Recording - Bill Hare 
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Written by Bill Hare
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Tuesday, 18 September 2007 |
 This is a phrase I heard more than a few times during the "Soup To Nuts" A Cappella recording seminar put on each summer by Deke Sharon and myself. It's sad in a way how just one little piece of information here or a small concept there can make someone look back on a difficult experience, slap their forehead and say:
"If I had just known that one little thing back then, I would have saved many sleepless nights!"
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Written by Bill Hare
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Sunday, 15 July 2007 |
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I know I tend to repeat myself quite often in this column, but some points are just worth saying again and again!
In previous installments, I have mentioned about objectivity and the whole forest-for-the-trees issue ad nauseum. I (and other producer/engineers) frequently point our clients back to this column to (hopefully) give them a better understanding of the pitfalls and traps that have caught the many who have gone before them by surprise - including us producer/engineers! Be first to comment this article | Add as favorites (54) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 1738 |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 15 July 2007 )
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Written by Bill Hare
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Thursday, 24 May 2007 |
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Recently there was a discussion on the RARB Forum regarding the use of "scratch" tracks (performances used to inspire other performances, but this guide track won't make it to the final cut.) These differ from "cue" tracks in a couple key ways: A cue track is more of a template - a grid to lay out your musical work upon, where a scratch track is supposed to inspire emotion and feel into the equation.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 24 May 2007 )
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Written by Bill Hare
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Monday, 23 April 2007 |
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I recently asked for your input on things you would like to know – keep the questions coming, they’ve been great!
Samir asked:
I’d like to know ways you've seen young go-getters learn to record and mix!
And Rob replied:
I'm with Samir: how do you get a start doing what you do? There aren't really any established internship programs that I know of. So how would a young guy/gal get started.
Great question, guys!
The long and the short of it is that it all comes down to your talent and how hard you are willing to refine it. I know that sounds like the pat music school teacher answer, but hopefully I can break this down a bit more: Be first to comment this article | Add as favorites (46) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 2610 |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 25 April 2007 )
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Written by Bill Hare
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Wednesday, 28 March 2007 |
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Hello, it’s been awhile… I’m a month behind deadline on this blog article, and I’ll bet you’ve all wondered (especially Marty, our web editor here at CASA) where I’ve been!
I hardly know where the time has gone myself – this time of the year (March through May) is always just a blur for me, because the majority of Collegiate A Cappella groups are getting ready for their big Spring Shows in April and May, and to us engineer/producers that means mixing and mastering a ton of last-minute albums in a very short amount of time!
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 08 April 2007 )
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Written by Bill Hare
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Wednesday, 31 January 2007 |
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Today, we’ll talk about the bane of many a producer’s life – Editing! This is usually the most dreary and time consuming (and therefore expensive) part of the whole recording process, and a double edged sword for most people who do this work professionally – while it can be a “cash cow”, it’s also work that most of us don’t want to do even for a pile of money! It’s basically janitorial work – why pay skilled labor to clean your stinky bathroom? If you are doing your own recording, make sure you flush the toilet before sending the tracks out for mixing – it will be better for everyone involved!
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 01 February 2007 )
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Written by Bill Hare
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Monday, 18 December 2006 |
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I’ve decided to start a series based on recollections of certain recording sessions I’ve been involved with over the years. I think it could be informative and useful, as well as preserving a little Aca-studio history for the future. If any of you out there have suggestions about particular recordings to feature here, I’d love to hear about it. I’ll try to get some of the other producers involved in writing these, so it doesn’t necessarily have to be something I worked on myself.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 18 December 2006 )
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Written by Bill Hare
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Monday, 11 September 2006 |
What your group does live and what it can do on a CD are very different things. One thing I come across quite often is groups wanting such huge dynamics just because they do it that way live, but audio in different environments become very different beasts!
The main point is this - an album has to sound good in many different situations - in a car (competing with engine and wind noise), compressed to an mp3 on an iPod or computer speakers, as a traditional CD in a nice stereo, on a surround system where the bass is crossed over to its own subwoofer, through a boombox on the beach, over the radio, in compilations against other songs, and I can go on forever. One size will not fit all, but instead there is an average. Take a listen on a big hit song and pay attention to what you think are the “dynamics” – you’ll see that for the most part this is done with density of sound rather than volume. This is so that the song sounds stronger on average and that people don't have to constantly reach for their volume knob as dynamics go above and below the threshold of any ambient noise around them (in a car for example). For this reason, all pop/rock/R&B songs are squashed and these differences are made up for in attitude, timbre changes, etc.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 17 September 2006 )
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Written by Bill Hare
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Monday, 17 July 2006 |
Lately, as more and more DIY projects appear on my doorstep to be mixed, I’m seeing a lot of “overgridding” going on, especially in vocal percussion.
