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Conversations About In-Ears Part II

I am on a continuous search to find out how performers can connect better with technology.  As monitor engineers, we view things from our perspective. We get excited about new software and equipment. However, at the end of the day, it is the performer who needs to be happy and confident onstage.

I regularly see local singers struggle with their in-ear monitors. I decided to speak to a few local singers who I feel are using in-ear monitors correctly. This time I talked to Gabby Byrd, originally from Houston, Texas, and now living in Denton. She has been singing her whole life; she got her start singing in her church in middle school. She went to performing arts high school where she began her career performing live. Her favorite styles being R&B, Soul, and Jazz. Early influences included Anna Wise, Flying Lotus, J Dilla, Erykah Badu. While talking to Gaby, I realized you could have music that inspires you, but as a singer, you also need people who have a stage presence that drives you as an entertainer. She named Lauren Hill, Jill Scott, Ledisi as those people for her.

She has been using in-ears for about two years. She uses SE425s which are dual-driver generic in-ear. Her biggest struggle with using in-ears is getting the earbuds in and getting the ears to seal properly. As always, “right is red” is a good motto to remember. As we were talking, it came up how to properly clean or take care of in-ears. I always suggest to anyone who wears in-ears to carry audio-wipes disinfectant towelettes. You can buy them online from several mainstream sources.  We also discussed that most generic in-ear providers offer several different-sized tips, which you can purchase online. These are essential items for a successful and healthy in-ear monitor experience.

Gabby is someone I would say is extremely confident on the stage and with her in-ear monitors. “Generally, I like to hear the bass, piano, and the other singers.” An interesting point she brought up is that for her sometimes the hardest part with singing with other singers is blending the vowels. That, she said, is when it is most important to be able to clearly hear the other singers.

Her advice to monitor engineers, “Patience number one and being attentive.” Having someone who has an attention to detail is a big plus. When someone is actively making efforts to make the changes, she requests it makes her feel comfortable and confident in the situation. Her advice to singers new to in-ears is to try many different things and know what you are listening for. Her advice is that achieving a good seal and an amount of physical comfort with the in-ears can be all it takes to be successful.  Her preference will always be in-ears over wedges. It’s every sound person’s dream, “I’d rather hear my voice right here in my ears, and at a lower volume.”
Gabby Byrd’s blog
Gabby Byrd regularly performs with the King David Band:

Aubrey Caudill: Aubrey lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and works as a freelance audio engineer. She currently works for several area wedding bands and runs monitors at The Potter’s House North Dallas. She is also a mother of two sons under ten.

The Versatile Engineer: Freelancing in Post-Production

In 2017, I answered some questions for SoundGirl Kelly Kramarik, a student in the Recording Arts program at UC Denver for her thesis about versatility in the changing world of audio.

Do you consider yourself to be a master of one type of audio engineering or do you regularly practice different trades?

I would consider myself a master of post-production sound – which means I could work as a re-recording mixer, sound editor, music editor, score mixer, Foley engineer, sound designer, or dialog editor. Some jobs I’m hired to do a bit of everything and other jobs just one specific role (sound editor or score mixer, for example). Being versatile is important.

In post-production, I’d say people consider themselves masters of certain types of content (in addition to a trade). There’s mixers or editors who specialize in commercials, promos, episodic tv, reality tv, major film, indie film, etc (at least in Los Angeles).

How long did it take you to obtain your current professional status?

This is a tough question because we sometimes don’t have clear job statuses. A good analogy would be an actor who doesn’t land many gigs but still; auditions and takes classes and pursues it as a career while having another job. That person can still say he/she is an actor.

I was a mixer (by title) after three years in the field but at that time I did other audio-related gigs to make ends meet. As a “mixer” working as an employee at a studio I had other responsibilities. I remember weeks where I spent a day recording ADR or voice-over, a couple of days mixing, some time in the machine room or assisting, and sometimes selling stuff on eBay for the studio. It was probably five years into my career when I was mixing primarily and no longer doing other side gigs.

