Dan Hess 10504605 Music Technology and Sound Recording UG2 Ass 2.

Skylark (Pro Tools)

This piece is a recording of a jazz trio consisting of saxophone, upright bass and drum kit. It was recorded on 20/03/12 and the performers were Elliot Drew (saxophone), James Banner (bass) and James Anderson (drums). Skylark was written by Hoagy Carmichael, and recorded using Studio 1 and Live Room 1 in the Birmingham Conservatoire. The piece was recorded live and nine microphones were used, but only seven were used in the final mix. The saxophone was recorded with a t.bone RB500 and an AKG C300, both at a distance of about two feet, pointing towards the bell of the instrument. Baffles were used to isolate the performer, with baffles behind them and the clear screens being used between the three performers allowing them to communicate during the performance. A reflection filter was placed behind the microphones to ensure only the direct sound was captured, and to remove any reflections from the screens. The captured sound had very good isolation, but in the end using two microphones on the saxophone introduced phase errors and the added complication of the performer moving slightly between the two microphones. The AKG C3000 was removed from the final mix, as the t.bone RB500 had an overall clearer and more desired tone. An EQ was added to the saxophone channel, primarily removing the low and very high frequencies, but also removing some unwanted mid range frequencies and increasing brightness with a high shelf. A compressor was added after the EQ to increase the gain, and to slightly soften any peaks in level. This was then sent to a reverb plugin, adding a small amount of hall reverb to make the saxophone sound a bit more realistic. The upright bass was recorded with an AKG P420, an AKG D112 and a Shure SM57. The AKG P420 was positioned at a height of five feet, facing the fingerboard of the instrument at a distance of one foot. The AKG D112 (usually a kick drum microphone) was placed a few inches away from the wood of the instrument on the bass side. The Shure SM57 was placed a few inches away, facing the bridge of the instrument. Baffles and screens surrounded the performer, similarly to the saxophonist. Each microphone captured a different sound and in the mixing process the AKG P420 was removed, as it did not add much to the sound of the instrument. On the two other microphones, levels and pan were set, and sent to a bass bus. This bus had an EQ on it to remove any extreme low end and some of the high end frequencies, and to increase clarity. It then went into an exciter to add a bit of harmonic brightness to the sound, before going into a compressor to flatten out the overall level and remove peaks. After this came a multi band compressor, which was used to adjust the levels and compression amounts between the different bands after a flat compressor had been applied. The drums were recorded with an AKG D112, a Shure SM57 and a Rode NT5. The AKG D112 was used on the kick drum, a few inches from the skin and slightly offaxis from the center of the drum. The Shure SM57 was a few inches from the top skin of the snare drum, facing towards the center off the drum at a 45 degree angle. The Rode NT5 stereo microphone was placed just over six feet from the ground, centrally to the instrument with the microphone capsules pointing towards the left and right side of the kit. The kick drum had an EQ applied to remove extreme low and high frequencies, with small notches to boost the bass

Dan Hess 10504605 Music Technology and Sound Recording UG2 Ass 2.2

and to remove muddiness. This then went into a compressor with a 3.5:1 ratio and large gain increase, to bring the level of the kick drum up. The snare had an EQ to boost power and improve clarity of the sound, before going into a gate that allowed only the snare hits to pass (removing some spill noise from the rest of the kit). This then went into a compressor to increase the level and remove peaks. The whole kit then went to a drum bus with an EQ increasing brightness and slight mid-range, and a compressor to reduce peaks in level. The saxophone, the bass bus and the drum bus all then went through a limiter on the master fader to increase the level, and ensure that it doesnt peak at any point in the track.

Dan Hess 10504605 Music Technology and Sound Recording UG2 Ass 2.2

Requiem for a Fawn (Production)

