TheAudioMasterclassMusicProductionandSoundEngineeringCourse

MODULE09MODELANSWERS

RECORDINGABAND

Whatare'basictracks'?

Thesearetheinstrumentsthatarefundamentaltotheband.Inarockbanditwouldbedrums,bassguitar,
rhythmguitarandpossiblykeyboard.Aguidevocalwillalsoberecorded.

Whatare'overdubs'?
Thesearetheembellishmentsthatareextratothebasictracks.Forarockband,thesecouldbeguitar
solos,additionalkeyboards,otherinstrumentssuchasabrasssection,leadvocalandbackgroundvocals.

Whatisa'guidevocal'?

Thevocalrecordedatthesametimeasthebasictracks.Thebandwillnormallyperformbetteriftheycan
hearandreacttothevocal.Itwillnotbeplannedtousethevocalbuttoreplaceitwithaseparately
recordedoverdub.Howeveritisgoodpracticetorecordtheguidevocalasitjustmightbebetterthanlater
attempts,thoughperhapsjustinparts.

Whatis'foldback'?
Thisisaseparatemixofinstrumentsandguidevocalthatisprovidedtothemusiciansonheadphones.
Sometimescalled'cue'or'cuemix'.

Whyisfoldbacknecessary?

Onereasonisthatifthereisaguidevocal,thevocalwillbemuchlowerinlevelthantheotherinstruments
andthereforeitcannotbeheardacoustically.ItwouldnotbeusefultoprovideaPAsystemasthiswould
spillintoallthemicrophonesandcolortherecording.Theotherreasonisthattoachievethebestrecording
ofeachinstrument,acousticscreensareusedtoseparatetheinstruments.Thedrummermaybeplacedin
acompletelyisolateddrumbooth.Foldbackisthereforenecessarysothemusicianscanheareachother.

Fromwhereinthechannelmodulesarethefoldbacksignalsderived?
Aprefadeauxiliarysendineachchannel.Itisprefadesothepositionofthefaderdoesnotaffectthe
foldbackmix.

Whyshouldtheengineercheckthefoldbackmixonheadphones?

Itisimportanttoprovidethebandwithagoodfoldbackmixsothattheycanperformwell.However,the
individualmusicianswillallhavetheirownpreferences,andiftheengineertriestosatisfyevery
preference,themixcaneasilygetworseratherthanbetter.Itmightevenbecomesoloudthatthe
headphonesdistort.Eveniftheengineermonitorsthemixonthecontrolroomloudspeakers,thisisno
guaranteethatitwillsoundgoodontheheadphones.

Describethesignificanceofspillfromtheguidevocal.

Ifspillfromtheguidevocalentersanyoftheotherinstruments'microphones,itwillberecordedwith
thoseinstrumentsonthemultitrackandwillbeimpossibletoseparateoutagain.Normallythisisnottoo
muchofaproblemasitwillbecoveredbytheoverdubbedlivevocal.However,ifthewordsarechanged,
orthetimingofthedelivery,thentheguidevocalmightbeheardinthebackground.(Imaginethecaseif
thelyricshadnotbeenfinishedandthesingerwassingingnonsenseormakingthemupashewentalong!).

Module09ModelAnswers
Whatisa'tracksheet'?

Asheetofpaperwitharectangulargrid.Eachspaceofthegridcorrespondstoonetrackonthemultitrack
tape.Theinstrumentrecordedoneachtrackisloggedonthetracksheet.

Whatisa'scribblestrip'?
Thishasasimilarfunctiontothetracksheet,exceptthatitisonthemixingconsoleitself.Eachchannelis
identifiedwiththeinstrumentpresentonthatchannel.Althoughtheconsolewillhaveafixedplastic
scribblestrip,scribblestripsarecommonlymadeusingmaskingtapesothattheycanbetakenoff,stored
andreplacedwithanotherstripforanothersong.

Whatistheadvantageofwritingascribblestriponmaskingtape?
Severalsongsmightbeinproductionconcurrently.Thescribblestripforeachsongcanberemovedand
stored,usuallyonthewallofthecontrolroom,whileanothersongisbeingworkedon.

Commentontheprocessofeditingtogethervarioustakesofbasictracks.

