Everybody Hurts - Live vs Studio

Explain sonic components and include audio references

·      Feedback occurs

·      Vocal performance is not the best

·      Audience can be heard in the recording

·      Bass guitar is distorting/ doesn't sound great - 4:20

·      Performer starts to improvise

·      Drum clicks are in the beginning, top and tail cannot be done. Does not sound professional

·      Vocals are overpowered by guitar parts during the middle part. 5:20

·      Performer moves around on stage, vocals become quieter and louder as he is changing distance.

·      The live version is longer than the studio version.

·      Was no pop shield. Pops could happen during performance

·      Playing in a large open environment 

·      Woodblock can be heard in the studio version, in the live version it is much quieter. Drowned out by other instruments.

·      Reverb on the vocals sounds better than live.

·      Studio has other instruments such as violins and stringed instruments; these are not included in the live.

·      Song fades at the end.

·      Vocals are better as they have chosen the best recording.

·      No feedback from instruments or microphones.

·      No improvisation from performers, sounds more professional and purposeful instead of random.

·      No drum clicks during the beginning, top and tail has been done.

·      All instruments are in time with each other

·      Vocals have backing from the same performer, impossible to do live.

·      Instruments dont over power each other. All at the right gain.

·      Pop shield was used so pops are prevented. 

·      Played in a small environment with no reverb. 

The studio version of “Everybody hurts” you can hear the woodblock where as in the live version it is very hard to hear over the guitars, drums and vocals.

The studio version also includes some instruments that where not included in the live performance, such as string instruments like the violin/cello.

The song at the end of the studio version fades out slowly, where the live version they play the last few chords then stop. The studio version vocal’s are a lot better, this was the best recording of the vocals hence why they were used. The voice does not break and he hits the notes properly. The live version he sings a few notes flatly. There is no feedback from any instruments in the studio version, or any drum clicks and no improvisation from the performers. The instruments are in time because of metronome keeping all the performers in time. The main singer also provides his own harmonies for himself. This cannot be reproduced live as the performer can only sing the main lyrics. The instruments in the live version do not overpower each other, they have been levelled to stay at the same level throughout.

During the live performance of “Everybody Hurts” there is feedback that can be heard at 0:23. The studio version does not have any feedback, as the recording would be recorded again so the feedback is not in the song. To fix this i would make sure all instruments are no wear close to speakers as well as lower the gain to prevent any feedback. The vocals are not as perfect in the live version like the studio version, this is because the voice was edited to sound better using EQ and some inserts as well as recording the voice over and over until it was perfect. To fix the live version i would make the performer warm up his vocals, as well as make sure he was hydrated. This would partly ensure a better performance.

The audience can be heard in the recording of the live version, where as in the studio recording there is no audience or any other audio leaking into the microphone. To fix this I would either lower the gain of the microphones so it picks up the audio less. 

The live performance also includes the performer starting to improvise some of the lyrics that are different to the studio version. To fix this and make the live version sound similar to the studio, i would tell the performer to sing the exact lyrics previously. The beginning part of the live version includes the drum clicking his drumsticks together to count the rest of the band in. This is not included in the studio version as it is cut out to make it sound more professional. To fix this I would have either played a metronome track through their earphones so they can keep in time. The performer moves around on stage as well, distancing himself from the microphone and getting closer. Meaning some parts of the vocals are either louder or quieter rather than being a constant volume. Especially during the live version near the end, the performer leaves the microphone and starts singing to the crowd without it, meaning you cannot hear him. This ruins the performance, as all you can hear is the guitar and drums. To fix this i would use a lapel microphone or wireless headphone. This would mean the performer would not need wires and can move around but still be heard. The microphone for the vocals does not have a pop shield either, meaning it is possible to hear pops from the performer. The studio version most likely used a pop shield to prevent any pops from occurring. To fix this I would make sure the live version would have a pop shield on the microphone. The live performance of “Everybody Hurts” was played in a large open environment; this means the reverb is different compared to the studio version. The studio has little to none reverb since it was probably recorded in a small room with reverb shielding.

Sonic Faults

Drum micing

This audio recording was so distorted the only thing that was clear was the background noise. The problem here is that the microphone was too close to the drum that when it was played it would be recorded loudly and caused it to distort. To fix this i would move the microphone further away and/or turn the gain down on the microphone so it does not peak. The drum does not sound like a drum but rather like it has been bitcrushed. The fixed version of this audio shows that placing the microphone further away would mean no distortion and a clearer and crisper sound. The drum in this recording is not to loud or too quiet and is easy to listen to.

