ShaneLunnAPP

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Soundcloud Link to my finished Remix track

https://soundcloud.com/shane-lunn-leeds-met/game-theme-track-remix

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Final Studio Session - Feedback on Mixing and both Sample Maps

During this session we shared studios in two's and gave either critical feedback on what one another could improve on. The our tutor also came to give up relative and  constructive feedback. 

With my remix all of my sample mapping was complete and had been recorded into the track already. Also, I had mixed the track prior to this session in order to obtain feedback from my tutor on the mix as it stood as well.

Firstly, my tutor asked me about what had been sampled, so I explained that the melodic sample map consisted of; individual guitar notes and contrasting velocities spanning over three octaves, minor guitar chords which span over one octaves and piano chords which are used at the beginning of the track which are triggered via the sample map. My found sounds sample map included; individual xylophone notes spanning over two octaves, individual drum hits which make up the main repetitive drum beat, all of the ebow electric guitar tracks on separate notes, a clicking noise which is triggered on one note only and the kick drum sound which was recorded during our field recording work.

The first piece of feedback that I received from my tutor was to expand on my use of the stereo image. For example, towards the end of the track, the ebow guitar samples create a really nice homophonic texture. Although the weight of this texture was very central, therefore the numerous contrasting melodic lines couldn't be differentiated between one another. The second piece of feedback that I received was to work on the transition between the end of the second section of the track and the beginning of the third section. For example, they to allow more breathing space for the changes in timbre to be made smoothly.

So firstly, I worked upon automating panning into the sampled tracks of the ebow effected guitar tracks in the third and final section in order to an some interest and definition to stereo image of the final section of the track. After completing the automated panning, I listened back to the final section and was happy with how the panning sounded and how it opened up the spread and variation of sound. 

In terms of making the ebow guitar tracks jump out at the listener through panning and have a larger depth I read a paragraph which helped me to think about the texture that the automated panning could potentially create; "In stereophonic audio, we use a triangulation of sound to position sounds to come from certain areas, using the left speaker as one corner, the right speaker as another, and the listener as the last. This will cause delays between one ear and the other and trick the brain into thinking there are sounds coming from places there are not. There is no time delay between the two speakers however; the psychoacoustic effect comes from your position relative to the speakers and the volume difference between the two monitors. It is just an illusion."

'Castro, U. (2011). Mixing: Panning. Available: http://signaturesound.com/mixing-panning/. Last accessed 7th May 2014.'

This paragraph extend my thoughts of depth and creating a deep texture ad it talks about treating the right and left speakers as two different corners. Therefore, the depth is produced by the sound spreading so far into the one of corners and then panning back to the other corner, which makes the listener listen to the sound and believe that the individual audio track is actually a far thicker and deep sound then it actually is without any panning, hence the 'illusion'. 

Secondly, I worked upon the transition from the end of the second section to the beginning of the third section. I tried firstly varying the tempo of these couple of bars, but the tempo change actually somewhat killed the flow and motion of the track. So, in order to create more space in between the end of one section and the beginning of the next I simply moved the beginning of the final section beyond by two bars. Although this is a simple technique, the overall outcome was very effective and I was happy with the result, as although the tempo doesn't change, the transition now does not sound rushed like it did before. 

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Working Upon Texture in my Remix

I'm finding that the overall sound of my remix is improving since I implicated automated panning as the mix sounds wider and there is more space for important melodic lines to be heard. I found a heavy sound from my electric guitar, bass and drums, but I felt that I had slightly lost the tightness of the sound at the same time. 

I've experimented with actions such as increasing the level of the bass guitar and adding bass guitar at times where it wasn't present before. Also, experimenting with the E.Q. of the drums and experimenting with the compression of the drums. But still I'm not happy with the weight of these sections. Therefore, I read about ways to improve and control the overall sound and weight of louder sections.

