#drums | MidiMike

Posts Tagged ‘#drums’

“The Touch” – Understanding Humans

Posted: April 15, 2015 in MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: # mixer, #atari, #audio, #band, #bass, #demo, #digital, #drummer, #drums, #guitar, #keyboard, #life, #Liveband, #love, #lyrics, #Midi, #music, #musician, #performance, #piano, #poetry, #recording, #recordingstudio, #retro, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #story, #studio, #studioengineer, #synthesizer, #vocalist, #vocals

Ideas from songs can and should come from all sorts of things. I try to observe experiences from other people. Too many writers base their material on their own personal experience. This is powerful but has serious drawbacks. One has to experience nirvana or tragedy in order to write about it. This can be limiting unless you have a very tumultuous life. Not good for health and well being of the artist. So I try to empathize, sympathize and understand the thoughts, mood and feelings of others as they experience life changing events.

I had been a musician with limited access to toys for most of the early years. Lots of time and not much cash or resources available. That did not stop me from observing others, and in fact probably offered me the time to observe. Anyway, a friend of mine and I were walking around and I noticed a person in a wheel chair. There was another person behind pushing the chair, but something seemed a little unusual for some reason and I kept watching the pair. IWE naturally thought the person pushing was there to help the person in the wheel chair. They went up to one of those bank ATM’s and much to my surprise, the person in the wheel chair moved out of the way and the walking person went up to the ATM display. What moved me to write this song was the fact that I had originally assumed the person walking was assisting the person in the wheel chair. The person standing started to use the ATM and they searched by hand for the braille instructions! The person walking was blind, and being assisted by the person in the wheel chair! We can touch others in so many different ways. That lead me to the lyrics and a better understanding of human beings. Not just their ability to assist others in ways we might not think of, but also how we (I) perceived something and came up with the wrong conclusion. I use a phrase that describes that effect; Many people have the correct observation but come to incorrect conclusions. This song, the lyrics and the music, mean a lot to me personally. I truly hope you find something here you can relate to.

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/perigee

What I Do At Night – The Driving Song

Posted: April 8, 2015 in family, MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: # mixer, #atari, #audio, #band, #bass, #daughter, #demo, #digital, #dreams, #driving, #drummer, #drums, #family, #guitar, #keyboard, #life, #Liveband, #love, #lyrics, #Midi, #mixingboard, #motivation, #music, #musician, #performance, #piano, #poetry, #recording, #recordingstudio, #retro, #runningsound, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #story, #studio, #studioengineer, #synthesizer, #tech, #vocalist, #vocals, #Yamaha

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/perigee

**This is MidiMike’s daughter. I help my dad out with his blog. I wanted to tell all of you that this is, by far, my favorite song that my dad has ever written. If you stop to listen to any of the original tunes, I would highly recommend this one!! Thanks.**

And now a message from my dad:

On most of my tunes, I play all the instruments and sequence the drums and other sound effects. I usually sing lead or I have my wife take the vocal lead. Once I started working in music stores selling instruments and sound equipment, I asked friends (and customers at the time!) to come over and lay down guitar solos or I might have a guest vocalist. What I do at Night was one that we did ourselves. I play all guitar parts and the back up vocals. I think at this time I had graduated from a Yamaha MT4X (I think they were called and this was a 4 Track double speed cassette recorder) to the Alesis ADAT. So now I had an amazing 8 tracks to record on! Actually I needed one track to record the SMPTE time code so the Alesis ADAT would sync up to the computer (now I actually have a PC and put the Atari in deep storage). I can go into this details on this system for a later post when I am feeling nostalgic, but it allowed unlimited MIDI tracks on the PC or Atari and connect to the playback of the ADAT.

