How To Record A Cover On Iphone

Until you are ready to invest more into your singing career, or are more confident about your singing, it's a great idea record yourself at home. It helps you evaluate yourself, create a portfolio and share your tracks with others. What's NOT a good idea is to make shabby, noisy recordings which do no justice to you as a singer and presents you as a non-serious, unprofessional amateur.

Here are some simple ways in which you can record clearer, more professional sounding covers at home, without spending too much money.

1. Smartphones – perfect to record good cover song at home

Your smartphone gives you the power to capture and share your talent with the world, at zero expense. The problem is that despite the excellent audio and video recording features of modern smartphones, it is still very difficult to create a reasonably good recording. Hopefully, in the next few minutes, you will discover how you can create a great recording and video which you can confidently share with the world.

2. Earphones/Headphones with Mic

The easiest and least expensive way to record good cover song at home using a smartphone is through earphones or headphones which have an inbuilt mic. Mind you, this is the easiest and cheapest way, not the best. But with good quality earphones, you can create a reasonably good recording which can give you and others a sense of your talent.

But if you are trying to create a track which people would play on loop, then replace the earphones mic with a Condenser Mic and Phantom Power. You can order them online for very reasonable prices. Here are a couple of suggestions:

Inexpensive condenser mic — Condenser Mic on amazon.in

Cheap Phantom Power for Condenser Mic — Phantom Power on bajaao.com

3. Karaoke App

If you are starting off, you will most probably be recording a cover of a popular song. That's a good way to start, and a good karaoke app will be your best friend. StarMaker is currently one of the best apps for India, with a simple interface and a massive collection of Indian and international songs. You can also find tons of tutorials about how to use it. It also allows you to collaborate with other musicians and singers.

StarMaker is the best app to record good cover song in India — Starmaker App

Again, if you want better control on your track and are willing to invest some time into it, you can just record your voice and add an instrumental track on a sound editing software. Audacity is an excellent free software. You can find various online tutorials to help you learn how to use it.

4. Location – Set up for good audio recording

Now, here's the serious part. No matter how well you sing, you cannot create a good song if you don't choose the right location. The biggest problem created by the location where you are recording is noise. There are four types of noise:

1. Background Sounds: Other people talking, mobile phones ringing, the juicer in the kitchen, traffic, birds, etc. To prevent these sounds, find a quiet place to record. Don't record in your living room, on the street or in the college canteen

2. White Noise: Wind, fans, ACs, motors, etc. You may not notice these sounds when your record, but they will appear as a constant hiss in the background in your recording. When you try to remove these through filters, it also affects your voice and makes it sound flat and unnatural. Best to record at a location where you can escape these sources of noise.

3. Handling Noise: Your breath, blowing or spitting into the mic, your finger tapping the mic or sliding on the cable, etc can create crackling noises. Don't hold the mic too close to your mouth, otherwise your breath will get recorded. But don't hold it too far either, otherwise your voice will sound distant and unclear. Try to record one line from different distances, and select the one that sounds best.

4. Acoustics: Please read this carefully, as it will will have a great impact on your recording. When you record in a room which does not have too much furniture or fabric, your voice tends to echo, or bounce off from the walls, floor and ceiling. This echo creeps into the audio recording, which makes your voice sound bad. So, you need to ensure that the location you select has enough everyday items which can absorb the sound – curtains, fabric, furniture, etc. Alternatively, you can drape the walls with sheets/blankets to improve the acoustics of the room

When you record in a room which does not have too much furniture or fabric, your voice tends to echo, or bounce off from the walls, floor and ceiling.

5. Location – Set up for good video shoot

Ok, now that we've got the audio sorted, let try to make you look good on the video. Here are a few basic things which can make your video look much much better:

1. Camera: The rear camera is usually much much better than the front camera. How to shoot with the rear camera? We'll come to that in the 'Framing' section. Make sure that the lens of the camera is clean. Then go to settings, and set the resolution and frame rate to the maximum levels. Now here comes the most important bit: don't hold your phone as you shoot. Fix it somewhere so that it does not shake while recording. Not holding the phone also removes a big distraction and you can focus on your singing. You can prop up your phone against something or use tape or clay (play dough). Or you can buy an inexpensive tripod or spider tripod online. Don't keep the camera too far from your face, but don't keep it too close either. Watch the videos made by some popular YouTube singers to get a sense of how you can frame your shot.

