I want to take the time to talk about the little voice in your head. No, I’m not calling you crazy or anything, I am talking about the voice that you hear when sing. Did you know that what you hear when you sing out loud is not actually how you sound to everyone else?!?!? I know this sounds weird but let me explain.
It has to do with vocal vibrations and the way your skull resonates (I hope I’m not losing you). When you speak, the sound waves your voice emits makes your skull vibrate. When this happens, your voice is distorted (in your mind) and oftentimes sounds a bit deeper than it actually is. It’s similar to when you are at home listening to your favorite hit on the radio then you go to the club with all that bass behind it and it sounds a little different. At the club it sounds great, at home it sounds like it’s missing something although you can actually hear more detail than when at the club.
So, when you sing, what you hear is different from what everyone else hears when they listen to you sing. This is neither good or bad, it is just something that you must recognize if you want to grow as a singer. A good way to test this is to record yourself while singing and listen to the difference 
. I am modestly about 1000% sure that the voice you hear in the recording will sound different from what you thought you sounded like. I have had others try this same experiment and they were convinced that the voice on the recording wasn’t them when I played it back .
Once you realize this very important fact, I feel that you will make great strides with ear training and becoming a better singer. A great way to work on matching the voice you hear in your head with what everyone else hears is to record yourself while singing. This has a dual purpose. First, it gets you comfortable with the sound of your own voice which is VERY important if you want to be a confident singer.
Second, it allows you to review the way that you sound so that you can start matching your intended sound with the sound that you actually sing. It’s no different from what professional athletes do. Each week, they review “tape” of their performances to see how they actually perform in certain situations and not what their mind tells them that they did. With this knowledge, they make the necessary adjustments the next time so that they will have a better performance.
I honestly feel this will be a great thing to start doing immediately. Not only will it help you become a better singer but it will also help you tenfold with your singing confidence
Did you know about this little tid bit I just shared. Leave a comment and let me know what you thought or if you have had similar experiences. I would love to hear from you.
Marcus
CharlieKitty489 Says...
If you forget to leave a comment, I will take out another unsuspecting puppy…
Thanks for writing, I really enjoyed your latest post. I think you should post more often, you clearly have natural ability for blogging!
This is very true. I’ve been recording myself, and what i hear is that my voice sound more hoarse at the recording, than what i hear when i sing. So t here is truly a huge difference.
but now as i have recorded a few times, i think it sounds better and better.
thanks!
Hello! Yes I’ve heard about this, it´s really strange when you listen to your own voice, sometimes I think it’s horrible, but i need to get used to it right!? rsrs
Kisses
Thanks so much for all these great hints and such valuable and generous guidance. May God continue on blessing us all. A.Drix
yes i knew that and i’ve been recording my voice. at first it felt weird but now im used to my voice and i am trying to make improvements.
That is so true. I am taking the vocal lesson and I recorded during my lesson. When I listen to it later again, I can hear my voice is different with while I was singing. Good way to learn. Thanks for sharing this with us.
I’ve been singing for a while now with my vocal coach. I remember realizing that my voice I hear is not the voice that others hear or when I record it. Now, when I record my voice again, the difference isn’t really that vast.
Maybe I got used to listening to myself more through the air not the vibration of the skull.
I have an issue with myself. I’ve been told that I have an amazing voice and that I can sing really well…the issue is…I am having a problem embracing it. I’m very new to singing and I am finding it difficult at this time to truly believe that I am pretty good. What should I do? I’ve recorded myself and heard myself but to me it’s not good enough. This is silly. I do find it easier to sing after practicing the youtube a approach. I guess what I’m wondering is…how do I get used to and comfortable with my new found singing voice?
The easiest way to do it is to record yourself as often as you can. You will quickly find that you will become used to the sound of your voice. TRUST ME, it will be weird at first but will be fine soon after. That is the easiest way that we’ve found to get over it.
I had heard that from primary so i didn’t feel weired when i listened my voice first time.
Anyway,nice article!
