You are at one of the hardest points in life. At Tonstudio Leipzig, families and the bereaved record pieces that are played at the funeral service or kept as a memory. Calmly guided, discreet, and ready within 48 hours on request when the funeral is close.
There is that one funeral service people still talk about long afterwards. Not because it was especially elaborate. Because it truly belonged to that one person. Because their voice spoke once more, because the family sang their favourite song, or because their words filled the room as the mourners said goodbye. That is exactly what an audio recording for a funeral service can do. It turns a ceremony into a moment that stays with the family and the guests.
At Tonstudio Leipzig I guide grieving people with the calm and the attention this task deserves. Some families come to record their late father's favourite song together, three generations, from the grandchild to the widow, all in front of one microphone. Some bring old voice memos, a recording from an answering machine or a voicemail they could not bring themselves to delete. I restore those recordings, bring the voice forward in the sound and make it worthy of the funeral service. Some want to record a eulogy they could not manage to give at the service themselves. And sometimes the dying person comes in themselves, to leave behind a farewell song or a last message that will be played at their own funeral service later.
What these recordings have in common: they are real. They are honest. You cannot buy them in a shop. And they give a funeral service exactly what it needs, the personal core that makes every person unique. If this is the task in front of you right now, you are in the right place. You can send me a short enquiry first. I look at what you need, recommend the right next step and, if the details are clear, put together a quote straight away.
Every request is different, because every person who has died was unique. Here you can see the kinds of recording families come to me with, often combined or slightly adapted.
The family sings the favourite song of the person who has died. Parents, siblings, children and grandchildren, everyone who has something to say or to sing. Played at the funeral service, it creates a moment in which the voices of the living say an audible farewell to the person they loved.
One of the most moving things I guide in the studio. People whose time is limited record a song of their own or a last message, to be played at their own funeral service later. Calmly, with dignity and without pressure. If you need someone with you, a person you trust is welcome to come into the studio.
You have an old voice message, a last voicemail, a recording from an answering machine, perhaps even an old cassette with the voice of the person you loved. I remove noise, room reverb and interference and make the voice worthy of the funeral service. The voice stays theirs, only clearer.
Recording a life story with parents, grandparents or the people you love, while they can still tell it. Anecdotes, the moments that mattered, favourite memories, messages for the grandchildren. A legacy that will move people just as much in twenty or thirty years, sometimes more than you can imagine today.
If you cannot give the eulogy at the service yourself, because the emotions are too strong or because you would rather not speak in public, I record it with you in the studio. It is then played at the funeral service. That way your words carry, without you having to face the mourners when it feels like too much.
Children who are too young to speak in public. Grandchildren who live abroad and cannot come to the funeral. Siblings who are simply too exhausted. All of them can record an audio message in the studio to be played at the service, as spoken words, as a letter read aloud or as a short memory.
A funeral service happens once. The recording has to be right, the sound has to be right, the atmosphere has to be respectful. These are the three principles I work by on funeral recordings.
A funeral recording is not an ordinary studio session. I take time for what you need, I listen, I give tips on breathing, I leave room for tears, I offer tissues and a quiet space. Nobody has to be perfect. Nobody has to hold it together. If a take does not work, I record the next one with you.
Everything recorded in the studio or handed to me is stored on a privacy-conscious server and permanently deleted after the project on request. Content is never passed on. There is nobody else listening in the studio either, only you and me. The voice of the person you loved stays where it belongs, with you and your family.
If the funeral service is in five to seven days, there is enough time to work calmly. If the deadline is tighter, express handling within 48 hours is possible. Recording, editing and a finished file for the funeral director or the DJ. Talk to me early and I almost always find a way to have the result ready for the service.
An MP3 disappears into the cloud. A CD with a photo cover sits on the shelf, at the widow's home, at the children's, at the grandchildren's. A funeral recording can become a memorial CD that moves people just as much in ten years as it did on the day of the service.
You choose a photo that shows the person who has died at their best, the way they laughed, the place they loved most, the moment you would most like to remember them in. The photo becomes the quiet centre of the cover.
The cover carries the name, the dates, a line that means something or a verse. Typeface and colours in calm, dignified tones, classic in black and white, muted in warm grey, or with a single accent in their favourite colour.
The finished cover is printed on the CD and on the case in professional quality. You can order a single CD or several, so that every close relative has their own keepsake. A gift to the family that dries tears and brings quiet when it is unwrapped.
The memorial CD is an optional addition. Just tell me briefly in your enquiry whether you only need the file for the service or would also like a CD with a cover.
