Art is expensive. To attempt to record an album, one must either have the funds to buy or rent the necessary gear or have the funds to buy or rent a recording studio. High school students are an often artistically-interested group of people who don’t have the funds to bring their sonic dreams to life. For my capstone project, I have provided these resources to students. I know many music-makers within our high-school and within the school district of Philadelphia who didn’t have a place to start with getting their music into the world, and I became that bridge for them. The basement studio that my dad and I (mostly my dad) have put together is much higher fidelity than what most kids have access to. Even with minimal production, live takes recorded in my basement sound relatively good compared to garage band in a bed room.Over the course of the year, I have invited youth artists into my basement to record releases for them. Then, I send them the files, mix the tracks (poorly, because I don't know how to mix) if they want me to, and leave them with their music. Through this, I have learned a lot about organization, sound engineering, collaboration, music composition, music production, and musicianship. This capstone has no single, culminating product, for it is an ongoing process. Here, though, are some samples from what we've all recorded, for your listening pleasure:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B0T3TfgbUkpEbjhDX3R6UG4zZ2c
Annotated Bibliography:
Morgan, Scott. "The Differences Between Music Producers & Engineers." The Differences Between Music Producers & Engineers | Chron.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. This is a very simple website with some more jargon that isn’t necessarily covered in the “Jargonbuster” source. This source discusses the differences between producers and recording engineers as well as the similarities between producers and recording engineers. It gives thought to what producing and what record engineering entail, and what producers and recording engineers have to do in their jobs. The source even talks about how one becomes a producer or a recording engineer. For my capstone, I have to balance the involvement of a producer with the technicality of a recording engineer. Being the only third-party voice while I work with artists means that I have to carefully curate what I bring to the table.
Baca, Ricardo. "As albums fade away, music industry looks to shorter records." Timesfreepress.com. N.p., 4 Jan. 2010. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. This is a look at what consumers want, or at least at what executives think they want. Though I’m not taking the capitalist angle in my capstone, I think it is valuable to see every angle of the industry in which my capstone dwells. I think this contrast between the record industry at large and the often unprofitable DIY artists I see in Philadelphia is very interesting. Many of the DIY accts in Philly seem comparably marketable to big-label bands. Basement shows feature tunes that are at least as catchy as radio rock tunes, yet they remain relatively fringe. I think part of the reason is the difficulty they have in recording all that they want to at a high enough quality. My service allows these bands to enter that pantheon.
Bryan-Kinns, Nick. "Mutual Engagement in Social Music Making." Research Gate. University of London, May 2011. Web. This source describes design features intended to increase mutual engagement in social music and presents a set of techniques for identifying mutual engagement in music making. Though this source focuses on digital platforms for music creation, the philosophy that they apply to such platforms is informative for the philosophy regarding my capstone. It believes that overbearing edits can hurt collaboration, which is useful knowledge in songwriting and studio work, and it has the data to back it up. It also suggests that sharing space, virtually or physically, can improve musical output. Above all else, it considers “mutual engagement,” an academic term for “teamwork,” to be the high water mark of collaborative music making. In my project, I have to be committed to being involved with what artists want to see in their music. This source’s message of collaboration will inform how I work in the studio.
Byrne, David. How music works. Edinburgh: Canongate, 2012. Print. Who would know how music works better than David Byrne? It is autobiographical in its mentions of the history of Talking Heads and its history of Byrne’s influences, but it really does address the titular concept. David Byrne’s fixation on musical spaces (like African plains or like cramped New York clubs) is very informative. Given that the bands I record all play shows in basements and record their music in basements, this awareness of space is important. It changes how the music should be recorded, and perhaps how it should be appreciated. It moves me to consider what I’m missing out in in this experience: how different would my capstone be were I recording affluent, popular arena artists? It would likely be a lot less freeing and a lot less fun.
