What is audio-mastering, what does it do, is it necessary, and most importantly, why is audio-mastering important to an independent musician? Before mastering my new double-album Animist, I spent a lot of time trying to answer these questions.
Simply put, audio-mastering makes your music louder. In other words, mastering is the difference between the volume level of (insert any major commercially released album here) vs. the volume of the album you recorded on your laptop or 4-track recorder. If you are not sure what I mean, just compare the volume of your favorite major label CD vs. the volume of a CD you recorded yourself.
Although the subject of mastering is much more complex than this, volume level is good place to start. Volume, or how loud a CD sounds is directly tied to the dynamic range of the recorded audio. Dynamic range is simply the range in decibels between the softest and loudest parts of a recording. However, it is important to remember that dynamic range is measured in the aggregate, i.e the dynamic range of a particular recording is based on a collection of the peaks and valleys of the audio signal as opposed to anyone particular peak or valley.
This past week was a very enjoyable one. The weather stayed consistently mild, alluding to the approaching spring. I also had the chance to play music with a variety of people in a variety of ways which is my favorite thing to do.
Monday was spent working and scheduling conflicts prevented me from teaching my Decorah student. Tuesday was also spent working, however I did have time to release a free Animist 5 Song Sampler.
Wednesday I had the day off and despite sleeping in a little longer than I had planned I had time to record a basic electric guitar track for one song and drums tracks for two new songs I am working on before I accompanied Michelle Lynn and Adam Ptacek to the Dave's guitar shop to help Michelle pick out her first electric. She ended up picking out a cool Danelectro re-issue and I was so enamored with the guitar that I ended up buying one for myself. After the shopping trip, the three of us headed back to Ghost in My House Studio and experimented playing a variety of new and old Michelle Lynn songs as a three-piece with Adam on bass and me on drums. We had a blast and are looking forward to working up a good collection of songs to play together for some potential live shows.
Wednesday evening Jaran and Joe were over for another Brahman Shaman rehearsal. This was a lot of fun as usual and now that we are starting to feel more comfortable with the ten songs we have been focusing on we may try to add some more songs at the next rehearsal.
It was back to work on Thursday but afterwards Joe Dawson came over and finalized another vocal track as well as laying down a 2nd guitar on one of the songs. We also did some synth experimentation with a borrowed Roland Juno, but used up most of our time messing with the sounds. I think there are only a couple more overdubs left before we can start mixing and hopefully the whole project will be done within a couple of weeks.
I had work off Friday and got a little time in the morning to work on some bass lines for a new song. Michelle Lynn came over at 10am and we started work on the recording of her 4th album, Twisted Logic. Michelle played through all the songs for me and we did a quick live recording of them for reference and to figure out tempos. Michelle definitely seems more interested in tracking the songs with the click track this time which will make adding additional instrumentation that much easier. In the afternoon Adam came over to the studio as well and the three of us spent an hour or two trying out some more of Michelle's songs as a three piece.
Saturday was mostly spent doing errands and chores around the house. Saturday night I loaded up the drums and headed down to the Root Note to drum for Nick Shattuck's all ages CD release party. Nick drew a great crowd and we pretty much just played the album from start to finish and had a good time doing it. You can check out some of the videos of the performance by clicking here.
Sunday I had fun giving another guitar lesson and I find that it really helps to play drums with the student when we are focusing on rhythm aspects of guitar playing.
This coming week on Wednesday the song "Youth" from the recently released Animist double-album will be featured on Z93.3's "Play it or Hate it". For more info click here. This coming Saturday I will be heading to the Gas Alley Pub in Tomah, WI to drum for Nick Shattuck.
This past week proved to be a musically diverse one and I can't help but enjoy the wide variety of musical adventures I get to have each week.
I worked Monday and taught a lesson to my Decorah student on my way home. We started work on his first song with a basic progression. After that we are planning to add some lead guitar licks to the intro and then we can start brainstorming vocal melodies. The more I give lessons, the more I enjoy them.
Tuesday I worked and did not get much time for music besides some vocal practice in the car on my afternoon commute and some brief drumming when I got home.
Wednesday I had the day off and spent a good portion of the day working on a new song entitled "The Will of the People" that is slowly but surely coming together, although I am still struggling with the timing changes between the sections. Wednesday evening was the second rehearsal with the full Brahman Shaman electric trio with Jaran Carson on drums and Joe Dawson on bass. It has been a lot of fun to play with these guys. We are just focusing on ten songs for now for our first official performance as the trio March 20th at the Root Note with Michelle Lynn & Hyphon.
Thursday I worked, but Joe Dawson was over at about 5 and finished up main vocal tracks for another of the 4 songs he is working, as well as adding more background vocals to "Of Devil's & Beasts". The material is really starting to sound good as Joe has a really cool voice that blends nicely with some great chord progressions. Hopefully a couple more sessions of tracking and we should be close to the mixing stage. After Joe left I headed down to Del's to play drums for Nick Shattuck's "Chorus & Verse" CD release party. The show was a lot of fun and the 4 hours of playing flew by much quicker than expected. Having recorded and produced "Chorus & Verse" at Ghost in My House Studio it was pretty cool to see the finished product and I am definitely glad both Nick and his fans are digging the sound of the record.
I tried to sleep in Friday after a late night on Thursday, but couldn't make it much past 8AM. Spent most of the day in Ghost in My House Studio doing more reorganizing and arranging of gear as well as doing some experiments that involve me singing and playing guitar while playing drums. This proves to be very difficult but also very rewarding when you can get a good kick/hi-hat groove going.
Saturday was again mostly spent running errands and doing home improvement projects... I also found out that "Youth", a Brahman Shaman song from the second disc of the recently released Animist double-album will be featured on La Crosse's own Z93.3 radio station as part of their weekly "Play it or Hate it" radio show. I should have more info for you on that soon.
Sunday was mostly spent cleaning and relaxing before the next week. However, I did teach a fun lesson around noon.
Until next time, check out www.brahmanshaman.com for the lastest news and upcoming shows!
This past week ended up being very productive and enjoyable. The snow on Monday was light enough that I could still teach my Decorah lesson. I am starting to understand why people like to teach because it is very rewarding to help someone learn how to do something they could not do before, especially when you can see the creative spark in their eyes.
Tuesday was relatively uneventful. I had the day off on Wednesday and I spent the morning toiling away on new ideas. I also completed the mixing and mastering of Each & Every Night, a great song from the upcoming Brillant Beast debut album. Joe Dawson came by the studio in the evening and finalized bass tracks on a couple of the songs. The project is really coming together nicely and I am anxious to hear the completed songs once we start on vocals.
Thursday I worked and then had a great Brahman Shaman rehearsal in the evening with Jaran on drums and new addition Joe Dawson on Bass. Something about the three piece feels right and it is really nice having that low end support for the songs. The first show with the three of us will be March 20th at the Root Note in La Crosse, WI with Michelle Lynn & Hyphon.
The new issue of Second Supper came out on Thursday as well, which featured a Nick Shattuck cover story which includes some very kind words about yours truly relating to the recording of his debut album at Ghost in My House Studio. Check it out here. I am excited to see the physical copies of Nick's album this week and looking forward to drumming for him at his first CD release show, Thursday February 25th at Del's Bar in La Crosse.
Friday I headed up to Minneapolis in the morning and successfully sold a guitar, that was not getting enough use, through Craigslist without getting killed. I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with my good friend and Driftless Music founder Adam Wiltgen. The whether was nice enough for a great walk into downtown St. Paul and we also had enough time to jam on some of Adam's songs which are evolving nicely and I am hoping I have the opportunity to record.
Joe Dawson was back at Ghost in My House Studio on Saturday morning and he put in a solid days work getting the guitar doubling done on most of the tracks as well as a great lead vocal and some really cool background vox on one of the tracks as well. Now that we are getting closer to done and I am hearing the vocals I am getting even more excited about Joe's EP. You should all have the opportunity to hear it in a couple of months or sooner.
Sunday was mostly spent cleaning, getting groceries, home improvement etc.. In the afternoon I had fun teaching a lesson and my student really enjoyed jamming his blues riff while I played the drums. What can I say, playing music is fun!
This past week was a surprisingly quiet one at Ghost in My House Studio. I wasn't able to teach my Monday lesson in Decorah because the snow-storm started early and made me want to get on the road home before dark.
The snow continued through Tuesday forcing me to stay home from work. Besides a fair amount of shoveling I continued working on new songs and spent a portion of the day cleaning and reorganizing the studio. With such a small space, every items needs to have a place.
I was back at work Wednesday and only got a little time in the evening to work on some new song ideas.
Thursday was spent working as well and I headed over to Blooming Grounds in Winona to perform a solo-acoustic set with Adja Gildersleve and Corey Koehler. The show went pretty well, there is no P.A. there and it is actually pretty fun to play directly to a small audience with no amplification, seems a little more relate-able somehow and the audience can hear the lyrics better.
Friday I had the day off and thus had some time to mix "Each & Every Night", from the forthcoming Brillant Beast debut album. Also, finished up mastering the songs I have so far for that project. In the afternoon I spent a little time working on a bizarre video to promote Animist that is viewable below.
My wife and I spent the whole day Saturday installing some laminate floor in the upstairs bedroom. It came out good but we have been sore for the last couple of days.
Besides giving a lesson Sunday afternoon, the rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Spent the majority of it recovering from the flooring project and hanging out with the wife.
After having a nice break to recharge the musical batteries last week this week was a little busier and a good warm-up for a musically active February and a very busy March.
Monday - Was the official release date of my new double-album, Animist. The album is available directly from me, at Dave's Guitar Shop, Deaf Ear Records, Kephart's Music, iTunes, Amazon etc... If you are going to download the album I would recommend getting it directly from me as it is cheaper, includes lyrics in pdf format and album artwork in jpeg format. You can also download in high quality Wave or Flac formats as well. The day went well and I had another fun lesson with my Decorah guitar student. He is coming along really well so I think we will start trying to help the young rocker pen some songs of his own next week.
Tuesday - Jaran Carson was over again for another rehearsal in preparation for the Friday show at JB's with Porcupine. Now that Jaran has become more familiar with the songs and we are getting more used to playing together we are having a lot more fun.
Wednesday - Fortunately I had the day off of work so I was able to spend most of it working on a new song, Reactions Inertia. The track has a pretty 80's techno song to it, but I tried it with just acoustic guitar and drums and I like the keyboard version better. Sort of learning on the keyboard as I go so it should be interesting to see what happens with it once it is more developed. Ended up finding some time to post the first in a series of blogs entitled "Thoughts from Ghost in My House Studio" regarding the concept of less is more. Check it out at Driftless Music by clicking here.
Thursday - After work I worked on Reaction's Inertia some more but actually ended up coming with part of new song, The Will of The People and spend most of the rest of the evening working on that.
Friday - Got some time to work on mastering about half the tracks from The Brilliant Beast's debut album. The material is really cool and I am looking forward to getting the rest of the tracks finalized. Found some time in the afternoon to post a another blog from the "Thoughts from Ghost in My House Studio" series that explains some of the concepts of audio mastering and dynamic range. Check it out by clicking here.
Performed a 10 song set of Brahman Shaman songs with Jaran at JB's Speakeasy opening for Porcupine and Dream 13. The show went well and we had a lot of fun. Porcupine killed it, one of the best shows I have ever seen of their's and they just keep getting better and better. I highly recommend taking the time to give those guys a listen. Dream 13 followed Porcupine and it is always a blast to watch Jeff Sherin play guitar, I affectionately refer to him as Honky Hendrix.
Saturday - Joe Dawson was over in the morning and he got bass and acoustic guitar tracks done for 2 of the 4 songs he is currently working on. The material is sounding really good and I am looking forward to hearing it with vocals soon.
Sunday - I made the trek over to Rochester in the morning to help my good friend and Rearview Mirror band-mate Jason Ptacek get his home recording set-up working correctly. It was good to see him, he played me some great riffs and I am really looking forward to hearing some of his new ideas recorded.
The last week in January was relatively quiet at Ghost in My House Studio. This was actually a nice break after a few busy weeks completing Nick Shattuck's new album, Chorus & Verse. Nick has posted a handful of songs from the record on his Myspace, check them out by clicking here.
On Monday the weather was a bit unpleasant so I didn't end up doing my Decorah lesson, just spent extra time carefully driving home from work.
On Tuesday, Wigglepuppy drummer Jaran Carson came over for another rehearsal in preparation for our upcoming show on February 5th at JB's Speakeasy in La Crosse, WI with Porcupine, Dream 13 & ConQueso. I am really looking forward to this show and have really been enjoying Jaran and I getting more comfortable playing together now that we have had a couple of shows and few practices.
On Wednesday the physical copies of Animist arrived, so I spent a majority of the day distributing those to retailers and mailing out promotional copies. For more info on that check out last week's blog post "Animist gets Physical". I also received the additional external hard-drive I ordered for the studio and am happy to say that I am now double-backed up.
Thursday was spent working and Friday was mostly spent taking a continuing education test in Rochester. I did get some time in the afternoon to test out some new kick drum beaters I ordered and am really preferring the attack of the wood-beater at this point, haven't had a chance to record with it yet though. I also had time to continue working on a new song entitled Reactions Inertia. I can't decide if I should do it on guitar or the Casio keyboard as I do want to force myself to branch out musically as much as possible for the next record.
Saturday and Sunday were spent doing errands, chores and working on home improvement projects.
Balance is key to an enjoyable life and this week was a nice break from studio work that has allowed me some time to rest my ears and plot the next project.