I found this particular paragraph to be very helpfully for the sound I was trying to achieve; "To gain a louder, tighter and more powerful mix, avoid simultaneously amplifying or attenuating the same frequency on too many different instruments. Boosts at the same frequency on multiple instruments have the tendency to accumulate, and sound unnatural and unpleasant, with an unpredictable overall mix level due to the resulting ‘loud’ region created in the frequency spectrum. Likewise, making the same frequency cuts on multiple instruments can result in an artificial‑sounding ‘gap’ in the production’s frequency range, making the mix unstable on different systems."

'Mynett, M. (2009). Mixing Metal. Available: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec09/articles/metalII.htm. Last accessed 7th May 2014.' 

In conclusion, I did improve the weight of my louder sections by experimenting with the E.Q of various instruments and individual drum hits. Furthermore, I worked upon layering individual hits from the drum kit, such as the toms and kick drum to broaden the dept of the overall drum sound. 

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Lab Session - 6th May - Class and Tutor Feedback and Discussion Session

During this lab session we sat as a class an listened to various members of the class' remixes and what they had done so far. We each gave constructive feedback to our pears in order to broaden each others minds and open our individual thoughts into how far we could experiment with our sample maps.

I firstly received feedback from two of my pears. The constructive feedback included; firstly, to maybe try and add more dept to the drum sound and maybe change the rhythm of the drums occasionally. Secondly, to maybe try and broaden the sound of the track and use the stereo image more in order to hear the individual notes of the sampled material more clearly. This was good and productive feedback, which I obviously wrote down and took on board.

So, after hearing this feedback I did start automating the panning on some of the instruments in order to make more room for the textural and symphonic sampled sounds to be heard more clearly. The result was an improvement, although I haven't mixed the track fully, you could already hear an improvement as the track sounded as if it had an injection of colour as you could now hear everything. 

My last point can be supported by this quote; "Spatial characteristics can relationships are used as artistic elements in music productions. space has the potential of being the most important artistic element in a musical idea, but most often serves to support other elements. It may support other elements by delineating musical materials, by adding new dimensions to the unique character of the sound source or musical idea, and/or by adding to the motion or direction of a musical idea."

'Moylan, W (2007). Understanding and Crafting the Mix - The Art of Recording. 2nd ed. Oxford, UK: Focal Press. p177.'

After receiving feedback from my pears, I received some from my tutor. He listened to my work and said firstly that there were elements of good work across the board, but the sections didn't blend very well. For example, the textures of sections were different, which is fine, but the change between the sections was too sudden and they needed to blend, almost like cross fading. 

Secondly, he said that there was audio in my track that could still be used in my sample maps. For example, I have a percussive click which we recorded previously which would be Ideal for my non-melodic sample map. 

So after receiving and reflecting on the feedback I entered all of the audio which he had suggested into the appropriate sample maps. And this allowed me to control the audio better obviously and this will allow me to now implicate and demonstrate my sampling ability more thoroughly. 

Secondly, I worked on the transition of my first section into my second. The textures ad dynamics are completely different as the first section is mellow and not particularly loud and the second is aggressive and loud. So after a while of experimentation I had gradually built the volume of the first section as you get nearer to the second section in order for the volume increase to blend. And, I used some of the harsh sounds towards the end of the first section so that the change in texture wasn't a shock either. 

I understood why my tutor told me blend the sections, but I do still want to keep the dramatic change between sections present, but he's right in saying that it can't be too sudden or jerky. Therefore, I found this quote very helpful and relevant; "Expressive changes in dynamics levels and the relationships of those changes have most often been used to support the motion of melodic lines, the enhance the sense of direction in harmonic motion, or to emphasise a particular musical idea. A change of dynamic level, in and of itself, can produce a dramatic musical event and is a common musical occurrence. Changes in dynamical level can be gradual or sudden, but they must be justified.'

'Moylan, W (2007). Understanding and Crafting the Mix - The Art of Recording. 2nd ed. Oxford, UK: Focal Press. p42.'

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Studio Session - 1st May - Developing our Sample Maps

During this studio session we worked on developing our sample maps. For my remixed track I am trying to implicate a versatile use of layers. For example, controlling the sections by using different textural layers. 