Thebandwillprobablyplayseveraltakesofthebasictracks,oneofwhichwillbethebest.However,there
mightbesectionsthatwerebetterperformedinothertakes.Itisnotunusualtocombinetwotakes.Even
threeorfourmightbecombinedifdesired.

Whatisa'punchin'('dropin')?
Itwouldn'tbeuncommon,forexample,forthebassguitaristtomakeamistakeatacertainpointinan
otherwisegoodtake.Thisoneinstrumentcanbererecordedatthepointwherethemistakewasmade.

Whatproblemcantherebeinpunchinginonaninstrumentthatwasrecordedamongstthebasictracks?

Therewillalwaysbespillbetweenthemicrophonesduringarecordingofbasictracks.However,atthe
pointofthepunchin,sinceonlyoneinstrumentwillbeplaying,therewillbenospill.Thischangesthe
soundqualityatthepointofthepunchin.Althoughthiswillbeclearlyaudiblewhenthattrackissoloed,in
thecontextoftheentiretrackitisunlikelytobenoticeable.
Commentonthealternativemethodsofa)recordingandfinishingonetrackatatime,andb)recording
thebasictracksforallthesongsonanalbumbeforestartingtooverdub.
Analbumprojectmightbedoneonetrackatatime,sothatthebasictracks,overdubs,leadand
backgroundvocalsofeachtrackarefinishedbeforegoingontothenext.However,itwouldprobablybe
quickertorecordallthebasictracksfirstbeforegoingontotheoverdubs.Methoda)wouldresultintracks
thatwerequitedissimilartoeachotherinsoundqualityduetoinconsistenciesinthesetupbetweentracks.
Thisisnotnecessarilyadisadvantageasitmightprovideusefulvariationinsoundoverthecourseofthe
album.Itissuitableifthesongsand/orarrangementsarebeingcreatedinthestudio.Methodb)resultsin
tracksthathaveaconsistentoverallbasicsound,sincethestudioisnotresetbetweentracks,norare
consolesettingslost.Itismoresuitableifthebandalreadyknowthesongswellanddonotneedto
rehearsemuch.

Inaliverecording,wherearethesignalfeedstothemultitrackrecordingconsolederived?

Thestageboxwillcontainsplittertransformersthatprovidetwooutputsfromeachinput.Thefrontof
house(FOH)consoleandrecordingconsolesarethereforecompletelyindependentofeachother.Itisalso
possibletotakethesignalsfortherecordingconsolefromthechannelinsertsendsoftheFOHconsole.
However,thelevelwillbedependentonthegainsettingofeachchannel,whichisunderthecontrolofthe
FOHengineer.

Describethepreparationofakickdrumforrecording.

Module09ModelAnswers
Ifthedrumhastwoheads,thefrontheadisremovedtomakeitless'boomy'.(Analternativeistousea
headwithaholecutout).Ablanketisplacedinsidetodampthesoundi.e.makeitshorter.Themore
weightofblanketrestsagainsttheshellandrearhead,themoredampedthesoundwillbe.Thetuningof
thedrumisgenerallyregardedasthedrummer'sresponsibility,althoughtheengineermayconsult.

Describethepreparationofasnaredrumforrecording.

Likethekickdrum,thesnaredrumwillprobablyrequiredampingtoshortenthesound.Somesnaredrums
haveinternaldampersthatgenerallydonotworkverywell.Dampingisappliedbytapingsoftmaterialto
theupperhead.Sometimesjustthetapeisenough.Likethekickdrum,theengineermayconsulton
tuning.Thesoundsofthesnareandkickdrumsaresoimportantthattheybenefitfromgreatcareand
attentioninachievingtherightsoundatsource.

Commentonthepositioningandphasingofdrummics.