For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, recording in a computer these days tempts people to use their eyes as much as (or more than) their ears, because seeing is believing! I’m here to tell you that it ain’t necessarily so!
Rhythm, note values, and groove are 3 completely distinct things in my book. An eighth note high hat can be done any of a hundred ways at any given tempo. It can swing a little, or a lot, or stay completely on that ol’ grid when you’re doing your techno dance mix.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 22 July 2006 )
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Written by Bill Hare
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Tuesday, 30 May 2006 |
(Apologies in advance for what may be a confusing read at first, as these concepts can be much harder to explain than actually demonstrate, but it's well worth the effort of deciphering!)
I've been asked many times about tracks I've recorded where the song uses apparently free tempos, accelerandos, ritards, and fermatas. "Obviously, it wasn't done with a click track," they will say, "so how is it they are so in tune and right together in their phrasing?" Well... surprise! Most of the time a click track is used even in the most crazy of conductor situations, but it takes a more advanced understanding of MIDI to understand that you can have your cue track match your live performance feel, rather than have a stiff, static click in the background.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 01 June 2006 )
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Written by Bill Hare
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Monday, 08 May 2006 |
There was a discussion lately on the RARB Forum about the large number of highly-produced albums by some lesser known collegiate groups lately. Some people pining for the "good old days" of more natural sound hoping the trend will change soon. My personal feeling as one of the people from the "other side of the glass" is that much of this perceived overproduction is not intended as a "wow" factor, but merely a defense by groups who just want to keep up with the Jonesebubs!
Many of the posts in this thread were from people who were or are currently members of some of the better, ICCA winning groups out there. The point I think they might be missing is that we can't ALL be top-notch; some groups need a little more help than others, and one way to do this is by using technology to correct, cover up, or distract from their weaknesses.
There are more debut albums than ever coming out now from groups that didn't exist 2 years ago. Many of these groups are formed by "rejects" from a cappella auditions at their schools, and are well aware that they are in the shallow part of the pool when it comes to arranging, singing, vocal percussion, and everything else that makes a cappella cool (or uncool, depending on which magazines you read!)
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 11 May 2006 )
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Written by Bill Hare
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Monday, 27 March 2006 |
So, now I have to continue from my (hopefully entertaining) free associating from last month? Well, I mostly talked about the evolution of recording in that one, so I’ll talk about long-distance creativity in this one…whew, dodged that bullet!
As I said last month, the Internet has changed the way we do just about everything when it comes to communications – and we’re still at the beginning in this adventure! Today I was working with a group from Denmark, who sent me their files this morning. I had a rough mix by lunchtime (evening their time) which they were able to make comments on, and then I finished up based on those comments. This would have been unheard of just a few years ago (sorry, I still am amazed by this!)
One thing I’ve discovered that makes this sort of thing actually advantageous over actually being present for the mix is that it allows the producer to make ideas come to fruition quickly without the performer having to see the process, which can be uncomfortable…let me explain in yet another of my famous analogies:
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Written by Bill Hare
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Thursday, 23 February 2006 |
Such a cool world we live in these days! Transferring recording session files around the world instantly via the internet, being able to share musical ideas and discuss mixes back and forth without having to be on the same continent, even down to something as supposedly simple as keeping a backup copy of your music is something I couldn’t have even guessed at a quarter of a century ago! I know it just makes me sound old to marvel at this stuff to the many of you who just grew up with it, but the change in such a short amount of time is nothing short of amazing to those of us who lived through the transition:
Back when I started in this business (on analog tape) the idea – or even possibility - of having a backup of your master tracks was extravagant; most studios didn’t have 2 multi-track machines that could be connected together, and even it they did, the copy was inferior and only used in emergencies. The concept of sending that one and only master through the mail to be mixed by an engineer in another city, with so much of your blood, sweat, and tears in it, was a risk most artists wouldn’t take. Also, every time you pushed the record button, you were erasing the take before, so there was no “undo” if you erased that magic take! The tape itself was expensive, about $200 per 15 minute reel, so you really had to optimize every piece of magnetic real estate!
