Record At Home

SEO tips

2010-02-20T15:26:00.001-08:00

EverDream Web is a good resource for consultation and seo work.

in reference to: Colorado Web Design, Denver Web Design, Colorado Internet Marketing, Denver Internet Marketing (view on Google Sidewiki)

Percussion - Explore its Function in Music

2010-01-16T21:47:00.000-08:00

Notes from www.newworldencyclopedia.org/ - a great resource for knowledge.

Percussion instruments can play not only the rhythm, but also the melody and harmony.

Percussion instrumentation is commonly referred to as "the backbone" or "the heartbeat" of a musical ensemble, often working in close collaboration with bass instruments, when present. In jazz and other popular music ensembles, the bassist and the drummer are oftened referred to as the "rhythm section." Most classical pieces written for full orchestra since the time of Haydn and Mozart are orchestrated to place emphasis on the string instruments or strings, woodwinds, and brass instruments. Often, at least one pair of timpani is included, though they rarely play continuously but serve to provide additional accents when needed. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, other percussion instruments (like the triangle or cymbals) have been used, again relatively sparingly in general. The use of percussion instruments became more frequent in twentieth century classical music.

In almost every style of music, percussion instruments play a pivotal role. In military marching bands and pipes and drums, it is the beat of the bass drum that keeps the soldiers in step and at a regular speed, and it is the snare drum that provides that crisp, decisive air to the tune of a regiment. In classic jazz, one almost immediately thinks of the distinctive rhythm of the "hi-hats" or the ride cymbal when the word "swing" is spoken. In more recent popular music culture, it is almost impossible to name three or four rock, hip-hop, rap, funk, or even soul charts or songs that do not have some type of percussive beat keeping the tune in time.

Because of the diversity of percussive instruments, it is not uncommon to find large musical ensembles composed entirely of percussion. Rhythm, melody and harmony are usually present in these musical groups, and they are quite a sight to see in a live performance.

Marketing your music... Don't underestimate your role.

2010-01-16T15:19:00.000-08:00

There's an old saying that goes something like "build it and they will come". It's an old saying because in today's world it should read "build it, MARKET IT... and they will come". If you don't believe me than think about how many talented people have you come across that made incredible music in their basement. Music that never made it out of their house.

It's like they're waiting for somebody to knock on their door and say "I was just strolling through the neighborhood with a briefcase full of money and wanted to see if you have a great song available". It's not really going to happen!!! However there are things you can do to get your music and band marketed and we will be discussing this in the following article.

Get to the site and read through the Marketing page... It doesn't cover the entire world of Marketing Music... but it's a fantastic start! http://recordathome.info/marketing.html

Mixing Levels - Some Invaluable Points

2010-01-13T11:41:00.000-08:00

Mixing Levels
Two of the biggest problems with mixes today are; the levels of instruments, the muddy mush of frequencies in the mix.

When mixing with software, the ceiling of your mix is 0db (no exceptions)! Anything louder than this will clip the audio signal and cause bad distortion (clips) to your sound.

The following are guidelines to what levels some of your tracks might be placed at and these can be altered as your mix evolves...

The kick drum should be set to 0db this is the loudest sound in music today.
The bass should be set to -10db or a little bit louder.
Your percussion should sit at -20db and keep your cymbal at this level too

Now at these levels you should notice how loud and punchy your song sounds when comparing your song back to back with a professionally mixed CD. You should also notice that your percussion, although sounding quiet, gives more drive to the song and a less quantisized feel.

Learn more>>

Tip of The Day ~ Fixing Variance in Vocal Pitch

2010-01-13T06:57:00.000-08:00

A studio can work magic on a poorly recorded vocal track, let me tell you a trick that helps when fixing any variance in the pitch.

As to everything there is more than one way to do this. But for this example... you can take the left channel and shift the pitch of the vocals up a few cents and take the right channel and shift the pitch down a few cents. This will cause a blend in the vocals, unnoticeable to the human ear, but it can fix the pitch shift in the singers voice.

Got a tip? Let us know what you do?

Record At Home Administrator Releases CD

2010-01-12T13:22:00.000-08:00

I'm proud to announce the release of my first solo project as recording artist Speck 5. Speck 5's first release, 21st Century Freak, went global through iTunes and other digital distributors on Christmas day of 2009. This debut is monumental to me for so many reasons, but among them is that it triggered my recent immersion in the world percussions. Listen to the somewhat disturbing "I See Monsters" and the didgeridoo and rain stick headline a long list of percussions, or listen to the etherial "On Me On You" to hear the lovely Dumbek drum and a host other percussions from Ghana and Nigeria.

In short, this first CD was an experiment in expression and production and has given tremendous direction and focus to what I intend to do with my future work.

I need to give special thanks to the contributing lyricist, Dr. Trina Rose, who lent us two great stories... one of lust tempered love and the other one that cracks open that dark place we visit after a heart break. I can't imagine what place inside she goes to find these incredible interpretations, but I'm thankful to participate in them. Visit speck5.com to learn more...

Launch of the Record At Home Blog

2009-11-11T14:42:00.001-08:00

Welcome. Use this blog to bat around technical know-how and/or tips and tricks of the home recording trade.