As an independent contractor, how many different companies/clients do you work with on a regular basis?

“Regular basis” is tough cause clients come and go. When I was totally freelance I’d have ten or more clients a year; now I have a stable mixing job and 2-3 additional clients. As a contractor, you don’t want to take too many clients cause if they call to book you and you aren’t available or can’t accommodate them they quit calling. You have to balance clients who hire you once a month with clients that hire you for a month straight but never hire you again.

For me, it’s more about finding clients whose schedules will work together versus having regular clients. I’ve worked for people who don’t mind if I work on other projects during my downtime. In those cases, if I’m on standby (waiting for materials to show up or waiting for client approval) I can edit or mix another project. I’m essentially billing two clients at once for my time. I also charge a four hour minimum for on-site work with my freelance clients. If it takes an hour to get to a studio and you only work an hour it’s a lot of lost time.

What have you found to be the best way to market yourself?

Make friends with other mixers and engineers and maintain relationships with past colleagues and clients. I have a couple of groups of friends/colleagues who will recommend each other for work when they aren’t available or need help. I hire them when I need help or have a cool project and they do the same for me.

Do you find yourself needing to learn new skill sets to stay afloat financially?

Not now – but the first few years of my career I had to diversify to make ends meet. I relied on other skills – such as classical music recording and quality assurance testing for audio products – to fill in the gaps and help pay the bills. Over time I had more mixing work and needed less of those other gigs.

For someone coming into the field today, it’s absolutely necessary to have different revenue streams to sustain, though.

How did you move up in your career?

In a lot of ways career success and “moving up” has not happened how I thought it would when I was in school. For years I looked for opportunities that would advance my career and then I hit the point where the next step up looked to be overly demanding, political, or self-sacrificing. Now I don’t want to sacrifice my health or my relationships overwork. If my kid is sick I can take the day off work without concern and I couldn’t do that in a lot of my old jobs. This job probably wouldn’t have been my idea of “success” until my priorities shifted.

The people I find the most discouraged in the industry are the ones with specific expectations of what they want their career to be (versus going where the work takes them).  I never planned to get into post-production or to be a mixer but it’s turned out to be a great fit. I thought I’d be a sound editor because I wanted to work alone. Watching other mixers looked stressful! But, I was always open to an opportunity to learn something new. When I was in the mixer chair to learn I really enjoyed it and had the skill set to thrive. You never know where things will take you.

 

Bringing your Musical Ideas & Dreams to Reality

Making an album in today’s music industry

By Betty Moon

When I first started playing music in Toronto’s music scene, it was during an era where CDs were still dominating industry sales and the digital scene was not how we see things today. Gatekeepers on all levels from retail to record labels only allowed so many artists through, and it was at a high cost. The idea of having a record deal or even getting your music heard on a mass level was intimidating and for most simply wishful thinking. Sure, part of my success was about the timing but it was really about the hard work, networking and ensuring I would be the best songwriter possible.

As my career in music evolved, I formed my own label, music publisher, and video production company, and am asked almost daily from friends and fans on how to release music and make a splash doing so. Though today it almost seems too easy, I find that many ambitious musicians still don’t understand the critical steps to simply reaching the finish line. Here is an action list I put together to adhere by next time any of you get the spark to write and record an album:

Write and document all your ideas:

One of the best ways to stay on track when bringing your songs to life is to keep a record of them. Whether you’re playing acoustic and recording via a voice memo app or using a free program like Garage Band on the computer, it’s easy to scratch demo all your great ideas. Keeping documentation on your ideas gives you a sense of progress, and allows you to easily share songs with other collaborators within your project.

Give yourself a deadline:

We all have a musician friend who has the story “I’m working on this great album”, yet it’s already been two years and there seems to be no end in sight. It’s very easy to lean on perfectionism and as time goes on you can second guess your work, which leads to potentially endless delays and many albums never being finished. When you give yourself a realistic deadline, you will be surprised on how you figure things out and make incredible progress along the way. Think of how deadlines work in the business world, yes it works for musicians as well!

