The Modern Critic

an 18 year old student documenting the ongoing trials and tribulations of trying to gain a foot hold in the world of film and VFX.

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New video up now! Making music using computer vision. Link in bio - - - - #ambient #music #darkambientmusic #musicproducer #soundandtexture #tape #analog #reeltoreel https://www.instagram.com/p/B_Qm8EUAP97/?igshid=upqjjjy1xa23

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With everyone stuck inside, what better time to work on your music. I’m still taking bookings for mixing and mastering services. DM me to chat about your project and how I can help you get the best out of your music! - - - - - #mixingengineer #mixingandmastering #studiolife #brightonelectricstudios #mixingstudio #readyfor2020 #songwriter #brighton #producerlife #recordingartist #composer (at Brighton Electric) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9y_ye6g3tW/?igshid=1kjzeoyyaicjw

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Attack Transient Vlog #1 - The Beginning

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The joys of high tides and island life! (at Mersea Island) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8YyIXngf2x/?igshid=r4f9ss475aq6

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Final gig prep for tomorrow’s show at the old market with @boudicca_music Ticket link in bio! - - - @tomvenue #bass #bassguitar #bassplayer #bassplayersunited #doublebass #doublebassist #uprightbass #hiphop #livemusic (at Ooosh! Tours) https://www.instagram.com/p/B76bbv6guPr/?igshid=dy2awutjf8l8

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Targets for semester 2: Electric Boogaloo

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My next gig with @boudicca_music Tickets available now! Link in bio - - - - #livemusic #bass #reigningwomen #bassplayer #bassplayersunited #livemusic #theoldmarketbrighton #doublebass #uprightbass #uprightbassist #keeplivemusicalive #rap #hiphop (at The Old Market) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7BOCv9A6_5/?igshid=4s3lqq17kres

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Contrasting performance analysis.

The contrasting live performances I will be comparing are two versions of the song Everlong by foo fighters one is a full band performance at radio 1’s big weekend and the other is a solo acoustic version performed by Dave Grohl on the Howard Stern show.

Foo Fighters - "Everlong" (Acoustic) Live at Howard Stern: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-89uZOIFok

Foo Fighters - Everlong (Live 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHcuCb9xN4A

Everlong (Acoustic):

This performance is very stripped back featuring just dave Grohl with an acoustic guitar sat behind a desk in a tv studio. The performance is very relaxed and unstructured with dave saying “this will be interesting, I’ve never really done this acoustic” showing that its an impromptu and improvised version of the song. 

There is no interaction with a live audience as it’s recorded in a tv studio but dave interacts casually with the other members of the panel as he introduces the song and explains the version. Although dave is playing a solo version of the song he still communicates throughout the song and mentions how he’s going to shorten the bridge.

In this version, dave is dressed very casually wearing a plain back long-sleeved jumper with a shorter hairstyle leaning into the relaxed and laid back version of the song and the setting 

Everlong live at radio 1’s big weekend (2015):

This performance is much higher energy and uses heavier and more distorted tones along with the full rock band setup heard on the recorded album creating a wall of sound more appropriate for the festival main stage setting. 

The band are spread out with lots of space between them but still only take up the centre portion of the sate with it being so large. Dave, the bass player and the second guitarist are positioned at the font of the stage with there own bank of monitors in front of each of them and the drummer in on a tall riser at the back of centre stage so he can be seen behind dave. Throughout the performance, the musicians move around to interact with one another with Dave spending most of the time at centre stage to sing into his mic, in the pre-chorus instrumental sections and the bridge he moves away from his mic stand to come towards the front edge of the stage and interact with the crowd. 

The band have the classic 90’s rock band style on stage with backline stacked behind them and a relatively complicated stage setup featuring a constant light show and large video screens behind them they also have the band branding well represented with the logo present either side of the stage. 

These two performances have very little in common other than being performances of the same song but they are both effective performances for there setting with the fist being relaxed and stripped back performance fitting the casual setting of the tv show with a small studio space whereas the festival performance is a well-rehearsed commercial product fitting of a high energy environment like a live broadcast music festival where the band has to work to win over a larger audience and have enough space and resources for more equipment and to put on more of a show.

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Practice diary week 5

This week I looked back at my practice routine and updated it to add some new points I want to work on. I have added dedicated time to look back at videos from the week's LPW performance, make notes and set targes to work on. I have also added some time to try different playing styles.

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Recording summative Evaluation

Technical and creative use of an Analogue recording console.

