The week before
The voice is an instrument that tires. In the days before the session, avoid exhausting gigs, noisy evenings where you have to talk loudly and long rehearsals without breaks. If you are working your voice a lot at that time, do it in short, regular sessions rather than one long day.
It is also the time to lock the lyrics. Nothing costs more studio time than a verse rewritten between takes. Print the lyrics, mark the breaths, the tricky passages and the places where you want a particular intention. If you sing over an instrumental, listen to it on repeat: you should know every entry by heart.
The night before
Sleep. It is the simplest and most effective advice. A short night shows in pitch, in breath and in patience, yours and the engineer's. Avoid alcohol, which dries the mucous membranes, and very spicy or fatty meals that encourage acid reflux during the night.
Pack your bag: printed lyrics or a charged phone, the instrumental as a WAV on a USB stick or an already-checked download link, your headphones if you are used to them, a bottle of water, and perhaps menthol-free lozenges. Check the address and travel time: arriving out of breath helps no one sing.
On the day
Drink water at room temperature throughout the day, not just at the last minute: hydrating the vocal folds takes time. Avoid dairy products in the hours before, as they thicken mucus for many people. A little coffee is fine for most voices, but avoid drinking a lot just before.
Eat light, about two hours before. Singing on an empty stomach is tiring; singing after a big meal gets in the way of the diaphragm. A banana, dried fruit or warm soup are booth classics for good reason.
Warming up
Warm up before you arrive or in the first minutes at the studio, while the engineer sets up the microphones. Start with the body: shoulders, neck, jaw. Then the breath: a few long, even exhalations on an "s" or "f". Continue with sirens on "ng" or lip trills, which get the voice going without strain.
Finish with a few scales in the song's range, then sing an easy passage. Don't start with the highest chorus: let the voice rise gradually. Ten to fifteen minutes of warm-up is enough. For spoken voice, narration or rap, also work on articulation with tongue twisters, slowly and then fast.
In the booth
Set your headphone mix before chasing the right take. If you hear yourself too loud, you tend to sing under the note; too quiet, you will push. Many singers prefer to lift one earcup halfway to hear their voice in the room: say so, and the engineer will adjust the level to stop the headphone sound bleeding into the microphone.
Keep a constant distance from the microphone, about a hand's width between your mouth and the pop filter, and step back slightly on very powerful passages. Don't hesitate to ask for a break: ten minutes of silence and a glass of water are worth more than a string of tired takes.
What we do on our side
Before you arrive, we prepare the session with your instrumental, the tempo and structure markers. We choose two or three microphones suited to what you described, and we check the booth. During the session we note the best takes as we go, so you can focus on performance rather than technology.
If your voice tires faster than planned, we adapt the plan: we record backing vocals or lower passages and keep the chorus for another session. It is better to postpone a song than to record it damaged.
In short
- Lock the lyrics and know the instrumental by heart.
- Sleep, stay hydrated, avoid alcohol and dairy just before.
- Eat light two hours before the session.
- Warm up body, breath and then voice for ten to fifteen minutes.
- Set your headphones and keep a constant distance from the microphone.
- Take breaks before you need them.
This advice is general and does not replace the opinion of a health professional. If you have pain, persistent hoarseness or lose your voice, see a doctor or speech therapist and reschedule the session.