Pick a producer-engineer or choose best recording options:

Deciding on how you will record your album is a monumental moment in your steps to finishing your upcoming music. There are endless producer-engineers out there with years of experience, and at different rates to meet your budgetary needs. For those with the experience or willingness to learn, there are multiple recording suites available for PC/Mac that are relatively easy to master within a reasonable amount of time. Though being a music producer requires lifelong learning, today’s programs do much of the heavy lifting. Regardless of which route you take, making the commitment with how you will record your album shows there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Ensure your mix and mastering are of quality:

Your music can be the best work of art in 2017, but without a quality mix and professional mastering, you may have more work to prove your worth. A great mix not only helps your music sound it’s best, but it also provides an extra set of ears that has your best interest in mind. The mastering process can be equally as important and helps your music sonically be on par with other music being listened to by fans on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and every other platform you can think of.

Register your music with a performing rights organization:

Many musicians don’t fully understand the world of music licensing, copyright and overall accountability for royalties when your music is used in film, television and other public locations. Make sure you register yourself and your music with your choice of a performing rights organization (PRO). In the United States, the three major players are ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. These organizations help ensure music usage is accounted for, and that you are rightly paid for its use.

Select your digital distribution option:

Putting your music on Soundcloud and Youtube is great, but those are obviously not the only platforms that music fans use for new artist discovery. Using low-cost digital distribution sources like Tunecore or CD Baby will help push your music to top engaged platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.

Market your music:

Let’s not forget the most critical step in all of this. What good is making the music with the goal of being recognized, if you don’t market it properly? So many musicians forget to allocate even a nominal budget towards marketing, and this can lead to major disappointment. Have no fear though, today you can market your music for substantially less money than artists of any other decade have. When planning for a record release, always keep in mind how you will market the efforts and how much money will you need to allocate.

Putting out an album can be a very overwhelming process, but can be easily simplified by creating your own checklist and holding yourself accountable along the way. Believe me, nothing feels more fulfilling than getting those new CDs in the mail or seeing the amazing feedback in the press about your latest music. Once you go through the steps of making an album, I promise it gets easier and your album checklist will be committed to memory.

Betty Moon is a Toronto-born singer, songwriter, producer, and filmmaker. She has recorded six albums, including the 2014 release “Amourphous”, which Moon produced and which features the single, “Valentine,” mixed by Grammy Award-winner Chris Lord-Alge. Moon’s music has been featured in a variety of television shows and films including Californication, Dexter, Bounty Hunters, Walking the Dead directed by Melanie Ansley, and Last Gasp starring Robert Patrick.

Betty Moon was signed to A&M Records in 1990, and she released her self-titled debut LP in Canada in 1991. She has been nominated for four CASBY Awards including Best Album of the Year, Best Single of the Year, Best Video of the Year, and Best Artist of the Year. Moon released three records after her self-titled debut, including Doll Machine on EMI, STIR, and Demon Flowers.

In 2010, Moon relocated to Los Angeles and released “Rollin’ Revolution,” which garnered airplay on famed L.A. rock radio station KROQ. In 2013, Moon was a featured artist at the Sunset Strip Music Festival, sharing the stage with Marilyn Manson, Quiet Riot, Black Label Society, and The Offspring. She continues to be a regular performer at iconic venues such as The Roxy, Whisky a Go Go, and The Viper Room in Hollywood, California. Her collaboration with top music industry professionals includes Kenny Aronoff, Randy Cooke, Wes Scantlin, John Christ, Jason Sutter, Glenn Milchem, Gavin Brown and Chris Lord-Alge

Kansas City Internship

SoundGirls Members can apply to intern with SoundGirl Samantha Potter

Get some real-world experience in the Kansas City area. Different kinds of experience available from Houses of Worship, to a local 8-piece R&B Band. Some events are weekly and some events are on random weekends. Anything to fit your schedule!