The song itself reflects my thoughts on a number of topics. I really like to drive. I don’t have a fast or luxury car. I just like to drive. When I have some free time or just want to think, I often find myself cruising the local country side. I would listen to music while driving and that sometimes adds to the frustration. Most of the music you hear on commercial radio is garbage or re-packaged songs and ideas I have heard for the last few decades. Like a lot of us struggling artists and performers, we see a bunch of bands with lots of air-play and they are just so-so. OK music, but nothing special. As a songwriter, I get so tired of the same theme or idea in every song on the radio and they seem to get played non-stop.

One line reflects this fairly well…. ” so I turn the radio over to the right, playing the same songs as the other night”. Originally titled – “Rainy Day”, What I do at Night has become one of my favorite driving songs. Enjoy.

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 10 – Now, to make it glitter

Posted: April 6, 2015 in Live Sound Reinforcement Series, music technology
Tags: # mixer, #audio, #band, #bass, #digital, #drums, #guitar, #keyboard, #Liveband, #livesoundreinforement, #logical, #love, #Midi, #mixingboard, #music, #musicequipment, #musicequiptment, #musician, #performance, #piano, #recording, #recordingstudio, #runningsound, #singer, #song, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #studio, #studioengineer, #synthesizer, #vocalist, #vocals

When you start off with well-balanced levels on all inputs, you can make changes in confidence. During sound check; which is AFTER Gain Staging and setting up the board for the current event, you added each band member and their related instruments to the process and you have good levels on all tracks/channels. I try to grab a few minutes once all drum inputs (including drummer vocal pic or other percussion and tone generators) are set properly to have the drummer play for a few minutes without other musicians. This helps get the feel of the entire drum kit and this is when you would balance all the levels. The hi-hat for example, might not be hitting the meters in the upper range but it sounds really loud if its fader is up to the nominal level. It is helpful to know once the board is set you can turn the volume on any track DOWN any time you want. You just do not want to turn anything up beyond the sweet spot except for the occasional solo or special piece that might need additional reinforcement or boost out in the audience. And as always, try to return to the sweet spot area once the section is over.

Some mixing consoles allow you to assign tracks to separate signal paths or additional outs. These can be grouped to a single sub fader when running system in mono. You can then take the individual drum tracks out of the house mix and send them only to the bus for your drum kit. Assign this bus 1 for example to the Mains and the fader now for bus 1 will allow you to adjust the volume level of the entire drum kit (not the drummer’s mic if he or she also sings) with one fader! If you need to change the volume of the kit as the event goes on, you can keep the blend and balance of all levels by using the bus 1 fader. This might come in handy more than you might think, and it is easy to set up.

Then I do the same thing with the vocals if you have more than two vocalists on stage. They can also be grouped to bus 2 for example and you can adjust vocals with one fader and not worry about changing the balance of the singers/vocalists on stage. Brass and string sections and even a number of guests sitting at a table can also be grouped the same way. You can still change the EQ setting for each channel in a group or bus and you can still change effects levels anytime you want without affecting the balance.

Now if you think about it, we have grouped similar instruments together, set them up to control group volume with a single fader and we have the tracks and effects returns that might need minor adjustments during the event isolated and easy to see or adjust. Your job now consists of only a few faders out of all the channels plugged into the mixer. You are now in auto-pilot. Do not change anything major unless the performance or venue dictates a change. From here you coast and make things better with ever smaller adjustments. Time to add the glitter.

For most situations the process above will set you up in a comfortable area where things can all be heard at balanced levels, not too loud and instruments do not compete for the same frequency space. For this step it is better to think of sound from low frequencies on the left and higher frequencies on the right. In many ways like a piano; lower notes are on the left and increasingly higher notes as we go to the right keys. Have your drummer hit one of the cymbals really hard with no other noise and see if it produces tones or frequencies like the lowest key on a piano. It cannot. It is in a much higher range. Have the drummer punch the kick drum a few times and see if it makes frequencies as hi as the cymbals just did. This is a simple explanation that gets applied to all instruments and vocals being blended into a smooth mix. When using EQ, you can shift the range of frequencies for each sound so it does not compete or collide with other sounds in similar frequency ranges. Often vocals and guitars are in neighboring groups. Try using EQ to edge one signal a litter higher in the frequency group and the other a little lower. So they still sound good and accurate like they are on stage, but just enough so the listener can more easily hear the two sources as individual elements in a wider landscape. Similar situation with kick drums and the bass guitar. Both occupy the very low end of our hearing spectrum. If they are both deep in the low end, they might not be discernable as two performances. You can try lowering the low end EQ a little on the bass guitar for example, but add some hi-mids and or a little hi end frequencies so the strings pop in the mix a little when struck. It will still support the low end for that punch, but you will be able to hear the individual bass notes better without a lot of added low-end volume that can cloud or muddy up the low end.

