How to record your first guided meditation

As long as you know a little bit about what to do and how to do it, you can record a great sounding guided meditation using either your phone or your laptop. You don’t have to break the bank purchasing fancy equipment to make outstanding recordings. In fact, assuming you have a modern phone, you can probably do it without spending a penny. This guide will fill you in on all the tips & tricks to make a professional sounding recording on a budget.

Microphone

When recording your meditation, the microphone is your most important tool. A higher quality microphone will do a better job of recording the nuances of your voice that are so important in guided meditations. However, the microphone technology in modern smartphones has dramatically improved in recent years. The noise cancellation and audio quality of their internal microphones make them a fine choice for recording your voice.

If you already have a quality USB microphone, by all means use it. If you want to invest in one that won’t break the bank, the Blue Yeti or Snowball are solid choices. If you’re using an USB microphone, we recommend a pop filter to reduce the distortion of sounds like “S” or “P” and help ensure a clean, professional-sounding recording.

Computer or Mobile app

To record and store your voice as a digital file, you will need to use an app on your computer, tablet or smartphone. There are a variety of free apps you can choose from. Audacity (for Windows or Mac computers) or GarageBand (pre-installed on most Apple devices) are good choices for audio recording. The free versions are good enough do the job. Here is a link for a YouTube tutorial on using Audacity to record your voice:

If you are using your iPhone to record, Voice Memos is a simple, built-in app that will work perfectly. Click here to watch a video tutorial.

Recording Environment

Good microphones pick up the nuances of your voice because they are sensitive. Unfortunately, they are also more sensitive to echo & background noises.

Recordings sound better when you make them in a quiet, smallish space that already has a lot of materials that absorb sound (i.e. carpets, rugs, couches, beds, clothes, etc.). Bedrooms or walk-in closets are ideal. Or, you can build yourself a pillow fort, although any acoustic gain is lost if the kids or dogs are climbing all over it!

Eliminate any background noise you have control over. That means:

• Turning of fans (even ceiling fans) and any other machines that generate an audible noise or hum

• Putting your cell phone on Do Not Disturb

• Asking anyone else in the house to be as quiet and still as possible, pets included (If my dogs are being particularly naughty, I break out the shockless bark collars and lock them on another floor!)

• Record at a time when your neighbor’s dog is not outside barking insanely (speaking from personal experience!) and there are not planes landing every 3 minutes.

• Pausing and trying again in a bit if there are sirens upon sirens going by or the lawn care company is working across the street

Your Voice

Your voice is what will set your guided meditation apart. Here are a few tips to help you sound your best:

• In order to sound calm & relaxed when you record your voice, you should BE calm & relaxed! Before you begin, do a grounding exercise, breathwork or meditation to get in the zone.

• We recommend using a script. Make sure you have practiced it enough that it flows naturally and you are not stumbling or hesitating when reading it.

• Speak slowly and clearly. This will help your listeners follow along with your meditation and stay relaxed. Try speaking even slower than you think you should.

• Sit upright and breathe softly, but deeply. This will help ensure adequate pauses between phrases and consistent volume (your voice won’t be trailing off as you run out of breath).

• This is not the theater. You do not have to project your voice for the mic to pick it up clearly. Speak softly & gently, but clearly.

Setting the Gain or Mic Sensitivity and Position

If you’re using a USB mic, it's important to make sure it’s stable & protected from unwanted vibrations. Holding the microphone in your hand or placing it on your desk can result in mechanical noises, which can negatively impact the quality of your recording. A good microphone stand will help you to avoid these issues and create a higher quality recording.

If you’re recording with your phone, it is ok to hold it in your hand if that’s more comfortable for you since modern smartphones mics eliminate unwanted noises. But definitely keep it as still as possible. Speak into to mic at the bottom of the phone.

Being close enough to the mic (but not too close) helps reduce background noise & echo in your meditation recording. If you’re too far away, you’ll pick up more background noise. If you’re too close, you’ll hear the inside of your mouth. Ideally, your microphone should be about 4 to 6 inches away from your mouth.

If you are recording with your iPhone on Voice Memos, there is no way to manually adjust the mic sensitivity. The trick on getting the right recording level with this method is just adjusting how close you have the phone to your mouth.

If you are recording with a USB mic that has a gain knob, you will need to adjust it for optimal sensitivity to pick up your voice to not be too loud or too quiet. If you’re recording in a program like Audacity or GarageBand, you can adjust the mic sensitivity on a slider in the program. These programs also have monitors that show you how loud your recording is.  Your gain or mic sensitivity should be adjusted so that the audio level bouncing around -12 dB on the monitor.

It saves a lot of time if you do a test recording and check how it sounds before you record the whole mediation. Using decent quality headphones to listen to the playback will help you know if everything sounds good. Listen to the playback at between 50% to 75% of full volume. You should be able to hear clearly and it should sound loud enough at this level.

Pause & Resume Recording, Clap Twice When You Mess Up

While you are recording, you’ll likely need to take deep breaths, wait for a plane to fly over, take a sip of water, or readjust your position. When you feel the need to do this, we recommend pausing the recording & resuming when you’re ready. This will make the editing process a lot easier by eliminating long gaps & reducing the chance that a disruptive sound makes its way into your final product.

It’s inevitable that you will fumble a few words here and there, but it doesn’t mean you need to start the meditation over from the beginning again. If you mess up, just clap loudly twice & it will be obvious where edits are needed.

So, that is it! You are ready to record your first guided meditation! If you are interesting in having us professionally edit, mix & master your meditation with custom healing sounds, click the link below to place an order.