As a follow up to last month's blog, this one includes so super fun things I've learned in my continued construction of my Sample Library here at SUU.
In the last few weeks I have been absolutely crazy busy with recording more than 15 different instruments and hope to be able to get more before the end of the school year. It's been more fun than maybe I should be having (haha) getting samples of Violin, Viola, Cello, three types of Guitar (nylon, electric and bass), Tenor Sax, Flute, Piccolo, Alto and Soprano Voice, some Beat-Boxing, Drumset, Trumpet and Trombone. I finish my Alto samples tomorrow night (10/10), my Viola Samples on Monday (10/14) and I'll probably end up doing my Bass Vocal Samples this weekend after our homecoming parade.
Here are a few things that have become very clear to me during this process.
- Staying aware of which types of intonation and articulation each instrument is best at makes a huge difference! In my recording with tenor sax, for example, I realized as I heard the attack and decay of each note just how much more difficult it is to get the same kind of staccato on that instrument as it is on flute or even trumpet. I mean, I think I sort of expected it to be like that in the back of my head, but hearing my sax playing attempt it vs. those other two instruments was really eye opening. On the other end of things, I found out how much of a true amateur I am at guitar (and also how badly I need to repair mine) when I saw how easy it was for my nylon and electric guitarists to play super intricate samples I had written into a PDF. When I wrote them during the summer I honestly thought some of the guitar content might be a little on the difficult side with my mediocre knowledge of guitar playing, but au contraire!
- When I was writing the PDF sample sheets for violin and viola, I wondered for a brief time if it was truly worth it to get just violin samples and not worry too much about viola. I can already hear some of you viola players scoffing and you're justified. I'm telling you, I'm not sure most non-musicians actually get just how different and distinct the sound really is between the two. I can hardly wait to finish my viola samples next week! I remember in my first viola session telling the violist that I was surprised how beautifully warmer and richer the tone is on a viola compared to a violin. Don't worry, though, violinists. It honestly made me also appreciate more the… I'll call it a slightly more versatile melodic and technical capacity my violinists had who came to record several weeks ago.
- From my sessions with my guitarists, one of my cellists and my drummer, I came to understand just how much of a difference it makes in effective use of time when the performer has extensive experience in high quality technical work; yup, the "boring" scales, arpeggios, sight-reading skills, etc. I have told almost every single one of my musicians and vocalists who have come in to record that it's easier for me to fix pitch and timing than it is to fix intonation or sound envelope issues; and naturally, those whose session resulted in the most useable audio were those who were very well practiced at the basics their instrument and I suggested a few times to each of them that they would do really well as studio musicians, including my freshmen cellist! That guy is SUPER good, in my opinion he plays his instrument a little better than one of the violinists played violin here at SUU who recently graduated! For those who are looking into going into running a music studio anywhere else out there, do your best to find musicians who have total top-notch chops on their instrument.
- I've said or at least hinted at this before, but the right mic really does make all the difference! I remember one of the professors here suggesting I use a U87 for… I think it was guitar, or at least large diaphragm condenser mic. I went into the mic closet and couldn't immediately see where he had put the U87 but also noticed the AT4050 sitting there and thought, ‘great, large diaphragm condenser’. Let's give it a shot. I did end up actually using a U87 for my female vocals, but with the AT4050 on both my nylon and electric guitar samples, wow, they sound super good!!! I was actually pretty shocked at how well they turned out. For the higher frequencies like Violin and Flute I used KM184s because, lets me honest, the high sensitivity of those small diaphragm mics are perfect for stuff like that. Then again, pretty much anything Neumann is just going to be top notch. I used C414s for both my cellists and I wonder if I almost looked like I was swooning over the sound, lol! Point those AKGs in the right direction near the f-holes and muah! Beautiful! Tonight I used an RE-20 with my saxophonist and, oh man, it could possibly have the sound put me to sleep, beautifully sultry and relaxing. Bottom line, mic choice and position matters!
- Organization is way more important than you may realize. I did some research before I even started to record to be sure I could make this library easy to navigate and use. The folder hierarchy system I'm using has been tweaked a few times in the process of quantizing and bouncing/exporting each “finished” audio file to a more permanent folder, and I've learned a few important lessons about this. Naming your tracks properly BEFORE each recording session is absolutely critical for a) easy access during categorization and b) making it easy for those who use the library afterwards to find exactly what their looking for, at the right tempo, with the right articulation, in the right key, for the right instrument, etc. etc. Trust me it makes so much less of a nightmare when trying to make it clear where people can access which kinds of melodic or harmonic content to fit just the right way into their tracks.
I'm looking forward to learning even more about each instrument in the editing process to come before the end of the semester. Stay tuned here to learn more and sign up for my mailing list to get an update about when this sample library will be released on this website!