Caines 1

Georgia Caines

Mr. White

English 12 - P6

21 October 2016

Enamored: A Conceptual Album

Introduction

For my senior project, I decided to create a concept album in order to understand the

process of producing music. This was also to understand how different types of music cause

different emotions. I chose specific people to cover songs that would have a certain theme and

that would bring out emotions of the listeners. The name of the album is Enamored, and all of

the songs included in the album related to the theme of love. I will be recording in my uncles

recording studio and possibly with my own recording equipment.

Research

Todays technology is responsible for the distribution of music (Simpson). Platforms like

SoundCloud, YouTube, and Spotify are frequently accessed to listen to various styles of music.

Music recording technologies that people can use in their own home are starting to change how

people create and access music (Homer). You can record music anywhere (Ariza). Most people

are used to music being created in a professional recording studio, but it so happens that

recording music at home with music software has a big effect on the music industry (Homer). To

get started with recording whether youre at home or in an expensive recording studio, you need

to know basics about producing music and music software.

One of the most important things to remember is that you have to really listen to the

music that youve created and try to hear everything separately (Ariza). The MIDI, a.k.a. the

musical instrument digital interface, lets any computer control certain music production
 Caines 2

machines like synthesizers (Homer). The MIDI is immensely helpful to those who choose to

create music at home because some people simply cant afford various music technologies and

machines. When a musician steps into the studio and starts to perform, theyre performing into a

channel, which is where the music created is stored (Ariza). Its common to perform the same

part of a song over and over again in order for it to sound the best it can be. Once you have all

of the channels you need, you put them together in a track, which is multiple channels merged

together, for the song to be complete (Ariza).

An important aspect of having your musician perform is how their voice or instrument

works with the microphone provided. Some of those who record music at home may not have

quality microphones that will provide the quality sound theyre looking for in their song. To avoid

your microphone picking up random sounds from your recording space, be sure that the

microphone provided is at least 1 to 6 inches away from the musician (Bartlett). Background

noise can be very distracting in songs and takes away the effect that you want to hear in a song.

For better sounds, turn off appliances and other objects that may buzz before you record

(Bartlett). Lastly, its very important to find balance when recording singers. For example, when

recording backup singers, they may have to be repositioned in order to get the right balance

(Eargle).

Another important aspect of recording in a studio is the acoustics of where youll be

recording. Famous and professional music producers usually have their recording studios

customized and tuned so the songs recorded can have the best possible sound (Huber &

Runstein). For the music to sound nice in the space where youre recording, it depends on the

shape of the room, the room mode, and reflection management (Ballou). Of course, there will be

outside noise that isnt wanted. Some examples of outside noise would be coughing, rain,

thunder, air conditioning, etc. (Howard & Murphy) To overcome unnecessary/distracting noises,
 Caines 3

building a room with certain objects on the walls that can absorb sound would do the trick

(Huber & Runstein). However, if youre short on money, you can use simple furniture to absorb

sounds (Nisbett). Unfortunately, sounds absorb at different frequencies (Ariza).

Something to consider when recording in a studio, whether you're the producer or

musician, is how you want the listeners to feel and what kind of emotion you want to put into

your song. Many people who listen to music do it because they want to change or release some

of their emotions (Juslin & Sloboda). Most professional musicians can convey five specific

emotions: joy, anger, fear, tenderness, and sadness (Juslin & Laukka). The way that people

perceive music depends on different factors, like their gender, age, race, etc. (Yang & Chen)

Most emotions caused from music come from a persons past experiences when they hear

something specific in the music (Juslin & Laukka). Its extremely important to decide what

emotion you want to have while performing and what emotion you think people should have.

Application

One factor of recording that concerns me, since I may be doing a bit of home recording,

is the sound quality of the space that Ill be recording in. In certain spaces, unwanted noises like

air conditioning can show up in recordings. The unwanted noises will take away from the

singers voice, the instrumental used, and it will be an overall distraction to whoever listens to

the track. If I record with my own equipment, I will take precautions to ensure that no outside

noises will poke through into what I record.

Another factor to be considered with this project is if the recording equipment I currently

own will do a good enough job when I wont be recording in my uncles studio. I have a

MacBook Air that comes with Garageband, but it doesnt have as many features as Logic, a

music production software created by Apple. Since I dont have Logic, I will have create different

channels for multiple takes of a song instead of having them all on one channel. I will then pick
 Caines 4

the best sounding parts from each take. Also, I plan to borrow one of my friends microphones

so that sound quality will be better than my laptops microphone or microphones in Apple

headphones.

Conclusion

I believe that this project will improve my knowledge of music and help me make

important decisions in my life. Music theory is very important in music production when picking

out instrumentals and making sure that the singers involved know what notes and rhythms they

should be singing. Its also very important in any career that has to do with music. Its a basic

thing that every singer/musician should know. Decision making is also very important as well

because a music producer needs to choose the right people to record. I look forward to learning

how music production works and to do something outside of my comfort zone.

 Caines 5

Works Cited

Ariza, Christopher. "Music and Technology: Recording Techniques and Audio Production." N.p.,

n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.

Ballou, Glen. Handbook for Sound Engineers: The New Audio Cyclopedia. Indianapolis, IN:

H.W. Sams, 1987. Google Books. Web. 3 Oct. 2016.

Bartlett, Bruce, and Jenny Bartlett. Practical Recording Techniques: The Step-by-step Approach

to Professional Audio Recording. Revised ed. N.p.: Taylor & Francis, 2013. Google

Books. Web. 3 Oct. 2016.

Eargle, John. The Microphone Book: From Mono to Stereo to Surround - a Guide to Microphone

Design and Application. Burlington: Elsevier, 2004. Google Books. Web. 6 Oct. 2016.

Homer, Matthew. "Beyond the Studio: The Impact of Home Recording Technologies on Music

Creation and Consumption." N.p., Sept. 2009. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.

Howard, David M., and Damian Murphy. Voice Science, Acoustics, and Recording. San Diego:

Plural, 2007. Google Books. Web. 5 Oct. 2016.

odern Recording Techniques. 8th ed. N.p.: CRC,

Huber, David Miles, and Robert E. Runstein. M

2013. Google Books. Web. 5 Oct. 2016.

andbook of Music and Emotion: Theory, Research,

Juslin, Patrik N., and John A. Sloboda. H

Applications. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.

Juslin, Patrik N., and Petri Laukka. "Expression, Perception, and Induction of Musical Emotions:

A Review and a Questionnaire Study of Everyday Listening."Journal of New Music

Research 33.3 (2010): 217-38. Print.

Lundqvist, Lars-Olov, Patrik N. Juslin, Fredrik Carlsson, and Per Hilmersson. "Emotional

Responses to Music: Experience, Expression, and Physiology."Psychology of Music 37

(n.d.): 61-90. Web. 6 Oct. 2016.

 Caines 6

Nisbett, Alec. The Sound Studio: Audio Techniques for Radio, Television, Film and Recording.

Amsterdam: Focal, 2003. Google Books.

Scherer, Klaus R., and Marcel R. Zentner. "EMOTIONAL EFFECTS OF MUSIC: PRODUCTION

RULES." Christine Harris, Ph.D. N.p., 2001. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

Simpson, Shane. "NEW TECHNOLOGY AND MUSIC: EVOLUTION TO REVOLUTION."

Simpsons. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

usic Emotion Recognition. Boca Raton, FL: CRC, 2011.

Yang, Yi-Hsuan, and Homer H. Chen. M

Web. 3 Oct. 2016.