You can spend a whole load of money on all sorts of different music production tools, but what would really be considered as important? Here’s David ‘Trash’ Kelly on the music production tools he uses.
Traditionally a hardware mixer with a multitrack reel to reel recorder would have been essential, and indeed, even today, some engineers and producers still love the sound this ‘vintage’ analogue equipment creates. Today though most would opt for a computer based digital audio workstation or DAW, typically a PC or an Intel based Apple Mac Pro running software such as Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase and so on. If you are on a budget and are not too worried about having the very latest software then you can get great deals on 2nd hand equipment such as an Apple Mac G5 mentioned in the video, running earlier versions of the the software listed above.
If you are looking at courses to learn music production and the tools available, the Recording Workshop runs many. Take a look at our Music Production Courses page.
As far as instruments are concerned having both real and virtual or software instruments make a great combination although virtual instruments have come a long way since their inception in the late 90′s, and sound very realistic. However it is still difficult to emulate the way a real instrument would be played using soft synths or samplers, therefore using a combination of real and virtual instruments provides us with a more natural sound.
Music Production Tools – Microphones
The quality of microphones is absolutely crucial to the sound we get as this is the first point where we convert the physical sound into an electrical signal, and if the mic does a poor job then things will not get any better from there on. Good quality microphones can be expensive although lately the price has come down quite a bit and there are some good deals to be had if you shop around.
One important thing to take note is not to keep buying and selling. There are those who are always after the ‘latest and greatest’. The problem is that the latest is not always are great as the marketers would have you believe. Always listen and test things out yourself. Let your own ears be the judge. Avoid selling ‘older’ musical equipment. Things go out of fashion – that’s ok, but soon they’ll be back. Analog synths are a classic example. In the early 80s you couldn’t give away an analog synth as the new digital ones had emerged and everyone jumped on those and abandoned their older equipment, but then there was a massive resurgence and demand for those retro synths could not be fulfilled so today the price of analog synthesizers is higher than when they were brand new.
There are no right or wrong tools to have. It is really down to the type of music you intend to produce. as David ‘Trash’ Kelly mentions in the video, embrace all different types of music including that of other producers, and build up your arsenal of music production tools.
A music studio producer is in charge of the entire music production process as David ‘Trash’ Kelly explains in the following video.
In order to be a music producer it is a good idea to become knowledgeable in the technical aspects of music production as they will be working together with the sound engineer, understanding how audio studio recording equipment works, both hardware, such as mixers, processors, effects, reel to reel tape machines (yes, they are still used from time to time), as well as digital audio workstations or DAWs, including a good knowledge of software such as Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic and Reason to mention a few.
The Recording Workshop specializes in Music Production and Sound Engineering offering various courses which if taken together in the form of the Sound Engineer Diploma Course will provide you with the knowledge and experience needed to become a music studio producer.
An understanding of music theory, though not essential, is desirable as it helps the music studio producer to appreciate some of the difficulties a musician may experience when trying to give their best performance, especially during the recording process, when the pressure and focus is all on that person getting it right. This is where the producer has to put on their ‘psychological head’ and help the artist mentally, boosting their confidence and in turn enabling them to perform better.
The studio producer is the person everyone turns to when things are not working out as well as they should. They organize everything such as the hiring of studios, musical equipment, extra musicians where required, and that would also include accessories such as guitar strings, reeds etc. The music studio producer would have also planned the session in advance, things like goal setting – what tasks would be completed such as recording 4 tracks or mixing one or two songs so as not to waste valuable and often expensive studio session time on the day.
The record label will provide the music producer with an overall budget for the project, and it is up to the studio producer to manage their account and not overspend especially if the artist is recording their debut album.
Keeping to record label’s deadlines is also very important. Marketers are responsible for the release dates of certain music styles and rely on the producer to have a ‘product’ completed in a timely fashion.
What are the Advantages of being a Music Studio Producer?
Apart from the management aspect of the role, one of the biggest advantages of being responsible for music production is the creative aspect. You get to change, mold, and develop the sound of your artist into something really good. There are many artists who have fantastic raw musical talent, but do not know or understand the music production process and this is where you can really shine and make something of them.