Microphone Choice

Microphone choice is a major factor in recording. Using the wrong type of microphone could mean a really quiet or low quality recording, or even a really loud and distorted recording. In the audio recording the microphone was crackling as well as the drum not being clear. I would fix this by using a better microphone that does not crackle when recording. In the better recording the drum is clear and there is no interference such as crackling from a poor quality microphone. The drum is not loud and is easy to listen to.

Microphone Positioning – Close

Having the microphone too close could easily cause pops and clicks as well as distortion. In this example the loud notes are distorted immensely which ruins the recording. To fix this problem just place the microphone further away or even lower the gain on the microphone so it does not distort. A pop shield is also recommended to prevent any pops or clicks.

Microphone Positioning – far

The microphone position being further away from the performer means they are not loud and there is no distortion. However the problem with the microphone being further away is that the rest of the room can be heard like background noise and reverb. 

Pops and clicks 

In the first recording the speech includes many words beginning with “P” this is very common to create pops in recordings. This means when listening to recordings the “P” comes out of the speakers loudly and most often is distorted. To fix this issue place a pop shield in front of the microphone and stand further away from the microphone. This means the microphone will not pick up the “P” sounds as loud as they usually would.

Headphone bleed

In this recording the headphones are playing audio very loudly. This means during the recording it can be heard that ruins the recording of the guitar. To prevent this lower the volume of the music or stop it all the audio in from coming out the headphones all together and or lower the gain of the microphone so it will not pick it up so easily. 

Close Micing and DI

In this example we used an electric guitar to show the importance that some instruments require certain ways of recording. When we close miced the electric guitar it was mainly strings and was not very loud or interesting. When we DI’ed the instrument not only could we edit the recording and change the sound on logic using an insert but it also sounded louder and interesting with much more atmosphere to the recording. In other examples such as if close micing a guitar amp you would get the plucking of the guitar where as if using a di box you would not hear the plucking. Close micing a guitar amp would mean the recording would be more realistic than using a di box and the close miced guitar amp possibly sounds better. This is because the recording would already have settings changed, making it sound like the finished product.

Room sounds

Room sounds and environments are of great importance to recordings, depending on the surroundings could mean a totally different recording if recorded in another room. For example in the first recording the bottom of the drum is aimed at the corner of the room with the microphone and performer facing each other. The drum’s low frequencies were bounced off the wall towards the microphone and it lost most of the high frequencies resulting in a very bassy drum. However in the other recording the drum is in the centre of the room with the microphone and performer facing each other and it creates a less bassy drum.

Tuning

Tuning is very important, if a performer is using an instrument that Is out of tune then the notes the performer wants to play would be wrong and the song would sound flat or sharp. To fix this i would tune the instrument and record the track again or use a synth instead. In the correct recording the notes the performer wants to play are correct and in tune with the song. An un-tuned instrument could result in a unprofessional sounding recording. 

Fan Noise

 Fan noise from certain equipment is also a large impact on recordings. It can be heard underneath the song and show unprofessionalism and become annoying.  In the first example you can hear a whirring, which overpowers the guitar and can be heard throughout. In the correct recording there is no fan noise which means a clear and professional recording.

Mixes

Mixing recordings have the most impact. The changes made hear are meant to improve and make the song sound professional. Inserts can be added and EQ to make the song sound better and implement your own ideas into the song. Overdoing some inserts and randomly altering frequencies on the EQ would not make the song sound better but possibly worse. This is important as when the song is bounced and mastered the final version would not sound particularly great. The main idea of mixing is to edit everything to make the song sound as best as it could be. However if the recordings have many faults within them then mixing would be much more difficult. As you would be trying to correct petty mistakes such as headphone bleed, pops and clicks or distortion. This would also mean the final mastered version would not be the best it could be.

Top and Tail

Top and tail shows professionalism, removing any noises, such as background noise or people talking/coughing at the start and end of recordings as well as during quiet parts of the songs, is important. It means the song sounds professional and the song flows well with no interruptions and starts and finishes the way it was intended to. 

https://soundcloud.com/bradley-brooks-6/sets/sonic-faults
https://soundcloud.com/bradley-brooks-6/sets/sonic-faults-corrections

Environment writeup

Recording Studio – Close

The recording room has sponge attached to the walls this absorbs sound waves so they won’t bounce off the wall causing reverb. This means the recording is clean and pure which means if you put any reverb on the track afterwards it would sound better as there is not any reverb there already. There are 5 people in the recording studio not counting the performer, which means they absorb some sound waves reducing the amount of reverb.

For all recordings in each environment we used two microphones, a condenser and a dynamic. We also recorded the guitar from two different distances. This meant we would have four recordings for each environment. 

