Quote:

...I feel like the real-time live interaction with another musician is an important part of the creative process and inspiration; that action/reaction, and feeding off of each others' energy.



You are not alone in that <grin>.

However, I must stress that the art of multitrack recording, whether done inside a studio or at home using web-transferred tracks, is yet another aspect of performance that in a lot of cases can still be made to work, in the sense that the total may be able to have a listener draw the conclusion that every performer was indeed in the same room at the same time in performance.

The proliferation of so many "tracked" recordings that do indeed impart that kind of sensation is testament to the different but equal art and craft of the "session man" (or woman) and their knowledge of what it takes to create that illusion successfully.

When I think back to the first time I had to deal with overdubbing some Trumpet parts in a recording studio, well, it was rough going for the kid. Lots of retakes, an old guy on the other side of the glass losing patience. That was the point when I realized that I really needed to work on my counting, internal clock and a few other things. Again, that deep desire kicked in and it was time to inundate self with whatever it takes to be able to move into another and different world that, while using familiar tools and methods, was different from what I had been used to doing.

Fast Forward to years later, when yours truly was now the grumpy old fart on the other side of the glass, I've witnessed many good musicians fall on the same face when first confronted with multitracking, in the booth alone with the sound others have already made only in the headphones. Some hit the woodshed and became great at it, others preferred the easier path of feigning apparent anger, etc. over the issue. Of course, the latter don't get the call next time, nor the money.

It is worth noting that, to date, every single musician who has decided to declare that multitracking is all wrong and that the best way to do it is to put all musicians in the same room, etc. have fallen on their faces when and if they were given that situation. Yours truly inclusive.

Surprising that, when in the studio, no audience, no background noise, nothing but you and your instrument, what we think we sound like and the harsh reality of what the recorder plays back afterwards rears its head.

Turns out that recording an ensemble together inside a studio is an even more difficult task to pull off than separated multitracking can be.

Consider that it only takes the mistake of one person to tie up the time of 16 others...

And those other musicians don't make it any easier on the retake, what with musicians being such emotional types in general.


--Mac

PGmusic FAQs, Tutorials and Updates! click here

You must be Audiominds.
www.audiominds.com