Sharp Practise
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5/23/2008 1:16:25 AM
Mixing in practice
Sorry I’m a bit late with this entry – it’s been a busy week. I got called in to do the Sunday live show on BBC Radio Manchester – I played three songs live and took part in a discussion about current events with a local politician and a comedienne. It all got a bit lively when we started off about the Sex and The City movie…
Anyway, this side project I’m involved with is with a girl singer – I’m the music writer working with a lyricist and acting as the engineer/producer on the sessions.
There’s a three song demo coming out of this and the important thing is to showcase the songs, so one of the keys is to get the balance right between an emotive performance and a clearly sung lyric. That takes a bit of psychology with the singer, and I find that if the performer understands what the song is saying then the appropriate performance follows. It certainly has in this case – what was a recital of words suddenly took on a life of its own.
Since any artist covering the songs will put their own spin (and producer) to work on them I’ve kept the featured instrumentation to a minimum – no long guitar solos need apply.
Also, no signature effects – more of a balance engineer’s role, making sure every instrument can be heard, is in its own place and space (left/right, back/front) and with the vocal sat into the song so that it is featured but doesn’t dominate.
All of which makes me think it’s easier to play something than say something!
I’ll be talking about the final choice of songs for the new album in the next entry in this saga, so please check back in a couple of weeks’ time.
Cheers,
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My-T-Hi
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5/23/2008 7:38:08 AM
That is an interesting article Kev.. Cheers.
.The last bit goes:
“I don't care what it does, how does it sound?” I think the engineering would get a lot better if engineers could start listening. Don't worry about throwing that thing up to that red line on the digital, and having just 3 dB of dynamic range left when you're doing a mixdown. Pay attention: dynamics are good, and if you know how to do dynamics right, the mix can still sound loud.
Sounds like good advice.
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