The advent of technology has escorted a revolutionary world of music. Before the genesis of technology, your only hope as a musician was the arrival of a hotshot producer mesmerised by your band playing at the club and presenting you that golden ticket to the music industry. But times have changed, especially with the arrival of the pandemic, we have all been confined to our homes, and thereby the concept of the home studio has reached its epoch of popularity.
Exceptional music is materializing in bedrooms, basements, and garages by the ordinary populace. However, having an exhaustive knowledge of the process of recording music best fits a musician.
The Recording Process
The contemporary recording deploys sophisticated tools, and the process is termed as multitrack recording. This process involves each instrument being recorded individually, after which it is then merged to create a mix. This method has conferred on musicians the ability to transcend into the jack of all trades.
It is pertinent to create a guide for instruments to follow like a pre-recorded drum loop or a scratch track. It is vital to record the rhythm section that involves drums or bass first, as they form the fundamentals of any song. It is after laying the foundation using instruments you proceed with the chord structure.
The ultimate step when it comes to recording involves the recording of melodies with first the lead, followed by supporting melodies. Finally, you add in those finishing stroke that adds colour and flair to the main track like percussion and piano fills or background vocals.
The Editing Process
This next step involves cleaning your recorded track. Despite being cautious throughout the recording, you might unfold new minute mistakes, which, when fixed, will provide a wholesome experience to your music. The first step involves the arrangement, and this is a bird’s eye view of whatever you have done until now and then analyse what works and what does not.
The next step, which is comping, is to scrutinize the duplicate takes of your tracks and pick the finest one from the lot. You can also select the best phrases from each take and merge them. Noise reduction is the process that follows, which involves trimming all sounds before, after, and in-between audio and instrument.
The next method is time editing, and using this method; you can fix off-beat notes deploying either cut and paste method or time stretching method. The final step involves pitch editing, and here using software like Auto-Tune, you can modify off-notes back on-pitch.
The Mixing Process
Our next objective is to amalgamate it as a single adhesive unit utilizing the process of mixing. This process is an art in itself; however, it requires specific rudimentary tasks like balancing faders, panning, equalization, compression, reverb, and automation. After fashioning your mix using these tools, you are all set for the final step.
The Mastering Process
Before your song is mastered, you should re-record all your tracks to a single stereo file, and this is termed as bounced. The diverse mastering techniques are employed to furnish your song that finishing stroke. These techniques include maximizing loudness, balancing frequencies, abs stereo widening.
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