I recently informed a friend that the best vocal take when recording a song is the first take. I said it because just a month ago, September 13 to be exact, I went to downtown Los Angeles, California, to meet my friend Ted Reyes for a proper recording session of a song I wrote.
To both our surprise, I was able to nail the vocal right on the first take. Not that we didn’t have time for another go, but we already high-fived right after that one-stretch overdub.
“You came in prepared, Pare,” reacted Ted after we decided that the vocal on the said take, in spite of a couple of curing, which didn’t affect the fluidity of the performance, was good enough.
His reaction had to do with the fact that we previously recorded a number, “Hosanna Kapiling Ka” (which was my first recording session in America), and on that one I had to sing over and over until we were both satisfied.
Perhaps because of the same experience—a personal milestone given that it was done in a studio along the iconic Sunset Boulevard—I did rehearse more prior to our Saturday the 13th meet-up.
The song is called “Sa Mga Lumalaban Nang Patas,” which I penned to honor the righteous people who choose to keep their integrity intact in the midst of corruption, temptation, and power abuse.
I remember feeling emotional while doing the take, as if I were performing in front of a live audience and had to give my all. I think it is the proper approach when recording vocals. Most people would say you have to wait until you’ve loosened up enough. But why wait if you can deliver the blow on the first punch?
But first things first, you really have to believe in the song you are singing, that you are the right singer for it, even if there are surely better talents who can give their own spin to it.
Well, it’s not hard to believe when you are singing, “Sa mga lumalaban nang patas/ Saludo sa inyo/ Sa mata ng Diyos wagi ang tulad niyo…”
Someone who later heard the finished product commented, “It is timely.” I can agree, considering what’s happening in the Philippines right now. But acknowledging the efforts of fair people who embrace kindness over discreet evildoing is not time-bound. There will always be individuals who will do the daily grind and hustle while others keep whining instead of working or staying idle by choice.
Before I got to sing that day, we did guitar and bass sessions, amid some programmed drumming by Ted. That must have given me extra confidence in front of the mic.
A tried-and-tested recording artist himself and the tunesmith behind the classic Himig Handog finalist hit “Bye Bye Na,” Ted suggested that we do the vocals on another day as I might be feeling tired already. True, I was exhausted, as I had to travel to reach his place and then play instruments. But I insisted that we do it anyway, and maybe there would be one fine take among multiple tries.
Ted ultimately did his own arrangement of the song he described as “modern sounding,” which rightly fit my phrasing and melody. The result is a recording we’re both proud of, as his skills in arranging came in handy and my singing has never been as impassioned, as another friend noted. May I remind you that I’ve been in two bands where I was not the main singer—either by necessity or because I’ve now learned how to use the full power of my voice despite its limitations.
In recording history, there are a bunch of great songs with finished vocal tracks done on the first take. “Twist and Shout” was covered by The Beatles, with John Lennon singing it in one go because they had been recording an album’s content all day. Same with “Lose Yourself” by Eminem, which he tracked amid a busy shooting schedule. The song won an Oscar.
Other examples are “House of the Rising Sun” (The Animals), “Bette Davis Eyes” (Kim Carnes), “That’s All Right” (Elvis Presley), and “Billie Jean” (Michael Jackson).
(“Sa Mga Lumalaban Nang Patas” by YUGEL is now released in digital stores, distributed by NSFU.)
