Studio Update: The Joy of Sequencing
As a gesture to those of you who are interested in these sorts of things, I have decided that I will devote one post per week to the recording of my new CD. Hopefully, through this post, I can not only “pull the curtain back” to give you an idea of what does into making an Eric Gwin CD, but also use my studio work as an illustration in order to make some much greater points in other posts about life in general.
I actually began recording the album (Sorry, but being someone born in the 1970s, I still refer to them as albums!) last month, but I’ve only spent a little time in the studio, with only one real recording session to show for it. The results from that recording session were documented in a previous post, which I highly recommend reading if you haven’t already.
This week has been a busy week, but I have managed to get a little work done in the studio. Most of that work has been of the sequencing variety, though.
What is sequencing? Glad you asked. Allow me to explain:
Sequencing is the process of creating an instrumental “sequence” of chords and rhythms that are then arranged to make up the foundation of the song. In my work, this is done using a sequencer, which is a machine that works kind of like a drum machine. But unlike a drum machine, in which you can only program individual drum and percussion sounds into patterns and loops, this machine allows you to string together notes and chords into patterns, using any variety of sounds that you like. Essentially, it’s like having a band “in a box.” (By the way, for all you technophobes who are wondering, my sequencer of choice is a Boss DR-5 Dr. Rhythm. I’ve been using it for over 10 years and I love it!)
Once I get a sequence of a song put together, I then have an instrumental arrangement of the song that I can use as a reference. By singing with the sequence, I can stay on pitch and in rhythm as I’m putting together all the vocal tracks that will eventually become the acappella version of the song. This also helps me with being able to edit the tracks later.
This part of the recording process has its ups and its downs. One of the “ups” is that sequencing gives the song a real musical foundation to build upon. It’s also during the sequencing process when I am actually able to get an idea of what the song will eventually sound like. Before sequencing, the song’s music is just a bunch of little notes flying around inside my head, and the lyrics are just words written down on a sheet of paper. The sequence is where the song begins to take on a life of its own.
The only real downer with sequencing is this: The sequence is a LOT of work that will never be heard by most people. Once the vocals are in there, stacked on top of each other to form the chords, notes, melodies, and rhythms that make up the song, the sequence comes out, never to be heard by the public. It’s almost sad, really.
So that’s where I am so far with this project: Making a TON of music that you will never hear. Oh well.
I’m sure I’ll have more to report within the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, can I make a request? PLEASE keep me in your prayers as I work on this CD. My previous 2 CDs would have never happened had it not been for the prayers of many, MANY people. I know that this CD is no different, so I beg you to pray for me in this endeavor. Thanks in advance!
Not much inspirational stuff in this post. Sorry for that, but I DO feel a good point about life coming on from all of this that I just typed. Can you guess what it is?
I’ll save my spiritual application for another post. Until then…
God Bless!
--Eric G.
I actually began recording the album (Sorry, but being someone born in the 1970s, I still refer to them as albums!) last month, but I’ve only spent a little time in the studio, with only one real recording session to show for it. The results from that recording session were documented in a previous post, which I highly recommend reading if you haven’t already.
This week has been a busy week, but I have managed to get a little work done in the studio. Most of that work has been of the sequencing variety, though.
What is sequencing? Glad you asked. Allow me to explain:
Sequencing is the process of creating an instrumental “sequence” of chords and rhythms that are then arranged to make up the foundation of the song. In my work, this is done using a sequencer, which is a machine that works kind of like a drum machine. But unlike a drum machine, in which you can only program individual drum and percussion sounds into patterns and loops, this machine allows you to string together notes and chords into patterns, using any variety of sounds that you like. Essentially, it’s like having a band “in a box.” (By the way, for all you technophobes who are wondering, my sequencer of choice is a Boss DR-5 Dr. Rhythm. I’ve been using it for over 10 years and I love it!)
Once I get a sequence of a song put together, I then have an instrumental arrangement of the song that I can use as a reference. By singing with the sequence, I can stay on pitch and in rhythm as I’m putting together all the vocal tracks that will eventually become the acappella version of the song. This also helps me with being able to edit the tracks later.
This part of the recording process has its ups and its downs. One of the “ups” is that sequencing gives the song a real musical foundation to build upon. It’s also during the sequencing process when I am actually able to get an idea of what the song will eventually sound like. Before sequencing, the song’s music is just a bunch of little notes flying around inside my head, and the lyrics are just words written down on a sheet of paper. The sequence is where the song begins to take on a life of its own.
The only real downer with sequencing is this: The sequence is a LOT of work that will never be heard by most people. Once the vocals are in there, stacked on top of each other to form the chords, notes, melodies, and rhythms that make up the song, the sequence comes out, never to be heard by the public. It’s almost sad, really.
So that’s where I am so far with this project: Making a TON of music that you will never hear. Oh well.
I’m sure I’ll have more to report within the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, can I make a request? PLEASE keep me in your prayers as I work on this CD. My previous 2 CDs would have never happened had it not been for the prayers of many, MANY people. I know that this CD is no different, so I beg you to pray for me in this endeavor. Thanks in advance!
Not much inspirational stuff in this post. Sorry for that, but I DO feel a good point about life coming on from all of this that I just typed. Can you guess what it is?
I’ll save my spiritual application for another post. Until then…
God Bless!
--Eric G.
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