Morton, David L. Sound recording: the life story of a technology. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins U Press, 2006. Print. This source is now ten years old, but many of the technologies in recorded sound relevant then are relevant now, the difference being that we stream rather than download and our music is on our phones rather than our .mp3 players. The important technology that unites this era with that era is the relatively recent portability and accessibility music. This book’s account of the rise of portability in music sets the scene very well for the bandcamp era that my capstone finds itself in. The most important thing I glean from this is how special my recording setup is. It would barely have been conceivable 20 years ago to have an affordable recording studio in one’s home; accessible music recording was rare at the time of this book’s publication and even today. This source really reaffirms my belief that my access to this technology is special and that I am doing a special good for those who record with me.
Stearns, Matthew. N.p.: Bloomsbury Academic, 2007. Print. 33 1/3. The record that this book deals with has a sound simultaneously harsh and lush. It very rarely features instrumentation beyond the standard guitar, bass, and drum combination. The studio is used in this album to help the many layers of guitars find different tones and different sorts of interplay. This book thoroughly examines the impact of the music, the image of the band, and the process of recording it. All of these angles are informative for my capstone. The reasons for the album’s success are applicable because they may be the reason that anything I record is found to be successful.
"Stories from a Pro: Butch Vig." Butch Vig: 20 Years After Nevermind. Izotope, n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. In this interview with Butch Vig, Vig, among other things, compares the process of recording Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and Garbage. For “roomy, trashy” stuff with Garbage, he used lots of ambient miking, whereas for Smashing Pumpkins’ “Siamese Dream,” he close mic'd amps for a direct, “in-your-face” sound. This source is most definitely trying to sell something, but if the parts where references to the website’s product are shoehorned, this is a pretty good interview. Ambient vs direct miking is a constant consideration in recording, especially in my capstone. Knowledge about how organization in the studio affects overall sound is important, as is knowledge about the phase shift that may come with it. Interviews with great recording engineers helps me to make my own decisions.
Taylor, Gregory. "History of the Oblique Strategies." History of the Oblique Strategies. N.p., 1995. Web. 03 Feb. 2017. This source is a history of Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies, including all of the Strategies. They exist to inspire people in the studio to try new things when old things don’t work, in very abstract ways. Considering Eno’s success in the studio and his reliance on the cards, I’d guess that they’re working. The cards make me long for free time I can spend soundscaping with artists in the basement, finding tones that fit moods. My role as an engineer/producer should be inspiring musicians when something doesn’t sound the way they’d hoped, or worse, when something sounds the way they’d hoped and they realize they don’t like it. These alternate angles will assist me in that.
Tingen, Paul. "Steve Albini." Sound on Sound. N.p., Sept. 2005. Web. Steve Albini is a god among record engineers. His philosophies about what an engineer should do, what a producer should do, and what musicians should do in studio inform my philosophies on the same topic. In this interview, he actually talks about the logistics of recording, which is fascinating. I obviously don’t have access to the breadth of gear that he does, but with what I have, I can try to emulate his setup. Regarding vocal compression, which I always find tremendously difficult to get right, Albini says “I normally compress the vocals about 4-6 dB or something like that — generally, at the quietest passages the compressor is not doing anything, and at the loudest passages it's doing 4-6 dB." I’ll think of that whenever I’m in the basement.
Wilkie, Godric. The Studio Musician's Jargonbuster A Glossary of Music Technology and Recording. N.p.: Musonix.co.uk - J Robertson, 1993. Print. This source is exactly what it sounds like it is, a glossary of terms related to the art of recording. These terms are useful in songwriting and in studio work. They are are a language unique to musicians of all sorts. Terms like “mode” are used by songwriters and music theorists, but for an engineer, understanding the language of those that they record is invaluable. It all relates back to collaboration (which happens to be a core value of the Science Leadership Academy) and communication. Also, definitions of words I’ve taken for granted, such as “amplifier,” are interesting to see. Everything in music engineering seems to be less like a single thing and more like a parameter that lots of technology fills.