One of the main tools available to us in the small pond studio was the analogue recording console that the majority of the studio signal flow centres around. we took advantage fo this through the use fo gain staging on each track to ensure each recording was of a good signal level but still allowing enough headroom to capture the dynamic range of each performance without peaking or distortion. 

We also utilised the analogue console and its EQ stage in our vocal recording signal stage, because of our chouse to use a ribbon mic for the vocal recordings we committed to an EQ on the way in to bring some of the brighter frequencies back into the sound by boosting around 12k. We also used the flip phase function on the channel strips when recording the acoustic guitar with a stereo micing set up to check that they were in phase and that there was a minimal amount of phase cancellation. 

Explanation of pro tools project.

Within our pro tools project the majority of our channels where mono with only the acoustic guitar being recorded using a stereo channel as we were using a stereo micing technique we could have used two mono channels grouped together with one for left and right but using a single stereo channel meant that any changes to the inserts and sends would automatically be applied to both of the acoustic tracks, all of the other parts recorded where mono signals so mono tracks where used. 

Below is a routing/signal flow diagram we prepared before the recording session.

In this diagram, you can see how we decided to use one channel of reverb for the entire project this was done with a reverb effect on an aux return channel, a post-fade send was then used on each channel we wanted to send to the reverb.

We also utilised pre-fade sends for the artist’s headphone monitoring mix, this meant we could send the artist a tailored mix so they could hear what they needed to for ease of tracking while still being to here what we wanted to hear in the control room. 

Microphone choice, signal chain and mixing For the acoustic guitar I chose to use a stereo pair of AKG 414’s, this microphone is well renown as an industry standard large-diaphragm condenser and its mostly flat frequency responds with a slight dip between 1k and 2k with a small high-end boost starting around 3k peaking at 5k and then rolling off gradually towards 10k make it well suited to acoustic instruments. This mic choice meant the acoustic guitar needed minimal EQ and the use of a 12th fret and soundhole stereo micing technique gave a wide natural sound when panned left and right.

For the bass guitar, I chose to record both a di and a mic on a bass amp cab so that we would have a clean backup as well as the creative amp tone to work with the what this was setup can be seen in the diagram in the section above. For the bass, I chose to use a large-diaphragm dynamic AKG kick mic, using a mic like this on bass helps to capture the low-end warmth that is lost on a di due to the large diaphragm offering itself to the more accurate reproduction of the low frequencies and having a high-end roll-off for a naturally darker sound, being a dynamic mic its also able to handle the higher SPL (sound pressure level) often encountered when recording a bass amp that could potentially damage a more sensitive mic capsule. 

For the electric guitar, I used the same routing setup as the bass taking both a recording of a microphone on an amp and a clean Di as a backup. I used an sm57 for this because similar to the bass there is a higher SPL that the sm57, being a dynamic mic, can handle. The sm57, however, has a smaller diaphragm size than the AKG mic used for the bass, this results in a much flatter frequency response clouring the sound less and capturing more of the tone from the amp. I feel that given more time I would have liked to experiment more with the positioning of the mic on the speaker and how that affects the guitar tone but because of time constraints, I opted for a very neutral position for practicality rather than a creative choice 

For the vocals, I chose to use an Se ribbon mic as this complimented the vocalist’s voice giving it an airy feeling of space with its natural resonance this was set up with a pop shield and a reflection shield. The reflection shield was needed because the microphone has a figure of 8 polar pattern that would otherwise capture any sound reflecting off the studio walls into the rear of the diaphragm. On the way into the DAW the signal was compressed using an 1176 levelling amplifier and eq was applied with a small cut around 1k and a 2 to 3 dB boost at 12k to add clarity and to help the vocals cut through in the final mix.

For the backing vocals, the vocalist was asked to take a step back from the microphone all other settings were then left the same as the main vocal take including the gain stage this naturally eliminates the lower frequencies accented by the proximity effect this coupled with the slightly lower recording level caused by the distance from the mic means the BVs will naturally sit in to the mix with the main vocals without the need for additional EQ saving time in the mixing stage. This same mic was used to record the percussion parts but without the outboard processing.

I feel that we produced a commercially viable mix with all parts sitting well together whilst retaining clarity. I think this is partly because of our choice to use one channel of reverb to create a ‘room’ effect meaning all of the instruments feel as if they are moving and breathing within the same space helping to make the final track feel more like a performance than a clinically accurate recording. I feel that I and Louis worked well as a team with him working on pro tools in the control room whilst I set up the live room and coordinated with the artists playing to both of our strengths. This also meant we were able to use our time more efficiently working right up to the deadline to get the most we could out of the session.

