48: Music Recording

Recording a pop song cover

Run through

When recording the cover, I would normally do a run through the track was with the original track on it. This was good so then it was easier for the artist so then they can get used to playing with the song.

Rehearsal

Each artist would normally get a practice run with the original track on. This is a good thing so then it can get the artist used to having the original track on it.

Level and sound checking

While being in the recording studio I would check the levels seeing if any of the sounds were either distorted or they are either too loud or too quiet.

Performance

When we performed the song we used the different instruments for the song. All of the performances were performed with confidence and it was played accurately.

Gain

A way to control the gain is to be constantly checking the mixer on cubase. This can show you if there is any sort of clipping through the different tracks. By checking the mixer constantly you can check weather it is not picking up enough sound.

Stereo recording

The stereo recording was mainly with the AKG Condenser for the Drums and the Guitar. Other microphones that were used to record vocals were the shure sm58.

Multi-track recording/Overdubbing

For the recording I used multiple tracks for my different instruments. I used this so then it would be easier to add effects to the different instruments.

Connections

DI is a connection that I needed to show a use for. I used the DI connection to record the bass and the guitar, DI is where you add a DI lead into the box.The other connection were you traditional stereo in and out using microphones.

Proximity effect

This was used when my vocalist was close to the microphone most of the time. This gave the vocals the best effect.

Live recording

With the different recordings, I wouldn’t normally accept the first recordings. Normally I would normally only accept the second recording.

Screen/Guards/Pop Shields

Mostly for the vocal I used a screen so then it was possible to get the best quality possible. With my vocalist I used a shield so then any backing sound or redundant sound would not be picked up.

Direct Injection

The DI connection was how I recorded my bass guitar. This was mainly used to record the different types guitars.

Synthesiser

The synthesiser wasn’t used with the recording. But I did put a effect on to the guitar and bass.

Electrical guitar

The electrical guitar was recorded with the DI connection. This gave the best quality for the electric guitar.

Bass

The Bass guitar was recorded in with the DI connection, this gave the best quality for the bass and it also made it hearable for the different sounds on the bass.

Keyboard

The keyboard was recorded with a stereo output. This made it loud and have a more diverse amount of recording types.

Electrical drum kit

I didn’t use a drum kit in the recording. This was a change that I made to have a change from the original track.

Monitor/Levels

While recording the instruments it was important to monitor the levels in case of clipping with the audio. When the audio was clipping I would normally turn the volume down so then the levels would be lower.

Headphones

When I was recording the vocals, we used headphones so then the vocalist was able to hear the original track so then it was hearable.

Fold back systems

With the fold back systems I used this to let me hear the recordings made and so I could also hear the original track. In the recording room this didn’t work so headphones were implemented so then the artist could hear the original to help out.

Talk back

When the talkback feature worked. It was useful for communicating with whoever was in the studio at the time. When the feature didn’t work we used a phone to talk to people in the studio.

Track sheets/Identifying tracks

To identify tracks I changed the colour so it was easy to know which instrument it goes with. This also keeps the organisation together with the different tracks.  

Listening for distortion

The guitar and bass I had to listen for the distortion in case the artist played a note too loud.

Checking playback

Checking playback was important so then I could listen for different types of clipping and sound errors in the recording.

Recording link:
https://soundcloud.com/user-516997306/brightside-cover/s-vuLiW

2: Communication Skills for Creative Media Production (Draft)