The right intern can be as green as spring grass, or a more experienced individual trying to get more board time. The right attitude is an attitude of learning. Don’t come into the internship thinking you have nothing to learn. I cannot teach someone who refuses to have an open mind. This internship is a real hands-on work experience, including some load-ins and load-outs.

The position is unpaid, although food is often provided.

I prefer to be a mentor to my interns and help them learn and grow and develop a friendship. This is a field all about networking and relationships, and it starts with internships. I’m interested in helping my interns find their path and get started in their careers here in KC. I’ve been professionally working in KC for five years now with experience in studio work and live sound, so I am happy to teach in either.

Preference to 21+, but 16+ accepted.

Send name, contact info, SoundGirls Member ID, cover letter and resume to soundgirls@soundgirls.org

The Role of an Associate Theatre Sound Designer

I’m at the beginning of my third week of a six-week contract as Sound Associate, otherwise known as an Associate Sound Designer, for a one-woman play with a complex score and sound design. Associate creative roles are quite common in UK theatre, but as I’ve had a few sound people in the past ask me what the role entails, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to write about what you can expect if you take a job as a Sound Associate.

The basic role of a Sound Associate is to support the Sound Designer in realising the sound design for a show, when the Sound Designer has conflicting commitments or the volume of work required is too large for one person. A Sound Associate is more than an assistant. As well as often being a professional Sound Designer themselves, they have to be prepared to not only take on any sound design responsibilities that the Sound Designer can’t cover. These include standing in for the Sound Designer for when they can’t physically be at rehearsals, tech rehearsals, or a new venue.

I’ve hired Sound Associates in the past, because of this latter scenario: when a show I designed transferred to a different venue and I wasn’t available for the required dates. In these cases, I’ve entrusted my existing sound design to an associate, who then took on the responsibility of putting the show into the new venue. Their responsibilities included setting levels, making sure everything played out at the right time from the right speaker, and applying changes to cues requested by the director

Of course, all changes were fed back to me, because it was still my sound design. As it was the second run of an already successful production, I wanted my design altered as little as possible. I was aware that this didn’t allow my Associate to have much creative input, but then, the role of an Associate isn’t necessarily a creative one. A Sound Designer may ask you to source or create particular sound effects, and some sound designers may rely on an associate for a lot of creative input. However, it’s important to remember that the overall shape and realisation of the Sound design will always be the responsibility of the Sound Designer.

So why work as a Sound Associate? For one, if you’re at the start of your career, it’s an effective way to gain Sound Design experience or to work on a particular type of show. It’s also an opportunity to learn from more experienced Designers, and it’s a useful way to build relationships with production companies, directors, and creatives. For me, I wanted the opportunity to work on a unique production and immerse myself in a more practical, collaborative way of working with sound, which I hadn’t done for a while.

The responsibilities of a Sound Associate will differ from show to show, depending on what the Sound Designer needs. At a basic level, you should be prepared to do any of the following:

I think it’s this last point that separates a Sound Assistant from a Sound Associate. An excellent Sound Associate will protect the original design has much as possible and incorporate any changes without compromising the Designer’s overall aims. Whether an Associate is responsible for part of a show or from taking the show from rehearsals to the first preview, the Sound Designer has to trust that the show is in safe hands.

Tips for Getting the Vocals on Top

Down in the trenches of clubs keeping the vocals on top of the mix and loud enough in the monitors is a challenge. Here are some strategies that Karla Barrera utilizes.

The biggest problem I have is when mixing loud music like punk or metal is how to keep the vocals loud enough. When the musicians don’t hear themselves in the monitors, and they are on the edge of feedback? First of all, the sound starts with the stage volume always. You need to control your stage volume right off the bat.

First of all, the sound starts with the stage volume always. You need to control your stage volume right off the bat.