The dynamic recording for both distances sounds very bassy compared to the condenser. This must have been because the dynamic picks up lower frequencies better than a condenser and a condenser is better at picking up high frequencies. 

At the end of the track you can hear the metronome that was accidentally left on, but we had removed the snare drums to avoid them making noises whilst the guitar played. The snare drum moves because of the certain frequency the guitar make which causes it to rattle. To remove the snare drum would mean there will be no background noise.

– Far

The far recordings were similar to the close recordings, just slightly quieter. Again the dynamic pick up more of the low-end frequencies, the low notes of the guitar were more prominent in the recording. The condenser picks up the high ones where the high notes of the guitar are more prominent in the recording. 

Corridor – Close

The corridor is long and narrow with nothing attached to the walls. There are 5 people in the corridor not counting the performer, which means they absorb some sound waves reducing the amount of reverb. 

In this recording you can hear some reverb but it is very short and quick due to the thin corridor.  

The dynamic microphone is very similar but less reverb is picked up and more low frequencies like the low notes from the guitar are picked up from the microphone. This gives the guitar a very bassy feel on the recording.
- Far

The far condenser microphone placement made the reverb more noticeable as the microphone is not close to the guitar so it picks up more audio especially the reverb as it has a chance to bounce off the wall and be picked up by the microphone. 

Outside – Close

The outside environment was a very open space with a brick corner. This meant any sound waves would bounce off the brick wall or just go into the open space. This means there should be loads of reverb. There is also quiet a lot of background noise which is inevitable because of natural ambience and other people near by. 

The condenser microphone picked up some wind during the recording but surprisingly there was not a lot of reverb, this was because the microphone is close to the instrument it is only picking up the audio coming from the guitar the most due it being the loudest audio instead of any reverb. 

The dynamic microphone did not pick up much of the background noise such as wind due to its limited ability to pick up certain frequencies such as the very high frequencies. 

– Far

Placing the microphones further away made the wind more noticeable and actually ruined the recording. At the end of the recording you can hear the background noise easily. There is not much of a difference in reverb as the sound waves seem to be just fading into the large space instead of bouncing back. Due to them not bouncing back at all it creates a really loose feel to the recording. 

The dynamic microphone did pick up the wind noises as well and even the back ground noise. This meant the background noise and wind was very loud that the dynamic microphone could easily hear it.

Changing room – Close

The changing room is very similar space to the recording studio however has no sponge on the walls to absorb any reverb.  There were also 5 people in the room, which would absorb some sound waves reducing the amount of reverb being recorded. 

The changing room had a lot of reverb, it was quick but the small room meant the sound waves could bounce multiple times especially because the guitar was very loud which produced strong sound waves. The reverb had a slight delay and the reverb could have been worse if there were less people in the room. The dynamic recording was very similar to the condenser recording but as usual the low frequencies were mainly picked up giving the acoustic guitar more bass to it.

– Far

Moving the microphone further away from the performer made the reverb even more noticeable, this was because the reverb can bounce back into the microphone instead of the microphone just picking up mainly guitar. Moving the microphones further away makes the recording more open to the surroundings, which may or may not be a good thing. If there is no surroundings and there is just pure audio then you can edit the recording by placing inserts to give the recording it’s own custom environment. However sometimes this will not be as authentic as recording it live in the environment with it’s own reverb.

https://soundcloud.com/bradley-brooks-6/sets/banttererrer

Listening Test

• A. Unplugging and plugging the di box causes some disturbances that comes through the speakers. 

B. I would solve this by only unplugging the recording after the recording has finished. I could also fix this by cutting the part where it unplugs out.

• A. Microphone is too close to the keyboard, can hear the key presses. 

B. Move the microphone further away, or use a di box to record the keyboard without picking up any other sounds in the room. This is because the line is direct.

• A.  Gain is being changed during the recording, causes a feedback loop which ruins the recording.

B. I would not change the gain during a recording but do it before or after. You could also prevent this by keeping the microphone away from the amp/speaker so it does not create the feedback loop.

• A. Distortion is being created because the gain is too loud.

B. I would fix this by lowering the gain on the instruments. I could even try to fix this using a compressor but it would not be as effective as recording it again with a lower gain. 

• A.  Microphone is too close to one end of the xylophone. This ends up with the lower notes sounding louder and closer and the high notes sounding quiet and further away. 

B. I would fix this by recording the instrument with two microphones, with one at either end to pick up all of the notes. 

• A.  The microphone is too close or the gain is too high, which means that some parts of the drum such as the kick is loud compared to other parts of the drum kit. 

