Music Genre Globe

It's fairly common to hear people say "Today's music is just isn't the same as it used to be."

That's true. Very true. The whole industry is different. The rules of the business are different. Management, distribution, promotion, manufacturing, production, recording. It's all different now.

Lot's of people say the music industry is worse off. I don't agree with that. Today, music is more accessible than it has ever been. All you need to do to create a song, know how to play an instrument and use a computer (not really, but I'm simplifying). All you need to do to is find new music, do some searching online, or setup smart suggestions. Anyone can create music and record it now. And that's great! Now we don't need to wait for record labels to sift through music for us in order to tell us what we should listen to next. We can do a music search on itunes, rhapsody, myspace, etc. and we can employ smart algorithms that categorize the music we already own in order to make suggestions on what we also might like. For example, Itunes uses what's called "Genius", a system that defines our listening patterns and preferences of music that we already own. It does this by correlating data from the number of play counts, skip counts, ratings, playlists, and genres that we have in our own library, with data from millions of other users all over the world. It can match up our favourite music to other people's favourite music and make a guess at what we might also like. It's easier than ever to find new music, we just have to allow the "cloud" access to a little bit of data about our listening habits. Anyway, I'm off topic.

Why would someone think today's music industry sucks? Music is now what it should be. Musicians that are passionate about what they're doing can focus on writing and recording, and can release their music to the entire world, completely under their own power, and unopposed by labels or record execs. This, as opposed to the old system  that makes entry into the business nearly impossible for the average artist, and allows labels to put together flavors of the month that are easy to manufacture and quick to sell. Musicians don't become multimillionaires anymore, it's not really a system that you can pump out a couple one-hit-wonders and sell a billion. Sure, the crap still exists, but it doesn't make nearly as much money as it used to be, before the internet took off. Music consumers have more choice, and they're much more discerning about what they choose to listen to. There will never be another backstreet boys or Brittany Spears in the sense of a new artist reaching that level of fame and profitability.

The bulk of the music industry now resides on the long tail of the graph. Where million dollar hits are the head, and the band that practices down the street from your house is somewhere within the tail, it's more profitable for distributors to focus on the tail. Digital distribution doesn't distinguish between big million dollar hits and a band that sells a couple albums per year. But more money is made, accumulatively, on those once-a-year tracks because the lists are nearly endless. It's the same business model as Amazon, everything is equally accessible. There is a now a viable market for extremely narrow, specific, niche interests. The internet does not discriminate.

"But there's so much music out there, too much to even search through."

When you do a google search for a new couch, do you just type in "couch"? No, you type in "couch, red, 3 seater, heated, leather, reclinable, electric massage, self cleaning, 4 wheel drive, cup-holders, built-in automatic nut scratcher." So why would you expect that when you search "jazz" or "metal" that you're going to get a custom tailored list of all your favourite bands that you just haven't heard of yet?

Today's music distribution system is setup like any other searchable content on the internet: it relies on tags, economic data, similarities, keywords, and relevance. The system doesn't just search band names, it searches between genre's, production styles, release dates, play counts, skip counts, ratings, customer suggestions, and "…also bought…" data. If you own Ben Fold's new cd, what can you say about it? You might say they're a piano rock band, melodic, with a clever lyrical writing style.

Itunes can say a bit more:

You've rated 3 Ben Folds songs with 5 stars. 400 other users also rated those same songs with 5 stars. You have Ben folds in 6 playlists that also contain: Cake, Elliott Smith, The Shins, Weezer. 250 other people also have playlists that contain some or all of those artists. Your play-count for certain Ben Fold's songs is 3 times higher when played with other songs in the "rock, piano" genre. In your play history your skip count of Ben Folds is lower when you're only playing the most recent album, which means you like the newer Ben Folds more. People in your region who purchased Ben Folds concert tickets also purchased Weezer and Metric concert tickets. Therefore, suggestion tools thinks, that you might like Weezer's new album.

"Wow, I do!"

It used to be that record labels were your smart suggestion tools. If you liked one band signed to a fairly genre-specific label, you might like other bands signed to the same label. Sometimes I just look up the myspace pages of the record labels of my favourite bands and see who else they're releasing. It's easy and it works, but it's important to know that the more itunes knows about the music you listen to, the more specific it can get, and the farther down the tail it can suggest.

The statement "there's just too much music out there to even search for," is false. Searching for new music isn't about listening to an endless stream of songs, one after the other until you find something you like.