Slick As A Dream

Posted: April 1, 2015 in family, MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: # mixer, #audio, #band, #bass, #daughter, #demo, #digital, #dreams, #drummer, #drums, #family, #guitar, #keyboard, #Liveband, #logical, #love, #lyrics, #Midi, #mixingboard, #motivation, #music, #musician, #performance, #piano, #poetry, #recording, #recordingstudio, #retro, #runningsound, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #story, #studio, #studioengineer, #synthesizer, #vocalist, #vocals

Plain and simple, the lyrics are about my daughter. As a proud parent, I am often overwhelmed by the innocence, beauty and unlimited potential when holding a new-born in your arms. Not to get weird here, but there is nothing like it. As I cradle, rock or talk baby-talk, it is difficult not to think about the new life I am holding, how fascinating they are and to drift into thoughts of what will happen in their future and how we can make that path easier. This song also features Gary Jefferson on vocals. You will hear him a lot on my tunes, and he was the vocalist in the demo recording the band did in the studio. He has pulled me into a number of projects and I often ask him to help me with mine. There are so many musicians I depend on and work with regularly. I will introduce you to them and the work they have done in future posts.

Most of the music is sequenced along with the drum tracks, I play the rhythm guitar parts and had a friend come in for the guitar solo, while my wife adds back-up vocals. All grown up and with children of her own, the meaning of this song gets deeper and closer to the heart every year.

“Slick as A Dream” (c) MSK 1988

Slick as a dream, this beauty machine

Sharp and so cold, young – just as old.

Moving so sweet you can feel the heat

Smiles of sorrow can’t wait ‘til tomorrow.

One thing you’ve learned: love has to be earned

Pain must be shared, embraced if you dare.

Nightmares are gone, but she carries on

Can’t forget her, love lasts forever.

Tender love cries slowly hypnotize

The helpless day now melting away.

And if you dare she’ll become aware

Give those who bleed whatever they need.

She knows exactly who she is.

And exactly what she needs.

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 9 – Tackling the mixing board

Posted: March 30, 2015 in Live Sound Reinforcement Series, music technology
Tags: # mixer, #audio, #band, #digital, #drums, #guitar, #keyboard, #Liveband, #livesoundreinforement, #lyrics, #Midi, #mixingboard, #music, #musician, #performance, #piano, #recording, #recordingstudio, #runningsound, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #studio, #studioengineer, #synthesizer

If you have basic entry level gear or the most up-to-date digital automated features, the basic components are the same. By now you have already gathered that most mixers will have some way to plug in a bunch of cables going to and from the snake as mentioned earlier. (in small clubs you might not need the snake at all, but you still plug cables into the inputs on the mixing console).

So, once everything is connected to your two independent sound systems, what do you first? Take a good look at the mixing board. Take your time. If this is the first time you get to see the board you will be using (maybe it was rented or is the house system, etc….), get a good feel for the section layout. If you are still getting used to running sound the mixing console can be daunting. Buttons, knobs, sliders and flashy things everywhere. It’s connected to a bunch of other electronic boxes and there are big faders that look important.!??%#!**?! We have done this before so let’s take a look at the basic components of the mixer and make this a lot less confusing.

