...no one is immune!

In college I was asked to "act" the BB King parts (vocals and guitars) in the U2 song "When Love Comes To Town". And I reached down and found this deep, belting singing voice that sounded like BB.

From there...it's just a short jump to "A-haw, haw, haw, haw!"

I can also do a fairly convincing Brian Johnson.

"She was a fax machine, she kept a mother cream"

[blacklinefish]

I've always heard the vocal students say that a head-cold should never be noticed from a good singer. It sounds different to the singer, but if they rely on their instincts it should come out exactly the same. I can't sing well, so this is only based on what has been described to me. Of course, hoarseness is a different story.

--gh

[garytelecastor]

This will sound weird, but record all of your vocals lying down face up. It works, trust me.

[Steve G]

Originally Posted by TheGoodTexan

My natural singing voice is fairly poor.....unless I'm trying to imitate someone.

Sounds like me! And Im actually more comfortable singing if I can hide behind an impression of someone else!

[studio1087]

Get some good nasal spray. Get your nose and head opned up. The chest problem will effect your breathing and it might be a pain in the butt to hold notes or sing as loudly as you usually do but your nose is going the effect your vocal tone.

I mainly sang and played some guitar in my college cover band (in frozen Wisconsin). The menthol nose spray was a real vocal tone helper when I would get a cold from loading gear at 3:00 AM on a night where it was 10 below zero. Get the long lasting stuff.

Get your head opened up! Have fun.