THE BEST REMIX OF Seven Nation Army EVER HEARD

No Headings, This makes it complicated to understand where everything is put in the article. Not too many screen shots. Screen shots are important in the work so then you can proove that you have actually done some of the work in cubase. Not Enough Detail Not Keeping formal tone Punctuation Mistakes Not enough detail Punctuation Mistakes Lack of commas, full stops or bad grammar  For the sound lesson we were asked to remix 1 of 3 songs they include: Smells Like Teen Spirit- Nirvana Do not use lists in this circumstance Seven Nation Army- White Stripes Happy- Pharrell Williams We could either do use a House, Dance and or Reggae style. For this project I chose Seven Nation Army in a Reggae style. To begin with I looked at the original song. ,The original song is This is memorable for its catchy and simple drumbeat and its Guitar style. For inspiration I looked up an already existing remix of Seven Nation Army in the a reggae style (it wasn’t the best). This gave me the motivation to do a better version of the other remix. I then put in the original song in the track so then you can tell that it is Seven Nation Army. Getting to Cubase I looked up different instruments and styles that traditional reggae singers would use in their work. I then Then I changed the track sound to a muted guitar Bass and a Steel Drum. I then started on trying to make reggae beat. Not enough detail During it the remix I rearranged some of the notes for example I rearranged the vocals so it was played Playing more than once. I then got the sheet music I then got to downloading the sheet music,  filled out the rest into Cubase. I then proceeded to input the notes in cubase. The employment that was involved in this remix involved a client-hired people to do a remix. The difference between a client and an employer involves, an employer pays other people to pay you, in a way they are higher in the food chain. A client is a customer or a receiver that pays people for different things. The different techniques that I used in the this track was the used different phrasing of the notes most of them were phrased different from the original version. This is sometimes a good thing so then you can hear the original in the remix. To keep the notes in order I also used quantization, only reason I needed to sort the notes outs means that I used the keyboard to input the notes which means I manually fed the notes through. I used dynamics to accent the notes to then it makes the notes sound better and to make sure that it sounds, most of the dynamics that I used were more louder than anything I also changed some keys to make it sound more alive. I Other type of techniques that I used in the creation was the Programme changing for the synthesis. This is also linked the phrasing of the notes that were used in the remix.  This is a quick example of what I used in the remix. One I also used the technique velocity. This is good so then you could tell the loudness of the style. This is a thing that I used a-lot in the remix, it made it sound better and less like the original.   To make the sound of the notes to sound a little bit different to the original I transposed the notes that made it sound different to the original. The last thing that I did was adding the vocals to the track. I looked up on the internet different ‘Seven nation army vocals only’ and then added it to cubase. When I made the remix the majority or things stayed the same like the accuracy of pitch which I didn’t really change the pitch as much I could've because reggae isn’t the easiest to change the pitch. When I inputted the notes into cubase I used different types of notes in the expression in the making of each of them thing that I inputted. I used chords on the first half, then used individual notes. The expressions that I used in the notes were accents and used grace to do really make the rhythm stand out. Another technique that I used in creating the remix is called real time input. This is essentially inputting the notes by the external keyboard that is supplied. I did also use step time input for when I wanted to put something in by hand but I didn’t rely on that all of the time, I used it when I didn’t really need to do anything in real time. In the remix the one thing that I didn’t think that went the best was the balance between reggae and another music genre. I believe that I was crossing the line very lightly, If I was to redo it I would have stuck to the reggae style and try not to wonder off to a different style of music. The vocals I downloaded from the song weren’t the best in quality, this is probably why the vocals are a bit overpowering to the ears so then it is harder to hear the actually remix itself. The type of audience that my remix is going to appeal to would mainly be the younger audience. This being that they would know the song and it they might come to appreciate a reggae style remix. If we were to release the remix to the public and it was being marketed, it would be good and produce some money. Most people like the song seven nation army and they most people love a reggae, this is good thing which would allow the person who actually made the remix a bit more of a profit. For the different types of genres that could have been used includes Jazz,  World music and Classical. These genres include different types in the way that they are played. Seven nation army by White stripes is revolutionary, this is because the original track's bassline. When it is compared to sales. The original track of seven nation army sold more than the remix. This maybe because people maybe not like the reggae feel to the song and probably not going to like the remix because they would prefer the original other than a remix that someone has done. Saying that, from my research. I have found out that most people like the feel and style of a reggae rhythm rather than a rock rhythm. TLDR; This remix is extremely complex, this has a lot of style and charisma. On keeping to the original I have also added aspect of the reggae genre.

 

Creative Arrangement

https://soundcloud.com/user-516997306/seven-nation-army-reggaewav

Mixing and Mastering Example

Mixing and Mastering Example

Stick together: https://soundcloud.com/user-516997306/mastering-stick-together1/s-8W8zi

Composition (my own): https://soundcloud.com/user-516997306/composition-mixed-and-mastered

Evidence for composition

Evidence of composition assignment

Structure

The structure of the composition that I have done includes a main piano rthy that I made up and other instruments like a cello and a violin, by the end of the composition I added a drum beat to make it sound more interesting.

Form

In terms of form I used logical instruments to try and get the best sounding from everything. The different types of instruments that are used to get. In terms of the planning side of the composition. Most of the techniques that I used were played into cubase.

