music production

Some singers have fantastic voices which, however, can be easily spoiled if they don’t know how to use microphone properly. Poor microphone technique results in poor sound quality whether this is a studio record or a live performance.

Some singers think that the quality sound is the duty of sound engineers. This is not right. Any vocalist should know how to use mic and do best to improve microphone skills. This is very good if you can use a power amplifier, some sort of a recorder, or go to a rehearsal studio to practice your mic techniques. Home stereo, karaoke with a mic can also help you experiment with amplified sound if you can not use professional music gear. Of course in this case this will be difficult to get a quality sound, but at least you will get the idea and practice.

Do not forget the following when using amplification of any kind:

Mind the feedback!

• Pointing the microphone towards a speaker causes a very disturbing high pitched noise.
• The other cause of the feedback is turning the volume too high. This is also result in a distortion.

Mind your safety!

Incorrect wiring & connections can result in electric shocks, equipment breakdowns, and horrible humming. Do not be surprised if you hear the radio – this is also the result of the described above incorrect use of music gear.

Common Mistakes In Using the Microphone

Holding the microphone too close or too far from your mouth is the most common mistake the beginner singers make. In this case the sound gets muffled and distorted. The vocal track will sound too distant or you may hear no vocal sound at all. A little practice will irradiate this mistake easily.

Set your volume controls so that the vocal track is louder than the backing track.

For normal singing this is enough to hold the mic no closer that 2–3 inches in order to avoid distortion. This depends on your voice though. Some vocalists sing pretty loud naturally, so you have to consider the power of your voice.

Try moving the microphone away while singing. At some point the vocal sound starts fading and you’ll have to remember when exactly it does so. The optimum distance for singing is between the shortest and furthest points.

People who write music are generally known as composers or tunesmiths. Very often composer’s job includes the duties of an arranger, lyricist, producer, music director, and songwriter. All these professions are imply creating the original music.

Very often people think of composers as of someone who writes music for the full orchestra, yet, in reality this rarely happens even if necessary qualifications are present. This is the matter of personal taste, and many composers prefer to work withcertain type of music: pop, rock, soundtracks for movies or TV programs. Some talented musicians can compose and arrange music for all purposes. Some composers extend their music services into production and musical direction.

Composer’s Studio Gear

Modern technologies develop rapidly. If previously this was absolutely necessary to hire real musicians or have a ** music production studio** with real drums, guitars, synthesizers, etc., now most of the real instruments can be easily substituted with appropriate music software and sound engineering skills. Of course, some people do enjoy live sound, however, in some cases when the rhythm and the quality of the sound must be perfect, software analogues can serve even better.

Definitely, any composer writing for a number of instruments must be albe to undertand well these instruments. Ideally, composer must be able to play most of them.

Songwriters VS Composers

Both songwriters and composers can write music and lyrics as well. However, composers tend to pay more attention to the quality of the music and in general have more qualifications to write long scores, while songwriters work on shorter tracks.

Sometimes composers and sonwriters collaborate to produce a soundtrack for films or some other purposes. Producers and music directors of major television, film and recording studios eagerly hire composers for a wide range of projects. They do arrangement, orchestration, music beds and, of course, compose songs.

Famous composers

Some composers work hard to develop their musical skills. Others have a ntural talent to musicmaking. Very often though the most talented composers find it difficult to write words and lyrics for their music. In this case they collaborate with lyrics writers or wordsmiths. For example, Elton John used to collaborate sucessfully with the lyricist Bernie Taupin. There are many famous artists whose collaboration in composing and lyrics writing made them famous: Rodgers & Hart, Gilbert & Sullivan, Lerner & Lowe, Lennon & McCartney and Bert Bacharach with Hal David!