Practical work

Here I will include examples of work I have previously done in similar areas to this I intend to carry out my project in.

Here is an example of a studio recording carried out as part of my band for my EP on which I acted as bass player and also aided in the editing and mixing processes:

http://soundcloud.com/moleman23/03-the-insider

Here is an example of the same song, recorded during a live performance on which I also played bass and aided in some basic mixing:

http://soundcloud.com/moleman23/the-insider-live

These have been put up to demonstrate that i have ability in the field I intend to study this year and have already explored elements of the concept to some extent.

Research

As part of my research I viewed "Back and Forth", a documentary about the Foo Fighters, released around the same time as "Wasting Light" the fore-mentioned album released around the same time. I had hoped the documentary would reveal information about the bands recording process on this album, however, his proved relatively fruitless as any references to the recording process were brief and over simplified to make them accessible to general viewers.

I also read through "The Science of Musical Sound: Revised Edition" (S.R. Pierce 2000). As the title suggests, this book gives basic information on sound, which acted as something of a refresher course for a lot of what I had covered in college but was helpful none the less. Also, within this book I came across this quote "Sound quality isn't everything. We can enjoy conventional works that we have heard before even when they are poorly reproduced - as long as they are well played" (Page 168). Whilst I would contest the authors claim about the quality of production, the belief that the initial performance is more important does tie in nicely with the recording process of my recording.

I also looked at "http://www.aes.org/aeshc/docs/sel-sync/snyder_sel-sync.pdf" which is an article entitled   "Sel-Sync and The 'Octopus': How Came to be the First Recorder to Minimize Successive Copying in Overdubs" In short this article discusses how legendary guitarist, Les Paul, commissioned the Ampex Corporation to build an 8 track recorder capable of recording to different tracks at different times, essentially the first step towards modern conventional multitrack.

I looked at "Basic Mixing Techniques' by Paul White, another book which acted as some what of a refresher course for me and will prove more useful to the practical part of my project rather than my written work. However, it is made clear from the way the author writes that views the style of music in which I intend to work with some contempt, which made me sceptical of his writings in the field.

I also viewed "Microphone Techniques: Live Sound Reinforcement" a Shure Education Publication. This publication gives in depth information on microphone types and techniques and how these can be applied to different instruments. it also provides useful information such as frequency response and dB levels which will once again be of useful to me for the practical aspects of my project, although perhaps not the written elements.

In addition, I found through Summon "Live Sound Fundementals" by Bill Evans. This gives an in depth overview of the equipment and performance (or "Gear" and "Gig", to use the terminology of the book) aspects of live musical sound. I feel in particular, the second part of this book "Gig" may have some information which I may be able to employ during the recording of my project, as this will be run in a similar manner to a live show.

Also, as part of my research I read an article entitled "MICHAEL JACKSON 'Black Or White' | Classic Tracks" by Richard Buskin in Sound production based periodical "Sound on Sound". The article was published in the August 2004 edition of "Sound on Sound" and is based upon an interview with one of the engineers of Michael Jacksons "Bad" album, Bill Bottrell. The article discusses the writing and recording process of the album, and although this was carried out in a completely different manner to the method I intend to employ, however it may provide useful context when trying to give my own project context.

General Musical Inspiration

This post will show a variety of bands who have shaped me as a musician, which whilst not directly relevant to my project or course, I do not feel I would be on my current academic path were I not a musician. Due to this, I feel everyone of these bands is relevant to this blog.

Greenday are one of the first bands I started listening to when I first became interested in music, and on first picking up and instrument, my style of play was heavily influenced by their bass player, Mike Dirnt.

The Offspring were, once again, one of the bands I began listening to when i first became interested in music. Incidently, this particular song was the very first thing I ever learned how to play on a bass guitar and again, influenced my style of play as a fledgling musician.

First Draft Project Map

I produced an initial project map in an attempt to make it clear and accessible for myself and others to see what it is that i intend to do over the course of my project.

Inspiration

This track employs aspects of the recording technique I wish to employ within my project, as the main components of it (guitar (but not solo), bass and drums) were recorded with bass player and guitarist in the drum room, with their amplifiers being simultaneously recorded in a separate room, allowing the musicians to react to one another whilst recording.

Inspiration

This track represent the Foo Fighter most recent album "Wasting Light" as a whole. This entire album was recorded in front man, Dave Grohls garage, using analogue equipment. After this, the album was mixed without any of the original recording being cut or edited, which is similar to the process I intend to  employ during my mixing process. However, I will be recording directly into a digital system rather than using analogue equipment.

Inspiration

As mentioned in my previous post, a discussion with Michael Byron Hehir, the guitarist of this band (photographed front left) in which he revealed that the main chorus guitar part (first heard from 0:35-0:55) is quantised, as the guitarist whose part this was (David Ramsden, photographed back left) was unable to play it correctly. 

Inspiration

Another example of modern rock music using similar mixing methods to those I intend to employ is "The Hunter" by Mastadon, in which the drums are not quantised or sampled. This means, aside from the standard mixing (eg. EQ or compression) the drums heard are an accurate representation of how they were played.

Initial concept development

As a creative what inspires, motivates & intrigues you?

As a creative sound production student, I draw inspiration from a wide variety of different and sometimes unusual sources. However, in relation to my course, and in particular relation to my project, I am heavily inspired by talented bands, singers and songwriters, and in fact, music as a whole.

The inspiration for my project stemmed from two separate conversations. The first with the guitarist/singer/song writer of an unsigned Manchester band, From Embers. We were discussing the recording of the debut track from the bands EP "I've Never Been Better", and it was revealed to me that the main guitar part during the chorus of the song was quantised (recorded note by note then pieced together).

This in turn sparked a conversation between myself and fellow creative sound production students, Brian Diamond and Daryl Robertson. During this conversation, we discussed how few bands reproduced the sound from their albums live, and how in many cases, over production and engineering makes it physically impossible for them to do so.

These conversations brought me to the possibility of creating a track which was more focussed on the musical performance, with limited production and editing added to the track, to see if it possible to create a recording in this way which will still be perceived by others as a conventionally produced track.


How do you research / explore ideas? Words, sounds, images, style & observations.

I research by first looking online for specific phrases or terminology relevant to my topic of study in order to find topical works which I can use to further my knowledge.

In the case of my honours project, I have decided to break my research area down into key components, as I feel “Recording of a live band within a studio environment” is overly specific, regardless of how it is phrased. Instead I have decided to look for information on Musical Performance, Studio Recording, Live Sound, Live Recording and Perception of Music.

I also intend to look a recording carried out in a similar manner or involving similar aspects to my recording, of which there are various examples. I will also look at example of conventionally produced work in order to allow me to outline what is meant by “conventional” thus allowing me to put my own project into context.


How do you communicate, interpret, define, story & experience ideas
I can most simply communicate my ideas by carrying out rough test recordings which will be coupled with short explanations within my blog or blogs. I may also show examples of previous work which have relevance to my project. Eg. Live or studio recordings with which I have been involved in in the past.

Concept development

I produced an initial mind map in an attempt to give myself clear fields in which to carry out research.