{"id":1310,"date":"2010-09-01T10:56:53","date_gmt":"2010-09-01T17:56:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=1310"},"modified":"2010-09-01T10:58:53","modified_gmt":"2010-09-01T17:58:53","slug":"gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2010\/09\/gear\/","title":{"rendered":"GEAR – VOICE OF EXPERIENCE"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

<\/a>Getting a great vocal take involves both\u00a0technical and personal skills<\/h3>\n
\u201cTHAT\u2019S A LITTLE OFF-PITCH.\u201d \u201cSTAND up straight.\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t cut the phrase here, try it there.\u201d \u201cRemember to breathe!\u201d It actually takes a lot of coaching, encouragement and collaboration to make the most of one\u2019s \u201cnatural\u201d instrument. To better understand working with singers in the studio, we consulted Raz Kennedy, who has recorded backing vocals for artists such as Al Jarreau and Whitney Houston while also working as a vocal coach with acts ranging from Metallica to Hilary Duff; and Fantasy Studios recording engineer Jesse Nichols, who has worked with the likes of Sarah McLachlan and the White Stripes. They spoke with us about the psychology and technology involved in capturing a great vocal take.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>How do you keep a singer from getting psyched out?<\/p>\n

KENNEDY: That\u2019s a good question, because singers are perhaps the most eccentric among all musicians. It\u2019s all too easy to get a singer out of the zone. The main thing is to get the singer in touch with the emotional intent behind what they\u2019re saying. Get them into the storytelling. Singing is really nothing more than ornate speech. The music itself offers a great deal that the singer can use as a reference to inform how to render the performance. When more technical things have to be addressed, I\u2019ll move into that territory. I try to help singers see how the technique is in accordance with what\u2019s going on with the emotion. The emotion is where you begin, and then the technique gives you a means to get that out more clearly.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>NICHOLS: It\u2019s hard for an engineer to concentrate on the emotion of a take at the same time you\u2019re listening to the technical side. You need an extra set of ears\u2014if not a producer, another musician they trust. I think it\u2019s better with a producer, because the producer is usually someone who has been to the rehearsals and gets the vibe of the project. I\u2019m there to make it sound good but a lot of times <\/span>they<\/span><\/em> don\u2019t even know what they\u2019re going for.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>What do singers need to hear in the headphones?<\/p>\n

KENNEDY: Singers have to be able to hear themselves very clearly. Sometimes it might mean taking one ear off. Sometimes it\u2019s just a question of bringing up the vocal in the mix. For some, it\u2019s very important to hear the drumbeat because it\u2019s easier to arrive at the phrasing as a dialogue with the rhythm track. Others might want to hear piano to help them with the pitch. You give the singers what they need so that they can perform without working too hard.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Does reverb help or hurt a recording vocalist?<\/p>\n

NICHOLS: Most like a little bit of reverb, and I usually give the vocalists their own channel on their own mixer so they can turn themselves up or down. At the beginning of the session it can be a bit confusing for people who aren\u2019t used to working with mixers, but it quickly becomes a good thing. They like what they\u2019re hearing, so they sing better. I wouldn\u2019t recommend heavily effecting anything, because if you add a lot of echo and delay it has the potential to change the performance. But a little sounds cool. It won\u2019t be dry when you\u2019re mixing, so it gives you a better sense of what it\u2019s going to sound like later.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>KENNEDY: My preference is to just record without any processing whatsoever. If they want a little bit of reverb or a little bit of delay I\u2019ll give them that. I like to hear it really simple, really clean, without a lot of processing. That way I\u2019m more certain about the performance being right.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>How do you approach doubling vocals?<\/p>\n