That’s a great idea.Actually almost of professional singer did it.
In the past,I used to hear about this thing,but I ignore.But someday when I tried to record my voice with my cellphone,I was surprised because my voice actually sound slimmer and clearer than I think and some notes I sang out of tone which I didn’t realize.Since then I start to record my voice when I train a song,and have my performance recorded when I’m on stage.Those things really help me very much to improve my voice and the way I perform.
But the more important thing is We have a thorough grasp of technique singing,because just technique singing help us to take control and make the necessary adjustments after we hear our really voice.
When recording your voice, be careful what you record on. Some of the old fashioned tape players don’t record a true sound. Try recording on good video equipment or on a CD recorder. This is best. Of course, a professional recording studio is the very best, but expensive. I don’t trust my cell phone or tape, myself. I only trust the better equipment to keep me closer to the truth. FYI! Keep singing out there!!!
Love from Texas
But, what if, what you hear on the recording is not as good as what you hear in your head. Is that a bad sign?
It’s not a bad sign necessarily. You just have to realize that what is on the tape is a lot more accurate then what you hear in your head.
I would just work harder on matching what is in your head with what you hear when you record yourself
hey markus i found my singing passion when i was 3 years old …since then iam singing…not as a pro-pro but i sing and love it…i think its a blessing i got from above ive been on germanys idol and had ( when i was young concerts and people book me now and then for weddings. I also never had a lesson except one hour where the teacher said i dont need them.
Now to the point!
Okay I was a germany next idol contestant but still would like that you take my comment serious because I dont agree on what you said ..yes the sound is maybe different in your head then others hear that but what if your rec. have ( dont laugh ) a bad mic..that stretches or squeeze your voice down? All the time when I sing and record it…it sounds deeper on the record then I really sang it AND my girlfriend heard the difference, too! She agreed that my singing voice is higher, clearer then my recorded.
Im happy I found this site and really want to discover whats possible with my now 29 year old voice:-)
Thanks man
-Alen
Wow, wonderful article! I never knew that!
That explains why I sound different in recordings hahaha
i have being doing these many times and its true that the voice i hear on my cellphone recorder is different, but i wont to improve on that voice help me pliz.God bless u Eric
It is interesting thought you said. Actually I have heard taped my voice. When I speak it sounds so high in video (hate it). But I traid recording me singing and I start liking it a bit. I could hear that really I sound different.
It is great thoughts to think about.
Thanks!
I was aware of this fact, nice article.
What I do is the following, I have a keyboard where you can put a mike in.
When I sing for instance with a karaoke song, I put my headphones on, set the mike input louder than the karaoke music and sing the song.
What you will hear is the “external” sound because you are now a listener of yourself. Be sure to put the volume of your mike louder than your “internal” sound.
This gives you the advantage to correct in real time!
Another feature is that I also can record my voice on a separate track on the harddisk recorder, and play back the complete song with or without the band.
After I first did this, playing back only with my voice, I thought OMG, this is horrible!
Now I do this often, and I am gaining!
Thanks for the article!
well, the problem with me is that in theory i understand the fact that other hear me differently than i hear myself, but in pratice it’s totally different. my singing coach has to remind me from time to time not to sing for myself (so i can hear myself good), but to sing so others may hear me, but i’m still not 100% sure when i’m singing so others can hear me. so thx for the advice. i’ll record it and i’ll make sure for myself if it’s true and try to find a feeling …
Very true man…it’s very diff. Sang in gatherings that was recorded and it didn’t sound like it was me…Good Job.
But i need a little help with something..it’s not my voice but my ears..or rather i think it’s my eustachian tube..it’s kinda clogged…any exercise i can do to ease myself??
the voice in your head is like a great stone in the middle of your way. once passed by practicing every day, once passed while makin’ freedom with, your own records will be your personal no.1.
maybe every singer was going thrue this.
keep on Marcus
Hello Marcus,
I never knew this, thank you for the tips. I wish my daughter and I could take lessons with you. Keep up the good work you are helping many people all across the world.