Singing, singing all the way

So, last night, Jodi was out of town at a conference, and the boys were both downstairs. Jacob had a friend sleeping over, and all three of them were playing video games. What does that mean for Mark upstairs? Free time with quiet? What does that mean?

Recording!!!

So, I did the keeper vocals on Martyrs. I don't know if I've shared my process for creating lead vocals with you. I set up ten empty tracks, and set each one up with reverb, etc, so I can hear myself well.

Then I cut the song straight through ten times, once on each track. At that point I'm usually done for the session. My mind is usually pretty fried on the song.

So, a day or so later, I'll start listening to the vocal tracks. I slice each track up into lyrical phrases, and listen to each phrase on each track, one at a time. I'll pick the best cut of each phrase. Which one has the best intonation, the strongest tone, the best expression and inflection. Then, I "comp" (composite) together a single track from the best of all ten.

I cold use the excuse that it's all because I'm really not that good of a singer. But even the real singers in the big leagues do it. It's just a way of making sure that your vocal like, which is the focal point of the song, is the best it can be.

I also had some intonation problems, which I thought were initially in the fiddle, but I think I've traced them to the original dulcimer track. So, I re-recorded it. I used a better mic placement this time, and use a really thin pick, so it has a much more chimey-sparkly sound now. I'm really pleased with it!

Come back often to hear about new songs and shows. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including Mark's Black Pot and his MoBoy blog.

Mark's Other Blog Posts: The Word of God,