Themicforeachdrumshouldbeplacedasfarawayfromotherdrumsaspossible,andalsopointingaway
fromtheotherdrumsasmuchaspossible.Thismayseemlikeanimpossibletask,butevensmall
improvementsinpositioncanprovidesignificantbenefitstothesound.Withsomanymicrophonesclose
together,itisquitepossiblethatbychanceonemicrophonemightbehalfawavelengthawayfromadrum
thatitisnotmeanttopickup,butneverthelessispickingitupquitestrongly.Whenmixedwiththesound
ofthatdrum'sownmicrophone,thetwosignalswillpartiallycancelsincetheyareoutofphase.Thisis
difficulttopredict,soitisworthexperimentingwiththephasebuttonsontheconsole.Itisquitepossible
thatbypressingonebutton,foroneparticularmic,thatthesoundwillimprove.Thenagainitmightnot,
butit'sworthatry.
Whatcorrectiveoperationshouldbeperformedtothesignalfromthemicrophoneonthelowerheadof
adoublemikedsnaredrum?

Sincetheupperheadmovesawayfromthediaphragmoftheuppermicwhenthedrumisstruck,andthe
lowerheadmovestowardsthelowermic,thenthetwosignalswouldbeoutofphasewhenmixedtogether
andwouldpartiallycancel.Thephaseofthelowermicshouldbeinverted.

Describeoneofthepossiblemicrophonepositionsforapiano.
Foranaturalsoundfromagrandpiano,themicrophonesshouldbepointedhorizontallyatthelidsothey
capturethesoundthatisnormallyreflectedfromthestringsintotheauditorium.However,itiscommon
thatabiggerandbrightersoundisrequired.Todothis,themicsarepositionedapproximatelylevelwith
theupperedgeofthecase,quiteclosetotheinstrument.Thefurtherapartthemicrophonesareplaced,
thewiderthestereoimagewillbe.Forpopularmusic,themicrophonesmayevenbepositionedinsidethe
instrumentandpointeddirectlyatthestrings.
Why,accordingtothetext,isitincorrecttopositionpianomicssothattheypointdirectlyatthestrings,
ifanaturalsoundasheardbyanaudienceisrequired?

Becausenoone(intheirrightmind)wouldeverlistenfromthisposition.Anaudienceataconcertcannot
seethestrings,norhearthemdirectly,fromtheirseatsintheauditorium.

Describeoneofthepossiblemicrophonepositionsforanacousticguitar.

Itisoftenthoughtthatifthemicrophoneispointedmidwaybetweenthepointatwhichtheneckjoinsthe
bodyandtheedgeofthesoundhole,thenthiswillgivetheoptimumsound.Ofcourse,further
experimentationisalwaysnecessary.

Describethepossiblemicrophonepositionsforanelectricguitar.

Eitherthemicrophonecanbepointeddirectlyatthecenterofthediaphragmoftheloudspeakerdriveunit,

Module09ModelAnswers
oritcanbepointedattheedge.Thecenterwillbecrisp,cleanandincisive;theedgeprovidesmoredepth
andbody.Ofcoursethereisaninfinitenumberofinbetweenpositions,andthemicrophonemaybe
angledwithrespecttothedriveunit,whichprovidesfurtherpossibilities.

Whatis'DI'?

Thisiswherethesignalistakendirectlyfromanelectricorelectronicinstrument,throughadirectinject
box,tothemixingconsole.GenerallyDIboxesconnecttothemicinput.IftheDIboxispassiveitusesa
transformerthenvoltagewillbesacrificedtoprovidemorecurrent(foralowimpedancesignal).Itisthen
necessarytoconnecttothemicrophoneinput,whichexpectsalowervoltagethanthelineinput.IftheDI
boxisactive,thenitneedstobepowered.ManyDIboxescanrunfromphantompowerwhichisonly
availableatmicinputs,notlineinputs.

CLASSICALANDORCHESTRALMUSIC

BrieflydescribethemusicoftheBaroqueperiod.

ThemusicoftheBaroqueperiodisheavilydecorated.Theinstrumentsinterweavemelodiesusinga
techniqueknownas'counterpoint'.

BrieflydescribethemusicoftheClassicalperiod.
ThemusicoftheClassicalperiodgenerallyconsistsofamelodywithasimpleaccompaniment.Itis
consideredtobeareactiontowhatthepeopleoftimethoughtofastheexcessivecomplexityofBaroque
music.

BrieflydescribethemusicoftheRomanticperiod.

ComposersoftheRomanticperiodconsidereditimportanttoputtheirpersonalfeelingsandemotionsinto
theirmusic,incontrasttoBaroqueandClassicalcomposerswhoweremoreakintocraftsmen.Also,each
pieceofRomanticmusicisconsiderablydifferenttootherpieces.IntheBaroqueandClassicalperiods,such
individualitywasnotconsideredimportant.

Brieflydescribethemusicofthe20thCentury,otherthanlateRomanticandImpressionistmusic.

Certaincomposersintheearly20thCenturythoughtthatthesystemofscalesandkeyshadrunitscourse.
Theythereforedevisedothermeansofcomposingmusic,whichoftentononmusicianssoundsnot
particularlypleasant.

Commentontheroleofstringinstrumentsintheorchestra.

Thesoundofstringinstrumentsissuchthatitispleasantandinterestingtolistentooverlongperiodsof
time.Itisalsopossibleforstringplayerstoplayforalongtimewithoutrest,unlikeplayersofwind
instrumentswhodoneedtorest,particularbrassplayers.Forthesetworeasons,thestringsection
providesthe'foundation'fororchestralmusicandwindinstrumentsprovidemostlyornamentand
decoration.

Commentonthewaywindinstrumentsareusedintheorchestra.

Becauseitcanbetiringtolistentowindinstrumentsforextendedperiodsoftime,andbecausewind
playersneedfrequentrests,theseinstrumentsareusedforornamentanddecorationinorchestralmusic.

Describetheclassicalfemalesingingvoices.

Soprano:thehighestpitchedfemalevoice,canbeveryloudandpiercing.Amicrophoneplacedwithin1
metreofasopranoshouldhaveitspad(attenuator)switchedin.Mezzosoprano:themediumpitched
femalevoiceinopera.Inotherchoralmusic,thisvoiceisknownas'alto'.Contralto:thedeepestandrichest

Module09ModelAnswers
femalevoice.

Describetheclassicalmalesingingvoices.

Tenor:thehighestpitchmalevoicewithatendencytosoundrathertoohighforcomfort.Thisvoicecanbe
quiteloud,butnotasloudasasoprano.Baritone:themediumpitchedmalevoice.Inchoralsingingapart
fromoperathereisnodistinctionbetweenbaritoneandbassvoicesandthisvoiceissimplyknownasbass.
Bass:thedeepestmalevoice.Thereareanumberofoperaticrolescallingforabass.However,veryfew
singerspossessavoicethatisadequatelyrichandwarminthelowestnotes.

Brieflydescribethestructureofasymphony.

Asymphonygenerallyhasfourmovementsandlastsfrom20to40minutes.Theopeningmovementwill
containthemostimportantandseriousmusicandcanbecomparedtothemaincourseofameal.The
secondmovementisgenerallyslowandlyrical.Thethirdmovementcanbeadanceformsuchasaminuet.
FromtheRomanticperiod,composersgenerallyoptedforafasterdanceformsuchasthescherzo.The
finaleisgenerousfast,joyousandpleasing.

Whatinstrumentsareusedinaconcerto?

Theconcertousuallyhasasinglesoloinstrument,accompaniedbytheconductorandorchestra.Notethat
theconductordoesnotdirectthesoloist.

Summarizetheeventsthattakeplaceduringaclassicalmusicconcert.

Theaudienceenteraround30minutesbeforetheconcertstarts.Theorchestrawillassembleonstagejust
beforethestart.Theaudiencewillcontinuetochat.Theleaderoftheorchestra(theprincipalviolinist,who
isnotthesoloist)willcomeonstageandtheaudiencewillquietenandwillprobablyapplaud.The
conductor,andsoloistifany,willcomeonstageandtheaudiencewillapplaud.Theconductorwillraisehis
baton,theorchestrawillgetreadytoplay,andtheaudiencewillbecomeintenselyquiet.Thefirst
movementofthepiecewillbeperformed.Iftherearesubsequentmovements,therewillgenerallybeno
applausebetweenmovements.However,iftheperformancehasbeenespeciallygood,oriftheaudienceis
inastateofexcitement(perhapsbecausetheorchestraiswellrenownedandvisitingaremoteprovince),
theremayinrarecasesbeapplausebetweenmovements.Attheendofthepiece,theconductorand
soloistwillcongratulateeachother,andpossiblytheleader,bowandwalkoffstagewhiletheaudience
applauds.Theywillcomebackfor'curtaincalls',perhapsseveraltimesuntiltheapplausesubsides.Ifthere
isanotherpiecebeforetheinterval,theorchestrawillstayonstage.Otherwisetheywillallleave.Afterthe
interval,thesamewilltakeplaceasaabove.Attheendofthescheduledprogram,theremaybeanencore
perhapsseveral.Thishappensmoreoftenata'recital',wheretherearefewperformers,perhapseven
justone.Howeverencoresdosometimeshappenatorchestralconcerts.