KENNEDY: What\u2019s got to happen first and foremost is the phrasing. You\u2019re doing the double right on top, and the rhythm and phrasing has to be really accurate. When someone is singing that initial part, maybe they\u2019re freestyle singing it but when you\u2019re doing the double you analyze how it was phrased. You really break it down and figure out the subdivisions. Then you can go back in and double it with an understanding of the part, rhythmically speaking. I find that when you do that the intonation takes shape more easily.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>NICHOLS: A lot of that falls on the experience of the singer. Some people are really good at doubling, to the point where you can hardly tell that they doubled it. Stevie Wonder is notoriously good\u2014you really have to listen closely for a double because it\u2019s so spot-on. Others just can\u2019t do it; the S\u2019s are in different places and some are longer than the others. Sometimes that sounds kind of cool. If it\u2019s a pop record, it\u2019s probably not going to fly but on a rock record it can be cool if it\u2019s a little smeary.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Are artists using pitch correction as a crutch these days?<\/p>\n

NICHOLS: I\u2019ve heard of people actually tracking with Auto-Tune on. I don\u2019t understand the point of it. I suppose if you\u2019re going to tune the hell out of it later then it doesn\u2019t even matter. Maybe it\u2019s the producers or the record label execs but it\u2019s become part of the game. I\u2019ve worked on projects where people have been tuning vocals and it\u2019s hush-hush, like, \u201cDon\u2019t tell the band.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>They\u2019re tuning behind the singer\u2019s back?<\/p>\n

NICHOLS: That\u2019s happened before. I\u2019m not naming names but I have witnessed a lot of tinkering behind the scenes. At that point in the project it was supposed to stay behind the scenes. I\u2019m sure at some point the truth made itself known.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>KENNEDY: I use pitch correction as a kind of final veneer. The singer has got to come in and really perform the piece well, both emotionally and interpretively. If a part goes a little off intonation-wise, and you go in and use it for some slight discrepancy, then you still have a <\/span>performance<\/span><\/em> that\u2019s alive and has real expression and energy. When you use pitch correction on a part that\u2019s devoid of all of that then it\u2019s in tune, but it has no excitement and intensity. If you pitch-correct something and the intention wasn\u2019t there to get it in tune at the time of the recording, it has no soul, no vitality. It\u2019s very important to me to have the singer come in and really nail the part.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Is pitch correction just a way of\u00a0life now?<\/p>\n

KENNEDY: It\u2019s gotten to the point now where artists will indicate in the liner notes that, \u201cThere\u2019s no pitch correction on this record.\u201d It is so prevalent that most everything has it, and artists have to say, \u201cWe\u2019re not using it. What you\u2019re hearing is real.\u201d <\/span>(laughs)<\/span><\/em> I know that on Lalah Hathaway\u2019s last record she had that in the notes on the sleeve. I\u2019ve seen that on a number of records. The \u201cstudio sound\u201d has got a certain flavor now. I think people have gotten used to hearing a certain sound and our ears are tuned to hear things from a specific point of view. There was a time when the piano was invented and everyone said, \u201cWhat about the harpsichord? What are we going to do now?\u201d Technology keeps moving forward but it requires artists to take whatever it is and speak from the heart, making music that moves people emotionally. I\u2019m not afraid of the technology. As long as it moves me, it\u2019s cool. You can hear stuff out there that\u2019s just mechanical and formulaic, and you can hear records made with the exact same technology and they\u2019re gorgeous.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>NICHOLS: I\u2019d like to think bands like Wilco aren\u2019t using pitch correction. I can\u2019t really hear it if they are. But a lot of pop and rock is so tuned I don\u2019t think they\u2019re even trying to hide it anymore. I\u2019m waiting for the backlash. I think everyone is sick of that sound, and hopefully we\u2019ll start to hear some flat notes again. Because it sounds good, you know.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u2013 Michael Gallant and Dave Jones<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Getting a great vocal take involves both\u00a0technical and personal skills \u201cTHAT\u2019S A LITTLE OFF-PITCH.\u201d \u201cSTAND up straight.\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t cut the phrase here, try it there.\u201d \u201cRemember to breathe!\u201d It actually takes a lot of coaching, encouragement and collaboration to make the most of one\u2019s \u201cnatural\u201d instrument. To better understand working with singers in the studio, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[777,781,774,10157,773,775,49,772,780,778,771,81,782,776,779],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1310"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1319,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310\/revisions\/1319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}