Monthly Singing Recordings

Link to this headingWhy?

I've been singing as a hobby since high school. Never took classes or got good at it, just did it for fun. Beginning in 2022, I've started practicing more because I've realized how much I enjoy the way it feels to sing.

Link to this headingHow?

Each month, I pick a slice of one of my recording sessions and link that below. The goal is to track how my voice changes over time and to share learnings. In general, these are raw recordings (zero editing / filters) for consistency.

I'm currently recording with a guitar as my secondary instrument, but I just got my old keyboard back so I plan to use that soon too.

Current, general setup:

Hardware: Blue Yeti USB Condenser microphone
Software: macOS Ventura's 'Voice Memos' app

Travel setup:

Hardware: iPhone 14 Pro's built-in mic
Software: iOS 16's 'Voice Memos' app

I place the microphone on a flat surface in front of me and record my entire session, including warm-up.

Link to this headingRecordings

Link to this headingNovember 2023

I've recorded <Loading...> so far this month. Will post a recording sometime in December.

Link to this headingOctober 2023

I recorded 13 sessions this month.

Link to this headingSeptember 2023

I recorded 11 sessions this month.

Link to this headingAugust 2023

I recorded 9 sessions this month.

Link to this headingJuly 2023

I recorded 3 sessions this month.

Link to this headingJune 2023

I recorded 11 sessions this month.

Link to this headingMay 2023

I recorded 24 sessions this month.

Link to this headingApril 2023

I recorded 3 sessions this month.

Link to this headingMarch 2023

I recorded 17 sessions this month.

February 2023

I recorded 14 sessions this month.

Link to this headingJanuary 2023

I recorded 9 sessions this month.

As a result of traveling for 28 days, most of my January recordings were voice-only. Fortunately one of the pre-travel recordings in early January was okay, so there are still instrumentals.

gaurgo ·Falling Slowly cover - January practice session

Link to this headingDecember 2022

I recorded 22 sessions this month.

Generally a great month, except that all of the recordings after December 12th were distorted so only had a few earlier recordings to choose from. Realizing how sensitive the Blue Yeti microphone is, and how I need to test the audio and adjust the mic each session.

gaurgo ·Falling Slowly cover - December practice session

Link to this headingNovember 2022

I recorded 18 sessions this month.

Overall, I had the most fun with practice this month (and it shows in the number of sessions compared to prior months).

While I recorded the most sessions in a month so far, I noticed that I was straining my voice in many of them. Many of this month's recordings lacked texture.

gaurgo ·Falling Slowly cover - November practice session

Link to this headingOctober 2022

I recorded 12 sessions this month.

Picked up the Blue Yeti microphone around the middle of the month, so that improved audio quality. Still figuring out configurations there though - I'm using the cardioid setting with some slight gain.

Overall, I'm finding that I need to continue working on tempo. I have a tendency to suddenly speed up or slow down arbitrarily. This is actually part of a pattern I'm noticing in other activites of mine as well, eg with lifting I often end up rushing or even just doing partials on some reps.

Feeling good about showing up and making progress though.

gaurgo ·Set Fire To The Third Bar cover - October practice session

Link to this headingSeptember 2022

I recorded 11 sessions this month. Continuing to keep up momentum from August. More indirect context in the August/September 2022 reflection.

gaurgo ·In The Suburbs cover - September practice session

Link to this headingAugust 2022

I recorded 10 sessions this month. Got more practice sessions in than previous months, likely due to getting back from travels. Felt great.

gaurgo ·Falling Slowly Cover - August practice session

Link to this headingJuly 2022

I recorded 7 sessions this month.

Link to this headingJune 2022

I recorded 4 sessions this month.

Link to this headingMay 2022

I recorded 6 sessions this month.