Why is my (recorded) singing always better when I sing with others?

[jeremycsf]

I can spend days on end trying to record a vocal that sounds decent on my own without luck but the minute I ask someone to record harmonies for/with me, my takes are immediately better, especially the accuracy of my pitch. What the hell is wrong with me? Anyone experience this too? Should I start recording a take to sing along to before recording my main vocals?

[JerGoertz]

Probably because it's always easier to be on pitch when you're singing with a reference? I'm no professional singer but that would be my guess.

Your solution would probably work. Or have the melody you want to sing play back on a synth/sampled instrument while you sing.

[ShawnG]

I always thought my own singing was better in a stress situation, like on stage or important band setting. That can include singing along with someone. Stress, it’s not always bad.

[jeremycsf]

Yeah, I wish I were in a band these days. Making music alone all the time can be so alienating...

[Gamma-UT]

I'd go with "easier with a reference" mainly as JerGoertz wrote. But it might also be that you're singing at a different level with a group that's better for hitting a pitch. On your own, it's easy to feel self-conscious and sing too softly and things start to waver.

[pljones]

When you're recording alone, are you listening to the melody line you're singing in good headphones that help you hear that reference? Or are you listening to yourself as you sing? In a group performance, you'll listen to yourself less, so you like others have said, some way to achieve that may help.

[enroe]

... but the minute I ask someone to record harmonies for/with me, my takes are immediately better, especially the accuracy of my pitch.

I know it too. I think it's purely psychological: When you record a song with someone,
there's a lot more preparation and work up front. Therefore the inner focus is much
higher.