Studio Roles - Soundalike Project

For our soundalike project, we had a couple of sessions yet and in those sessions I got to be the producer for recording drums and recording vocals. I played the role of runner while the bass recording session. But talking about the roles of producer, it was quite a challenging task for me. Because as a producer, I must keep notes for each take and more specifically, bits in a take. For instance, which take was “the take” which will eventually be edited. A producer has to have a conversation with the assistant producer about the voicings of the instrument. A producer has to listen to takes and look for the perfect sound. I wouldn’t say that I fulfilled my role as a producer 100% but our tutor Darren was with us the whole time and kept guiding and reminding me about my roles.

The first drum recording session was quite fun. As we were provided a professional drummer, I was a bit nervous as how to talk to a professional musician while you are wearing the producer’s hat. But I went on giving feedbacks on every take. There were bits where I overheard something which wasn’t there. Those bits were later corrected by Darren and that was a light-bulb moment for me. At the end of the session, I was being given feedback on my role by Darren. I learnt that as a producer, I need to constantly stay in touch with the musician inside the rec space and always keep them updated about what’s happening. While critically listening to the recording, I used to drop the talkback mic and so that might affect the musician’s feeling towards the recording.

Before the session started, we were asked if we have the microphones for the drum kit ready which we didn’t. Roughly, we noted the microphones we used last trimester to record a drum kit. Here are some pictures from the drum session.

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And here is a picture of the edited drums that we did as a group after the drums session.

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A few points that I learnt overall:

· The real meaning of critical listening.

· Preparation before the actual session.

· Thoughts and ideas to get the sound you’re aiming for.

· Interaction with a professional musician.

· Not just caring about your role but also looking upon everyone in your group and making sure they are up to their roles.

· More research on the production techniques for the instrument being recorded.

· Understanding the environment and the atmosphere of the control room AND the recording space as well.