Introduction
Last school year, we were assigned play or sing something to be recorded at Freestyle’s recording studio. This year, we were on the other side of the glass, and recorded someone else in the studio. Me and my friend Cade decided to collaborate, and I recorded them playing the song Bunny Girl by AKASAKI on the acoustic guitar. I learned how to create a session using Pro Tools, and we began recording different takes.
Cade is a senior at Los Altos High School and Freestyle Academy. We collaborated last year in the previous recording project where they taught me to play the guitar. We both played Fight Song by Eve, me on the guitar and them on the piano. They independently learned to play the guitar, and have been playing for a couple years.
The Music
For this project, I brought Cade into the recording studio where they played Bunny Girl by AKASAKI. This was one of the first Japanese songs that got them into the genre of J-Pop. It was also one of the first songs they learned to play on the guitar. This was our second time collaborating for a project, and I had so much fun in the recording studio with them again.
I started with learning how to record someone in the studio. We decided to record in the same room to make communication easier and more comfortable. Cade did a practice take to get used to recording in the space, then we kept going. I made a few mistakes, and forgot to hit the correct button to begin recording the session, but we stopped and started again. I adjusted the volume, and made sure the playlists were organized and aligned with the backing track. We continued doing takes and eventually Cade was happy with their recording. Afterwards, I normalized the recording, adjusted the volume of the tracks, and bounced the files. Although being on the recording end was very different from being recorded, it was a valuable experience learning to be recorded and record others. It was also a lot of fun to be able to do this again with my friend. I’m very glad I was able to do this to get to know what it’s like to be on the other side of the recording studio and see my friend play a song that means so much to them.
Reflection
Recording my friend was an amazing experience, especially after collaborating with them last year and being recorded together. Now, I’m more well-rounded when it comes to music recording. I can record music using high quality materials and applications, and also know how to be recorded by someone else. This was a valuable experience that provides me with the skills to produce art in a variety of ways.