Cookie's Corner - #221 - What do Robert Plant's Ramble On and Beethoven's Sixth have in common? Dynamics Part 1
From Cookie Marenco - Founder and Producer Blue Coast Records and Music
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Why learning to play an instruments involves so much more than sampling and AI
One of the most dynamic tracks I’ve ever recorded was Looking for a Home. It’s the first track on the Blue Coast Collection 1. Keith Greeninger and Dayan Kai give a lesson to musicians and audio engineers about what playing loud and soft really means. And it resonates with our listeners… it’s the most listened to and downloaded track on Blue Coast Records. You can listen to a preview here.
https://bluecoastmusic.com/blue-coast-collection
I’ve been a musician my whole life… first the piano, then violin, oboe and sitar. After being a private lesson music teacher, I took on the challenge of building a studio and becoming an audio engineer more than 40 years ago. Why? Because my band needed a demo and it was decided I had the best place to record.
What gave me the edge to last this long in the business was my musicianship background. Being able to empathize or make musical suggestions was important in my career growth. I never had a desire to sit in front of a computer all day and compose (even though I had to learn that skill, also). Working with people makes me happy... not having the latest plugin.
One thing I learned as a musician was dynamics - how to play loud and soft. Get a tone, play dynamics, get locked into the groove and pitch. Essentially, playing an instrument is about listening, feeling and breath. That’s what I try to capture in my recordings.
Life is about loud and soft. Controlling loud and soft is the most difficult part of playing an instrument.... and that includes the voice or electronics.
For instance, when you pluck a guitar string or hit a piano note forcefully, you get a very sharp sound - with lots of upper overtones. We call that “loud”. It has a very quick decay (sharply loud then soft). It’s recognizable. Sometimes it’s an accident and sometimes intentional. Controlling that loudness is musicianship.
Playing soft is even more difficult. The performer learns about breath and muscle strength. Complete concentration is needed to play softly. When you can hear a pin drop, you have the audience’s attention. Lightly stroke a guitar string and the lower overtones are accentuated. The notes last longer because the lower overtones are revealed, without the sharp attack of the note. On the piano, playing soft chords is one of the most difficult feats of strength there is. One finger out of line can ruin the ending of a song.
Loud and soft—we call this dynamics. Sadly, over the last few decades, we’ve lost dynamics in recordings to favor “loud”. Why? Because most people don’t listen and the money is in loud. Loud is entertaining. Loud music, loud concerts, loud noise everywhere. Soft is sensual and demands to be heard. Soft is for the few who want more than a quick fix.
For the recording engineer, the challenge is more than finding the right microphones. For instance, you need a headphone mix that allows the musician to perform with the correct dynamics or a performing environment that does the same.
With 40 years of synthesizers and samplers behind me, I can say that getting those instruments to perform true dynamics takes longer and costs more than hiring a great musician. What you get from these instruments is uniform and consistency. The same thing over and over… Boring. Making something louder means more than just turning up the volume on a track. The hard part is finding great musicians who can show up on the day you’re recording. That’s where sampling, AI and overproduction win.
I’ll talk about that in Part 2 of this idea along with why AI might have the edge over sampling but not over actual sound or dynamics.After you listen to Looking for a Home, you might want to check out Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony - an amazing one of a kind live performance of this beautiful composition. Also, Robert Plant’s acoustic version of Ramble On where the solo sections get ridiculously softer and softer. It’s truly amazing. Scroll below to the bottom of this article to find links. Enjoy. I did.
#206 Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony
#219 Robert Plant Ramble On.
Below is a playlist of albums I’ve engineered in various studios.
Not all, but what I could easily find on playlists. No AI used!
Qobuz -
https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/24982748
Tidal -
https://tidal.com/playlist/40012258-926a-4130-9364-5cc7b3ed2661
Youtube -
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiWDrjNeis2Wb5DNSwFkESHFCCEV64gKm
Thanks for reading and
Enjoy your listening!
Cookie Marenco
Founder and Producer Blue Coast Records and Music
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