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This weeks LPW performance at the @the_prince_albert_brighton I seem to be really interested in my shoes in this one - - - - #bass #bassguitar #bassplayersunited #bassplayer #waterbear #livemusic #audioslave #yamaha #ashdownamps #ampeg (at The Prince Albert) https://www.instagram.com/p/B42g7Gbgsdo/?igshid=a1sggzl7fwvz

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Planning for artist essay

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Big shoutout to @i.are.willow for stepping in last minute yesterday and learning the entire set in 5 hours as we’ll as doing our makeup for the show I’m Sure @boudicca_music is proud to have you in her tribe! - - - - #livemusic #bass #doublebassist #brighton #komedia #collectivemindrecords #doublebass #music (at Komedia Brighton) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4PZur7l1t-/?igshid=1hjq0brujjuxb

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practice diary week 4

The practice plan has gone out the window a bit this week with most if the main tasks being focused on learning the set for my upcoming gig with Boudicca, which has had to be made the main priority due it being such short notice. So most of my time has been spent practising for this but i have still been able to look at my targets i set in last weeks practice diary as i will be playing this set on my double bass, as well as note accuracy i have also been looking at playing double bass with a bow this is a skill i have wanted to learn for a while now and having the opportunity to start playing the double bass regularly in  a band has given me the motivation to push through the frustration of learning a completely new and different playing style.

I have found learning to use the bow very difficult as it is completely different from anything i have ever done but i feel that it would be a good skill to have and would defiantly be 'another hair to my bow' when it comes to session playing opportunities with double bass players being in demand to begin with.

Instead of setting a target this week i will be adding practice with the bow to my weekly routine.

Post with photos and videos from the gig to follow.    

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Practice Diary Week 3

This week was spent practising for the LPW formative assignment, so i have been focusing on the two songs go your own way and chain of fools. I will be playing go your own way with one band and i will be being assessed on 'chain of fools' and i will be playing this on the double bass, my main focus of my double bass playing is still continuing to improve my note accuracy but focusing on this can often mean other parts of my playing get less consideration so i have also been practising using my electric bass and locking in on the feel and grove for both songs.n

In in the video below from our pre production class we played through our chosen assessment songs and where given feedback by the class, unfortunately i didn't think about the orientation of the video  at the time so you cant see my right hand but you can still hear the bass and the grove clearly

: https://youtu.be/1VtitMRy_PM

From the class feedback i was told to look at where i was going to land on the beat and the feel that would create with dragging slightly behind giving a relaxed feeling and preempting and being just before the beat creating an anxious feeling.

My target for next week will be to continue the practice on the double bass looking at feel as well as note accuracy and to look at adding variation to the grove when appropriate without loosing the overall solid rooted feeling.

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Practice Diary Week 2

The main task each day this week had been mostly focused on the right hand and playing with a pick, having been self taught bass up until joining WaterBear my playing has always been focused around practicality and 'just getting it done' rather than adapting my playing techniques for tone, this lead to me just sticking with fingerstyle playing as this is what I knew and was reliable for when I was learning sets for cover bands a short notice, having the push to try new styles will hopefully help me break out of some of the bad habits I have picked up in my playing over the last few years. Playing cross-town traffic two weeks ago was the first time I had ever performed a song on stage using a pick after I was suggested to me in the session it made a huge difference to the tone and the way the bassline flowed feeling much more natural but still impactful but being one of the few times I have attempted to play with a pick I felt like I was having to hang on to it with a lot of force to stop it from rotating in my fingers and facing the wrong way I also dropped the pick partway through one playthrough and had to switch back to fingerstyle.

This weeks LPW song go your own way with its driving energetic but simple bass line would definitely sound good using a pick I decided to experiment with pick thickness and what this would do to tone and playing feel and see if I could find a compromise of something that sounds appropriate but also suits my playing style and feels comfortable to use.

In the video below I compared fingerstyle a thin flexible pick and a thicker sold pick, after this, I decided I would use a slightly thicker pick for the driving tone but something that still had some flex and feedback to suit what felt good to me playing.

https://youtu.be/ygaikrAsn1U

[the-modern-critic]

Great fun yesterday playing double bass at The Prince Albert for a @wearewaterbear photo shoot - - - - #doublebass #uprightbass #bassplayersunited #livemusic #brighton (at London Road Central, Brighton and Hove) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3KUHI8AweX/?igshid=13iaspxz8qd1t