This piece is a cover of Fawn by Tom Waits, combined with a monologue from the film Requiem for a Dream. The monologue in the film was performed by the acress Ellen Burstyn (playing the part of Sara Goldfarb) and all instruments were played by Dan Hess. Requiem for a Fawn was recorded using Studio 1 and Live Room 1 in the Birmingham Conservatoire. It was recorded in takes, and makes use of both real instruments and software synthesisers. It was recorded while listening to a copy of the original Tom Waits song, making sure it is at a consistent tempo while maintaining the loose feeling of the song. The lead electric guitar line was recorded on a Fender Telecaster by direct injection into Logic. An EQ was added to the channel to remove the low and very high end, and to boost some high/mid to increase clarity. It was then compressed to keep it at a consistent level with extreme changes in dynamic. A pitch shifter was then used to detune the sound down one octave, and was mixed into the original sound at 5%, to slightly increase the thickness of the sound. The mix of the detuned guitar was automated so it does not feature in the introduction. Chorus was added to make the sound less perfect and clean, and to help differentiate between the sound of the lead guitar and the rhythm guitar. Reverb and delay were added to make the lead guitar line a little less dry, and to provide some interest when notes were sustained. The acoustic guitar was recorded with an AKG 214 a foot away from the body of the guitar, facing between the 12th fret and the sound hole. As the acoustic guitar has to match up with the timing of the rest of the song, parts were chopped up and moved extensively so they were in place. A very small amount of processing was used, with an EQ to remove the extreme low end and a compressor to increase and smooth out the level. The rhythm electric guitar was recorded in the same way as the lead guitar, but using the neck pickup only. Some chopping and moving of parts was also required so it lined up with the rest of the song, and again only minimal processing was used. A small amount of EQ boosted high end clarity and removed some low end, and a compressor removed peaks. The piano was recorded with two AKG 214s about four feet from the strings of the piano, with the lid fully open. Small amounts of cutting and moving were required to make it line up, and the microphones were panned left and right and sent to a piano bus. To increase the clarity of the sound, the EXS24 Grand Piano was used to play the same part as the real piano, only an octave down. This was also sent to the piano bus, which used an EQ to increase the thickness of the sound and notch out a few unwanted frequencies. This sound was then compressed slightly to reduce the range in dynamics, and a reverb was added to make it sound less dry. The high piano part that doubles the lead guitar uses the EXS24 sampler to play back samples of individual notes that were recorded on the grand piano in Live Room 1. This allows for more control over the sustain of each note than there would be if the part was recorded on the piano. Each note was recorded, cut to size, and imported into the sampler on the corresponding key. One note was

Dan Hess 10504605 Music Technology and Sound Recording UG2 Ass 2.2

recorded at the wrong pitch, so the EXS24s built in pitch shift was used to detune the incorrect note down one semitone to its correct pitch. These samples were then triggered by a MIDI channel, which also plays on the EXS24 Grand Piano. The synth string pad uses the plugin Sylenth 1 to generate and modify the sound. For the pad, Synlenth1 actually generates two different sounds, Part A and Part B. These are controlled separately by different oscillators, pan controls, amplifiers, filters and modulators, but pass through the same effects before leaving the program. Part A of the pad has a high, string like sound generated by combining a sawtooth wave with a triangle wave, detuning, filtering and modifying the amp envelope to produce the desired sound. It has a slow attack with a long sustain and release, and has two low frequency oscillators changing the cutoff of the filter and the pan. Part B combines a sawtooth wave with a noise generator to create a new sound, which is heavily filtered and has a similar amp envelope and LFO settings. Both of these sounds pass have chorus, EQ, delay and compression added within Sylenth1 before having their individual levels set and sent out to Logic. The overall sound then has low and high shelves added to remove some very low and high frequencies. The organ sound works in a very similar way to the pad, and also uses Sylenth1. Part A uses two sine waves that at octaves and slightly detuned. The amp envelope is almost the same as for the pad, as the sounds play the same part and work together. Part B of the organ is almost the same as Part A, but each oscillator is up two octaves. Chorus, EQ, reverb and compression are added in Sylenth1 before being sent to Logic, where low frequencies are removed with a low cut EQ filter. The bass sound again uses Sylenth1, and combines sine waves with triangle waves to create a very smooth low end that reinforces the organ and pad. It does not have any effects added within Sylenth1, and is simply compressed in Logic to thicken the sound and increase bass. The audio clip of the monologue was taken straight from the audio track of the DVD of Requiem for a Dream. It was chosen because it is a monologue of very mixed emotions, which contrasts with the simplicity of the music. As the audio was taken from a DVD, the quality is far from perfect and in comparison to the studio quality sound of the rest of the track, it almost has a low fidelity effect. The recording had a lot of background hiss and noise (which would have been impossible to remove with an EQ as it covers all frequencies), so Logics Denoiser plugin was used to help the spoken word to stand out a bit more clearly. It was then EQd to increase the clarity, and compressed to keep it at a high level. As the piece has a lot of dynamic change, automation was required on the monologue track to help it to be heard over the music. The master channel had a number of plugins on to help the different elements of the track to combine. An EQ was used to remove any exteme high and low frequencies, and to boost the midrange slightly to give the track more clarity. A multiband compressor helped to control the dynamics of different frequency bands, before adding a very slight reverb to make the recording less dry in the sections where not a lot is happening. A directional mixer was used to slightly widen the stereo field before a limiter, bringing up the level of the whole piece and a compressor to soften any peaks.