We recorded two textures of sound in a group of three. Firstly, electric guitar where we recorded three octaves and various chords in order to use the individual notes in our sample and then use them to layer and add to the texture of our remixes. 

In terms of analysis, we weren't happy with the sound that we had captured at first. We changed the settings on the Amp that we were using as we came to an agreement that the sound was too piercing and wouldn't fit the ambience or sound of any of our remixes. We therefore attempted to capture a more blended sound which would fit the ambience of all of our remixes. 

We recorded all notes from three octaves and three different velocities of each individual note just incase either of us decide to use a variety of velocities in our individual remixes. 

After recording electric guitar we then did the same process but with a xylophone over the space of two octaves and with three contrasting velocities. We approved of the sound that we captured off the xylophone as we used just one condenser mic placed directly over the xylophone and about 2/3 feet away. 

After recording we organised the audio files and then went into a lab and individually placed the audio into our melodic sample maps. For my second sample map I am using found sounds, percussive hits and some of the audio captured from my granular synthesis work.

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LAB Session - 29th April - Development of Remix track and Feedback

We began this lab session as a class by listening to and discussing various original recordings and then a remix of that recording. We would discuss what we thought of the remix, what the producers had changed or kept from the original and what we individually thought of the remix or would change about it.

I found the exercise and discussion to be very beneficial as it opened my thoughts to how far you can go with a remix. I mean this in the sense of a remix not having to sound at all like the original, but as long as it refers back to the original and is recognisable then it's justified.

Furthermore, we then began to carry on with our individual work on our remixes. During this session I was beginning to use my sounds from my melodic sample map within my remix. Also, I plan this week to use my audio files that I created using granular synthesis in Adobe Audition previously.

I then received very beneficial feedback from my tutor who told me to work on variation between textures and structure. For example, in my opening section, use audio from my melodic sample map and granular synthesis work to gradually build contrasting sounds to create continually changing and building textures. Also, with my drums, try use skills of what we have learnt with drum replacement as my drum track sounds very dull and plain with no real dept to the sound. So, drum replacement on the snare and other areas of the kit could be replaced with individual hits recorded previously. 

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LAB Session - 25th March - Noise Reduction, Granular Synthesis and Frequency Sampling using Adobe Audition

In this tutorial we used Adobe Audition in order to reduce noise from a pre-recorded sample and then we developed this by displaying frequency sampling.

Firstly, we imported the short guitar sample into Audition. The sample had unwanted noise at the begging and end of the audio file. Therefore, we opened the 'Spectral View' in Audition which presents frequency range and amplitude of every note recorded. So, in order to remove the unwanted noise we selected the area of frequencies in which we wanted to eliminate and selected 'Capture Noise Print' and then used the 'Noise Reduction' plugin. I then experimented with the advanced settings within the plugin such as; the Spectral Decay Rate and the Precision Factor. I found that low values in the Spectral Decay got rid of the lower humming noise which was very prominent.

Secondly, I moved onto Frequency Sampling via Granular Synthesis. Firstly, by using the Lasso tool and selecting harmonic notes of my choice from the Spectral View. With each individual note I copied them into a new audio file and layered the harmonies. Once I had enough notes in the audio file I then tried to build a melodic sequence before adding additional effects such as reverb and even a pitch shifter on some notes. 

To gain more knowledge and understanding of Granular Synthesis I read a passage written by Eduardo Reck Miranda who describes how people tend to view synthesis in order to prove to myself that really it isn't too complicated. 'This synthesis technique can be metaphorically compared with the functioning of motion pictures in which an impression of continuous movement is produced by displaying a sequence of slightly different images at a rate above the scanning capability of the eye. The results generally exhibit a great sense of movement and sound flow.'

'Miranda, E.R (2002). Computer Sound Design - Synthesis Techniques and Programming. 2nd ed. Oxford, Uk: Focal Press. 101.'

