SES WEEK 7 RECORDING VOCALS

Here are my vocal samples - better late than never, I spose:

SPOKEN WORD (ME + U87, DEAD ROOM)

SINGING (NATHAN + U87, DEAD ROOM, VOCAL OVERDUB FOR GLAMVILLE DEMO). ONCE AGAIN, I RAN OUT OF TIME BEFORE I COULD FIND THE RIGHT MIC FOR THIS VOICE. THIS ONE IS CLEARLY NOT IT!

Firstly, thanks to Bronwyn for coming in and being “guinea pig” for this week’s session. She said that she hadn’t had much experience or training in microphone technique and I thought she did very well and has a lovely voice besides. The emphasis during the lesson was twofold: firstly, determining the best microphone for your source, which exercise we have so far done for acoustic and electric guitars both, and obtaining the best performance that your subject is capable of on the day. Obviously, some days will be better than others for performers and Dave related to us the example of a drummer he was recording once who had to be sent away because his bad temper at the time was not only affecting his own performance but that of everyone else involved. There are other factors to consider in the case of singers particularly such as illness, comfort (if they’re feeling embarrassed or aren’t used to recording) and warming up (important for all musicians). Coaxing your singer into their best should be an exercise in tact also – you really don’t want to be telling someone that the singing they just did and were so proud of was crap and could they do it better this time, please? I have done my spoken word recording and will upload the mixdown here as soon as I can – am still working on finding a singer, however.