Researching an album
what i chose to research
i have chosen to research the album "out of the blue" which was the seventh album to be recorded with a studio album By Electric Light Orchestra
the album fits into the genre of 'British Rock' and was released in october 1977.
The album was wrote and produced by the star of the band, Jeff Lynn. it took him approximately three and a half weeks to write all the songs on the album.
The album ended up selling about 10 million copies word wide.
The album managed to reach:
number 4 in the US billboard
number 4 in the UK album charts
the highest they every got was number 2 on the canadian and Swedish album charts.
in 2007 the album was reissued into the UK album chart, where it reached number 18.
Information on the studio
the studio used was Musicland studios which was located in munich, Germany.
it was create by an italian producer called Giorgio Moroder within the late 1960s and closed in the beginning of the 1990s, this was due to the nearby subway effecting the quality of production.
throughout the 1970s and 80s it was very popular with big named artists such as 'Queen' , 'The rolling stones' and 'Led Zeppelin'.
Information on the tracks
part of the album tells a story of the weather and how it can change peoples mood, the sequence ends with a sunny day within the song "Mr Blue sky". The song was wrote while Jeff Lynn listened to a down pour of rain the was outside his Swiss chalet.
"Mr Blue Sky" managed to hit number 6 in the UK singles chart and Number 35 in the US
for the last couple of the track there is a vocated segment, very often people would interoperate this as being "mister blue sky" however it has been confirmed that it actually says "please turn me over". this would have been because the album was first released to vinyl rather than CD.
within the song there is an instrument that is mistaken for being a cow bell, however the band decided to used a fire extinguisher for this unique sound that can be heard.
People involved.
there were seven people with the band:
Jeff Lynne- he was the Lead vocals, backing vocals, electric piano and slide guitars.
Bev Bevan- he was the drums and everything percussion. On the track "mr blue sky" he played the fire extinguisher.
Richard Tandy- Electric keyboard and electric guitar
Kelly Groucutt- backing vocals, bass guitar and percussion.
Mik Kaminski- violin
Hugh McDowell- cello
Melvyn Gale- Cello
There were three people involved in production:
Jeff Lynne- he was the producer, he was also involved in the orchestral and choral arrangement.
Reinhold mack (most commonly known as Mack)- he was the sound engineer
Louis Clark- He was the one the conducted the orchestra, he was also involved in the arrangement for the orchestra.
comparison to my recording
In my first recordings you can hear thing like background noises and the wind however within these tracks they sound very professional. you cannot hear anything that wasn't intently put in. for example sounds such as the fire extinguisher were intended within their recordings where as in mine, the cars in the background were not internal.
they probably used professional microphones where as in mine i used a hand held recorder so the quality of sound isn't to the same standard.
Thursday, 7 July 2016
Being a recording enginere Unit 48
Introduction to sound production
terminology for microphones
there are five main words to remember for sound production they are transducer, diaphragm, electromagnet, compactor plate and Pre-Amp.
Pre-Amp- this a a device that is used when you have a very weak signal, it is used to amplify the sound.
Diaphragm- this is used to produce electrical signals, this is because its a thin sheet of metal thats vibrate in response to sound waves.
transducer- this device is used to covert one form of energy into another.
electromagnet- this is what is called when audio signals are converted into electrical signals.
compactor plate-all compactors have two plates that have some voltage between them. within a condenser microphone, one plate is very light, this is so it can act as a diaphragm.
Types of microphone
Dynamic microphone-
terminology for microphones
there are five main words to remember for sound production they are transducer, diaphragm, electromagnet, compactor plate and Pre-Amp.
Pre-Amp- this a a device that is used when you have a very weak signal, it is used to amplify the sound.
Diaphragm- this is used to produce electrical signals, this is because its a thin sheet of metal thats vibrate in response to sound waves.
transducer- this device is used to covert one form of energy into another.
electromagnet- this is what is called when audio signals are converted into electrical signals.
compactor plate-all compactors have two plates that have some voltage between them. within a condenser microphone, one plate is very light, this is so it can act as a diaphragm.
Types of microphone
Dynamic microphone-
The diaphragm is attached to the coil.
When the diaphragm vibrates in response to incoming sound waves, the coil moves
backwards and forwards past the magnet. This creates a current in the coil
which is channelled
from
the microphone along wires. A common configuration is shown
here:
(insert picture of mic)
Condenser/ Capacitor Microphones-
A capacitor has two plates with a voltage
between them. In the condenser mic, one of these plates is made of very
light material and acts as the diaphragm. The diaphragm vibrates when struck by
sound waves, changing the distance between the two plates and therefore
changing the capacitance. Specifically, when the plates are closer together,
capacitance increases and a charge current occurs. When the plates are further
apart, capacitance decreases and a discharge current occurs.
