Hi, everyone. I recently was given an opportunity to sit in a professional studio and work on a mix with the help of some 'colleagues'.

In this time, realized that I spend so, sooooo much time in the studio, worrying about learning the process of tracking, mixing, synth programming, playing instruments, etc... That I take little (read: no) time to practice the parts I want to sing and get them down packed;

I tend to spend literally only minutes working out the frames for my vocals, and I especially do far too many on-the-fly changes during actual recording time. Additionally, I tend to not perfect it to the point that I have to add tons of pitch correction and ruin the normality of the voice and give it a glitchy, computer-generated feel that tends to set people off and have them shouting, "FAKE!!!" at the tops of their lungs.

What are some good methods for getting my performances up to par in short-ish amounts of time? And what is(are) essentially the best method(s) for learning my own melodies and such?

Thanks so much!

There is really no short cut.  The best recordings are usually the best performances which usually come from practice, practice practice.  Pro session people may be able to site read but also can input the emotion because 1. they are good and 2. they've put in the time, years of it, before they play the part.

practice your own stuff, do it different ways and you will find the best performance of it.

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Just like most of us on here, we all wear different 'hats' in the studio, including inter alia, composer, arranger, performing artist, engineer, mixer, producer.

Whatever hat you're wearing, you need to devote all your time & energy into that particular function.

Practice, practice, practice. Especially the playing/performing part.

I see! Interestingly enough, I released a song a while  ago with probably no use of pitch correction at all- the performance was 'meh-able' and had plenty of vocal errors... (and I did actually practice it a bit). But for whatever the heckuva reason, it's one of my most popular songs to date.

I guess my big problem is that I should step away- in general, stop producing and start performing! 

Of course, realize I don't mean give up, but rather that if I'm gonna be doing this as a thing, I'll need to put equal amounts of effort into every part of the process.

Sorry for long-winding it, I just needed confirmation. Thanks, AT!

Take the time to rehearse the parts to get past the "reading it" to the "feeling it" performance. 

Believe it or not, many people, especially those at the higher levels of this art and business can tell in 3 seconds if the singer (and musicians) are faking it or feeling it. 

I sent a song to someone pretty high up the food chain in Nashville, and the first comment the guy made after the song finished was, "she sounds like she was reading that lyric"... and while she has a good voice, the guy was dead on correct. 

Nothing beats planning. Take the time to structure the song before you start recording it. Have a general idea what parts are where, how long they are, and what comes next. It's good to allow some creative space in a song because as I record, I very often see something in the song that would work better or something that needs to be changed because it doesn't work as well as I first thought.  

Rehearse the parts as many times as is needed to get it natural and as close to perfect as you can... then hit record. I very often take a fair amount of time working out a guitar part (solo) and then after I hit record, I will find that multiple takes are needed to nail it and the part will often change drastically during that recording part of the project.  A 15 second solo may take over 60 minutes or more to get right....and other times, the first take with record on, nails it. Hard to predict. But you will know it when you hear it. Point is, do it until it's right and it feels natural. 

I always try to record the tracks with the end in mind. I know that at some point I will be mixing and polishing the project and I want the tracks to be as smooth going into that stage as possible. BUT... always focus on the job you are doing. If it's singing..... be the singer and not the engineer. If it's the production you're working on, produce the heck out of it. Of course, saying that is easier than doing it especially if you are like most of us here.... we do it all from tracking to final product. So the lines between musician and engineer tend to become a bit blurred at times. 

The point is, try not to get too bogged down on any one thing. When I find myself losing focus on the project or starting to second guess the EQ settings on the bass track and such things..... it's time to recognize it for what it is and either move to something else, if you still have a good level of creativity and energy flowing or.... shut the DAW off and go do something else. The beauty of having the home studio is that rarely are we on a deadline or a time line of any sort. We're not paying for studio time by the hour and we don't have some record company breathing down our necks for the finished project. So feel free to walk away and come back tomorrow and see the project with a fresh perspective. 

I find that even when I have a good level of creativity and energy flowing, the maximum I can work before I start to drift a bit is 2 to 3 hours..... sometimes more but normally that is it. I need a break. I will shut it off and walk away. At times, I can return in an hour, recharged and have another go at it.... and other times it might be several days before I go back. 

I hope this helps.... anyway, that is my personal observations and practices. 

+ 1000 to what Herb says. 

When it comes to your performance - I would definitely practice "off-line" as opposed to in the studio.  When you are in the studio you need come with the performance "under your belt" so to speak - like Herb says - to the point where you "feel it".  Studio time is money and you don't want to waste it.  Now if it's your own studio its a different story, but bringing the performance to your own studio will give you much better results.  You won't need to tweak so much, and it will sound way better.

I have my own studio and this is how I approach a vocal: I'll practice off-line - for days / weeks.  I'm ready when it sounds good enough to where I could perform it in front of an audience and sound like a pro.  Thats where I'm not tripping over words, not having issues with pitch, all the phrases are in perfect rhythm AND where I am free enough to be improvising and varying the phrasing.

Then I do a first recording session.  Usually the first results aren't the best, but it gives me great feedback to where I need work.  Then I'll do a second recording a day or two later (after practicing off-line again) and it will be improved.  I'll still go back and practice and put finishing touches on possibly a third recording session.  Each of these sessions takes me about an hour.

Now if it is someone else's studio you can't do that.  You really need to bring it all to the first session, and the session can be longer - but like herb says: 3 hours is about maximum.  After that you need a break. 

I used to drive a lot in my previous job, so I sang along with my CDs as practice. Hours a day of driving and singing. It only helped (me) a little. YMMV.
I think you said you were 15? So you probably don't drive much, or at all, but take every opportunity to practice, even if the other folks around you think you're crazy.
 
 

Yeah there really are no shortcuts...if you want to combine good technique with feeling you have to work like crazy on the technique until it's second nature. It's the same for any skill whether it's music, golf, soccer or ballet. 

In the beginning, you have to think about every aspect of your technique as you're performing. Am I standing right, am I breathing right, am I relaxed enough, should I ornament this note, am I singing from my stomach etc. I believe this process utilizes the evolutionary newer, outer part of the brain, the one designed for analytical thinking. Eventually, this technique is passed into the subconscious, into the older, deeper part of the brain. It's at this point that it becomes "second nature" and you can concentrate on the emotional side of your performance, or "go with it."