Layout. There are a lot of knobs and a ton of buttons you don’t even see at first. Each manufacturer will do things a little differently than the others, but if you look for the patterns you will see how each model will outline or border the different sections. Color coding is also the biggest help if you have enough light to make out the difference in color schemes. Yes, this is another one of those reasons you bring your own flashlight to every gig. We know where the input section is as we have already connected the snake and sends during the initial set-up and sound check. In the same logical order (1, then 2, then 3, then 4……..) as the cables are connected, you will see what we call ‘input channels’ on the face or front of the mixing console for each input connector. Some boards can handle 8, 12, 16, 24 and more inputs. In the input channel section you will see strips for each input. The knobs and faders and buttons that affect that input channel will all be inside the border for that track or channel. Many mixers use a vertical configuration, so tracks run up and down, not left and right. But to make sure you do not get the wrong idea now, the BEST way to think of the input channels is TOP to BOTTOM. We ALWAYS start mixing from the TOP of the channel. Think of the ‘signal path’ for a moment. The signal created by the keyboard or the microphone in front of the vocalist is sent through the audio cable to the snake. From there it is sent directly to the mixing console. Once connected to the mixing console, the signal will go to the TOP and FIRST knob of the input channel. Yes, the 1st Gain Stage. The mixing board’s major task is to balance all the different input signals, each with a different signal strength. This is done at the TOP of each input channel. It is the first and perhaps most important step in setting up the mixing console. This is the gate keeper. Think of it and a number of other knobs in the signal path to follow as amplifiers. They can turn the volume on things up and they can turn them down. The flute or the vocals may need more ‘gain’ than the trumpet or keyboards. You want to get a good strong input level, but you do not want to overload the input channel here as it will affect everything going forward. Watch the solo or input monitor levels and set it up so all inputs are within the same range. The end result after we set the other knobs and buttons is to have all inputs so that the gain is averaged enough among all input channels that the faders on each channel are close to the prime area or level set for your console. You do not want some instrument faders at “2 or 3”, and others at “10 or 11”!!

If the volume fader for the keyboard input channel is sitting around 2, and the 1st Gain Stage knob is turned clockwise to 8 or 9, (OR if you are getting up into the red or over load area on the level meters!!) turn the 1st gain stage knob counter-clockwise as needed including down all the way if you have to. Then check the range of the volume fader and see if you can get good house levels keeping the fader fairly close to that sweet spot. Do that for each input channel. The input channel is also referred to as the ‘track‘ when recording. With tracks or channels clustered or grouped as discussed earlier and with all tracks/channels properly gain staged, we can begin to look at which tracks need effects, EQ, processing, sent to monitor groups etc. Keep in mind that changing a track’s EQ and other effects can also increase or decrease the track’s over all signal strength. When we are setting up the board and doing gain staging, it is best to leave a little ‘head room‘, or back the 1st Gain Stage knob back a little so we do not overload the input during EQ and other signal processing. EQ is a series on its own, but the basic premise is to make the source signal sound good or accurate. It is better to take out frequencies that are harsh or distracting rather than turn up the pleasant ones. Certain sounds ‘fit’ better in the mix if they have the distinct qualities of their source. By that I mean you do not want a kick drum to sound hi-end and tinny with no low frequencies and in most situations you do not want the flute to sound like a bass guitar. It is better to take out the low end on the flute track/channel than to leave it at center or turn it louder. Less is more, but add EQ where needed to enhance the desired tones and make it sound pleasant and it will then fill the slot for it in the overall house mix.

Lyrics to “Red on Your Blue Suede Shoes” – Per request

Posted: March 26, 2015 in MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: #audio, #band, #bass, #drums, #guitar, #lyrics, #Midi, #music, #poetry, #recording, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #stage, #story, #studio, #TheWho

Well, I tripped,

I didn’t fall.

I looked up,

And I slipped down.

You look up and still don’t find the sky.

The last time.

Who’s there to damn them if they don’t try.

Their worst crime.

Well, they slipped up.

God one more time.

They got their money,

So they don’t mind.

