OK, OK…finally we get to the fun part! If you’ve read Part I and Part II of Mixing Your Vocals, you’ll know that laying the musical foundation – a great mix on the instrumental tracks - will give you a ‘frame’ for your vocal track. The instrumentals need to enhance, showcase, support your vocal instrument, not distract or cover.

By the way, everything I’m describing in these posts occurs using ProTools recording/editing/mixing software. It’s the industry standard and it’s all I have ever used for my released projects. It works for me.

Start with a completely dry vocal track, that is, a track with no reverb or effects. As I stated in Part I, a good mic and a great room or recording booth will give you a clean, organic vocal slate to begin with.

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OK, OK, it’s not THAT bad! Mixing is actually quite fun. No, honest…really. It IS!

As I mention in Part I, you need to start with vocal tracks that are pristine, ‘dry’ (no effects), and of the very best performance quality. Think of the mixing procedure as the Recipe, and you are the Chef. You MUST have the freshest, highest quality ingredients before you begin putting it all together…the sum is only as good as the parts! So…let’s start mixing!

Generally speaking, I ask the engineer (my engineer is the fabulous Jamie Bridges, of “Room With a View Studio” in Petaluma, CA) to first mix the instrumental tracks separately from the vocal tracks. “But I thought we were going to start with mixing my VOICE!!” Well, “Patience, Grasshopper,” is my response to you, O Impatient One. You need to build the ‘frame’ for your fabulous vocals FIRST. THEN you mix your vocals….So, where was I? Oh yes… (more…)

Oh man, poor Jamie, my engineer on the new CD project. After weeks of vocal sessions, overdubs and do-over sessions, I finally let him know about 10 days ago that OK, I am FINALLY satisfied, somewhat, with my vocals and ready to mix the project. So like a good soldier, he began the mixing process - he would mix a song, send it to me via email so I could listen in iTunes, and then I would email back my comments. And 9 times out of 10 the comments were - “Great mix. But I heard something in my vocals I want to fix - can I come over and do a quickie over-dub of ONE WORD?”

“Just ONE word?”

“Um….yeah. Is that a problem?”

“YES!!! You are obsessive, compulsive, and a perfectionist. And you’re a really good singer. So QUIT ALREADY!! I AM NOT GOING TO ALLOW YOU TO RECORD ONE WORD! WE’RE MIXING!! NOT RECORDING!” (more…)

Yesterday I had a very long telephone interview with jazz historian, writer and all-around groovy guy Scott Yanow, who is writing my new bio and the liner notes for the upcoming CD release. (Hint for you singers and musicians out there - Hire Scott to write for you!! Even though I’ve been writing for years, it is much easier to have someone else write your history. I tried writing my own bio but got so bogged down and oh man I don’t even want to write about my inability to write!! Fagetaboutit, already!!!)

ANYWAY - the interview brought up so many memories - experiences and people I haven’t thought of for years - that I told Scott when he finished interviewing me: “This is better than therapy! You should charge me for a psychiatry session!” In fact, I’ve been up since 3:30 this morning (it’s 5:30 a.m. right now), unable to sleep with all these memories and thoughts “swirling ’round in my brain like the bubbles in a glass of champagne…” It really went to my head!

And something occurred to me that I wanted to pass on to you other singers, musicians and artists who are struggling with your own creative processes. The thought is this: Become fearless again. Wow…pretty deep, huh? But really - (more…)

One of the things I really want to write about in this blog is studio techniques for singers. It’s just one aspect of the craft of being a good singer - that is, singing in tune while conveying the emotion or story of the lyrics.

When you’re singing live, on stage, the moment is fleeting - so if you’re not in tune, if it’s not the best performance, that moment disappears instantly as the song progresses. But when you’re in the studio, every tiny flaw is magnified a hundred times PLUS it’s recorded for all time and every person who hears the recording will wince in pain when they hear your bad note! Well, you’re a professional, and you won’t LET a bad note go out on your recording, will you? Nope you sure won’t. So you might as well prevent the “we’ll fix it in the mix” or “I’ll just punch in a better note with ProTools” sydrome. You are a singer. Not a technician. So get it right as you are singing it!

I’ll write more about HOW to get it right as you’re re recording, and not count on “fixing it in the mix,” as I continue my own projects.