Over the past few months we’ve been working tirelessly on assembling all the music and footage from our trip to Mayne Island with Josh Garrels last summer. As you might know, the fruit of that trip will be a feature-length documentary: The Sea In Between. The film will explore Josh’s hand-built career, the process of collaborating on Mayne Island, and the challenges and rewards of being an artist in the 21st century. Today we are happy to share the trailer for the film with you:
Hey everyone, this week I wanted to post a transcription I’m really happy about. Ever since it came on the scene I’ve been in love with the Sigur Ros song “Gobbledigook.” It is really pretty and energetic, plus it’s got some really cool time games going on. The drums are pretty much static throughout, which gives the odd phrasings a lot of impact. Continue reading
Being a recording artist isn’t easy. There are only a few short seconds for an artist to command attention and convince listeners that their song is worth hearing. Capturing a great performance is the most important aspect of creating competitive recordings. And it is the producer’s responsibility to make sure that the artist reaches his/her greatest potential. Catering to the psychological and physiological needs of an artist will help ensure the best possible recordings. Factors like comfort, encouragement, and positivity can make or break a recording session.
This might seem obvious to some, but I cannot stress enough the importance of a comfortable working environment. Climate control is often overlooked, but it can affect your vocalist’s performance greatly if your room is too hot or too cold. Lighting is another undervalued factor. Some people find it difficult to feel creative under harsh florescent lighting, regarding it as sterile. I like to set a soft, comfortable vibe by using candles or light switches with dimmers. But be warned, changing lighting or temperature mid-session can alter a singers intonation. Learn to get familiar with what each artist requires to feel the most comfortable, and in turn perform their best in the booth. Continue reading
As a companion to last weeks blog I’d like to share a few exercises that use melodic and rhythmic displacement to give your ears workout.
The main feature of these exercises is that they highlight ways in which our ear perceives strong melodic arrangement. Since music is something that we all absorb without effort, it makes sense that our brain makes decisions about the music we listen to without our conscience effort. Every time you hear a familiar song your brain registers everything about it. Instinctively you know when the drums, bass, keys, voice, ect. are supposed to line up. It’s all set up to have the biggest impact. The strength of the rhythm section will support the melody and vice versa. The purpose of the following exercises is to take strong melodies and displace the rhythm in order to change the way your mind perceives them. I’ve chosen a simple major scale melody because all of us have heard it a thousand times and it will illustrate the effect of the displacement very clearly. Continue reading
Using Triads to Navigate Chord Progressions.
I’ve been thinking a lot about simple musical structures the past few weeks. It seems like every time I’m really struck by something lately it turns out to be a pentatonic scale, a major triad, or something else deceivingly simple. It’s easy to get caught up in tricks and extra harmonies when soloing and exploring, but when it comes to pure melodies simple and solid musical structures have a serious impact. Continue reading