In conclusion, I found this tutorial very interesting as I have never really experienced Frequency Sampling before. Also, this tutorial broadened my knowledge and confidence with using Adobe Audition.

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Studio Sessions - 13th & 20th March

On the 13th of March we worked on recording piano for our track, we recorded the grand piano using three microphones on the one piano as we planned to layer the piano later on in the mix in order to gain a large and thick sound. 

The microphones which we used were two Rode NT-2's in the middle of the piano in order to capture a virtual and natural sound involving a stereo image. The other mic was a BM 88 - B.E. which was placed just over the front of the piano to capture a distorted sound from the strings in order to fit into the genre of our track. 

We were happy with the sound captured from this mic placement and the piano tracks recorded have now been used as the forefront for one of our contrasting sections within the whole track. 

On the 20th of March we worked on editing and extending the structure of our track as we has material that we were advised by our tutor to develop further. Furthermore, we spent time discussing and then working upon drum replacement and layering sound which is a technique that we learnt about during a recent lab session. 

Furthermore, we received further feedback upon the structure of our track and the editing we had worked upon within the drum tracks. For example, we were advised to pan our overhead drum mics left and right and we were advised to parallel compress areas of the kit in order to create a more naturally powerful sounding kit.

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Lab Session - 11th March - Editing Audio using Cubase

In this tutorial, we used Cubase in order to utilise vocal tuning techniques and diagnose problems within them and also to use vocal tuning techniques as a creative effect.

Firstly, I used the 'Pitch & Wrap' tab in the sample editor to analyse the notes within the audio. I then began to manipulate individual segments before tuning the notes by quantising and straightening the pitch of the notes.

After I was happy with the changes that I had made within the audio, I then began to create harmonies by copying the audio and then manipulating the new material. I then received feedback from our tutor and he said that the final outcome was interesting and had been developed very well.

I found this tutorial very helpful as I have never used Cubase Software before, but I felt as if I was able to use it competently to a basic level.

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Studio Session - 6th Mach

Today we were in the Small Studios and we wanted to record bass guitar and distorted vocals. Also, we spoke about the feedback that we had received from our tutor two days prior to this session in order to influence his advice on our work.

Firstly, when recording bass guitar we used an SM57 in front of an Orange Bass Amp. We wanted a thick and aggressive sound from the amp therefore we added plenty of bass to the amp and used a little bit of graphic EQ in logic. After experimenting for a short while, we found the sound that we were looking for and recorded it.

With the distorted vocals we used a BM88 - B.E. mic which produces a distorted crunchy sound to any instrument. Therefore, we put this mic through a cube guitar amp and then recorded spoken words into Logic. We then added a graphic E.Q and changed the Bit rate of the audio to achieve the sound that we wanted.

The feedback we received from this session was positive, although we were told to make our drum kit recordings thicker, maybe by doubling the track.

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LAB Tutorial - 4th March - Drum Replacement in Logic

Throughout this tutorial our learning objectives were; to successfully gate a drum take in order to ensure that MIDI maps can be drawn to the correct rhythmic sequence, to utilise Logic's drum functions and to be able to manipulate it's parameters and finally, to identify the possible enhancements of drum re-enforment and replacement.

Firstly, in order to gate a drum track, I muted all of the other tracks in the mix, apart from the floor tom. I gated the floor tim using the plug-in noise gate, 'Silver Gate' in order to eliminate excess background noise from the rest of the kit. I then used the 'bounce in place' function and another track was created before I then clicked on the 'Drum Replacement/Doubling' function. I changed various settings within the function before selecting a drum sample from the sample bank. After I was happy with the sound of the floor tom, I then experimented with changing the velocities of different midi notes, in order to create dynamic contrast and more of a sense of realism to the sound. This exercise went well, although the sound of the midi tom wasn't as good as I could have got it, the main objective of the task was completed, which was learning how to draw a midi map to a rhythmic sequence and to utilise Logic's drum replacement functions.

