Context of composition:

For this assignment, I chose my original Christmas song ‘Still A Kid At Heart‘ for my composition production.

I wanted to challenge myself by recording as many instruments that I’ve learnt in my studio lessons, as well as attempting my first session with strings and brass.

When starting this track idea, I already had a strong vision of what I wanted it to sound like:

• Rocky and upbeat like Slade’s “Merry Christmas Everybody” and Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas“.
• A track that could be potentially featured in a film, like Jack Frost 1998 or Home Alone.
• Use of orchestral instruments, such as strings and brass bands.
• Use of Christmas percussion, such as sleigh bells and glockenspiel.
• A track with a retro and nostalgic sound.

Composing on Logic – Synthesis:

This track was initially in E major, with the guitar and string motifs heavily focused around the major scale. After establishing memorable ideas, I started adding MIDI session player drums, synth bass, pads, and strings /brass.

SUBTRACTIVE SYNTHESIS:

To create my synth bass, I used the Universal Audio’s POLYMAX synth:

• As a beginning foundation, I selected the synth bass preset ‘Curious Poses’ due to its rapid attack and pronounced punch, allowing it to cut through the rest of my mix effectively while contributing a clear rhythm.
• Although I liked the 80s sound of the bass, there was too much treble and sawtooth, making it too harsh for the track. I changed oscillator 1 from sawtooth to tri-saw (a mixture of saw and triangle) as the triangle added more of a flatter and mellower sound due to its lower concentration of high frequencies. I also changed oscillator 2 from sawtooth to square to again flatten the higher frequencies.
• I preferred the sound of oscillator 1, hence why oscillator 1 is louder than oscillator 2.
• I turned down the ‘coarse’ knob for oscillator 1 as I preferred the singular tone it produced for the bass, rather than it having a “multi-octave’ effect.
• For the ADSR section of the synth, I kept the fast attack and low decay for clarity, and turned up the sustain to allow the notes to ring out slightly.
• In the Space FX section of the synth, I added a hall reverb so the bass could sit further back in the mix.
• As I wanted a continuous quaver rhythm, I turned on the arpeggiator (within the POLYMAX synth).
• In the Filter section of the synth, I changed the ‘pole’ (a filter cut) from 2 to 4, removing most of the fuzz and muddiness. I also applied a low pass filter so the bass only occupied the lower range of frequencies in my mix.
• I inserted a chorus plugin to add to the retro and analogue warmth.

For my synth pad pulses, I used the Universal Audio’s POLYMAX synth again:

• As a beginning foundation, I selected the synth lead preset ‘Fiddle Flange’. I really liked its initial sound (before I edited it) due to its 80s flange and tremolo effect. Due to liking its overall timbre, I kept the waveforms for the oscillators the same as the preset.
• As this synth was being used for chordal plucks rather than a bass line, I turned the ‘coarse’ knob up to increase the ‘multi-octave’ effect that I tried to remove in my synth bass.
• I used the ‘fine’ knob to also slightly detune the oscillators to add to the nostalgic 80s sound.
• I turned the ‘release’ for the ADSR envelope low so like the synth bass, the synth pulses could stab through the mix.
• I discovered the ‘syn (int)’ knob on the PolyMAX (‘internal oscillator sync’) which I researched and found that it rises the frequency of a silent sync oscillator (although I’m still unsure what this means), creating a distinctive “chopped” texture. When I increased the knob, it helped the pulses cut through more due to heightening the treble and causing the “chopped” effect.

Scoring parts:

Since I wanted to work with orchestral instruments, I had to score out parts for my Christmas song. The only problems with my score was some double-stopping sections in the violin and viola parts that were rather awkward to play, and the key of E major being an awkward key for the brass players. Therefore, I organised a meeting with my violinist and violist to help me correct parts, and I moved the whole song down to Eb major.