Can Anyone Become a Music Studio Producer?
There is this myth that in order to become a music producer you have to be some super talented and sort after person, and indeed as David ‘Trash’ Kelly mentions in the video, this is true when it comes to large well established record labels with top artists, however there is plenty of scope with much smaller less known companies, where you can build up your knowledge and experience. Also don’t just focus on music production purely for albums as there are many other outlets for your talents including music for games, film and TV, audio and video commercials where again you can get a foothold and build up your reputation to a level where you start to get noticed by the ‘big guns’ who will ask you if you would take on a project and be their music studio producer.
In the last video in this synth programing series the oscillators were discussed and are responsible for creating the actual sounds. In the following video let’s look at the filters. The filters modify the tonal quality of the sound.
The Korg MS20 has 2 filters, a low pass filter (LPF) which as the name suggests allows or passes low frequencies through and cuts or removes high frequencies. The frequency cut off control setting determines the frequencies to be passed and which should be cut. It behaves in a similar manner to the basic ‘tone’ control on a simple radio, therefore as you start to turn the filter control the sound becomes more muffled, as the higher frequencies are being cut. The high pass filter (HPF) does the opposite to low pass filter in that it cuts the low frequencies while passing the high frequencies, and again, the frequency control setting determines which are cut or passed.
The two controls below each frequency control are known as ‘resonance’ or ‘peak’ controls, and what they do is to boost or amplify the cut off point set by the frequency controls. This produces a ‘whistling’ effect, the pitch being determined by the frequency control, so it is possible to tune it to match the not being played for some interesting effects. Essentially the resonance effect is picking out and amplifying the harmonics of the sound. Be careful as to how much you turn up the resonance or peak control as too much can produce a very piercing whistle which can be quite painful to the ears.
Another filter type is the Band Pass filter that can really enrich our synth programing arsenal, and this allows a range of frequencies through. Some synths have a band pass filter setting with a frequency control, however the range of frequencies is often set and you cannot adjust this. One of the big advantages of a true analog synth like the Korg MS20 is the possibility to set up both the high and low pass filters to work together producing the band pass filter effect. Add some resonance to both these filters and you really get a very rich sound as Jose demonstrates in the video.
Enjoy using your filters to full effect, but watch those resonance control settings. More to come on this Synth Programing mini course.
Notting Hill Carnival – No Music Production Tutorials this Weekend
The August Bank Holiday is upon us, but that’s not the only reason The Recording Workshop is closed. The whole area including and surrounding Conlan Street will be filled with the summer sounds and people celebrating the Notting Hill Carnival.
Here’s a video clip of Sancho Panza sound system near the Recording Workshop location. The sound is distorted due to the immense power of the sound system – Feel the Bass!
Sancho Panza have been around since 1992 where they started out in a North London basement in New Years Eve and have since played at many venues including old cinemas, photography studios, warehouses, boats going up and down the River Thames, gymnasiums and even embassies.
The Recording Workshop will be back in business with all its music production tutorials and sound engineering courses on Tuesday 30th August. For more information on the courses available check out the Music Production Courses page.
If you’re going to the Notting Hill Carnival this year we wish you an enjoyable and peaceful time, and hope the rain keeps to a minimum.
If you are thinking of enrolling on one of the many music production courses at the London based Recording Workshop UK, then the following video will provide you with an insight to the practical aspects of the music production courses we run.
Practice period for the Sound Engineering & Music Production Diploma course
Here in Studio 2, you can see DJ tutor Martin explaining the various aspects of record cueing and beat matching etc., then letting each student try it out for themselves. Martin then gives them feedback suggesting ways they can improve on their performance.
Meanwhile other students are working on the Apple Mac based workstations on projects involving the use of music sequencers including Cubase, Logic or Pro-Tools, creating their own songs demonstrating and perfecting their sequencer skills. Although they are on their own, there is always a tutor on hand that can help them should they run into any difficulty or something they do not quite understand.
Each of the students on the workstations would have first attended a music production course such as the Logic tutorial or Cubase tutorial, each consisting of eight three hour sessions where they learn all aspects of the sequencer of their choice. They then apply this newly gained knowledge on the projects set for them to accomplish.