You look around and wonder why,

Your friends die.

No one can blame you, I saw you try.

Ain’t your crime, ain’t your crime.

You wake up in the morning,

With red on your blue suede shoes.

They don’t give you no warning,

When it’s your time to lose.

You look up and wonder why.

Your friends die.

Who’s there to blame you cause you don’t try

Your worse crime.

You wake up in the morning,

With red on your blue suede shoes.

They don’t give you no warning,

When it’s your time to lose.

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 8 – Changing a Live Mix

Posted: March 23, 2015 in Live Sound Reinforcement Series, music technology
Tags: # mixer, #audio, #band, #digital, #drummer, #drums, #guitar, #keyboard, #Liveband, #livesoundreinforement, #lyrics, #Midi, #mixingboard, #music, #musician, #performance, #piano, #recording, #recordingstudio, #runningsound, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #studio, #studioengineer, #synthesizer, #tech, #vocalist

Obviously when you are live and there are a number of performers and hopefully a lot of listeners depending on you for a great performance, any change in the house mix can be immediate and usually have unintended consequences that you cannot predict accurately. Any change to the stage mix once the main speakers are pumping will not be known by the sound engineer. If you accidently send a lot of delay to the monitor for example, it will confuse timing of players and can lead to feedback and other audio beasts raising their ugly heads over and over. From the house board you will not be able to pinpoint where the beasts are coming from and what starts them – or calms them down for that matter.

A lot of those buttons look alike and in the dark it is easy to move something unnoticed. A number of times I have sneaked up on stage and listened from a few different positions to see what the band was hearing on stage. Then I could usually identify how to deal with that beast.

In the studio I can study some of the situations and find a solution when I can rewind and stop and try something and if that doesn’t work I can try this toy we just got in at the music store that is supposed to be wonderful and will solve all my mixing needs. With the audience primed and ready for a show, it is better to make smaller adjustments and see how it affects everything and then adjust a little more. If the location of the sound board is good representation of the venue and sounds pretty good, enjoy the view and mix as the band and performers deserve. I try to reinforce guitar solos in the mains, and I mean really inforce the solo. I make it so everyone will hear it, while keeping the other performers at a good foundation level. I make sure I turn it back down as soon as the solo is over. If there is a second vocalist, sometimes they do not have the power of the lead vocalist and might have a limited range. It can be hard to boost them to the level of the lead vocalist even if they are using the same equipment. Getting them loud enough in the monitor is usually the biggest challenge. You don’t want to leave a microphone turned up a lot in the monitors that is not used very often. It will pick up other instruments and sounds on stage and then push them back into the monitors…. It will probably not be loud enough to trigger feedback in the stage monitors, but it could create a boomy or foggy sound environment on stage and will make it harder for all performers to keep tight performances.

I also like to add effects to a live performance. If the band is playing cover tunes for example, I try to match the effects on the vocals and percussion sounds with those on the original recording. I usually keep the effects out of the monitors but have had situations where it went over well. More often than not, it makes it more confusing on stage. In either case, I make sure that when the song or section is over, I turn the effects level off. If the band members talk into the microphones during a musical break, they will be clear and understandable in the audience during the address. Then right back up when the next song or section begins.

When setting up the channels on the mixing console, I try to group instruments to make balancing all tracks easier. I keep vocals together, and try to represent placement on stage. If there is a lead singer center stage and a back-up vocalist left right and the drummer also sings, I have the channels on the snake match their positions when looking at the stage left to right, for example. If there is only one singer and I have open channels I do not need, I try to separate the vocalist from other channels in use so it is easy to find and easy to adjust. You will probably change the lead vocalist channel more than any other. The typical band might have a soloist – guitar or keyboards for example, and you will change the volume faders during the night. But you will probably not change the delay patch or change reverb on instruments. The vocals can benefit from minor changes throughout the night.