Secondly, I experimented with enhancements of drum re-forcement and replacement. The track of the file lacked 'air' in the recording and sounded rather week on the whole. Therefore, I used the same technique developed before and I bounced in place the original audio of the snare in order to have the track doubled. Although, before applying the effect, I selected the 'pre-listen' option in the settings in order to get a doubled effect.

Overall, I found this tutorial very helpful as I have only experimented with these functions very briefly before and not really to this amount of depth. Furthermore, my recording group and I are thinking of potentially using drum re-enforcement in out recording work as our drum recording came out nicely, but it feels too light for our genre of music.

My Group and I also received some feedback from our teacher about our recording work. Our teacher gave us some good ideas on how to improve various bits of audio already recorded and some good on things to go out and record over the next week.

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Studio Sessions 20th & 27th of February

Within these two recording sessions myself and my group worked upon recording the opening minuet of our war game theme music. Within the lesson on the 20th, we recorded electric guitar and bass on top of synths that we had made previously in order to create a string-like sound.

When recording the electric guitar we used a BOSS ME-50 effects pedal in order to create a distorted sound. We were happy with the sound that it created after we had adjusted various parameters within the effect. We then used the ME-50 effect pedal again to create a wiry delayed sound and again, we really liked the sound that the pedal created.

During our recording session on the 27th of February we were using the larger studios, thus able to recording drums. So, we recorded drums using 5 mics; one on the kick drum, two on the snare drum and two overheads. The sound that we collected from the kit was very good and we then moved onto recording electric guitar again through a Marshall 100DFX amp whilst using an 'Ebow' effect. This sound came out very well and we felt that we had achieved a lot within both of these recording sessions.

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Lab Tutorial 25th of Feb - Using Synthesis within Logic Pro

Within this lab tutorial we learnt how to use synthesis within Logic Pro 9 using the 'Zebre 2 Synth'.

Firstly, we looked at making percussive sounds using the synthesiser and adjusting the parameters in order to firstly create a replicative sound for a basic kick drum. In order to create this particular sound there were various changes which had to be made to the synth, for example; changing the oscillator module present to 'Sine Tree', adding a second envelope to control the tuning of the synth and changing the slope type on the ENV2 from 'quadric' to 'v-slope' in order to enable faster attack control.

Secondly, we experimented with creating chromatic sounds using the Zebra 2 Synth. So, we tried to create a basic pad sound. I began with a basic saw wave, which was a very harsh sounding synth. So, in order to manipulate this, I experimented with both the oscillators and both of the LFO's. After a while i had a much warmer, more settled pad like sound.

In conclusion, again I found this tutorial to be very interesting and beneficial as I have never the Zebre 2 synthesiser in Logic Pro 9 and I felt as if i came away from the tutorial with a good idea of how to create and manipulate sound well within the parameters of the synth.

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Lab Tutorial Tuesday 18th of Feb - Using Kontakt

In this tutorial we learnt of to critically and creatively use 'Kontakt' within Logic Pro 9. Personally, I had never use Kontakt before this session, but had heard good feedback from friends who had done so, so I was therefore excited to use thee software.

Within this session we learnt firstly how to; use Kontakt to split loops or multi hit audio files using transients. With this first exercise I found it fairly basic and felt that I was able to do this well.

Secondly, we mapped drum hits to note on our midi keyboards. This again was fairly simple as I was following the tutorial. Also, I have used a midi keyboards as a controller in the past, so I was fairly familiar with this exercise. We then continued to experiment with the sample zones in order to create velocity changes and to create pitch variation.

We then continued to create loop points within a sample, this is a fairly simple task, but you have to have your own opinion to where you think the loop points should be. At this point, I then asked my tutor for feedback and he suggested certain ideas going back to velocity changes made before. So, I manipulated the velocity changes again and actually preferred the second outcome.

Finally, we added various effects to different samples within a chosen sample map. I chose to add reverb and a graphic EQ, this sounded fine once I had spent some time changing the diameters within the effects.

I found this tutorial very valuable as I had never used Kontakt before. Also, I am hoping to potentially use Kontakt for my group recording project which we are working on at the moment.