As mentioned in the video this room is usually very quiet as each student wears headphones, but on this occasion there was a DJ Tutorial running at the same time and as there were several would be DJs attending, the sound had to be sent to the monitors so everyone could hear what was going on.
Music Production Courses from The Recording Workshop UK
In the following video Jose Gross – Course Leader at The Recording Workshop UK in London explains the function of the oscillators or VCOs on the classic Korg MS20 monophonic synthesizer.
The Korg MS20 is a classic analog synthesizer dating back to around 1976 and is a great way to learn synth programing as its layout is easy to follow.
The oscillators are the waveform generators which create the basic or raw sound we hear and the Korg MS20 features two of them called VCO1 and VCO2, VCO standing for voltage controlled oscillator – the higher the voltage the higher the pitch . They can produce Sawtooth, Triangular or Square waves. To add extra richness VCO 1 has an additional control called a pulse width control that modifies the shape of the square wave, as demonstrated in the video, which adds more ‘richness’ to the tone by altering the harmonic content. This is often used to create those so called ‘fat’ synth sounds. There is also a white noise generator that produces every frequency from 20Hz to 20KHZ giving us that ‘hissy’ kind of sound often used to produce wind, rain or the sound of the sea. Together with various modifiers it also makes up some of the percussive effects found in snare drums and hi hats in electronic drum sounds.
Each oscillator also features a scale control that lets you to alter the pitch, and these are calibrated in feet, relating to the actual size of pipes found in a church organ, ranging from 2′ on VCO2 all the way down to a deep 32′ pipe on VCO1.
VCO2 differs slightly from VCO1 in that it does not have a pulse width control, however it does have a ring modulation feature. Ring modulation is where the amplitude of one wave is modulated by the other, similar to AM radio, and this produces a ‘bell’ influence to the sound as Jose Gross demonstrates in the video. This 2nd oscillator has a pitch control enabling you to tune the oscillator relative to VCO1. Ever so slightly detuning it gives you a very rich sound and is often used in synth programing as part of that fat sound creation as mentioned above.
The output of each oscillator then goes into a mixer where you can adjust the level of each one, which lets you further modify the overall tonal quality of the resulting sound.
Portmento is a control that enables a gliding effect between two notes, typically used from one note to an octave below or above, often used in dance tracks.
Synth Programing can be very confusing and seem complicated to the newcomer especially if using software synthesizers and on the synth programing course you start of by learning how to use hardware, getting your hands on the actual synth demonstrated by Jose, moving onto other hardware synthesizers, then onto soft synths, gaining both practical and theoretical knowledge on how synthesizers work and how to use them.
Now celebrating the 6th anniversary of its Sound Engineering & Music Production Summer school TRW once again opens its doors to a Summer fest of Music Technology Courses. Make your long summer holidays more enjoyable by joining a Music Production or Music Technology course listed below.
These music courses are not only great for Students, but also for Music Teachers who wish to widen their training skills by understanding how music technology works and how it can benefit them in preparation for the new school year.
There are 9 Music Production Summer Courses available:
4 day Reason Tutorial starts Monday 20/08/12. 11:00 to 16:30. £300.
4 week DJ course (2 evenings/week: Monday & Wednesday 19:00 to 21:30) starts Monday 06/08/12. £300.
Special summer school 2 month condensed versions of the TRW Full Time combined Sound Engineering course & Music Production level 1 Diploma Course
Become a producer in just 2 months during your summer holidays!
Don’t miss this year’s course starting 03/07/12 by paying your deposit at the current price NOW.
See below to pay on line.
This special condensed version of the TRW Sound Engineering & Music Production full time course lasts 9 weeks.
Times: 11:00 to 17:30 Tuesdays to Fridays in July. Mondays to Fridays in August.
This is the equivalent of all the TRW audio & sound engineering courses and music technology & music production courses with additional practical periods amounting to 32.5 hours per week.
Modules included in the summer course:
Music Production Foundation course
Cubase Tutorial
Music Sampling Techniques
Synth programing
Pro Tools Tutorial
Logic Studio Tutorial
Multi-track live recording including microphone techniques for vocals, acoustic & electric guitar, bass and drums.