A funeral service lasts an hour. An audio recording stays with the family for decades. These small, quiet moments make the difference at the service and in the years that follow.
When the voice of the person who has died is heard once more at the service, or when the family's shared song plays, the room goes quiet in a way no speaker and no sermon can achieve. It is the moment the guests will remember afterwards.
In the weeks after the service the home grows quieter. Nobody unlocks the front door from the other side in the morning any more. An audio recording, a life story, a song sung together or a restored message can be something to hold on to in those hours. Not every day, but on the days when the silence gets too heavy.
Children forget faces and voices faster than you would think. Anyone who still wants to know in five years exactly how grandad laughed or how their mother pronounced certain words needs a recording. What seems ordinary today is priceless tomorrow.
Grandchildren and great grandchildren born after their grandparents have died can only get to know them through stories and memories. An audio biography gives them a real encounter, with a voice, laughter, a way of speaking and all the small quirks. A legacy in the truest sense.
Some families build a tradition: the recording is played on the late father's birthday. On the late grandmother's wedding anniversary. At Christmas. That way the person stays part of family life, even though they are no longer here.
Family trees show names and dates. An audio recording shows character. Anyone who still wants to know in fifty years who this great great grandfather really was has no chance unless somebody preserves the voice today. That is why a funeral recording is sometimes more than a farewell. It is a beginning.
A funeral recording needs less technical than emotional preparation. Nobody expects you to be perfect. What counts are these six quiet steps. They help you walk into the studio session with a clear head.
Collect what you have: old voice messages on your phone, voicemails, recordings from the answering machine, cassettes, MiniDiscs, old videos with a voice on them. Favourite songs too, texts that mean something, verses or poems. It does not have to be complete. Even a single fragment can become the basis for a recording.
Talk with the family about what should carry at the funeral service. A song sung together? A restored voice? An audio message? Sometimes the answer only becomes clear after your short enquiry. It is fine to start with an open idea. I work it out with you after your enquiry or at the session itself.
If the funeral service is in five to seven days, there is enough time to work calmly. With a shorter deadline, express handling within 48 hours is possible. In that case reach me directly through the contact form or by phone, so that I can judge the urgency straight away.
Some people come alone, because the recording is too intimate. Some bring the whole family. Both are fine. If you want to sing together, up to three people can stand at the microphone at the same time, and further voices are recorded one after another and layered on top.
In the studio everything is allowed. Tears, silence, long pauses, a take that breaks off. Nobody expects you to hold it together. I have tissues, water and time. If a moment becomes too much, I step out onto the balcony with you for a minute, you catch your breath, and you come back when you are ready.
Nobody has to get through this alone. Someone you trust is welcome in the studio at any time, your partner, a child or a close friend. They sit in the room with you, hold your hand if you need it, or wait outside until the take is finished. Whatever helps you is right.
So that you know what happens between a short enquiry and the finished file, here are the four quiet steps of a funeral recording.
It is easiest to reach me through the contact form, with the occasion, the date of the funeral service, the recording you have in mind and any files you already have. I look at what you need in confidence and get back to you quickly, often the same day, with an assessment, a suitable process or a quote.
After your confirmation I reserve the session at the studio in the south of Leipzig. For that time the room belongs to you alone, with nobody listening in, no rush and no waiting area next door. Pure audio restoration of old recordings runs entirely remotely, with no session on site.
At the session I guide you or your family calmly. Several takes, breaks where they are needed, personal support. For voice restoration I listen to the material and talk through with you what is possible.
After the recording come editing, mix, mastering and light pitch correction where it is needed. You get the finished download file for the funeral director or the DJ. On request there is also a CD with a photo cover. Express delivery within 48 hours is possible.
My studio is centrally located in the south of Leipzig, well connected to the S-Bahn, the tram and the main roads. Pure audio restoration of old recordings also runs entirely remotely, with no travel at all. Here you can see the usual routes from around central Germany.
Bernhard-Göring-Straße 17, five minutes on foot from Bayerischer Bahnhof. Reachable by tram, S-Bahn and car. There is parking nearby, which matters when several family members arrive in their own cars.
During your session the studio belongs to you and whoever comes with you. No waiting area, no reception desk, nobody listening in or walking past. A calm, protected atmosphere for one of the most intimate reasons anyone ever records.
Halle is around 35 minutes away by S-Bahn, and about half an hour by car depending on the time of day. Funeral recordings for families from Halle often happen at the Leipzig studio, because the calm atmosphere and the express handling are possible here.