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 28 February 2006 )
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Written by Bill Hare
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Monday, 16 January 2006 |
Now we come to the part of recording that no amount of studio magic is going to help you with, though you can still take advantage of many techniques to make the studio work in your favor! I’m of course talking about all of the intangibles of artistic expression – performance, emotion, power, and general connection to the song and lyric.
First off, it’s always a good idea to know what you are singing about – singing the lyric “my dog is dead and my wife just left” with a big smile on your face means you probably haven’t quite connected to the lyric yet (or maybe you’re just a little sadistic), and even if you can’t be seen (being a recording and all) this will still convey in the listener’s ears.
This doesn’t only apply to lyrics or lead vocals. If you don’t know why you change from “jen jen jen jigga jen jen” to “ahhhhhhhhhhhh ahhha aaaahhhhh ahhhh ohhhh” between the verse and chorus, maybe it’s a good idea to find out that you’re a guitar in one part and a saxophone in the next. Keeping this in mind as you do these parts is half the battle – BE the instrument…BE the person who has just had their heart broken…Just don’t be the person worried about “singing”… let others worry about that part and you just concentrate on connecting with your part, at the same time connecting to the song.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 07 February 2006 )
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Written by Bill Hare
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Monday, 12 December 2005 |
Eric asked in the VP Forum:
OK, so I've recorded on a half-dozen albums, but I've never really been able to determine the BEST way to record VP. I've done one track of basic kick-snare, and then gone back and added all the other stuff; I've done snare only, then added kick drum on a separate track; I've done the whole thing live. I guess I'm looking for other possibilities. How do YOU record your VP?
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To which I replied:
Wow, Eric - are you sure you want to hear the answer to this one?
After many hundreds of albums, I still don't have THE answer, because I've learned there isn't one. It's always a combination of techniques that seem to work, but "best" is another question entirely!
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 07 February 2006 )
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Written by Bill Hare
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Saturday, 08 October 2005 |
In a previous article I talked about accidental stuff that makes its way into the final cut of a song. This time I will talk about ways you can do it (and reasons you should) on purpose!
The majority of Pop Music, when broken down to its theoretical roots, can quickly become pretty predictable math: 4 beats to a measure, bar after bar, grouped in tidy bundles of 8, 12 or 16 to make up verses, choruses, and a bridge. Simple, predictable numerical chord sequences repeating over and over within these groups add to this structure a very "meat and potatoes" approach to music - not a lot of theory needed to write a pop song, so why has this style of music lasted so long? This also applies to a lot of folk music, which has been around for hundreds of years, and many songs have yet to be written using the same 3 chords that make up "On Top Of Old Smokey".
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 07 February 2006 )
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Written by Bill Hare
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Sunday, 24 July 2005 |
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One of the most overused buzzwords in the a cappella community is "Auto-Tune," though a great majority of people talking about it don't know exactly what it is. Widely loved and hated, sometimes within the same breath, this program (and others like it) can wield great results if used properly, or can turn your group into robots if abused. I liken it to painting your car: you can go down to the hardware store and buy a few cans of spray paint, and in less than an hour, your car is another color. The rust spots are gone, and it might be an improvement on the original ugliness, but everyone will still know you used spray paint. You can also strip the car down, prime it, apply layers of good enamel, bake it on, and buff to a high shine - much more work, but the results are worth it. Auto-Tune will work in both of these ways, depending on how much time and effort you want to put into it. Be first to comment this article | Add as favorites (45) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 2504 |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 26 July 2005 )
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Written by Tat Tong (for Bill Hare)
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Sunday, 19 June 2005 |
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This next column was much easier for me to write, since I didn't write it! I wanted to have someone with more "homebrew' experience do a guest column for me, and Tat Tong came through!
by Tat Tong
From the cutting-edge sound of Code Red by the Tufts Beelzebubs, to the silky, tight harmonies of In The Pocket by York Wibijazz'n, it is clear that a cappella has come a long way from its humble origins. Lots of music sounds just as good-if not better than-what you're hearing on the radio currently. We listen, we admire. And then we pale at the cost that recording such projects must necessarily entail. Right?
Wrong!
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 02 January 2007 )
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On the RARB Forum, Eric Olsen wrote:
