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Module 09 Practical Assignment Notes PDF
Module 09 Practical Assignment Notes PDF
MODULE09PRACTICALASSIGNMENTNOTES
TheassignmentforModule9isnewandhasreplacedthepreviousassignmentforthismodule.Asyetwe
donothaveverymanysubmissionsfromstudents.Whenwehavereceivedenoughsuitablestudents'
work,itwillbeincludedhere.
Fornow,youcanhearsomeoriginalrecordingssentinbyAudioMasterclassstudents,togetherwithour
comments.Wehavedeliberatelyusedrecordingsthatarelessthanperfect,invaryingdegrees.Ineach
casethemajorpointsforconsiderationwillbeidentified,andsuggestionsgivenforhowtherecordings
couldhavebeenimproved.
Bearinmindthatthereisconsiderableworkandconsiderabletalentintheserecordings.Thefactthatthey
didn'tallturnouttobepolishedgemsshowsjusthowdifficultrecordingcanbe.
Andimagineifyouweretheproduceroftheseacts,appointedbytherecordlabel.Itwouldbeyour
responsibilitytoproduceamarketableproduct.Whatwouldyoudo?
Example1
This(example1.wav)isaliverecordingwherealltheinstrumentsperformedtogetherwiththesinger.
Positives:ExcellentvocalsoundfromaBeyerdynamicribbonmic.Goodsingertoo.
Negatives:Thebasstakesuptoomuchspaceinthemix.ItshouldbeEQedsothatitdoesn'tstraytoomuch
beyonditsmainfrequencyrange.Boththepianoandthedrumscouldbemoreclear.
Overall:Thisisagoodperformanceandagoodrecording.Withattentiontotheabovepointsitcouldbe
excellent.
Example2
This(example2.wav)isfromthesamesessionasExample1.Thelackofclarityinthedrumsismuchmore
evidenthere.Also,thefasterrhythmdoesn'tsuittheacousticambianceoftheroom.Thesuggestionwould
betohaveclosermicsonthedrumsforbetterclarity.Otherwise,quiteagoodrecording.
Example3
This(example3.wav)isasongbyQueen.Queenweresuchagreatbandthatthereisnowayanyonecould
adequatelycoverthistrackunlesstheytotallyrearrangedit.Thisissuchachallengethateventop
professionalmusiciansandproducerswouldbedestinedtofail.
Moral:Takeonchallengesthatareachievable!It'sagreatexercisethough,totryandreproducetrackslike
this.
Positives:Excellentguitarandalotofgoodarrangementandmusicianship.
Negatives:Althoughthesingerisbasicallygood,heneedsmuchmoreproductionadvicetohelphim'raise
hisgame'.Therearemanypointsinthevocalthatdon'treallyworkandshouldhavebeenredone.The
drumsneedtobemuchbigger.Queenarrangementswereoftenverysparse(apartfromthevocaland
guitarharmonies).Thisrequiresahugedrumsound,whichwedon'thavehere.Thebackgroundvocalsare
wellarrangedandmostlywellperformed.However,everydetailofperformanceneedstobeperfect.Also,
thebackgroundvocalsaretoo'big'.Theyneedtobeinthebackgroundwithrespecttotheleadvocal.
Module09PracticalAssignmentNotes
Overall:Toughchallenge,reasonabletry.Manydetailedpointsneedattention.
Example4
Thistrackhaswaytoomuchreverb.Thisisamajordefect.Itisnottheonlyproblemhowever.Apartfrom
thesinger,whoisquitegood,themusiciansareclearlyamateur.'Amateur'doesn'tnecessarilymean'bad',
butprofessionalswouldnotbesatisfiedbythisstandardofperformance.Thedrummershouldbereplaced
whilehetakesfurthertuition.Thebassguitaristjustneedsmoreaccuracylistentotheoddheldnoteat
around19seconds.
Moral:Itisverydifficultforeventhebestengineertomakeagoodrecordingofmusicianswhoarenotofa
fullyprofessionalstandard.
Example5
Onthesurfacethis(example5.wav)seemsverygood.However,ifthisbandwereputinthestudiowithan
experiencedproducer,theimprovementwouldbeconsiderable.Theirperformancehasnotpeakedyet.
Theyareplayingreallywell,butthereisclearlymoreintherethathasnotbeendrawnoutyet.Thisisnota
technicalissue.Itisdowntothepureartofproduction.
It'sasmallpoint,butoneoftheguitarshasanirritatinglittlebuzz.Thisshouldhavebeenattendedto.
Generallygoodworkthough.
Example6
AnotherextraordinarychallengeMerryChristmasEverybody,bySlade.Theproblemisthattheoriginalis
perfectasitis,soanyreplicationisboundtofail.Youcanprobablyfindavideooftheoriginal,from1973,
ontheInternetthroughaGooglesearch.
Themainproblemhereisthatthemusiciansarenotyetofaprofessionalstandard.They'redoingwell,but
thisisnotamarketableperformance.Thereisadifferencebetweenadrummerplayinga'lazy'beatanda
drummerwhosimplydrags.
Althoughtheoriginalmultitrackrecordingisprobablyworkable,themixiscongested.Theinstrumentsare
allfightingeachotherforspaceinthefrequencyspectrum.Eachinstrumentshouldbegivenitsownspace,
andEQedsothatitdoesnotinfringeonotherinstruments'strongfrequencyareas.
Example7
Tofinishwith,anexcellenttrack(example7.wav),wellperformedandrecorded.Itwouldbenitpickingto
saythatthedrumsmighthavebeenalittlestronger,theoccasionalrhythmicinaccuracyshouldhavebeen
corrected,andtheproducershouldhaveconfiscatedtheridecymbal!Theoveralleffectisverygood.
Butturndownthevolumebeforeyoulistenthistrackwillripyourearsoff!Maybejustalittletooharsh?
Whatdoyouthink?
Endofassignmentnotes
Module09PracticalAssignmentNotes