Good summation Craig. The only thing I'd add is the importance of the Performance playing the instrument well, and the emotional content of the individual parts. Like any live performance where a well rehearsed band uses varying amounts of energy dynamically as individuals and as a team effort, it is critical to tap into that same same kind of emotional energy when tracking in a studio.
In a solo project, this can be much more difficult because you may not have the other players there to follow the dynamic lead set down as a team. Control over this emotional expression as you perform tracking is just that much more critical.
Being inspired to play any one part solo with the emotional content you'd use playing live on a stage in front of an audience is something you must master before you can capture it in a recording.
A musician can't expect to get the same recording from a bunch of parts played flat and lifeless. You can only do so much using audio effects, many of which are designed to tame the emotional content. A performer must capture that emotion in every track he plays if you want it there to mix with. As you add additional parts, the emotional content and/or playing dynamics can complement the first and build into a collective.
This makes tracking multiple parts even more difficult, but you find if you err on the side of the performance over sound quality, the performance will trump the sound quality nearly every time.
Of course you have to play the notes in tune and in time as well, but who wouldn't prefer to ride the wave of emotion expressed in a recording containing a few sour notes or missed beats of a Hendrix or Clapton recording over a sterilized version where the emotional content is stripped away using studio overdubs and mixing techniques.
Its is easy to fix every flub recording digitally, but first try and do it on the front end where the rubber meets the road performing your heart out. Then you have no regrets thinking you could have just played the parts better to begin with vs. spending mega hours mixing. You'll find the truly great recordings need practically no mixing at all. What mixing is done, tends to be an artistic enhancement that reveals the beauty of the parts.
Throwing a lightening bolt into a composition stitched together like a Frankenstein from bits and pieces may give the appearance of life, but the scars and stitch marks must be invisible and natural looking if you expect the listener to enjoy it as a natural sound.
How to Create Wide Open Mixes
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Good summation Craig. The only thing I'd add is the importance of the Performance playing the instrument well, and the emotional content of the individual parts. Like any live performance where a well rehearsed band uses varying amounts of energy dynamically as individuals and as a team effort, it is critical to tap into that same same kind of emotional energy when tracking in a studio.
In a solo project, this can be much more difficult because you may not have the other players there to follow the dynamic lead set down as a team. Control over this emotional expression as you perform tracking is just that much more critical.
Being inspired to play any one part solo with the emotional content you'd use playing live on a stage in front of an audience is something you must master before you can capture it in a recording.
A musician can't expect to get the same recording from a bunch of parts played flat and lifeless. You can only do so much using audio effects, many of which are designed to tame the emotional content. A performer must capture that emotion in every track he plays if you want it there to mix with. As you add additional parts, the emotional content and/or playing dynamics can complement the first and build into a collective.
This makes tracking multiple parts even more difficult, but you find if you err on the side of the performance over sound quality, the performance will trump the sound quality nearly every time.
Of course you have to play the notes in tune and in time as well, but who wouldn't prefer to ride the wave of emotion expressed in a recording containing a few sour notes or missed beats of a Hendrix or Clapton recording over a sterilized version where the emotional content is stripped away using studio overdubs and mixing techniques.
Its is easy to fix every flub recording digitally, but first try and do it on the front end where the rubber meets the road performing your heart out. Then you have no regrets thinking you could have just played the parts better to begin with vs. spending mega hours mixing. You'll find the truly great recordings need practically no mixing at all. What mixing is done, tends to be an artistic enhancement that reveals the beauty of the parts.
Throwing a lightening bolt into a composition stitched together like a Frankenstein from bits and pieces may give the appearance of life, but the scars and stitch marks must be invisible and natural looking if you expect the listener to enjoy it as a natural sound.