Mixing and mastering
One of the most important features is that there is a very maximum of 5 people per full time course.
Other schools, colleges or courses have somewhere between 10 and 30 people per course. “I have taught in further education colleges and it was a nightmare. There were about 25 students trying to get access to the mixing desk. The class was also held back by some students who were there because they could not think of anything better to do. They were not really interested which brought the whole class down…” says Jose Gross the founder of The Recording Workshop. “I like the personal approach. Small classes, lots of practice on the equipment. Exchange of ideas between people. I am still learning even now from my students because they have unprejudiced ideas about how to do things which I am always struggling with myself.”
Another distinguishing feature of The Recording Workshop is that it is located slap bang in the middle of one of the most densely populated recording studio areas in the world. There are something like 50 recording studios in about 3 blocks of buildings! A lot of them belong to world class acts. One is frequently seeing famous faces in the nearby cafe or just walking down the corridor in this building or down the street. This makes it ideal for making contacts and work opportunities.
The course is in 2 parts:
The 1st part of the sound engineering & music technology full time course starts on Tuesday 3rd July and lasts 7 weeks.
The 2nd part of the sound engineering & music technology course is entirely hands-on supervised studio time for you to create and develop your own productions over the last 2 weeks.You will also have studio time on the 3 previous Mondays.
Remember that as a full time student you are eligible for:
Discount on Apple computers.
Discount on music software.
Discount on Borders books.
Insurance is also available to cover your possessions and your fees if you become ill: Student home contents and personal possessions insurance
click here to read recent student’s accounts of their experience of the course
Fees:
9 week summer full time condensed TRW level 1 Sound Engineering & Music Production Diploma.
For more information on visas please Contact the Recording Workshop
4 day Foundation in Sound Engineering & Music Production courses: £330 including a £85 deposit
Click One of the Order Now Buttons for a Place on the Course
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Summer Electronic Music Production course. 4 x weeks. 6 hours per day. £1800 inc. £300 deposit.
Click one of the the Order Now Buttons Below to Secure Your Place on the Course
Payment in Full
Deposit
Balance
The techniques covered in this course can be applied to any style of music but our main attention will be on electronic music.
This means experimental music as well as house, techno, psytrance, progressive, trance, dubstep, HipHop and any other form of dance music.
Starts 03/07/12, ends 27/07/12. Also starts 31/07/12, ends 24/08/12.
Times: 11:00 to 17:30 Tuesdays to Friday. Extra times available for practice if desired.
The course consists of the following modules:
Music Production Foundation course
Cubase Tutorial (July course) Logic Studio Tutorial (August course)
Synth Programing
Music Sampling Techniques
Propellerheads Reason
Summer Sound Engineering course. 4 x weeks. 6 hours per day. £1800 inc. £300 deposit.
The course covers gain-structure, signal-to-noise ratio, working with microphones, mixers, effects, dynamic processors, mixing and mastering. Getting a professional sounding production. The course applies to working on stage, in a studio, producing sound effects for multimedia or working in post-production for television and mixing sound for video games.
Starts 10/07/12. Ends 03/08/12. Times: 11:00 to 17:30 Tuesdays to Fridays. Extra times available for practice if desired.
Multi-track live recording including microphone techniques for vocals, acoustic & electric guitar, bass and drums.
Mixing and mastering
Start dates
9 week course
Tuesday 3rd July to Friday 31st August 2012 or Tuesday 10th July to Friday 7th September 2012
4 week courses
Electronic Music Production: Tuesday 3rd to 27th July & 31st July to 24th August 2012
Summer Sound Engineering: Tuesday 10th July to 3rd August 2012
4 day Foundation to Sound Engineering & Music Production course
Tuesday 3rd, 10th, 31st July and 7th August 2012.
Summer Sound Engineering course. 4 x weeks. 6 hours per day. £1800 inc. £300 deposit.
Click the Order Now button for one time full payment
Click the Order Now button for Deposit payment
Click the Order Now button for Balance payment
TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
All course places can only be reserved on receipt of deposit or full payment.