Think about it… the guitar player and keyboard player change their sounds literally from song to song. The vocalist does not have that luxury. Change the effects to enhance the vocalist. Too often sound gurus find one effect and use it all night. If you are not comfortable with creating or even changing effects with the available or on-board FX, that is understandable. Maybe we will cover that in later sessions if members find it helpful. If effects are new to you or you have not mixed a whole lot of events try the following simple strategy; add effects to the instruments that need it and not to any other instrument, and keep the volume of the effects subdued in the house mix. It should not overpower the stage sound or ‘dry‘ signal. Use short reverbs and delays for most applications. I bring in the effects into an open channel if available, rather than using the FX return knobs. This way I can easily see the level of the effect, I can route to the vocal group or bus if I choose and I can EQ effect independently. This to me also makes it easier to turn down the effects during music breaks or announcements.

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 7 – Fix It Before You Mix It

Posted: March 16, 2015 in Live Sound Reinforcement Series, MUSIC, music technology
Tags: # mixer, #audio, #band, #digital, #drummer, #drums, #guitar, #keyboard, #Liveband, #livesoundreinforement, #logical, #lyrics, #Midi, #motivation, #music, #musicequipment, #musician, #performance, #recording, #retro, #runningsound, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #studio, #studioengineer, #tech, #vocals

This is a good time to walk around a little if you can. If you have a helper that can baby sit the board for a while, slowly walk around the venue. Listen to the various instruments as you walk to different sections and notice how each area sounds as you pass in and out of range of the main speaker clusters. Listen again for areas that ‘drop out’, especially in the main audience areas. Talk to the host. Make adjustments and respond to their suggestions. Interact with the audience if you are good at that sort of thing.

Bring all that listening back to the sound board.

What adjustments can you make to improve the house mix? Is a player sounding great when you are right in front of the stage but fades quickly if you are back further or at the bar? Does the kick drum or one of the vocalists sound muddy and hard to hear clearly. Listen to each instrument again. Use the headphones and solo tracks do they sound muddy in the headphones too? If so, you might need to change the EQ settings or other audio processors, change microphone location, REPLACE the microphone cable!, put rings on the drum heads to stop heads from long ugly tones, hey, there is a lot of stuff that goes into making the band or performance sound good.

It can go wrong. I have gone up to drummers during sound check to ask them if they have any objections if I tune the drum heads for them before the gig. Far too many drummers don’t know how to do this and far too many more don’t know that you even can. If the kit is out of tune and generates all sorts of random harmonics and overtones, there is no way to get it to sound ‘awesome’. It can sound loud and it can sound full, but it will never sound good.

I have probably upset a few performers as well by asking that they tune their instruments before we start playing. One of the benefits of also being a musician in a number of bands is I can tell when something is out of tune. I don’t think I can get drunk enough that playing out of tune is a good thing, but there obviously are a few out there. If they cannot tell the difference that is worse than being too drunk, but we all sound and play better when everyone is in tune. Some bass players can’t tell any more so you have to politely step in once in a while.

In a large club in front of a packed audience, the lead vocalist roared into the microphone, ” I ain’t got shit in the monitors, sound guy, I got nuthin’ up hear at all…”.

I responded with a simple but effective test that I could do from way out in the audience. I reached up to the main faders and yanked them down completely before he got to the “…… sound guy, I got nuthin’ up hear at all…” part.

So he ended up with the band now reduced to stage volume. As he was saying …’sound guy …’ He was booming through the on stage monitors at an amazing decibel level. He apologized to me and the audience when I turned the mains back on and we rocked out the rest of the night. The house was loud enough that he could hear them more than the mains and he was not used to that feeling. That the sound guy would not have the vocals loud enough in the main mix and he would need to hear the monitors really loud on stage. He ended up really happy with the mix and did not have to scream all night over the band stage volume. Keeping things solid can include a number of unexpected challenges that are better met head-on, but these business relationships should also be kept friendly and cooperative.