A voltage is required across the
capacitor for this to work. This voltage is supplied either by a battery in the
mic or by external phantom power.
(inser other mic)
Ribbon- When conductive aluminium is positioned between the poles of a magnet it produces voltage, this is what happens with a ribbon microphone
Microphones
Shure SM58-
this microphone is typically used when recording a vocals track, it is made to focus ob the main sounds and minimise any background sounds that may be picked up.
AKG D112-
this microphone is typically used for recording the kick within a drum while in a recording studio, however it can also be used for stage performances, its main feature is that it can handle more than 160dB SPL without going into distortion.
AKG C1000-
This microphone is typically used for live sound productions, its main features is that is a condenser, most microphones are dynamic.
Outside recordings
I used the a hand held recorder to record a glockenspiel in an outside environment . i recorded front, rear, Surround F, and surround R
glockenspiel outside, microphone facing forwards- https://soundcloud.com/user-318712867/outside-front-glockenspiel
glockenspiel outside, microphone facing rear- https://soundcloud.com/user-318712867/outside-recording-glockenspiel-rear
glockenspiel outside, surround F- https://soundcloud.com/user-318712867/outside-recording-glockenspiel-surroundf
glockenspiel outside, surround R- https://soundcloud.com/user-318712867/outside-recording-glockenspiel-surroundr
classroom recordings
i recorded two different instruments within a classroom, do do this i used a Shure SM58
the instruments i recorded were a glockenspiel and an acoustic guitar.
glockenspiel in a classroom- https://soundcloud.com/user-318712867/classroom-glokenspiel
guitar in a classroom- https://soundcloud.com/user-318712867/classroom-acoustic-guitar.
Evaluation
classroom glockenspiel- there is no background noise and it has displayed good use of picking up higher frequencies, actual recording is to a high standard.
classroom guitar- good sound quality, however quiet in places, there is no background noise. the instrument is clear and easy to hear, in future ask musician to play a little louder or have microphone closer.
outside recording- in all four recordings there is a lot of background noise, the instrument was places too close to the microphone their is made clear by the buzzing that is heard, scratching can be heard half way through. wouldn't recommend doing a professional recording in this setting.
Ribbon- When conductive aluminium is positioned between the poles of a magnet it produces voltage, this is what happens with a ribbon microphone
Microphones
Shure SM58-
this microphone is typically used when recording a vocals track, it is made to focus ob the main sounds and minimise any background sounds that may be picked up.
AKG D112-
this microphone is typically used for recording the kick within a drum while in a recording studio, however it can also be used for stage performances, its main feature is that it can handle more than 160dB SPL without going into distortion.
AKG C1000-
This microphone is typically used for live sound productions, its main features is that is a condenser, most microphones are dynamic.
Outside recordings
I used the a hand held recorder to record a glockenspiel in an outside environment . i recorded front, rear, Surround F, and surround R
glockenspiel outside, microphone facing forwards- https://soundcloud.com/user-318712867/outside-front-glockenspiel
glockenspiel outside, microphone facing rear- https://soundcloud.com/user-318712867/outside-recording-glockenspiel-rear
glockenspiel outside, surround F- https://soundcloud.com/user-318712867/outside-recording-glockenspiel-surroundf
glockenspiel outside, surround R- https://soundcloud.com/user-318712867/outside-recording-glockenspiel-surroundr
classroom recordings
i recorded two different instruments within a classroom, do do this i used a Shure SM58
the instruments i recorded were a glockenspiel and an acoustic guitar.
glockenspiel in a classroom- https://soundcloud.com/user-318712867/classroom-glokenspiel
guitar in a classroom- https://soundcloud.com/user-318712867/classroom-acoustic-guitar.
Evaluation
classroom glockenspiel- there is no background noise and it has displayed good use of picking up higher frequencies, actual recording is to a high standard.
classroom guitar- good sound quality, however quiet in places, there is no background noise. the instrument is clear and easy to hear, in future ask musician to play a little louder or have microphone closer.
outside recording- in all four recordings there is a lot of background noise, the instrument was places too close to the microphone their is made clear by the buzzing that is heard, scratching can be heard half way through. wouldn't recommend doing a professional recording in this setting.
