INtroduction
Last year, all the juniors learned how to be recorded in the recording studio for a project. This year, all seniors have to find someone to record in the recording studio instead so they can learn how to record others. For my music recording project, I chose to record my father, who loves to sing and play guitar.
My dad’s had a lifelong passion for music, being in choir as a child and then self-teaching himself guitar, so I knew I wanted to give him the chance to utilize Freestyle’s amazing music studio.
During our scheduled session, Mr. Flo taught me how to record in the recording studio and we recorded various different songs which I later compiled together in Pro Tools. I named the final mix Surgical Symphony to reference my dad’s field of work which is medicine.
Final Product
▶ Surgical Symphony
⏸ Surgical Symphony
The inspiration for this project was to capture my father’s singing ability and let him sing some of his favorite songs. Songs such as “Knocking on heaven’s door” and “El Necio” were stand out favorites from the final mix. These songs are unique, as they both capture the musical background of my father and also in some songs the cultural background of Spain.
I grew artistically and technically in this project by learning how to record people in the recording studio. I was initially a bit tense at the idea of recording someone instead of being recorded myself, but with Mr. Flo’s help and my father’s participation I was able to get a hang of it and now feel comfortable if I need to record someone in the music studio again. I will of course still need more work, but overall I am a lot more confident in my abilities than I was before. Some struggles I encountered with recording was keeping track of things like volume control because I often overdid the turn on the dial, but I eventually got the habit in mind and stopped doing it.
If I could change anything about this project, I would’ve eliminated more of my anxiety earlier on. I feel like some of the tension I had affected my performance in recording and being more lax would’ve allowed me to grasp certain concepts more easily.
Upon reflection, I think I learned a lot with this assignment. I was worried I would struggle in the recording studio but I ended up finding it more seamless than I expected. I definitely feel more confident working in it both as a participator and the recorder. Overall I value the experience I’ve gotten from doing this project and look forward to potentially working more in the music recording studio in the future. I also appreciate the bonding experience this created between me and my father, and I am sure we will remember this session for many years to come.