Architecture Studio

I believe that you are right in stating that the microphone picks up sounds that we wouldn't normally notice. I would also argue that there is another difference: some sounds are emphasized in the recording because of their distance from the microphone. For instance, the mic is presumably closer to the keyboard than is your ear, thus making the sound of typing louder in the recording than you perceived it to be in person.

An aside: you are certainly not alone-- everyone believes that they sound different in a recording vs. real life. It's even more frustrating when you ask another person, "Do I usually sound like this? I sound like a large man in this recording," and they respond saying that your voice in real life and in the recording sound exactly the same.

I agree with Kristen that you're voice definitely sounds different to yourself in person than it does in a recording. The way you perceive your own voice has a lot to do with the way your head transfers sound.

I also agree that the recorder picks up more background noise than we usually notice, because our brains ignore it to focus on more important things. Most of the people doing this journal realized that after listening to their recordings later.

I think it would be interesting to place recorders at different locations in the studio (including close to where your head usually is) to see if what the recorders pick up is more similar/more different than what you are used to hearing on a regular basis in that space.