Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The Still Silence of Music

It's midnight sitting here in the studio. I'm hearing the battery clock on the wall with its slight tick-tock because I have not removed the AA battery. All the recording gear is on and silent. The 4416 has a hard drive and a fan for the CD-ROM. It's notable noise but honestly I cannot say any of that noise has made its way into any recordings. The 01X on the other hand is silent and again this past week has made me very glad I bought an 01X. Fast, friendly, useful, does the job and is versatile. I'm spending more time in Logic with the current music I'm working on.

Now with nicer weather it was easy to implement increased physical activity. Walking twice a day and bicycling every other with swimming getting adding soon. The quit sugar lose weight program is still in effect and now the activity portion only makes sense. Also, I am enjoying it because the exercise is increasing my physical stamina; something I did not think I would need recording music in the studio. But, you never learn it all. At times, I find myself jamming a pencil into the side of my head trying to resolve new territory. For example I am collaborating with someone. Their voice is not in tune. This prompted me to slice up their recorded voice into several pieces and manually tune each piece. Also, the music I wrote for their vocal had to be detuned by 65 cents. In a perfect world, it would much simpler and easier to have them re-record the vocal part while they listen to my recorded click-track. Anyhow, the challenge helps me learn more about Logic; a beast of a DAW, yet elegant, in part due to it running on Mac OS X.

I daydream about eventually shooting live video in here so people can see this recording process in action. It's a magical group of live events. And having the right gear makes for a workflow that can stumble and fall yet not trip you up. First takes are some of my best work, while mistakes make up some of my finest discoveries.

This entire process from idea to recording to mastering to publishing is on a massive scale when doing it all yourself. My initial goals and timelines all have been shattered. But, I remind myself that I am working. And thanks to total recall hardware, I am moving forward step by step. The other night I was reading my own brain injury website and in noticed that I had mentioned "...late 2006 with 2007 around the corner and getting my CD done". It amazes me how many years are involved in this passionate desire.

What excites me the most is when you get to listen to my creations.


HHNET