Have spare cables for everything, even if the sound system does not use it. Power cables for devices and amps. Adapters for audio cables. Tape, markers and paper. I bring guitar cables and a few spare mic cables everywhere. Batteries. Small hand tools. Power outlet tester. Flashlights. Drum head tuning keys. Zip ties, the list could go on but session after session, someone will need those things for the show to go on and you will be the champion pro. You gain cooperation and trust for the next gig. Win win.

We all know the saying about weak links. When you have so many components – each connected with cables and software and processors, it can take a while to troubleshoot the system when you have a failure. Yes failure. If you are the sound guy or gal and things don’t work or it sounds bad, YOU are the failure! There are basic steps you can take and I can describe them in a generic way, but that type of advice will not apply to every system out there. No two clubs or sound companies have the same sound equipment. The best advice is to keep the number of links in any chain as low as possible. The more links, the more of them that could be or eventually become weak. It is not always practical to have a spare of every component, but finding local music and sound stores open in your area is getting tougher. If taken care of properly though, most professional PA equipment available today will last a long time. More on “Maintenance and Tips” in a future SLR series.

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 6 – Sound Reinforcement

Posted: March 9, 2015 in Live Sound Reinforcement Series, music technology, technology
Tags: # mixer, #audio, #band, #digital, #drums, #equipment, #FX, #keyboard, #Liveband, #livesoundreinforement, #Midi, #music, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #tech, #vocals

This is another term that is often misunderstood and the results can be unpleasant for the audience and performers as well. This does not prevent the error from happening over and over. It doesn’t have to happen to you. At first glance the term is quite simple. In its simplest form it probably means “turn things louder”. And that may be the most widely used interpretation. But the phrase is not, ‘Sound Forcement‘…… it is reinforcement. If something is loud enough on stage, ……… wait for it ………. It DOES NOT need sound reinforcement. In a small room, the trumpet probably doesn’t need much – if any – volume reinforcement. (certainly not in the stage monitors and little if any in the house mix) The guitar player with 10 Marshall stacks in a thirty seat room probably does not need sound reinforcement. Well then, what does?

Simply enough, anything that is not run directly through an instrument amplifier on stage. This could be the sounds from the keyboards or tone devices, vocalists, special effects FX (usually effects are used in the house mix but can also be sent to the monitor sends) and back ground or other media tracks including the ‘tape’ input for your stereo music player used in our earlier post.

We will do better if we use this definition for both sound systems we have pulled together for this event. On stage, do not add anything to the monitor mix that is already loud on stage. Again there are exceptions and many performers will argue this point, but I try to keep the monitor sends clear of anything I do not need to reinforce. If it is a big stage and members are far apart – absolutely add a little of an instrument to the other monitor mix. Everyone needs to hear the other performers. Just do not add to all monitor mixes if you use multi-monitor sends. Smaller stages there is little advantage in sending amplified instruments or drum set channels to the monitor mix.

Now, look at the balance from the house point of view. Can you hear the reverb on the snare drum and mounted toms clearly? Is one vocalist drowning out the others? Is that trumpet (or cymbal crash or tambourine or Kick drum) not in the mix during the solo? Can the keyboard player hear the monitors or instrument amp really good but no one in the audience can hear them? Can solo performances be heard clearly above the mix?

Set and forget. There are a number of input sources you will be able to set once and leave alone. The drums should be set up properly during sound check and should not need fader, pan, EQ or volume adjustments during the typical event performance. So the easy ones are drum and percussion kits along with some keyboards and other tone generators. Brass, string or choir sections can also be set. Most of these groups can be balanced during sound check and you will never have to mess with them for the rest of the performance. That allows you to focus on the variations of vocal performers, solo instruments and ‘guest’ players. Make sure if you turn the instrument louder during a solo or energy section that you turn it back down when the section is over. Otherwise it is a race to the top and others will need to turn up to hear themselves comfortably. Then the rest of the group has to do the same to keep up with the neighbors on stage. It can get ugly at the top.

