D8 Skills #130 & D9 | Unit E | Ella Steel | Recording Vocals
Today, over our Easter holiday, Ella and I recorded the vocals for her song, 'Understand'.
We began by sitting in the control room and changing a few parts of the production together on the big monitors. This was mainly removing certain rhythmic parts in the beginning.
We went into the live room and I set up all the gear for recording.
Working six hours straight not even stopping to each some lunch, we recorded many takes in order to get the vocals sounding perfect, and many harmonies that we worked out together. My next job is to sort through all the takes:
This method reminded me of how long it long it took to comp the vocals for 'Mistaken' because we used the same method... go over and over again until we definitely have enough takes so that I can choose the perfect parts later. This is a different method to how Andy and I recorded his vocals because we did all the comping together, and for some songs, during the same session as we recorded them.
After having experience using both methods, I can see the pros and cons of both:
Method 1 (Loads of takes + comping by myself after session):
PROS:
- Maximises time to do the one thing that must be done in the studio, in the studio. This is a good method to use when paying for studio time.
- Yields a higher probability of each phrase being perfect.
CONS:
- Takes me a lot of time in post to do something that isn't enjoyable.
Ways of Improving Method:
- Note down the best takes in real time during the session to be more efficient in post.
- Since this method requires not stopping until reaching perfection; delete everything that isn't perfect right after recording to be more efficient in post.
Method 2 (Fewer takes + comping together during session):
PROS:
- Quicker in studio and in post.
- When 2 people are focussed on the same thing, I've found that the shared goal always comes quicker than if it was only one person. I think that this is because each other's waves of ebb and flow aren't sinked, and flowing always conquers the other's ebbing, sustaining a much higher average level of flow.
CONS:
- Yields a lower probability of each phrase in the final song being perfect due to the fewer takes.
Ways of Improving Method:
- After recording, comping and listening to the song for a few days, make notes on what should be correct and go back into the studio to replace just those bits.