Check levels starting with the Kick drum and beyond. Once I get to the bass and guitars, I listen to what is coming off the stage and if you feel like the stage volume is too loud, here are a few things to think  about

Is the bass the tone too woofy and boomy? Instead of having the bass player turn down his/her level, should I suggest changing the tone a bit? (Familiarize yourself with the EQ knobs on bass amps, usually Hi, MIDS, LOWS, CONTOUR,  ETC… EXAMPLE: “Can you back off the low mids a bit so that the low end won’t wash out the vocals in the monitors? ”

Is the guitar just too loud? Should I suggest turning town some of the high-end on the guitar or should I have them turn down the master level? Can you get them to warm up their tone? Example “Maybe warm up your tone a bit to give more space for the vocals.”

Should I suggest to the guitar player to face the amp towards the wall so that the amp won’t bleed into the vocal mic as much and shoot at me/the audience? (some guitar players do not want to turn down because they want to keep their tone.)

Try to get the guitarists/bass players to run thru all of their pedals. Have them toggle through their boost, clean, distortion channels to search for any dramatic level changes that will change mix too dramatically. Take a moment and work with the guitarist. What you are looking for is consistency through levels. The boost will naturally be a little louder, because, well it’s a boost pedal for solos. Once you take a moment to check their pedal levels, you are that much closer to having control of the levels coming off stage. EXAMPLE: “Your clean channel is much louder than your distortion. Can you back off your clean level and turn up your distortion to even out the levels? ”

Don’t be afraid to school musicians. Let them know nicely that sometimes their tone does not translate the same as it does in their rehearsal space as it does in your venue. (which is why you give them these suggestions). Some musicians don’t play live very much.

Once you are done with the basic sound check line check and you are ready to hear a quick song during sound check, turn off the PA and let the band know that you want to hear what is coming off stage first before you turn up the PA and you will turn up the PA shortly. Listen carefully to the stage without your mix (30 – 60 seconds or till you hear a loud part kick in) that way you can tell what is actually happening on stage before you start turning things up.

Once you have done that, start turning up the vocals, get them nice and loud before you turn any of the band up. If you can’t get the vocals loud enough before putting the band in the PA the band should turn down, flip amps around or change tone. Sometimes, it’s the snare, or the cymbals and drummers will absolutely not hit softer. They hate that.

EXAMPLE: “Right now, I am struggling to get the vocals loud enough, and I don’t have any instruments in the PA, do you guys mind turning down a bit and I’ll put more of your guitars in the monitors?” (note this is not decreasing the stage sound and will not be ideal for a struggling vocalist)

EXAMPLE: “Any way you can tape your cymbals a bit? They are much louder than the vocal right now.”

EXAMPLE: “Can we mute your snare a bit with a little bit of gaff tape on the snare? It’s bleeding straight into the vocal mic.”

When you are mixing, and there is a certain element on stage that is sticking out too much, just take the snare mic or guitar mic or hi-hat out of the house. You may not even need it because it’s loud enough coming off the stage.

The 2nd problem happened to me for the first time last night. I put Shure Beta 91 inside the kick drum but later changed it to AKG d112. I had feedback coming from somewhere when the drummer hits the kick which stopped when I muted the main vocal microphone and the guitar microphone. We turned away the whole guitar cabinet, and it got better.

Both are great mics, but here is where you should start:

First of all, you need to EQ the monitors before the band arrives to make sure there is no feedback on stage BEFORE the band arrives. You need a graphic equalizer on every monitor mix and find all the frequencies that are feedback and need to be cut out.

Once you stabilize the stage, check the lead vocal in the house before the band arrives. Get a long XLR and take the mic to FOH if possible or have someone check the mic for you while you are at FOH. Make sure you have a graphic equalizer on the house too and get it as loud as you can. When you hear feedback, start taking out those frequencies that are feeding back. You can download an RTA mic app that can help you see the offending frequencies that way you know exactly which frequency to cut (I use the app FrequenSee)

The kick drum was making the vocal mics feedback because you had them cranked so loud and you were not equalizing the monitors or the PA properly. Think about the basics. GAIN STRUCTURE IS EVERYTHING! Less gain before feedback. Instead of gaining up your vocal, turn up your monitor outputs to +5dB that way you have more headroom to turn up before reaching for the gain knob.