That's about the same as throwing a fishing line in the ocean and expecting to catch only tuna. You have to get a couple of boats and use some nets. The real strategy is about setting up a system of effective filters that sift through the content for you. That's what the internet is about. When you set up your filter, tweak it, or allow it to customize itself for you to based off your habits, then you create an effective system that is able to make relevant choices for you. The magic words are: "content filtering"

The music industry is better than ever now. It's harder than ever to make it big (as in, millionaire rockstar), but it's easier than ever to make a modest living as a band, and the people that actually stick with it now are the ones that do it for the music, not for the money and not for fame and fortune. It's just my opinion, but those kinds of people make the best kinds of music, and I would buy their album twice and a couple T-Shirts just to make sure they don't have to go back to working at Starbucks (haha). I read an interesting status message of one of my favourite bands, Periphery. "We're a T-Shirt design company that also makes music." That's a cool way to think about it if you're into making money from music.

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Mastering

Audio mastering is one of the most important and final steps in the album making process. Mastering is the audio step that comes just before manufacturing a CD.  Ideally, the engineer builds a cohesive and consistent sound for an album by tweaking various settings such as EQ, levels, compression, stereo spread and unnecessary background noise.  When the recording and mixing process of a song is finished, it is then shaped, scooped, sculpted, equalized, compressed and finessed into a finished product giving depth, punch, clarity and volume to the track, and allowing it to sound consistent on all mediums.

Before CDs and digital technology was invented, mastering was done using a mechanical processes involving the master recording being cut directly to a disc during the recording while still in a studio. In the 1940s, with the advent of the magnetic tape, mastering process was separated from the recording process. Mastering became a skilled craft making the sound of the songs better.  The process and steps required can vary depending on the quality of the original audio.

The three main types of mastering are Glass mastering, Photoresist mastering and Dye-polymer mastering. Glass mastering uses glass as a substrate to hold the master image of the CD while it is being processed and created. This requires a room free of contaminants like dust for minor scratches will affect the quality of the CD. Photoresist mastering uses a light sensitive material that forms the data contained on the surface of a CD and lands on the master blank by using a blue or ultraviolet laser. Dye-polymer mastering uses a laser to record onto the dye-polymer creating pits in specific areas making more accurate pit depths than photoresist mastering, this is also known as Non-photoresist mastering or NPR.

You can appreciate mastering when you listen to an audio recording both before and after it has been mastered. Audio before mastering is usually described as having an amateur sound; there could be a hissing sound in the background, levels may vary from song to song, and the master might sound completely different depending on the system it is being played. Some sound may vary throughout the track, some sounds will be louder compared to others and there could be gaps of silence in between tracks which will not be noticed if it has been mastered properly. By mastering, you can optimize average and peak volume levels giving the recording the proper loudness.  You can also arrange the tracks in its final sequence and control the timing of spacing between tracks. You can remove unwanted noises and clean up the start and ending of each track including fades. In mastering, exceptional hearing and technical expertise are supported by creativity and artistic intuition.

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If you want to add some punch to your drums without losing dynamic expression, which is so important to the ‘feel’ of a drum sound, then parallel compression is the right technique to use. It refers to mixing a dry signal with a heavily compressed copy of itself. The dynamics in the dry signal are preserved while the compressed signal adds body and character to the overall sound. It works for any instrument, but on drums and vocals in particular, the added character can really bring a track to life.

In older analog recording days, records were generally mixed with the vocals a lot louder than the backing track. They usually put a lot of reverb on the backing track to make it blend more in to the background with the lead vocal dry and upfront. A good example for this is Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presly.  In 1970 Motown invented the Exciter Compression technique which was the very first type of parallel compression. They would split the lead vocals into two different channels in an analog console. Then they added some light EQ and some reverberation in the first channel. On the second channel they compressed the hell out of the vocal signal and added a lot of high end EQ (around 5,000 cycles and up). Now they had two channels of lead vocals; one natural with EQ and reverberation, and one heavily compressed with tons of high end EQ. They then blended the second channel with the original channel just enough so it gave the lead vocal excitement. The end result of this technique was that they ended up with natural sounding vocal, clear and audible at all times with a sparkly and bright touch. Because of this innovative technique from the 70’s, it has paved a way and provided a key factor for bring a brighter sound to your mix. Parallel compression works exactly the same as the Motown Exciter Compression but without the big chunk of EQ settings.

Parallel compression was originally developed by the mix engineers from New York, which is why it is famously called the New York compression. These guys did a good job in bringing the recording and mixing techniques to a new level. This technique has made records sound more clear, lively, and real which is far better than the how they used to do it in the early days.