B. I would fix this by making sure the microphone is placed correctly or lowering the gain down. 

• A.  At the end the microphone picks up the sound of a mouse moving and clicking, this makes it sound unprofessional. 

B. I would fix this by cutting it out. I would also wait a longer time before I stop the recording so the strings on the guitar can naturally fade out.

• A.  Drum changes tempo during the recording,

B. I would fix this by making the performer listen to a metronome so they can keep in time.

• A.  A door opens and shuts during recording.

B. I would fix this by keeping the door locked or placing a sign saying, “Do not enter. Recording in progress”. I would then have to record the track again.

• A. Microphone is placed on the other side of the room making it sound very airy. The beginning part is noticeably a different recording to the other part when it should sound like one recording. 

B.  I would fix this by moving the microphone closer to the drumkit, or if that is the effect I wanted then move the microphone in the first recording with the symbols further away to create the same effect so it sounds like it was recorded in one session.

• A.  The bass guitar was recorded first so it becomes out of time with the drumkit. 

B. To fix this I would record the drum kit first so the other instruments have something to listen to so they can keep in time. 

• A. The guitar is out of tune, this means the notes the performer wants to play is not happening due to the strings not being tuned. 

B. I would fix this by tuning the guitar properly and recording the track again.

• A.  The microphone is loose which means it is hitting the drum kit. 

B. To fix this I would record the track again and position the microphone in a better position and make sure it was tight. 

• A.  The guitar is too quiet; this means the track is really hard to hear.

B. I would fix this by increasing the volume of the gain or moving the microphone (if close miced) to a closer position. 

• A.  The performer moves closer to the microphone, or starts playing more loudly. This means the beginning is slightly quieter than the rest.

B. I would fix this by using a DI box or record it again but make the performer sit or not move. 

• A.  The snare drum is vibrating from the frequency of the bass guitar. 

B. To fix this I would remove the snare from the room and record it again.

• A.  The microphone recording the hi-hats and overheads is too louder when compared to the other parts of the drumkit.

B. To fix this I would lower the gain on the microphone, record it again. Or just lower the high frequencies on the EQ.

• A. The metronome can be heard, headphone bleed is occurring. 

B. To fix this I would lower the volume of the headphones so the metronome could not be heard through the microphone. 

• A. Only one microphone is used to record the whole drumkit, this doesn’t make each part of the drumkit stand out, also means you can EQ different parts of the drumkit. The microphone positioning also makes it sound very airy. 

B. I would record it again and place microphones on every part of the drumkit. This would mean I would have different tracks for each part of the drum, allowing me to EQ different parts.

• A.  The two guitar recordings are out of time. 

B. I would fix this by recording one first with a metronome track and then record the other one so they can hear the previous guitar track. 

• A.  The reverb is too high. This makes half of the drumkit sound like it was recorded in a hall and the other half is recorded in a small room.

B. I would fix this by putting reverb on all parts of the drum kit or having no reverb on the drum kit at all. I would also reduce the roomsize on the reverb insert as well. 

• A.  The microphone was hit during the recording. This created a pop noise in the recording.

B. I would fix this by moving the microphone further away from the performer and making the performer stand or sit still.

• A.  The beginning and end is not cut from the recording. This makes it sound unprofessional. The pauses in the drums are meant to be silent but you can hear stuff moving around such as keys. 

B. I would fix this by cutting the beginning out.  I would also lowering the automation at the parts where there is meant to be silence. This would cut out any audio where there should not be and make it sound more professional. 

• A.  The drumkit sounds too loud when compared to other parts of it. 

B. I would fix this by altering the levels till the drum kit sounded whole and fitted together. 

• A.  The performer is moving closer and further away from the microphone. This means the recording is initially really loud and then goes quiet and then loud again. 

B. To fix this I would make the performer not move around or use a DI box so if they do move around it does not affect the recording. I could also fix this using automation on logic by lowering the automation and then increasing it then lowering it again so it sounds consistent throughout the recording. 

• A.  The cut the recording to quickly not letting the symbols naturally fade out. This creates a abrupt stop. Which does not sound professional.

B. I would fix this by letting the recording play on and not stop it immediately. I would use automation to gently fade the drumkit out. 

• A. The microphone picks up a drumkit playing in the background at the end. The guitar is also very loud.

B. I would fix this by lowering the gain on the microphone and recording the guitar part again but make sure there is no noise in the background that could be picked up by the microphone. 