Genre

In the composition the genre of the piece is more of a classical. But when getting to the end of the peace it turns into more of a house piece maybe even dubstep. This is because of the drum beat that was added at the end.

Statement
The statement was mainly used from different types of sections of the composition.

Repetition

In term of repetition, the part that is repeated the most is the ‘cello’ section. It is mainly repeating the same notes most of the time.

Inversion

Most of the I was either playing a note in the normal inversion. But I would sometimes add a different. The key I was in was D major. So I had to have some notes that I needed to play a F#

Difference

To keep it different from most classical pieces. I added a drum beat which wouldn’t of been expected. By how the piece sounds at the start.

Individuality

The composition has flare to it and This is invidual because I did most of this song on mhy own.

Originality
The song wasn't not copied off anywhere, some bits where from inspiration that I got from listening to someone else playing a different song.

Composers rights

Encase someone tries to copyright a song the song and you have never heard the original you would have to prove that you haven’t heard it. Composers rights are for copyright reasons only.

Unit 49- Mixing and Mastering

Task 1

Setting up a project

This is how you create a project in Cubase 6. We then add the different tracks with the different instruments on it.

We downloaded the different types of tracks from the VLE so then we can import them on cubase.

Here are the options that you can use to import the different types of tips. Whether you want them on the different tracks and whether you want them copied to the directory.

This is how we can play all of the tracks that we downloaded into cubase.

Colour coded and label tracks

Colour for the ‘stick together’ I used colour to keep it so then it is easier to keep track of each instrument. I also labelled my tracks to tell what instrument it is.  

This is the same premise for my composition piece as the stick together piece. It is all about the organisation and making sure that the instruments are the same colour and they are in the same family.

Removing unnecessary sound

In the stick together piece I removed the sound that was not being recorded. So then it wouldn’t sound bad. Combining with this, you could also hear the essex breathing. Most of this was removed. All of the breathing wasn’t removed because if I removed all of the breathing it would sound robotic, this is bad because it wouldn’t show a realistic feel to the track.

For my composition I broke up the unnecessary sound because either I was trying to think of something to play or I stopped playing because a separate sections were in use.

Grouping

Grouping is where you can add different types of instruments. Grouping makes it easier to add effects such as reverb and compression.

This is how I used the different types of groups that I used in my composition. I used this to make it quick and easy to mute my tracks.

Limiting

For my stick together cover I limited the brass instruments. This is because originally there were extremely overpowering. This will also cut out background noise that would have been recorded from the studio. This was also used in the vocals, while she was breathing.

I limited the clean slate synth because originally I thought that it was overpowering. Limiting is essentially limiting the sound that is played. This is how I used limiting in my composition.

Equalisation

Equalisation is manipulating the sound. In my work I have used this by making the bass sound a bit louder so then it is a bass heavy song. For my composition I used this to raise the violin sound and quieten it.  

Compression

Compression is where you can compress the sound to point out different points of the song. This is how I used compression in the guitar part of the song. The bottom image shows how I used compression in my composition. This is making the louder sounds quieter and the quieter sounds more loud.

 

Pan/Balance Track Out

I used pan in my work, this is essentially transmitting the sound either through the right side of the headphones or the left side. For my guitar part I put the audio more to the right more than anything. This is used in my work to get more for of the stereo feel to it.

In my composition I used this to produce a stereo feel to the tracks. This gives a better feels the SkyDrops parts to my composition

FX- Reverb, Distortion.

This is how I used reverb in the Pan flute for my composition. I essentially simulated a room and made the size of the room smaller so then it has a better effect. Distortion as well as a gate. A distortion guitar adds effect to the guitar and gate removes any unnecessary noise.

Expansion

Expansion is essentially the opposite of compression, this involves making the notes more louder. This is used in a decrease in pressure. We are expanding the dynamic range of the track rather than compressing it. In the two pieces I didn’t use this technique.

Exporting Methods

This method was used for both of my pieces. The essentially selects whatever is highlighted in blue.

While there is something selected on the track, we then have to export the track that is select. File >

     Export >

                 Audio Mixdown
For the format that we exported the tracks in we used a sample rate of 44.100khz. This is because most CD quality is in this sample rate. Also having it in a 16 Bit Bit Depth. This is also the normal standard for CD quality. We then exported it in the .wav file type. This is because .wav is a much higher quality as apose to over file types such as .mp3.