Tuesday, 5 July 2016
soundtrack production
sound effects (SFX)
sound effects are created by people who work in a recording studio, they use various different items to simulate the sound of another item, for example a horse running is most commonly created by tapping two coconut shells together, these people are called foley artists
today i have tried to create sound effect for a scene in star wars, to make the sound of the storm troops running i tapped my feet on a music stand, i also tapped my fingers o the keys of a keyboard.
to make the sound of the space door closing i recording an adjustable chair going down. i them used the time strecher effect to make the stack longer and slower.
i feel that these are very effective for the purpose they have,especially the door sounds, i feel that it sounds very realistic for an automatic door in space.
sound effects are created by people who work in a recording studio, they use various different items to simulate the sound of another item, for example a horse running is most commonly created by tapping two coconut shells together, these people are called foley artists
today i have tried to create sound effect for a scene in star wars, to make the sound of the storm troops running i tapped my feet on a music stand, i also tapped my fingers o the keys of a keyboard.
to make the sound of the space door closing i recording an adjustable chair going down. i them used the time strecher effect to make the stack longer and slower.
i feel that these are very effective for the purpose they have,especially the door sounds, i feel that it sounds very realistic for an automatic door in space.
Monday, 4 July 2016
unit 49- brief 3 Creative arrangement
Creative arrangement
Task-
my task was to make a cover of an already existing song but changed into an alternative style
What I have chosen to do-
I have chosen to do Happy by Pharrell Williams presented in a house style
Typical house music-
house music originates from 1980's chicacgo and is a ganre of electric dance music and typically had a 4/4 beat, and the main instroments would be a drum sets and cymbles would be used off beat.
moden day house music will often involve a sample from an already existing song however as my track is a cover of a song, a sample will not be needed. another typical thing that can be found in a house music track will be a consistent beat that sets the pace for the rest of the song this has stayed since that start of the ganre and is useually created with the drum sets. they will normally have a very electronic vibe to the song this will be created through a synthsizer.
according to research house music will normallt have a between 120 to 130 beats per minute.
An example oh house music-
an example of modern house music would be "Play Hard" by David Guetta Featuring Neyo & Akon.
it has a BPM (beats per minute) of approximately 130. it uses a sample from song called "better off alone "which was by Alice Deejay
Musical features--
texture- there are three different types of texture. unison, homophonic and polyphonic.
homophonic is the most common of the three and is when a melody is supported by chord progression
unison is when all of the instalments involved play the same melody at the same time
and the last one,
polyphonic is when chords, melodies and harmonies combine together to shape the overall track
structure- the typical structure oh house music would be intro, verse, chorus, breakdown, verse 2, chorus 2, bridge, chorus 3, and an outro.
effects- one of the most famous house music musicians is David Guetta and the effects that he most commonly uses is fades, compression, fades, reverbs and EQ
rhythm and tempo- house music is normally set to a 4/4 beat often et with a kick bass.
Evaluation-
I feel that my track successfully presented happy in the style of house music but in a way that it could still be easily recognised. even though I did not record a vocal track I feel that the main melody is easily recognisable .
Task-
my task was to make a cover of an already existing song but changed into an alternative style
What I have chosen to do-
I have chosen to do Happy by Pharrell Williams presented in a house style
Typical house music-
house music originates from 1980's chicacgo and is a ganre of electric dance music and typically had a 4/4 beat, and the main instroments would be a drum sets and cymbles would be used off beat.
moden day house music will often involve a sample from an already existing song however as my track is a cover of a song, a sample will not be needed. another typical thing that can be found in a house music track will be a consistent beat that sets the pace for the rest of the song this has stayed since that start of the ganre and is useually created with the drum sets. they will normally have a very electronic vibe to the song this will be created through a synthsizer.
according to research house music will normallt have a between 120 to 130 beats per minute.
An example oh house music-
an example of modern house music would be "Play Hard" by David Guetta Featuring Neyo & Akon.
it has a BPM (beats per minute) of approximately 130. it uses a sample from song called "better off alone "which was by Alice Deejay
Musical features--
texture- there are three different types of texture. unison, homophonic and polyphonic.
homophonic is the most common of the three and is when a melody is supported by chord progression
unison is when all of the instalments involved play the same melody at the same time
and the last one,
polyphonic is when chords, melodies and harmonies combine together to shape the overall track
structure- the typical structure oh house music would be intro, verse, chorus, breakdown, verse 2, chorus 2, bridge, chorus 3, and an outro.
effects- one of the most famous house music musicians is David Guetta and the effects that he most commonly uses is fades, compression, fades, reverbs and EQ
rhythm and tempo- house music is normally set to a 4/4 beat often et with a kick bass.
Evaluation-
I feel that my track successfully presented happy in the style of house music but in a way that it could still be easily recognised. even though I did not record a vocal track I feel that the main melody is easily recognisable .
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