Well, I’m kidding, of course. I think.

Can’t believe it’s been almost two months since I’ve had the time or the inclination to post anything to this blog. I’ve been so focused on recording, mixing, mastering, doing the graphics, getting the liner notes, manufacturing, making mistakes, fixing those mistakes, spending way more money than I planned, marketing, promoting, obsessing, worrying and planning…oh, I’m sorry…did I go off on a tangent? Uh..yeah! Hello, Elaine? Your Life is on the phone…could you please answer now?

Meanwhile, I’m running my own business (Girl Friday Virtual Marketing), raising a daughter (well, she’s grown up by now…how did that happen so fast?), and trying to just maintain a sense of sanity and stability during this amazing time of change and growth in my personal life, and in my family, my community, and the country and the world….my head is spinning as I type this!!

You know that Paul Simon song: “Maybe I think too much, maybe I think too much oh ooooh, maybe I think too much, maybe I think too much oh ooh…”

well, he just sings that line over and over…geez…ya think??

Maybe I think too much!!!!

The CD, “Let’s Live Again,” has been mailed to media, and Monday it gets mailed to over 250 jazz radio stations across the country. It’s so exciting, and so gratifying that people seem to really like it. I had doubts, because I never think it’s EVER good enough, no matter what. But with this project the big lesson was learning to LET. GO….just LET. IT. GO.  For a control freak perfectionist that is a tall order. The process is just so much darn fun, though. I LOVE to record! So much hard work, and time, invested; I can only believe that it’s “worth it,” but really the way I think of it…it’s simply what I have been compelled to do. And I love every minute of the process.

So, it’s painful, you’re forced to grow, to stretch, and give birth to your creation through those labor pains. ALMOST as fun as giving birth (which I loved)!!

Are you an artist? musician? dancer? writer? actor? scuptor?

What’s your process about?

I’d love to hear from you!!

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.

(more…)

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…)

Yesterday was a really fun day in the studio! I had decided that on one song in particular, an accordion would add a beautiful ambiance, a little bit of sparkle, to an already great arrangement that Gerry Grosz wrote for me. The song has a tango or rhumba feel to it, and I sing the last half of the song in Italian.

So, I hired Steve Albini, and really great accordion player (and an even greater singer!) to come in and add a little spumoni to the song…and it sounds so cool, I LOVE it!

It was a very interesting process, as Steve has such a different (and lovely) sense of melody/harmony than I do. And working with another chordal instrument was challenge, since I’ve already got piano, guitar and vibes providing the harmonic/chordal structure underneath the songs. So - how to add accordion without making everything sound muddy?

Luckily, it was really easy, with Steve! We did several tracks, and I sang the parts that I wanted him to play. He did a great job, but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for.

I decided to open the bottle of Italian red wine he had brought to the session (my kinda guy!) and we took a little break, enjoying the excellent bouquet and flavor of the wine and talking about Music, Life, Kids, and I also reminisced about my days singing at the Sons of Italy in upstate New York, oh soooooo long ago!

Anyway, that was enjoyable, but time to get back to work! I told Steve: “Now - just ignore everything I’ve told you to play, and play as if you’re on stage, in front of your own band, performing this song. Do whatever you want!!

Well, that was the ticket! He had incorporated my suggestions, but went with his own feelings, and of course, as usual, that worked beautifully. He did a great job, and he’s such a sweetie, too.

I’ve always wanted to add accordion, and now I have. Very soon I’ll begin posting some song samples so you can hear it!

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.