Parallel Compression’s intention is to maintain the performance characteristics of an instrument or sound source, but with way more and better stabilized dynamics. The compressor settings are set in a way that causes the compressor to pump and breath. Blending both signals will result in a more human than static sounding compressor.

Parallel Compression

http://guerillarecording.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/parallel-compression-aka-new-york-compression/

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GLaDOS voice can be created by two ways using a Melodyne. They are The Quality Choice: Bob’s System and The Budget Choice: Segfaultii’s Method.

In the Bob’s System there are 4 steps which is to be followed:

1. A sample voice is to be created. This has to be done by typing what has to be said and the audio file has to saved and edited in Sonar 6.
2. A new project is to be shaped, open up sonar 6 and the new audio file just created has to be imported. Then right click on the first track and the V-Vocal has to be opened. The following knobs 100 Vibrato:0 Sense:100 Pitch Follow:100 Shift:10 has to be adjusted and the file can be exported once this is completed.
3. The file once again has to be imported and the melodyne has to be opened up.  Then the entire sound is to be selected by ctrl A. Then the second button at the top has to be clicked, move down one until you see “pitch modulation” and release. Double click on one of the red chunks and you will see almost all of the lines connecting the audio disappear. You can now hit the second button again, and dis select the entire audio clip. Now you have to drag each chunk of voice up and down until you arrive at what sounds exactly like GLaDOS. Once done, export your file.
4. Audacity is to opened up and if felt necessary echo can be added to it as in games. This can be done by selecting the entire audio clip and looking it under effects for “GVerb”. Then it can be finally exported as an MP3.

In Segfaultii’s Method there are 3 steps:

1. A voice sample is to be created.
2. The file has to be imported by selecting the entire sample by pressing Ctrl A. Then the second button at the top is to be clicked, move down one until you see “pitch modulation” and release. Double click on one of the red chunks and you will see almost all of the lines connecting the audio disappear, if not, try another spot. Now select the formant tool next to the one you just selected, and type 150 in the nearby box followed by enter. You can now hit the second button again, and dis select the entire audio clip. Now you have to drag each chunk of voice up and down until you arrive at what sounds exactly like GLaDOS. Once done, export your file.
3. Audacity is to be opened up and if felt necessary echo can be added to it as in games. This can be done by selecting the entire audio clip and looking it under effects for “GVerb”. Then it can be finally exported as an MP3.

Audio- Video Example can be seen in the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oQn66gvwKA

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The Sub kick is a large diaphragm microphone (actually, an 8″ speaker wired in reverse) that basically only picks up sounds at about 500Hz and below. Used with a regular kick mic (Beta 52, D112, D6), it can help fill in some additional low end, especially in the 60-120Hz range. It will also pick up some of the low end of 16 & 18 floor toms.

Speakers and microphones are both known as “transducers”, and they work on the same principles. Although one is normally meant to produce sound, and the other captures it. You can actually wire a speaker or microphone in reverse to perform its opposite function, and this is exactly what we’re doing with a sub kick.

We can make one sub kick for about $30 or $50. To build a sub kick, at first you take a speaker, preferably something around 6 – 9″. Then you need to solder the wires to an XLR cable. Take the XLR cable, cut off the end, and wire the positive (+) of the cable to the negative(-) on the speaker. Vice versa for the other wire, and then take the common ground and wire it straight to the speaker chassis.

There are several concepts about using a speaker as a microphone and using this for a kick mic has been done for many years. You will get the best results from a 10″ or 8″ soft mounted (i.e. soft edge, hi-fi, not hard edged guitar) speaker like the bass driver to an NS10 or similar. To make a low-priced sub kick we can use any old 8″ or 10″ speaker.

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Reamping is a process used in multitrack recording in which a previously recorded audio track is routed back out of the editing environment and run through external processing, reverb chamber, or amplifier with the intention of adding effects, ambience, or modified tonality. The technique is used mostly for guitars (including bass) because it facilitates a separation of guitar playing from guitar amplifier and effects processing.

***note: This technique also useful for softening stereo drum tracks. By pointing the monitors away from each other and miking each speaker individually, the stereo image can be preserved and a new depth can be added to the track. It’s important to check that the microphones being used are in phase to avoid problems with the mix. I’ve used reamping with drums as an experimental way of beefing a snare track: I routed the output of my recorded snare track and sent it to my practice bass amp.  I tipped the bass amp on it’s back, put a tambourine on the speaker, and mic’d the tamborine with a dynamic mic.  It resulted in a pretty cool and original sounding snare track; not necessarily what I would use for all my recordings, but it was fun, and sometimes whatever makes a recording sound different is good.