Whereareclassicalmusicrecordingsgenerallymade(undersessionconditions)?

Inaroomthatislargeenough,quietenoughandhasgoodacoustics.Otherfacilitiessuchasparkingare
important.Classicalmusicisgenerallynotrecordedinstudios(notlargeenough)orundersession
conditionsinconcerthalls(toobusygettingonwithconcerts).

Brieflydescribetwoaspectsoftheroleoftheproducer.

Deliveramarketableproducttotherecordcompany.Selectasuitablelocationfortherecording.Perhaps
haveaninvolvementintheselectionoftheorchestraormusicians.Haveaninvolvementintheselectionof
theengineer(althoughtherecordcompanymightstipulatewhichengineeristobeusedinorderto
maintainconsistencyamongproducts.Liaisewiththeconductorandengineertoplantherecordingin
termsofwhichpartsofthemusicwillberecordedfirst(itcanbeeditedintothecorrectorderlater),and
theplacementofthemusicianswithintherecordingspace.Liaisewiththeconductoronwhichversionof

Module09ModelAnswers
thescore(thewrittenmusic)willbeused.Often,scorescomeinslightlydifferentversionsfromdifferent
publishers(withdifferenterrors).Liaisewiththeconductorandengineerduringtherecordingonthe
qualityofthesoundandthequalityoftheperformance.Listenforperformanceerrorswrongnotesetc.
Makesureallthemusichasbeenrecordedit'seasytomisssomethingwhenthemusicisrecordedoutof
sequence.Logalltakes(actuallytheroleoftheassistantproducer)withtakenumber,whichsectionofthe
piecehasbeenrecorded,whereonthetapethetakestartsandfinishes,commentonthequalityofthe
take.IndicateFS(falsestart),NG(nogood)etc.

Brieflydescribetwoaspectsoftheroleoftheengineer.

Decideinadvance,inconsultationwiththeproducer,howtheorchestrawillbesetoutintherecording
area.Decidehowmanymicrophonesandwhichtypeswillbeused.Specifytherecordingequipmenttobe
used,andarrangeitshireifnecessary.Produceaplotofthemicrophonelayoutsothathisorherassistant
cansetoutthemicswellbeforethesessionbegins.Finetunethepositionofthemics.Setrecordinglevels.
Mixthesignalsfromthemicrophonesdirectlyintostereoortomultitrack.Provideplaybacksasrequiredby
theproducer.Labeltapes/disksandtheirstoragecontainers.

Commentonthebenefitprovidedbythedisciplineoforchestralmusicians.
Musicianscanalwaysbereliedontoturnupontimeandbefullyreadytoplaythemomentthesessionis
scheduledtostart.Althoughtheyinsistonprecisebreaktimes,andwillendthesessionrightatthe
momentitfinishes,duringrecordingtheywillperformefficientlyandremainquietwhennotactually
playing.

Describetwofactorsthatmightpreventaneditbeingmadeataparticularpointinarecording.

Ifthetemposofthetwotakesaredifferent.Ifthetuningoftheinstrumentsisdifferent.Ifthestyleofthe
performanceissignificantlydifferent.

Inwhatsituationswoulditbegenuinelyusefultorecordtomultitrack?

Whereitisdifficulttogetagoodbalanceintostereoatthesession.Agoodexampleofthisisopera,where
thelevelsofthesolovoicesareusuallymuchhigherinarecordingthaninthetheater.This,coupledwith
thefactorthatoperaismorecomplexanyway,makesitdifficulttojudgethebalancebetweenthelevels.If
amultitrackrecordingismade,thenthisbalancecanbejudgedafterthesession.

Endofmodelanswers.

Module09ModelAnswers