Should the bands be less loud on stage? should I reconsider my mic techniques?

Maybe, try my steps from above to make sure you have control of the stage. Trying new mic techniques could work. I would have to know what you are doing.

Karla Barrera is a sound engineer at The Roxy and works freelance around Los Angeles. She previously worked as a Production Manager and Sound Engineer at The Viper Room. Karla is also the artist manager for Imaad Wasif. She attended The Arts Institute of California.

Attitude of Gratitude: Cool things about touring (that we sometimes forget…)

Many of us occasionally get a bit of jaded roadie syndrome. Maybe we get grumpy, and homesick, and miss our folks, and dammit if we hear that song one more time….. When life on the road feels a bit uphill, here are some of the great things about touring to remind ourselves of.

– You get to travel the world and get paid for it. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you find yourself in some crazy places that you just wouldn’t ever visit as a tourist, and become richer for the experience, both literally and figuratively.

– You get to do this with a bunch of like-minded people who often become good buddies. Sure there’ll be one or two who aren’t your cup of tea, but that’s just life, and there are lots of others to hang with. Camaraderie is one of the best things about life on the road.

– Music! I’m guessing a love of music led you down this path in the first place, and now you get to work with that love. With a bit of luck, you like the band you’re touring with, and it can be so fulfilling to be part of that creative process.

– You don’t have to clean the bathroom THE WHOLE TIME YOU’RE AWAY!

– Or go to the supermarket.

– Or cook.

– Or do your own laundry…. You get the picture.

– Lovely people cook lovely food for you. In fact, you may need to pack your willpower if you don’t want to come home with some unwanted tour swag…. Especially when the load-out food and drink fairies visit the bus!

– You get to be ‘in flow.’ If you’re directly involved in the show, you can’t be thinking about anything else for that couple of hours… you have to be present because if you’re not, you’re going to mess up. And we all know what that means – Taxi!

– Every day is dress-down Friday. Except when you put on normal-person clothes to go out for dinner on a day off, and everyone looks really smart, and it’s all a bit weird…

– You know that thing when you forget where you are? (Umm…. stage left?) Well, that happens, but it’s sometimes because you haven’t looked at the day sheet beyond timings and so you genuinely don’t know! Which is kind of surreal….

– Sometimes you get to stay in really swanky hotels. The rooms are usually ready pretty fast because a bunch of crew tumbling off the sleeper bus in their pajamas isn’t quite the look the hotel staff had in mind for the lobby.

– You get to try some really weird and wonderful local cuisines and customs on the more far-flung legs of a tour. If you’re prepared to step outside your comfort zone and embrace the adventure then it’s never dull!

– There’s that cool little rush of adrenaline before a show, and the happy sense of satisfaction after a, particularly good one. Heck, even on those shows when everything that can go wrong, does, there’s that ‘blitz spirit’ of everyone pulling together to make this thing happen!

– You make your living by contributing, in some tiny way, to the sum of human happiness. See all those shining faces in the crowd? You’re a part of that.

– Finally, when you get home after a long tour there’s nothing quite like it for making you truly appreciate life’s little pleasures. Early nights in your own bed; a proper cup of tea in your favourite cup; making whatever you fancy to eat; your own shower; catching up with home-friends; and of course the biggie of seeing your loved ones…. these things take on a new level of joy, and that alone is worth hitting the road for!

Live Recording of a DVD of Sertanejo

“Sertanejo” is a Brazilian music style that would be similar to “country music” in the USA, but entirely different in musical terms. It is the most popular type of music here in Brazil and a very competitive market for artists. Artists often will record a new studio album, tour the new songs and, at some point, record one of these concerts and release a live DVD, right?

But not in Brazil! Here we do everything differently. In Sertanejo it’s common to record a new DVD instead of a new studio album, including, artists just starting their careers. Don’t ask me why.