How it happens:
A guitarist records a dry, un-processed, un-effected track into the record device. This is usually achieved by connecting the guitar into a DI (direct inject) buffer box fed to a recording device. Many new audio interfaces include HiZ guitar inputs, so if you have one of these you can skip the step of DI’ing. At a later time, the dry, direct, un-processed guitar recording is fed to a reverse DI box and then to a dedicated guitar amplifier and external effects boxes. The guitar amplifier is placed in the live room or isolation booth of the recording studio and is adjusted for desired tonal quality (distortion, room reverberation, etc.). A microphone is placed near the guitar speaker and a new track is recorded, producing the re-amplified, processed track. External effects (stomp boxes, pedals, virtual guitar processors, etc.) can also be added into the re-amping process. Re-amping allows guitarists and other electronic musicians to record their tracks and go home, leaving the engineer and producer to experiment with a range of effects, mic positions, speaker cabinets, amplifiers, effects pedals, and overall tonality – continuously replaying the pre-recorded tracks while experimenting with new settings and tones. When a desired tone is finally achieved, the guitarist’s dry performance is re-recorded, or “re-amped,” with all added effects.

*** note: Often, the guitarist’s signal is sent to both recorder and guitar amp simultaneously, providing the guitarist with a proper amplifier “feel” while also tracking a dry signal. An alternative to this would be to put your recording device in the middle of the chain: guitar -> recording device -> guitar amplifier, and using the amplifier to monitor the guitar.  With a low-latency recording device, you can record your dry guitar signal, monitor through your amplifier, and also take advantage of playback through your amplifier.

More info on DI’s:
Direct inject (DI) is a device or technique for connecting an unbalanced, high-impedance, low-level signal (commonly a guitar pickup) into audio equipment designed for a low-impedance balanced signal (such as a DAW). Reverse-DI means running this same device or technique in reverse – connecting a high-level (typically balanced, low-impedance) signal into audio equipment that was designed for low-level, unbalanced, high-impedance signals, such as a guitar amplifier. Playing back a signal from recording studio equipment directly into a guitar amplifier can cause unwanted side-effects such as input-stage distortion, treble loss or overemphasis, and ground-loop hum; therefor it is important to output your audio signal from your recording equipment as a HiZ output, or buy a reverse DI to convert your line level output to a HiZ guitar output.

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Since music is usually at the head of my priorities and thoughts, I thought it safe to create a blog about my life, and name it after my music and recording exploits.

Hence,

The Guerilla Recording Blog

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Two of the four members live here as well, and they practice fairly regularly on Tuesday and Thursday nights.  The drummer and singer of Tenant have studied music on a professional level for some time, and one of them has attained his Bachelor of Music.  As well, both of them teach music to kids in their spare time. The other two members of the band write and record fairly regularly on their own home digital audio workstations and are constantly striving to discover new bands and new sounds.  Needless to say, any time I come home, there is some form of music being played on the living room speakers, and talk often circles around the subject of new music, or plans for the band.

This is familiar territory for me, and it’s been a common theme for me to be living, working, and playing amongst artists and musicians most of my life.  Only now does it occur to me that a life constantly surrounded by music and it’s creators and contributors is not exactly a common one.  People don’t often get to experience the process of writing and recording music with the intention to release it to the world. I don’t want to sound cliche, but the first time you hear a song after or as it’s being recorded is nothing short of magical.  It’s exciting to be around a musician as he/she is feverishly frankensteining together a piece of music from thin air.  By the time an artist is ready to show even their closest friends anything they’ve put together in a demo recording, they have most likely already poured over it for hours or days. The bags underneath their eyes is always a clear indication of how much effort has already gone in to their latest work.  It’s such an exciting thing and sometimes it’s a struggle for me to find the words to describe it.  As an engineer in a recording studio, when you have a band that has already paid their dues into the writing, arranging, and rehearsing of their songs, the first time you hit the record button and listen to them play… that sound that fills the room for the first time and has a distinctly “live” feel, but a solid polished sonic quality that can only ever be heard in the studio, as the band plays…

That sound and that feel created in the first instant of recording is what I live for.

The never-ending thirst for new music seems to be a little better quenched when I live among people that create it.

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