2. Lights: No matter how good your camera is, you can't make a good-looking video without proper lighting. There are two ways you can manage lighting:

Natural Light: Natural light gives great results, if you do it properly. The magic hours for using natural light are early morning (just after sunrise) and early evening (a couple of hours before sunset). During these hours, light is soft and does not create very dark shadows. So, it lights up your face uniformly. However, try to avoid sunlight directly falling on you. To use natural light, find a spot near the window where there is lots of light coming in. Make sure that the light is in front of you and not behind you. Ideally, plan to shoot between 8am and 11pm.

Indoor Lighting: Household lighting is usually inadequate and difficult to balance. Unless there is adequate light, the video will have lots of noise (grains). If the tubelight in your room is on the left side, then the right side of your face will look dark. When shooting with indoor light, you will need to ensure that your face is well lit from both sides. So you will require at least two to three light sources. You can supplement the tube lights in your room with a couple of LED lamps or high wattage LED bulbs.

3. Framing: Once you have the lighting figured out, you need to prepare everything that will be visible in the frame. And the most important thing in the frame will be you – so make sure you look sharp. If you're a guy, fix your hair, shave or style your beard, and wear something that goes well with your song. If you're a girl, you already know what to do. But don't overdo your makeup – you want to look good, but not fake. Make sure your head does not get cut from the top.

The second most important thing in the frame is your background. Okay, let's rephrase it: your background is the second most important thing in the frame. So, make sure it does not overpower the first most important thing: you. Your background should be plain and clutter-free, so that it does not distract people from your song. A clean wall is perfect. If you have a small frame or a plant against it – that's not bad. But don't shoot with your messy bed or open cupboard or a showcase with lots of showpieces in the background.

If you are shooting from the rear camera, you will need a friend to help you with the framing. Make your friend sit where you will be sitting, then go to the phone and adjust the framing. Once you set the frame, make sure the camera doesn't move. However, your friend will need to move so that you can take your place.

Your background is the second most important thing in the frame. So, make sure it does not overpower the first most important thing: you.

5. Settings: Most karaoke apps come with Instagram-type video filters. You can choose the one which looks best. Try to avoid any audio filters which distort your voice too much – it's better to sound natural.

6. Vocal Warm Up

It is important to warm up your voice before you start singing. A vocal warm up stretches your vocal chords and helps clear out your voice. It improves blood circulation to the different parts that affect your voice, and helps you sing better.

You can choose the Indian classical warm up exercise with Alankars:

Or you could choose the Western exercises with hums and lip trills:

7. Recording

Okay, now that everything is in place and you are ready to record good cover song at home, here's the quick recap of the steps:

Open your karaoke app. Fix the phone at the chosen spot, so that it shoots from the rear camera
Ask a friend to sit in your place, then get behind your phone and frame the shot. Make sure the background looks good and your friend's face is well lit
Plug in your earphones or mic into the phone, and make sure you can comfortably hold the mic 6-8 inches away from your mouth
Turn off the fan and AC in your room. Make sure there is no other noise
Click 'Sing' and start singing. You may not get the perfect recording the first time. Don't be lazy – review your recording after you sing, and if its not satisfactory, record again. You may have to sing several times before you get something that you can publish.

8. Sharing

Ok so you've recorded a kickass song. Now don't sit on it. Publish it to the app, put it up on your Youtube account and share it everywhere you can — Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Email — make sure your song reaches as many people as possible. When people like or comment, engage them in conversations. Every time someone reacts to your post, it reaches more people. Keep the buzz alive as long as you can. After all, a song is only as good as the number of people who like it.

Also, don't forget to enter your song at Machan Music, so that you can compete with singers from across India, get judged by eminent musicians and win free professional recording, music video and online promotion.