Music Triper

It's finally time to put the voice into sound wave format. Before you start singing your favorite notes, you will want to make sure that everything is set up correctly. The voice is the trickiest part of recording as well as the very last step to getting everything in correctly. Before you begin, know exactly how to approach your notes.



Your first step to recording your voice is to not record your voice. This means that you will want to have everything else exactly like it should be. The rest of your instrumentation should be completed, including everything from the layering of instruments to the mixing. Putting the voice in before you have anything else done will cause slight confusion in the end from all musicians and may cause some parts of the track to be off.



After you have everything set, prepare your recording studio in the correct way for voice. This means that you should have an enclosed space to record, which doesn't cause the voice to bounce off the walls from the resonance. The microphone should be set in place to pick up all sides of the voice, but should be able to muffle the rest of the sounds in the room. The more enclosed and deadened the sound, the easier it will be to capture the voice.



One of the important parts of recording the voice is linked to the peaks in the voice. It is easy for a vocal sound to peak, meaning that the sound wave goes past the maximum and into a 'red zone' of volume. You will want to prevent this from happening and keep the voice condensed in a specific area. Remember, it is always easier to get louder, but it is harder to get softer. For this purpose, compressors have been created. This is set into the microphone and compresses the sound wave before it is recorded into the software. Always check the compression of the voice and the peaks that it has so that you have room to work with the volume.



From this point, it is a matter of putting the right mixes in for the voice. Equalizers, or EQs will help to get the right sounds of the high and low frequencies in and should always be set on the mixer as well as within the software. You will also want to consider things such as noise gates, which stops the sound from resonating before it is recorded. If the voice naturally resonates, the noise gate will have a cut off point where the resonance will stop, making everything clear instead of sounding like it echoes.



After the voice is recorded, you can use it like you would any other instrument. This means that you can normalize the sound waves so that it matches with the other instruments in volume and gain. This also means that you can allow the volume to mix properly.



One of the greatest sets of tools for the voice is being able to manipulate the sound, which can be done after the normalization is complete. Reverb, flanges and other vocal tools can add back into the voice what is taken out for compression. This will depend on the type of voice and the effect that you want to have. For example, if the voice has a slight accent or already has a strong resonance, reverb will make it sound like an echo. A clearer voice; however, will add in a little sparkle to the mix. You will want to analyze the type of voice you are working with before you add in the mix and will want to take some time to experiment with your options.



If you follow this simple sets of rules, recording the voice can move from being the hardest and most complex part of recording to being the simplest step in putting together all of the sounds. Giving yourself room to experiment with the voice and understanding what it needs in order to work right will allow you to get the exact results every time.

Arranging and putting together a recording sometimes takes something a little bit different than getting a band together and mixing in all of the music. There are now more options available for piecing together your songs, making sure that everything is in the right place and keeping the sounds together correctly.



Tip #1: Take advantage of repeats and patterns. Everything musical is built off of a pattern. If you have patterns in your song, don't take the time to keep re-writing them into the music, especially if you are not playing it live. Creating a loop with that specific musical phrasing will be much more effective and will save you time.



Tip #2: Know where to find loops. Most recording packages come with pre-made loops that you can use for general patterns. This is especially effective if you need a rhythm pattern or a general beat. While loops shouldn't be the basis of your song, for the general back ground songs, this is a great thing to use.



Tip #3: Always think in layers. Whether you are using patterns, loops or recording live, the best way to get through the recording process is to think in layers. This should be happening from the arrangement of the song, but should continue to the actual production and mixing.



Tip #4: Know what to put in first. There are logical and effective ways to put down tracks to the different instrumentation. You will always want to start with the rhythm track because of the ability to have a repetitive loop and to keep everything on the right track. You will then stack from lows to highs, starting with the bass sounds, moving to mid range, and then high range.



Tip #5: Vocals are the icing on the cake. Even though the singers are the front of the stage, in recording they keep to the back. Before you bring a vocal person in to record, you will want to have the layers of your instrumentation completed, including the mixing. The voice can then be compressed in and will blend in nicely with the rest of the instrumentation.



Tip #6: Familiarize yourself with more than one program. Most recording studios will have a preference of their favorite programs to use for everything. However, the more versatile you are in your recording software, the more capabilities you will have to find the right sounds, arrangements and capabilities within the software. You will want to ask around to see what software is best at what.



Tip #7: Know the background from the front. One of the largest mistakes made in recording is having the balance and the back arrangements as the foreground. This all comes back to the volume control in your pieces. You will want to research what the standards are for each volume setting before you start recording.



Tip #8: It's easier to get louder in volume than softer. If you are just starting the mix, start low. Typically, you will want to test each instrument or pattern. They should be set around -6.0. From this, you can move up. You never want your volume to get to 0 when recording, especially before the vocals as it will cause the sound to be too loud, to peak with the waves and to be imbalanced.



Tip #9: Testing. When you test each of the sounds you want to look for volume control. Each of the instruments should not max out into a yellow or red zone. The volume should show a nice half way point with all of the instruments. Some can be higher than others for the mix, but if you keep this general rule in mind, it will be easier to keep the instrumentation fitting together with volume.



Tip #10: Know when to pre-set. If you have a certain sound you are going for, know what needs compressed or put together in a certain way, don't hesitate to do it before you begin playing. This is especially effective with the mixing. However, you don't want to experiment unless you are ready to lay the track down several times with different settings.



With these tips, you can build your pieces more effectively and with less time. Knowing what to use when with your computer, as well as what to set in the right place will help you to get the exact sound that you need.