Dan Hess 10504605 Music Technology and Sound Recording UG2 Ass 2.2

Makrokosmos I: Part III: XI. Dream Images (Gemini) (Concert Hall)

This is a solo piano performance of Makrokosmos I: Part III: XI. Dream Images (Gemini) by George Crumb, played by Magdalena Wajdzik on 09/03/12. This piece was recorded using Studio 4 and the Recital Hall in the Birmingham Conservatoire. It was recorded using three microphones, and was recorded at a recital concert with an audience. The three microphones used to capture the piano were a t.bone RB500, and a pair of AKG P420s. The t.bone RB500 was positioned about two feet away from the strings of the piano with the lid open, facing the middle of the strings. The sound captured has a very nice tone and is not too bright (as can be the case with some condenser microphones), but unfortunately as the t.bone is a ribbon microphone, the input level has to be turned up quite high as it is not very sensitive. This causes noise to be introduced to the recording, which cannot be removed. An EQ was added to this channel to take out a bit more high end and remove some midrange, and was then sent to the output. The AKG P420s captured a nice stereo image with a lot of room sound, which adds a nice natural hall reverb to the close microphone on the piano. They were positioned at 6 feet from the ground at either side of the audience seating, as it had to be taken into consideration that the microphones must not be in the way of the audience members. The tracks were panned left and right, and sent to a bus (called Reverb Bus) to allow both channels to be affected together. The only processing used on these channels was an EQ to only allow a small band of frequencies through (roughly between 400Hz and 4000Hz) to prevent the overall sound from becoming too cluttered. As this is a recording of a solo piano concert, compression and limiting have been left out to ensure the dynamic range is left as the performer intended. Listening to the piece on Spotify, it is also very quiet to allow a full dynamic range. The main problems with this recording are the hiss/noise that have been introduced by the ribbon microphone, and the sound of pages being turned in the middle of the performance. Unfortunately, this is unavoidable when recording a concert as the priority for the performer is for the page to be turned at the right time so they can continue to play, and not whether the page being turned makes too much noise. Also, with a concert recording, time must be taken to find a section with no audience noise, as people sometimes cough or move slightly and this can ruin a recording.

Dan Hess 10504605 Music Technology and Sound Recording UG2 Ass 2.2

Appendices
Audio CD
Track 1 - Skylark Track 2 - Requiem for a Fawn Track 3 - Makrokosmos I Part III XI Dream Images (Gemini)

Requiem for a Dream Monologue

I'm somebody now, Harry. Everybody likes me. Soon... millions of people will see me and they'll all like me. I'll tell them about you... and your father. How good he was to us. Remember? It's a reason to get up in the morning. It's a reason to lose weight, to fit in the red dress. It's a reason to smile. It makes tomorrow all right. What have I got, Harry? Hmm? Why should I even make the bed or wash the dishes? I do them, but why should I? I'm alone. Your father's gone, you're gone. I got no one to... care for. What have I got, Harry? I'm lonely.

Screenshots
01 Skylark Bass Bus EQuality 02 Skylark Reverb Bus IR-L Full 03 Skylark Sax Bus EQuality 04 Skylark Snare Expander-Gate Dyn 3 05 Requiem for a Fawn Pad Part A Chorus 06 Requiem for a Fawn Pad Part B 07 Requiem for a Fawn Organ Part A Chorus 08 Requiem for a Fawn Organ Part B 09 Requiem for a Fawn Bass Part A 10 Requiem for a Fawn Bass Part B 11 Makrokosmos Close Mic Q8 12 Makrokosmos Reverb Bus Q8