Discuss the texture - Polyphonic

Instruments:

Flutes
Oboes
Clarinets
Bassoon

Horns
Trumpets
Trombones
Tuba
Timpani

Describe the melody - Slow and random. Consonant at some parts and dissonant at others

Describe the tonality
Atonal

What is a Dies Irae. 20th century piece of music, would he have used this. 
Dies Irae is a famous melody of a gregorian chant. The song symbolises a reflection on the final judgement, this is used because the time period fits with the time of the story, as well as serving a purpose as a woman is burned at the stake for being a witch.


Find the augmentation: 6 mins in. The melody repeats itself a few times but adds extra parts to it making it longer and longer.

He's a Pirate

At 0:10 and 1:01 Finger movements causes screeching in the recording. To fix this I would record this part again till there is no screeching from the guitar, or use a noise gate to cute off the low frequencies to prevent the screeching from coming through.

The beginning notes and ending notes sound different. Recorded at different times possibly. I would have either recorded it again till it sounded the same or have taken the beginning recording and placed it at the end if i could not get the recording to sound the same. The beginning notes seem to include more of the high frequencies. Where as the ending notes are much more bassy and has more low frequencies in the recording.

Clicks happen due to glitches, might be from too much information going through at once. I would use a better computer or use better data cables such as USB 3.0.

Apologize

Beginning at 0:00 wasn't cut and you can hear performers moving/talking and instruments being touched, the metronome also can be heard at the beginning far off in the distance. The metronome is a very high frequency making it easy to hear. I would have cut out those parts which means it sounds more professional and the song starts at the beginning when you press play rather than waiting a few seconds. 

Piano sounds like it was recorded far away. Too much reverb, recorded using a condenser, this is because you can hear everything else in the room. I would either lower the gain of the condenser so it wouldn't pick up any other audio in the room or use a dynamic microphone. I would have also reduced the reverb by placing foam in the room to absorb it. I would have placed the microphone in a better position and close to the part that emits the sound this would also mean it wouldn't pick up anything else as there is a shorter distance between the microphone and noise being recorded.

Gaps in between vocals aren't cut out, meaning you can hear movement and swallowing, i would fix this by going through the song and lowering the gain using automation at parts of the song where the performer isn't singing so you can't hear anything else happening such as swallowing from the performer or them shuffling. 

Microphone gain isn't set right she becomes too loud at 1:14, when compared to the other parts of the song such as the beginning it is very different in volume, I could also change the automation of the gain during the track to make sure the volume does not peak. I would either record it again or use a compressor. If i recorded it again i would make sure the performer doesn't move around whilst recording.

No pop shield this created popping in the vocals. One pop can be heard at 0:46. I would record the song again and use a pop shield or try my best to reduce the pops by lowering the gain using automation when there is pops. 

Didn't cut the microphone audio at the end, can hear her taking off her headphones, i would cut this out and it would make it sound more professional. 

Beneath your beautiful

Bass is out of time. I would record it again till it is in time. 0:46 is an example of where this can be heard.

Drums are too fast compared to the piano. 1:36 is an example of this. This was probably because of them not being recorded first. I would restart the whole project again and record the drums first or record everything else till it is in time with the drums. 

Drums are recorded with one condenser microphone. Makes the drum kit sound whole, doesn't separate the different parts of the drum and single them out. This makes it harder to emphasise the specific parts of the drum kit such as the snare, bass and hi hat. Using separate microphones means it is possible to use EQ on the separate instruments which would make the overall sound of the drum kit sound better. 

Mic positioning on the piano is wrong sounds too airy and feels far away from the microphone. I would record the piano again making the microphone closer to the piano. 

No metronome was used this is evident because the other instruments are not in time. Possibly because the drum wasn't recorded first. I would use metronome and record the drum kit first which would ensure the whole song stays in time and sounds professional. 

Piano hit the wrong notes. I would record this again until it was perfect, or if necessary use a new performer who is more experienced. 2:02 is an example of when the performer makes a mistake on the piano.

Didn't cut the song at the end. I would cut this as it would make the song sound more professional.
The vocalist's microphone is too loud at some parts and too quiet at others. This is possible due to the performer moving further away and closer to the microphone. Or that other instruments just over power the vocals. 3:05 is an example is where the performer is very quiet compared to the other instruments. 

Sam's Listening Excerpts

Textures, HOMO, MONO, POLY,
Major or Minor
Instruments


1. Mozarts Clarinet Concerto
Major
Homophonic because there is the woodwind playing different chords than the strings. Strings are playing the chords where the clarinet is playing the main melody. It then picks up introducing more instruments making the song seem fuller.
Violin
Clarinet


2. Hall of the mountain king
Minor
Homo then when it starts picking up speed and introduces more instruments it becomes polyphonic.
Oboe, Strings, Pizzicato, Symbols, Double bass, Cello, Timpani