Perfecting Harmony
Some techniques for getting good at recording backing vocals
When it comes to recording background vocal parts—either on your own or with others—one has numerous options. If working with another singer, should the two of you be on the same microphone? Or is it better to have a dedicated mic per vocalist? Meanwhile, should harmonies be placed “behind” the main vocal in the mix, or spread in stereo? Here we consider some techniques for perfecting the art of backing-vocal recording, and why different types of songs often dictate the best approach.
Do It Again. Double-tracking—the process of adding an identical vocal part over the main track—is still one of the oldest and best tricks in the book. The second part adds extra texture and, because it’s done manually, helps “widen” the overall image. While there are no hard and fast rules, usually the best results are achieved when doubling over select passages—a chorus or pre-chorus, parts of the verse, certain words, or any place else where some thickening or emphasis is needed. Some prefer to have the original in their headphones while tracking a second vocal, however when doing so the tendency is to try and match every note and nuance of the main part, which can be painstaking. Hence, it’s often better to just have another go without actually hearing the other part in your cans.
Adding Your Own Harmonies. Though it may be preferable to have others singing background harmonies as a contrast to your own voice, sometimes you just need to get the job done in solitude (or at least until your session singers arrive). Particularly when adding multiple vocal parts, it can be helpful to utilize some special microphone maneuvers to avoid that “group of one” sound. For instance, you might slightly adjusting the distance between yourself and the front of the mic; if for instance you tracked the lead vocal only a few inches from the mic’s center to achieve that low-end “proximity effect,” consider stepping back a foot or so when adding harmony backgrounds; you might also move to a different spot around the mic, or perhaps switch the pickup pattern from cardioid to omni, or maybe even change microphones—anything to get a slightly different texture for each vocal overlay.
Recording Multiple Singers. There are a number of ways to go about recording two or more singers supplying backgrounds. Firstly, can a single mic do the job? In a word, yes—in fact, in the old days when recording tracks were fewer, engineers would frequently rely on one microphone (generally a condenser set to omni) in order to conserve space. Naturally there are some drawbacks to this method—not only will the backing parts be in mono, but the singers must be adept at self-balancing while they’re recording, otherwise the backgrounds will sound lop-sided. Even so, many pros still swear by this method, particularly when you have vocalists who are expert at harmonizing live. When in doubt, though, there’s nothing wrong with hanging a separate mic per person—this takes the onus off live balancing, and, with each part on a dedicated track, allows you to fully control the overall sound.
Mixing Methods. When it comes time to mix, should the backing vocals be centered like the main vocal, or perhaps placed in stereo? While this can be a purely subjective decision, the content of the rhythm track may help you decide what goes where. For example, having just acoustic or otherwise spare instrumentation leaves you with more room on top to place the vocals—say, just slightly left and right of the centered lead vocal, or, if you wanted a more dynamic sound, try spreading the harmony vox across the stereo field. If it’s a busier track, keeping all vocals in or close to the middle may be preferable; just use your ears while gradually moving the pan positions around until you hit upon a suitable blend.
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