Recording players:

DRUMS:

The microphones picked for this sessions were as follows:

• Kick –> Solomon Subkick LoFReQ (outer resonant skin) and Audix D6 (inside porthole directed at beater)
• Snare –> Shure SM57 (top) and Beyerdynamic M201 (bottom)
• Hi-hat –> AKG C451B
• Overheads –> Spaced pair of x2 AKG C414 XLS
• Toms –> x1 Sennheiser MD421 (on high tom) and x1 Audix D6 (on floor tom), no mid tom

I felt the microphones worked really well together, with plenty of bass from the kick drum and emphasis from the hi-hat.

The drummer tuned the kit to the song so it fitted perfectly into the track.

We experimented with different hi-hats to see which timbre and character was best, and our final choice was a set that sounded more tight and ‘crisp’ rather than ‘crashy’.

I also experimented with the hi-hat spot mic as I wasn’t happy with the initial sound. Instead of the mic being positioned to the side of the hi-hat, I moved it so the mic faced directly down on top of the hi-hat to capture the attack of the stick and remove the ‘wash’ expelling from the sides. It also unintentionally helped isolate the hi-hat better without spill from the snare.

BRASS:

For this session, I used an ORTF pair, and spot mic-ed everyone with ribbon mics for clarity and warmth, considering the 3-1 rule.

The microphones I chose for this session were as follows:

• Trumpet –> Beyerdynamic M160 (1ft away from bell off-axis by 45 degrees)
• Trombone –> Beyerdynamic M160 (1ft away from bell off-axis by 45 degrees)
• French Horn –> Sontronics Delta 2 (1ft away from bell off-axis by 45 degrees ) and AKG C414 XLS (1ft in front on-axis)
• ORTF stereo pair –> x2 Neumann KM184 (both mics facing outwards with 110 degrees between them)

In my mixing session, I realised there was bleed between the three central spot microphones. I think if I recorded the brass again, I would either get the players to sit further apart, or use physical isolation such as baffles, although this was an option I avoided as I didn’t want to block the communication process between the players.

Since there were some phasing issues between the two French Horn mics (as they were sat opposite each other), I switched the polarity of the front mic on the desk and recorded it in that setting.

STRINGS:

The microphone layout was the same as the brass session, using an ORTF pair with ribbon spot mics:

• Violin –> Sontronics Delta 2 (1ft away from the f-holes)
• Viola –> Sontronics Delta 2 (1ft away from the f-holes)

I got the players to move to different chairs in the stereo field to give the illusion that there were more players, however, these audio files didn’t make it to the mix due to lack of time.

In a separate session (due to my player’s availability), I recorded double bass alone:

• Double bass –> AKG C414 XLS (in front but low towards the floor) and Neumann KM184 (behind capturing the woody tones and vibrations from the body)

GUITAR:

Me and my guitarist shared guitar parts before recording so I could give feedback on what he played (to spare time in the studio).

Inspirations for guitar solo are ‘Jessie’s Girl’ by Rick Springfield but I was happy to let my player write his own solo – happy tones and notes, not over the top, not too distorted.

I initially wanted to record him in the studio with the proper amps, but due to his lack of availability and time before the deadline, I had to use the pre-studio recordings.

VIDEO IN DAW:

Conclusion:

I made my song roughly 4 minutes so most of my recording sessions were based around 4 minutes. Extending it towards 5 minutes was difficult, therefore, I need to check brief regularly to make sure I’m following correct criteria.

For the stereo recordings, it would of been better to organise rehearsals before recording, especially for the strings and brass, so performances would go smoother.

For string harmonies, next time I need to distribute it across players, not just giving one or two players them all. Next time, get another violin or a cello player.

Understand different instrument ranges and which keys are more suitable than others.

Research on how to mix and edit drums quicker as this part took me longest.

Manage time better to get strings, guitar, and vocals finished and mixed properly.

FINAL AUDIO FILE SUBMISSION:

Here is my uncompressed pre-master of ‘Still A Kid At Heart‘: