Singers hate recording themselves.
I get it.
But here's the funny thing.
Back in Ye Olden Days, when I was a student, recording yourself wasn't optional.
I brought a fresh cassette tape to every lesson.
Then technology advanced and we graduated to videotape, so my teacher could record me during my lesson.
I still have boxes of those tapes stored somewhere in my attic.
I have no idea whether they're still playable.
I am also not entirely sure I want to find out.
But I'm very glad I have them.
Those recordings documented my work as a singer in a way my memory never could.
Today, recording yourself is ridiculously easy. Pull out your phone. Press record. Listen back.
And yet singers still hate doing it.
Which is exactly why I think you should.
You Don't Hear Your Voice the Way Everyone Else Does
When you're singing, you're inside the sound.
You're thinking about your breath. You're feeling the vibration. You're remembering the words. You're trying to coordinate everything you've been working on.
Your listener doesn't experience any of that.
They hear the result.
That's why recording yourself is so useful. For a few minutes, you get to step outside the experience of singing and hear what someone else hears.
And here's the part I wish more singers knew:
Sometimes you listen back and think, "Wait. I sound really good."
Seriously.
Singers often expect the recording to reveal everything that's wrong.
Instead, they hear a strength they hadn't noticed. They hear that the high note they were worried about actually sounded great. They hear that something they've been working on is finally starting to click.
Recording isn't just a way to find what's wrong.
It's a way to hear what's right.
Why I Love Using Marco Polo With My Singers
Most of my singers study with me online, so I want our work to continue between lessons.
That's one reason I love using Marco Polo.
A singer can send me something they're working on, tell me what's giving them trouble, and I can respond when I have a chance.
It doesn't have to be polished.
Actually, I often don't want polished.
I want to hear where you are in the process.
Maybe a passage feels strange. Maybe you're not sure whether you've actually fixed something. Maybe you have a question that's much easier to demonstrate than to explain in a text message.
Send me the recording.
Now we have something real to work with.
And just to be clear, I have no affiliation with Marco Polo. I simply think it's a terrific tool for teaching online.
You could use Marco Polo. You could use the Voice Recording app. You could use whatever works for you.
The technology isn't the important part.
The listening is.
Don't Turn Listening Into Self-Criticism
A recording is not a verdict on your voice.
It's information.
Your phone, microphone, room and playback system all affect what you hear, so don't listen once and decide you're terrible.
Listen with curiosity.
What actually happened?
Was the pitch as secure as you thought?
Did the phrase go where you wanted it to go?
Did the difficult section sound as tense as it felt?
Did the lyric come across?
Sometimes what you hear confirms what you thought.
Sometimes it surprises you.
Both are useful.
You Don't Have to Record the Whole Song
Please don't turn this into another enormous practice assignment.
Record the part you're working on.
A difficult passage. A new song. Something you're not quite sure about.
Then listen back. And for the love of all things good, do not post it to your social media.
You may hear something completely different from what you experienced while singing it.
That's the point.
And Then There's the Self-Tape
Let's talk about the obvious thing.
We're living in the era of the self-tape.
Singers are increasingly being asked to perform for a camera before they ever walk into a room.
So if you hate hearing yourself on a recording, that's not just an inconvenience.
It's a skill worth developing.
Getting comfortable with the camera takes practice. So does learning how your voice sounds through a recording. So does watching yourself back without immediately deciding you hate everything about the performance.
And sometimes you need another take.
That's where those little practice recordings become much more valuable.
You're not just learning to sing.
You're learning how to hear yourself.
And a singer who can really hear themselves has a tremendous advantage.
This Is Where Recording Becomes Really Powerful
Recording isn't just useful because you can listen back.
It gives your teacher something to hear, too.
This is one of the things I love about teaching online.
A singer doesn't have to wait until our next lesson to say, "Something isn't working."
Send me the recording.
Now I can hear what you're hearing.
Sometimes I'll hear the issue immediately. Sometimes I'll hear that the problem isn't actually what the singer thought it was.
And sometimes I'll hear something that's working beautifully that the singer hasn't even noticed.
That's valuable.
It means our next lesson can start from where the work actually is.
Eventually, I Want You to Need Me Less
This is one of the biggest goals I have as a teacher.
I don't want my singers to need me sitting next to them every time they practice.
I want them to become good at listening to themselves.
To hear when something isn't working.
To recognize improvement.
To make an adjustment instead of simply repeating the same thing and hoping it gets better.
That's real independence.
And that's a skill that belongs to the singer, not the teacher.
So Yes, Record Yourself
You don't need expensive equipment or the perfect set up.
You don't need a beautiful take.
You need a way to record yourself and the willingness to listen.
Use Marco Polo.
Use the Voice Record app.
Use whatever works for you.
Just press record.
And then listen. Then press delete.
Not to judge yourself.
To learn.
Because singing something over and over isn't necessarily going to make you better.
Listening to what you're actually doing might.
Want More From Your Practice?
In my online studio, recording is part of the way I teach. Tools like Marco Polo allow us to stay connected between lessons and help my singers become more independent in their practice.
And because self-tapes are now such a normal part of the singing world, becoming comfortable on camera can serve you well beyond your lessons.
If you want voice lessons that give you guidance between sessions, not just during them, I'd love to work with you.
Learn More About Voice Lessons →
And yes, I may ask you to record yourself.
I promise it gets less horrifying.
Eventually.