Help With Vocals?

[ConfoundedName]

Hello. I have an issue I wish to inquire about. You see, I have been taking vocal lessons this summer after deciding that I wished to seriously get into music. Not a spontaneous decision. I have been into music for quite some time. I've made some (crappy) songs, and enjoyed singing when alone, but nothing serious.

Anyway, I've been doing pretty good with my vocals. I can keep pitch well, and my teacher says she really likes my voice. But there's a problem I've found...

I hate my voice.

I recently recorded myself singing a bit of a song. I was on pitch, I hit the notes, but my voice sounds just awful. I'll admit, I am the strictest, meanest critic of myself, but I still don't like the sound of my voice. It sounds fine to me when I sing, but I've never actually heard how my voice actually sounded.

I did use the mic in my computer, so it definitely isn't the best quality, but to me it sounded more than just a poor quality microphone. It was more of how I sang rather than bad audio, like it is how my voice naturally is.

Do I just need a lot more practice, or is the microphone a serious problem? Is there anyway to 'condition' my voice to sound 'smoother'?

[colortwelve]

Just because you hate your voice doesn't mean everyone else will. Just get a fairly nice mic and go for it; the more you record, the better you'll get and ideally the more comfortable you will be with your own voice (not to mention the refinements in technique and all that that come only from experience), and all the while everyone here gets to enjoy the music along the way.

You'll get nowhere if you let being your own worst critic stand in your way. Quoth ill.Gates, 'your work is not yours to judge,' so just jump in and show off

[UnderpΩny]

I dislike my voice. It sounds different recorded than it does to me IRL. I think it's normal - certainly no-one's ever complained about my voice, even though I often cringe listening to my own singing.

[Facade]

ask anybody who sings at first the almost always hate their voice i know at first i did too but after a while the more and more you record and listen to it the more comfortable you become with it!

[Freewave]

Everybody's voice sounds different to them than it does to everybody else. Usually your voice sounds higher but it sounds different because when you're hearing yourself speaking you also feel the vibrations and you're hearing the sounds coming from your mouth. When you hear usually the sound goes straight towards your ears. My point is that you only sound different to yourself, nobody else. You'll feel weird hearing yourself but you'll get over that with time and you'll have to record it various times until you get used to it.

[wu long cha]

i think it's a bit of both?

certain microphones tend to make the singer sound much more nasally, so a better mic always helps.

as for "smoother," i'm not quite sure what you mean....clarify please?

[Matthew N.]

I know the feeling - in fact, I have the exact same issue. Whenever I listen to myself (attempt to) sing, I feel like I am getting all the notes correctly and I do enjoy listening to myself, but I really do hate my recorded voice - it's so freaking different! Sure my mic isn't the best, but I won't be spending hundreds on an investment that might not even end up being worth it... plus I really don't think I should be singing.

[ChromaticChaosPony]

Problems with my voice:

1. I always sound bored and/or exhausted.
2. I have chronic alergies or something. Throat always clogged. Can't even keep a breath of air with any consistency, let alone pitch or volume. This causes me to be out of breath easily as well.
3. I have no voice training.
4. I yawn too much (I need to sleep more).
5. My voice sound like there is sand paper in my throat sometimes.

Any advice?

[Navron]

I think every singer hates their own voice.

Even my dad, who's sung in many, many, many choirs over the years, has a crisp, clean singing voice, and can lead many others to sing louder, doesn't like the sound of his voice when it's recorded.

I'm going to try a different approach to singing, and that is, I'm going to start editing the vocal track thinking it's not me singing

[bartekko]

I think every singer hates their own voice.

Even my dad, who's sung in many, many, many choirs over the years, has a crisp, clean singing voice, and can lead many others to sing louder, doesn't like the sound of his voice when it's recorded.

I'm going to try a different approach to singing, and that is, I'm going to start editing the vocal track thinking it's not me singing :P

Protip on making it easier to forget that you are singing:

[That_One_Dood]

Here you go.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWLWOSgYlG8
I hate my own voice but I'm gonna give it a go. Just remember put feeling into it! Even if it "sounds" bad if you hit the right notes and you don't sound like you're half assing it others should at least respect you for trying! That is if they're decent people =\.
Also if all else fails Vocode it.

[ConfoundedName]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone.

I suppose my next step is to get a good microphone. Any suggestions? I really don't know much about microphones, but I would like one with decent quality within a fair price range.

If it makes a difference, I'm using a 13-inch MacBook Pro.