From the area around Leipzig you reach the studio in 15 to 25 minutes. Markkleeberg, Schkeuditz, Taucha, Markranstädt, Borna and Grimma work well when the grieving family is spread across the region and comes together at the studio.
From Chemnitz, Dresden, Jena, Weimar, Erfurt or Magdeburg, Leipzig is under two hours away. Travelling at short notice for a studio session is possible too when the funeral service is close.
Pure audio restoration of old voice memos, voicemails or cassettes runs entirely remotely. You send me the files through the contact form or as a cloud link, I listen, give you an assessment and send the edited file back. Anywhere in the country, with no travel.
Here you find the most important answers. If your question is not here, send me a short confidential enquiry. For funeral services at very short notice you can also call me directly.
Five main areas come up most often here:
1. Recording a funeral song or farewell song with the family for the person who has died.
2. Recording a farewell song by a person for their own funeral service.
3. Audio restoration of old voice memos, voicemails or cassette recordings, so that the voice sounds dignified once more.
4. An audio biography as a recording of a life story.
5. Family messages or private eulogies to be played at the funeral service.
Yes, delivery within 48 hours is possible on request, as long as you get in touch in time.
If the funeral service is in five to seven days, there is enough time to work calmly. With a shorter deadline, talk to me directly. I almost always find a way to have the result ready on time.
Yes, that is in fact the normal case. Most people who come to me about a funeral recording have never been in a recording studio.
I guide you calmly, give you tips on breathing and allow as many takes as it needs. Nobody has to be able to sing or to have practised. This is about the honest voice, not about perfection. When a moment becomes especially emotional there are breaks, tissues and a quiet room.
That is one of the most moving thingsI ever guide.
People in palliative care or with limited time sometimes want to leave behind a song or a message of their own, to be played at their own funeral service later. Here that happens in complete calm and without time pressure.
If the dying person can still come to the studio, they are welcome to bring someone they trust with them, a daughter, a son, a partner. The atmosphere is calm, protected and with nobody listening in.
Send me the files you have through the contact form or as a cloud link. I listen to them, assess what is technically possible and remove interference, noise, room reverb or distortion.
The voice stays the voice of the person you loved, only clearer and more dignified. Recordings from answering machines, old cassettes or MiniDiscs are possible too, as long as the source material is available in some form.
Yes. Up to three people can stand in front of the microphone can stand at the microphone, and further voices are recorded one after another and brought together into a choir.
Bringing children, grandchildren, siblings, parents and grandparents together in one recording is especially moving and gives the funeral service a deeply personal moment.
Funeral recordings are priced individually, because what people need varies so much.
The factors are: the kind of recording (funeral song, restoration, audio biography), how many people take part, how much editing is involved, any express handling and CD printing with a cover.
When you get in touch you receive an an honest assessment, often the same day. The short enquiry is bookable online in the studio shop.
Completely. Everything recorded in the studio or handed to me is stored on a privacy-conscious server and permanently deleted after the project on request.
Content is never passed on or published. In the studio there is nobody else listening in, only you and me.
Yes. If you would rather not give the eulogyat the service yourself, because the emotions are too strong or because you do not want to speak in public, I record it with you in the studio.
It is then played at the funeral service. That way your words carry, without you having to face the mourners when it feels like too much.
Both are possible. You get the finished recording as a download file that you can pass on to whoever leads the service, to the funeral director or to whoever handles the music.
On request there is also a CD with an individually designed cover, for example with a photo, the dates and a favourite line of the person who has died, as a keepsake for the family.
Yes, that is in fact one of the most precious stepsanyone can take.
Recording a life story with parents, grandparents or the people you love, while they can still tell it, gives the family a legacy that will move them just as much in twenty or thirty years as it does today.
These recordings are made without pressure, across several sittings, with breaks and in a calm atmosphere.
Yes. If you are giving a eulogy for someone privately , as a family member, as a friend, as a godparent, and you would like to record it beforehand, you are in the right place.
If you lead funeral services professionally, you find information on the separate business page of Tonstudio Leipzig for companies and freelancers.
Write me a short note about what is on your mind: a funeral song from the family, an old recording to restore, an audio biography, a eulogy or a farewell song of your own. I look at what you need in confidence and get back to you with a first recommendation. For a concrete concept we go through everything calmly in an initial consultation, which you book in the studio shop. Short questions beforehand are welcome by email or phone. For a sensible plan or a quote. The short enquiry can be booked online in the studio shop.