Keith Courtney: April 2016

Saturday, April 30, 2016

How To Play A Guitar

Learning to play guitar can be rewarding in many different ways. Learning this skill will give you a sense of…

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Friday, April 29, 2016

Tickets For Shows

Do not think about what the critics say or write. Ignore for one moment, the costs of watching them. The…

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Find Tickets

For people who love the travel the plane ticket is literally their ticket to fun and excitement. Whether you travel…

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Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Find Tickets

Imagine getting front row tickets to any football game that you are wanting in watching in person. Imagine not just…

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Monday, April 25, 2016

Protect Your Ears!

Your ears are your biggest assets so don’t take them for granted. There’s no coming back from serious hearing damage or Tinnitus (ringing in your ears).

Try to limit your exposure to two hour blocks (not always possible). Then rest for 30mins (do some quiet editing). My Engineering professor would also recommend complete silence for 15 mins if time was tight.

Sometimes I’d even put on ‘construction’ ear protection (the big ones that fit over your ears). After long periods of exposure to loud music the hairs inside your ears get tired and they need a break so they can ‘wake up’ again.

Don’t Mix At Loud Levels

Normal hairs in ears Around 80 to 85 dBSPL is a good average. Use an SPL meter if available. If you can’t get your hands on one, the trick is that the mix level should be quiet enough that you can have a comfortable conversation with someone in your room. Headphones are harder to judge so be careful.

We’re all guilty of blasting mixes until our ears tingle. It’s fun, but very dangerous, like gator wrestling. You should also be careful with “city” listening. City sounds (cars, subways, construction) themselves contribute to ear fatigue. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the tendency is to turn up your headphones to compensate (which is a vicious cycle).

Monitor the levels you’re pumpin’ into your ears. Once those inner ear hair cells die, they can’t be repaired and don’t grow back (unless you’re a frog or a bird). Total Bummer.

The realities of the Fletcher-Munson curve (aka. Equal Loudness contour) will affect your mix too; Mixing at loud levels usually makes for an unreliable/unbalanced mix. Having said all that, it’s sometimes unavoidable to crank it every once in a while so you can really feel the track! Just be careful.

Get Good Ear Plugs

They’re essential for live shows, but also handy in many studio situations. You can easily spend hundreds on custom molded plugs (e.g. Sonomax), but more affordable options are available too (e.g. DUBS).

One last thing about earplugs (and Q-Tips), is that overtime they can push earwax into your ear canal and eventually create a blockage. About 10 years ago I thought I was going deaf in one ear. A quick visit to a local health clinic fixed me right up. They flushed my ear and a nasty slug of wax was dislodged. It was gross, but was also the best feeling ever. After weeks of suffering and freaking out that my career was over, it felt like I was hearing for the first time!

Don’t Wait For Something to Happen to You

You’ll regret it. There are varying degrees of hearing loss. It can slowly degrade over time, or you can suffer from one loud sound (e.g. Captain Kirk got Tinnitus from an explosion on the set of original Star Trek and he still suffers 45 yrs later).

Too many concerts (or even one bad one) without ear plugs cause harm (the ringing you hear after a show is not a good sign). Many don’t even notice their hearing loss.

I’ve worked with tons of musicians over the years and I can tell the ones who can’t hear certain things anymore. They ask me to crank certain frequencies because they can’t hear them. It sounds terrible and painful to me, but they love it. I correct the EQ later and the neighbourhood dogs are happy again.

Hope this wasn’t too preachy. It’s serious stuff, but we wrote it because we care.

Read Full Article Here: http://www.helpforbands.co.uk/protect-your-ears/

How To Play The Guitar

Although the electric guitar has originated in blues music, it is rock that gave its popularity. With rock music, the…

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Saturday, April 23, 2016

Acoustic Guitar

As a beginner acoustic guitarist you are probably wondering whether learning your songs from guitar tablature is as good as…

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Thursday, April 21, 2016

Guitar Player

Since the early days of young guitar player’s career it is clear that practice makes perfect. As simple as it…

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Guitar Sale

Eric Clapton is an acclaimed musical artist, nicknamed “Slowhand” and known for his superb guitar playing ability. Originally from Ripley,…

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Monday, April 18, 2016

Buy Guitar

A individual must have got the time to spend for his or her guitar lessons and recognize that by exercising…

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Saturday, April 16, 2016

Online Guitar

When you learn to read guitar sheet music it will be vital in expanding your guitar playing skills. Playing by…

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Beginner Guitar

The acoustic guitar is the most well-liked instrument for beginner musicians. It is simple t• cart around, you can practice…

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Guitar String Names

String muting is another technique that can help you define your own personal style. There are two types of string…

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Friday, April 15, 2016

Guitar Chords

Close your eyes and listen. Is there a sound more soulful and more resonant than a well-played guitar? It’s the…

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Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Best Acoustic Guitar

If you enjoy the idea of learning the guitar and you visualize yourself sitting down and playing your most prized…

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Sunday, April 10, 2016

Beginner Guitar

Find a Good Teacher – There is no substitution for a good guitar teacher. You can buy all the books…

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How to Get Better Vocal Recordings

In my previous blog on recording, I have covered drums and guitars. Once the main instruments have all been laid down you can add any additional flourishes to your recording that you might like to, however eventually you will come to recording the vocals.

How to Get Better Vocal Recordings

The most important aspect of recording a perfect vocal will come down to the singers technique and ability in the studio. However, there are various things a recording engineer can do to help this process and to make sure that the vocal sits right within the mix.

Generally the microphone you use for vocals will come down to a personal preference. The main thing that will matter is that you use a condenser microphone with a large diaphragm. A larger diaphragm within the microphone makes it more sensitive to subtle changes in volume, capturing a more a accurate vocal take.

Below is a list of microphones that are suitable for the job:

When recording the vocal, it is important to make sure that the vocalist is stood a hands span away (6-9 inches) from the microphone to avoid distortion. Make sure that you are also using a pop shield to avoid plosives and sibilance from becoming an issue. The vocalist should also be well trained in controlling their level near the microphone. This means that they should be pulling back from the mic when hitting louder notes, and vice versa for quiet notes.

When creating a headphone mix for the vocalist, make sure that they are as comfortable as possible as they will be basing their vocal performance on this. If the mix is too quiet, the vocalist will adjust and sing the piece quietly. Make sure that the mix matches the dynamic that the vocalist wants to achieve.

With regards to the vocal microphone itself, there is room for experimentation with how much room sound you would like in the vocal. While a typical approach is to use a cardioid polar pattern in order to purely catch the direct sound, room sound can be useful depending on the location and type of music. For example, a power ballad requires a lot of space and reverb on all instruments, and a microphone that uses a bi-directional or omni-directional pattern would help to capture the room sound and create a greater sense of depth in the vocal.

You will never get the perfect vocal take after one attempt. It could take some time to get the vocalist into a state where they can produce the best take possible, but as long as you make sure that the technical setup is correct, then it will come eventually.

Read Full Article Here: http://www.helpforbands.co.uk/how-to-get-better-vocal-recordings/