The deposit is absolutely non-refundable or transferable unless no places are available.
There is no refund for lateness or absence from any or all of the sessions after session 1.
There is no refund for dropping out of the course after 28 days before session 1. If notified before the fees paid will be refunded minus the deposit.
The total payment has to be made in full by 8 days for UK & EU nationals or 14 days for non UK & EU nationals before session 1 otherwise students will be removed from the course and lose their deposit.
The recording workshop reserves the right to refuse admission without explanation.
Students are not allowed to eat, drink or smoke in the studio.
If for any reason a student enrolls late so as to start a course at session 2 such as there being a spare place the full fee will be due at least 2 days before session 2. No refund will be allowable for dropping out or any absence after session 2.
Students are not allowed to touch any controls other than those specifically instructed by the course tutor.
Mobile phones to be switched off during lessons.
Any lateness or absence is to be notified as soon as possible preferably by text.
Any absence due to illness lasting more than 3 days needs to be certified by a doctor.
Students who miss 3 or more classes without an explanation will no longer be eligible to have work experience arranged for them.
Students who miss 3 or more classes from any one module will not be eligible for the appropriate certificate unless they can show that they have made up for what they have missed.
Students need to have all 8 certificates in order to get the diploma and be eligible for work experience.
Work experience is only available for UK and EU nationals.
Contact The Recording Workshop
Unit 10, Buspace Studios, Conlan Street, London, W10 5AP
Phone +44(0)20 896 88 222 or fax +44(0)20 7460 3164
Similar courses to the TRW level 1 Sound Engineer diploma course elsewhere cost considerably more:
SAE
1 year
£12,000 approx
London School Of Sound
1 year
£ 9,400
Point Blank
1 year
£ 9,000 approx
Alchemea
1 year
£ 8,750 approx
The Recording Workshop
1 year
from £5,950 (starting February 2012)
Why? Other colleges have larger classes, a larger number of administration staff, larger premises and larger advertising & marketing budgets which means they have much higher running costs.
TRW has always worked on the principle that small is best: more personal attention, better learning effectiveness, good access to equipment, plenty of practical experience. We budget as efficiently as possible and so keep costs down.
To reserve a place a deposit payment of £1000 for the level 1 Sound Engineer Diploma course or £2000 for the level 1 & 2 course has to be made as soon as possible.
Applications will be taken on a first-come-first-served basis.
Before the Beatles, some Audio Engineers used to wear white lab coats & artists were not allowed to be present during the mastering of their records. This is one of the reasons the Beatles set up their Apple record company, so that they could have more control over their work.
Here’s some early footage of the Beatles at EMI Studios, and although the engineer wasn’t wearing a white coat you can see there’s very little interaction between the musicians and the engineer. In fact it was quite radical for that time to see musicians in the control room at all!
It was the Grateful Dead who introduced the positioning of the live sound engineering mixing desk in the audience in around 1966. Beforehand the desk was meant to be out of sight. No one had considered that the engineer needed to hear the music from the front of the stage in order to get a good balance.
In case you haven’t heard the Grateful Dead here’s a video of them doing a live performance instrumental called Dark Star from their ‘Sunshine Daydream’ unreleased video way back in 1972. It’s a great ‘chill out’ track for the time.
Traditionally a hardware mixer with a multitrack reel to reel recorder would have been essential, and indeed, even today, some engineers and producers still love the sound this ‘vintage’ analogue equipment creates. Today though most would opt for a computer based digital audio workstation or DAW, typically a PC or an Intel based Apple Mac Pro running software such as Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase and so on. If you are on a budget and are not too worried about having the very latest software then you can get great deals on 2nd hand equipment such as an Apple Mac G5 mentioned in the video, running earlier versions of the the software listed above.
In order to be a music producer it is a good idea to become knowledgeable in the technical aspects of music production as they will be working together with the sound engineer, understanding how audio studio recording equipment works, both hardware, such as mixers, processors, effects, reel to reel tape machines (yes, they are still used from time to time), as well as digital audio workstations or DAWs, including a good knowledge of software such as Pro Tools, Cubase, Logic and Reason to mention a few.
