I'm recording vocals

today and I've never been more scared shitless in my life. You can play any instrument well, but the instrument of the human voice...well, that's a whole different bag. The words, the melodies, that's really the backbone of it all, what people remember, isn't it? Guitars and drums and strings are all secondary; they're all just supporting actors, the real meat is in the melody, that human element of speech and sound. The way those two flaps in my throat are feeling today, whose state of being has been influenced by the stir fry I ate for lunch today and the weed I smoked this weekend, are going to make noises that will be caught on tape and preserved for all the world to hear and will be documented and listened to over and over again until people don't care about it anymore or all traces of it are destroyed. How do you go about recording the human voice? There are so many different things you can do to it, so many different ways to manipulate the noise that comes out. Every nuance, every quiver, every holler and consonant and frequency is so fragile, so changeable. At least for me. I'm a pretty consistent guitar and piano player, and I'm not bad at those instruments either, but I've never been totally consistent or confident with my singing voice - I've never considered myself "a singer." And this is bad because right now the worst thing to do is freak out, because I read in a book that the emotions you're feeling while singing actually have a physical impact on your vocal cords and influence the way the sound is produced, and I can't sing out of fear - making music out of fear is the worst thing you can do. So rest assured that sometime between now and the car ride over to the Jimmer's I will have abandoned all of my panic to embody a readiness and spirit unembodied in myself in the past hour to embrace the daunting task of singing my guts out, joyfully, soulfully, lovingly. Okay. I best get back to polishing my pipes. Wish me luck. Ahem...mi mi mi mi...