Essay:


In this essay I will be talking about two producers and their production specifics and what new sound they invented and how they invented it. 

One producer is from the past and one is from the present. We will compare and see the differences in their process 

 

First case study : 

 

Thomas John Dowd was born on 20th October 1925 in Manhattan, New York.

He was a recording engineer who also produced for Atlantic Records.

He was a pioneer of stereo and multitrack tape recording. Dowd was known for producing recordings that sounded natural, it made the listener feel like they were in the same room as the performer. He produced the blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.

 

In a documentary about Tom Dowd, he and other mix engineers talk about the recording process back in the day.

There were certain limitations of the equipment being used. Everything had to be recorded together like in a live performance and there was not much room for mistake.

According to Tom Dowd, it was a different art form. 

However, multitrack recording is a way of recording where different sources or sounds are recorded separately to create one single recording. In this process voice or instruments are recorded onto an individual track but a different times and it’s possible to play them back at the same time. These tracks can be mixed with the mixing desk and fixing it’s volume or adding effects such as reverb and delay. Through the efforts and experimentation  done by guitarist Les Paul, this technique of recording was developed by the US company and Ampex. Tom Dowd the chief engineer of Atlantic records was an early innovator of the eight-track Multi recording system. By the help of new technology of Equalisation Dowd could split the rhythm section into separate tracks. He could now emphasise particular parts of the tracks, for instance the bass and the high frequencies. This this innovation allowed musicians to experiment with more genres and it was now possible to alter the sound of recordings.

 

Second case study :

 

Finneas Baird O'Connell was born on July 30, 1997 in Los Angeles, California.

He is a singer-songwriter, record producer and an actor. O’Connell’s production setup has been in a regular sized bedroom with Apple Logic Pro X, Universal Audio Apollo 8 interface and a pair of Yamaha HS5 nearfields with an H8S subwoofer. 

Grammy winner O’Connell learned to produce his song by experimenting with Logic pro. In an interview with Pitchfork; he talks about certain elements of his production. He has a very unique way of producing music and a lot of it includes using eccentric sounds. Like other musicians O’connel also uses snare drum, percussion, chords, acoustic guitar, synth, keyboard, cymbal crash etc. But what sets his work apart  from many others; is the usage of absurd sounds and production techniques. Like distorted vocals, sound of waves, shift of tonal structure to a violent phase, intense bass drop,  dark texture, dark sound, stacks of harmony, stacks of lead vocals, processed Ad-libs, acoustic guitar riffs, flute key, R.P.G sound, slow tempo, back beat,  muffle high-end, pump into Hi-Fi with drum and Bass, Guitar hard pans, drum hard pan, muffled vocals, live takes, iPhone recording, building momentum, wind tones, lurching motions, incessant vocals, robotic sounds and so on. O’connels is not afraid to experiment with all types of sounds no matter how bizarre it may seem thus resulting into something phenomenal.

 

In the past when tapes  were used performances weren’t perfect. The track space were limited. Despite of the performers best efforts, it was likely to have some imperfections. And these mistakes could not be undone.

In the past layering of effects were not as sophisticated as it is today. Most studios only had reverb and delay. But now for our use, there is an immense number of effects and plug-ins available.

These effects can be easily automated and morphed into every word or beat which makes these recordings very precise.

The tracks nowadays are created with beats, loops, sequenced tracks and virtual instruments in the computer using over dub. These tracks are also quantized in a digital audio workstation application. 

 

As I am a beginner who is just familiarising herself with the basics of music production I do not think it will be fair to compare my work with these respectable producers. However right now I have a very textbook way to mix or produce music. What I have learned so far is through the lessons provided to us at university and through watching YouTube videos. Once I grasp the basics I will be able to experiment with my work like the other producers.

The process of conceiving an idea to create music and to finish it by mixing and mastering is quite elaborate.
We start off with an idea for the music or the song. Sometimes the ideas are fully solidified and the creator wants to create exactly what is in their mind but sometimes there is an initial idea but through experimentation; a different product is created. On workstations like Logic pro there is a section where you can write notes which might help you to stay on track with what has beet set out to accomplish .
First step is usually to write the lyrics or have a melody or track that guides the artist to create a Lyrics on top of it. 
Other than melody for a song; other elements can be considered like harmony, rhythm and the structure of the song. The next step could be arranging the music for the song, this is usually done on a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) like Logic pro, Ableton, Studio One etc.
The next possible step would be to add drum and bass. Other things like live instruments ( keyboard, guitar, flute etc), synthesisers, loops, live vocals and harmonies can be added. This sounds could be panned differently. After the perfect takes these are turned into individual tracks. A process known as tracking, just how we discussed multitrack recording above. After that these audio files are edited. In this process many of the initial imperfections can be eliminated. Tracks need to be pitch corrected by piano roll and quantised before it can be mixed. After it has been cleaned and polished it can now be mixed. The mixing is a very personal and elaborate process the more trained the producers ears are the more they can hear and therefore correct or keep. During mixing the pitch and timing can be fixed, the volume can be automated, dynamics and effects can be applied. Crossfade can be applied breaths can be cut out etc. Equalisers are used to cut out certain unwanted frequencies. Different plug-ins can be used such as noise gate. Compressors can be used. It is possible to control the amount and strength of compression. Bus processing can be used which group instruments together and can treat them together. Effects like reverb and delay can be applied. Multipressors can be used. Whilst mastering the tracks need to be heard on various devices and speakers. Equalisation, dynamic range and compression is applied during the final master. Minor flaws can be edited out. Clicks, dropouts, hum, hiss can be reduced by noise reduction. Volume can be adjusted. Dynamic range can be compressed or expanded. Tracks can be faded out at the end if required. The final step would be to bounce the track in whichever format or formats required. 
Like mentioned before I do not have a strong body of work that can be compared. But as an amateur producer I try to follow the steps that has been taught to me and a lot of them involve what I mentioned above.



References and Bibliography:
 

https://bobbyowsinskiblog.com/


https://www.esquiresg.com/features/finneas-o-connell-actor-billie-eilish-producer-but-as-a-multi-hyphenate-musician/

FINNEAS Explains How He Builds Songs For Billie Eilish | Critical Breakthroughs | Pitchfork

https://youtu.be/FsSkRjgjFvU

https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/emergence-of-multitrack-recording

https://www.mixonline.com

https://www.waves.com/six-stages-of-music-production