So our DVD production process is the same as a new studio album,  with the difference, it is live. The first step is the choice of repertoire between the music producer and the artist (sometimes with the manager as well). Once the songs have been defined, the producer starts pre-production arranging with MIDI instruments, which I send out to the musicians to study and learn the songs, so they are ready when the rehearsals start, before the recording. Instruments like acoustic guitar, accordion, and part of the percussion are recorded in the studio. I create a playback session in Pro Tools with a click track and the timecode, and I’m responsible for playing live the recording session.

And here we find another peculiar thing; the band selected for recording the concert is not necessarily the band of the artist. In most cases, the band that plays live is formed by musicians chosen by the music producer himself, just as it is done on a studio CD. Also, most Sertanejos DVDs are always recorded by the same musicians, because they already have the expertise in this type of work. The sound team is also chosen by the music producer.
The day before the “big day,” we go to the venue for the soundcheck. The whole system is designed to give priority to audio and video capture. The volume of the sound for the audience is lower than normal and, sometimes, the house mix doesn’t stay in the center of the venue.

As mentioned before, I run the Pro Tools session using two systems (one is the backup) with a Macbook Pro 2016 running version 11 of the software and the interface Apollo 8 Duo, from Universal Audio, sending the pre-recorded sounds to every place needed.  I’m also responsible for all the recorded files and copying them to at least three different external hard drives, for backup. Usually, the rented recording system is always from the same company, which provides us a console mixer AMEK BIG for previous equalization and filters, recording in a ProTools HD, and the backup is made in a TASCAM X48.

Back in the studio, along with my assistant, we separate the songs individually so that we can edit more easily. After that, I’ll contact the video director and confirm which takes are used, and then start editing. From the live recording, we usually only use the drums, bass, voices and some percussion stuff. If it is necessary, will record in the studio adding overdubs, percussion, and vocals. My favorite DAW for this step is Cubase. Using it, I quantize all the instruments, clean unwanted leaks and add drums samples if my boss (the music producer) wants to. To tune the vocals I use Melodyne.

With all the edited files, I prepare the mixing sessions in ProTools (already with video) for my boss to mix and master. When it’s over, I have to send the songs to the artists to listen and approve them, or to ask for changes they want.

Phew! This is our DVD recording process here!

I would like to say that unfortunately, for the most of the time, I am the only woman in the backstage on the DVDs I work on. Fortunately, I have never faced prejudice from my colleagues. Instead, many of them encourage me and refer me for jobs.  I have started my own company, Quantize, which works in parallel with my job as an assistant in the NaHouse studio.

I hope to have more women working with me on the next jobs!

Karen Ávila graduated in Musical Production from Universidade Anhembi Morumbi and has been working with sound for six years. Currently, the assistant for Eduardo Pepato, one of the greatest music producers in Brazil. At least four of the “top 10” songs on Brazilian radio stations, were produced by him. Besides being Pepato’s assistant, she founded “Quantize” – a company specialized in audio editing that serves producers and artists.

Delaware – Intern at The Ladybug Music Festival

 

 

 

Ladybug Music Festival is looking for SoundGirls members to volunteer for the 2017 festival. There are many positions available for any level of experience.

The event is July 20th in downtown Wilmington at various stages near 2nd and Lower Market Streets. They will have 8 to 10 small indoor venues they are looking for engineers to run sound at. Some are simple singer-songwriter artists with one or two inputs. Some are full band and may require more experience. The main stage is run by Electro Sound and volunteers are needed to assist at that stage with setup and artist relations.

Volunteers to mix sound at one of the smaller stages would need to be available between 4pm and 10pm. (there may be a small pay for this position only)

Interns to help with setup of the sound systems in these smaller venues would need to be available between 2pm and 5pm.

Interns to help with artists load in would need to be available between 3pm and 7:30pm.

Water and Limited Food Vouchers will be given to volunteers. Free parking is available through the organization. Anyone interested in volunteering or running sound for Ladybug Music Festival should email a resume and cover letter no later than June 15th to soundgirls@soundgirls.org

 

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