In small clubs or rooms, there is very little need for large PA systems and huge speakers. In many situations you will do fine to let the stage volume fill most of the room. Sometimes all I have to add is the keyboards and vocals, with the effects thrown in on top. I might bring up a guitar or other solo instrument in the mix, when the rest of the time that instrument fader is off completely in the house and monitor mix. It simply does not need sound reinforcement there.

In some gigs, a player can be loud enough on stage that you cannot increase over-all volume using the house system. They are so loud that the PA for a small club will have little effect. I have been known to take players completely out of the house mix.

I use simple guidelines and want to ensure that any and all performers will be heard in the house. This includes each percussion instrument to various keyboard textures and sounds. I keep all levels in balance so one instrument or group of instruments does not dominate the performance or mix. I make sure band members know they do not have to play loud on stage. All they have to do is play good and I will make it sound great in the house. You play; let me crank it up!

Co-Authors and Distant Dreams

Posted: March 3, 2015 in MUSIC, My Tunes
Tags: # mixer, #audio, #band, #demo, #digital, #DollyParton, #dreams, #drummer, #drums, #family, #guitar, #KennyRodgers, #Liveband, #livesoundreinforement, #love, #lyrics, #Midi, #motivation, #music, #musicequipment, #musician, #performance, #recording, #retro, #runningsound, #singer, #song, #songwriter, #sound, #Soundengineer, #soundman, #speakers, #stage, #studio, #studioengineer, #tech

Performing with other musicians requires a deeper channel of communication than normal language. When creating in this environment, every nuance has a meaning. Every motif can create musical ripples. Sometimes, two thoughts are better than one. Co-writing can take a piece further than you would have thought possible on your own. Try it. You might like what comes out of it. Over the years I have worked with a group of songwriters. Each writer diving in to show off the latest and greatest. While in one of those small traveling bands from hotel to hotel, I was playing in Corpus Christie TX. We played a lot of different music for three people, and one of us did not play any instruments. We wanted to come up with something with a bit more country flavor, and the lead guitarist was working on some soft ballad type chords during practice. I told him I had written some lyrics that might fit. I had finally given myself the title of songwriter as you know, so a while back I challenged myself to write a country song. I had something specific in mind.

I write a lot of songs. I write a lot of lyrics that never become songs (not yet anyway). I write a lot of poems that may never become lyrics. I write a number of songs and I might not even have a recording of it, even though I love to archive and preserve original performances. Some songs I write for others and do not have a real interest in recording myself. Maybe because I already have a good idea of what the song is supposed to sound like when a real performer/band records it. I am not putting myself down here. I simply do not have the talent or resources of famous stars. You might laugh, but when I was writing the lyrics below, I wrote them as a duet for some famous country music stars at the time; Kenny Rodgers and Dolly Parton!

I have only one recording of this song and I will share it with you, Kenny and Dolly you too if you’re listening! I am singing the male part on this recording. Not sure if this was ready before we moved on from Corpus Christie to another hotel, but it fell together quickly with the ballad chords at practice, so we performed it live to the more country leaning southern audience. We were surprised that it went over so well and people in the hotel/audience that were regulars, were singing the words after a few nights in town. So, I will probably never record this song. It has always been a distant dream to one day hear others recording this as their own. I have already heard in my mind what it sounds like with them performing, but this live two-track recording is not too bad for a working representation.

MidiMike

Available on iTunes and CD Baby

Social Media

MSK original Songs

Posts Tagged ‘#drums’

“The Touch” – Understanding Humans

What I Do At Night – The Driving Song

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 10 – Now, to make it glitter

Slick As A Dream

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 9 – Tackling the mixing board

Lyrics to “Red on Your Blue Suede Shoes” – Per request

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 8 – Changing a Live Mix

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 7 – Fix It Before You Mix It

Live Sound Reinforcement Series Chapter 6 – Sound Reinforcement

Co-Authors and Distant Dreams

Archives

Available on iTunes and CD Baby

Social Media

MSK original Songs

Posts Tagged ‘#drums’

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: