Unit 48.3: Recording Sam Smith (Planning and Evaluation- Track Included)

Recording Sam Smith, Stay With Me. 

Listen to the final track here: Stay With Me Final Track

Planning:

Instruments-

• Piano- I will record the piano using two C1000S microphones set up in a blumein stereo pair. This will help to achieve a full overall sound. 
• Bass Guitar- The bass guitar will be recorded using direct input (DI), this is an alternative way of recording electric instruments. I found that this was very useful as it allowed us to record in a small environment and then edit and mix the sound of the instrument to produce a professional sounding audio. We can then use programmes such as Guitar ____. 
• Guitar- We will record the guitar with a similar set up to the bass guitar as they are both being recorded using digital input. 
• Vocals- It is necessary for us to use a high frequency, condenser microphone with a cardioid pattern to record the vocals. By doing this we can record high quality vocals and pick up sounds successfully. The vocals are one of the main features of the overall track, and are present throughout. A mic such as the Samson C01 would be great for this. 
• Backing Vocals- Backing vocals do not require such a high frequency mic as lead vocals as they need to blend into the background. I think that the Shure SM57 would be great for backing vocals as it is a dynamic microphone so can withstand a lot of noise before the sound becomes distorted. Plus, they don't have as much high frequency pick up as condenser microphones. 
• Drums- With drums the studio already uses a default microphone set up which is extremely successful in recording the full sound of drums. The set up uses a variety of microphones which have all been specially selected for each different drum. 

Recording Schedule 

Friday- Period 3 (1:15-3:10pm)

Piano, Bass and Guitar will be recorded. During this session is it important that these instruments are recorded to a high/professional standard as they are the main instruments of the song and carry most of the tune. 

• 1:15-1:30pm- Set up. All the studio will be set up and cubase will be started. It will be useful to create all the intended track to be recorded on cubase so that you can easily see what tracks you need to record and what you have already recorded. (All team will help set up the studio)
• 1:30-1:45pm- Now piano will be recorded. We are recording this first as it an easy instrument to follow and also the pianist will be able to follow the original timing that the actual song plays at. The piano almost acts as a conductor/guide for the other instrumentalists, plus the piano will set the correct key meaning that it will be easier to notice if any other of the instruments are playing in the wrong key or are out of tune. The piano is the only instrument that plays throughout the song. 
• 1:45-2:00pm- Once the piano is all recorded I will record the bass. The music for this part more or less follows the piano's chord progression rather than the tune and it also quite simplistic. The bass guitar plays through most of the song. 
• 2:00-2:15pm- Then the electric guitar can be recorded on top of the other two instruments. This part only plays for certain parts of the song, so we would of found it difficult to record guitar at the beginning of the recording process. 

Tuesday- Period 2 (11:20-2:00pm)

Today we will add both drums and vocals to the recording track. If the recording of these two instruments is successful then we can also add harmonies and backing vocals and keyboard to the piece as these tracks aren't entirely necessary but will help the track to sound professional and full.  

11:30-11:45pm- Set up. All the studio will be set up and cubase will be started. It will be useful to create all the intended track to be recorded on cubase so that you can easily see what tracks you need to record and what you have already recorded. (All team will help set up the studio)

11:45-12:10pm- We will begin the recording session by recording drums on top of the guitar, bass and piano. As the drums are a very loud instrument and aren't really that predominant in the orignal song, I will need to ensure that the track is mixed successfully before we move on to the next instrument. 

12:10-12:30pm- Now all of our necessary instruments have been recorded we can record vocals. We may need to record vocals a couple of times before we manage to get a perfect track as the voice can be a temperamental instrument. 

12:30-1:00pm- Then we can attempt to add harmonies to the piece, but not all the way through. Just on parts like the chorus or final verse to add depth to the song. 

1:00-1:20pm-  If we have time and stick to the planned schedule then we could record some backing vocals to variate the sound of the piece. 

1:20-1:40pm- The keyboard can be recorded for the final chorus to add a gospel, togetherness feel on the overall track.

The Original

Steve Fitzmaurice , the producer of 'Stay With Me' said that after hearing Sam's voice for the first time he was amazed by his talent, so he knew that it was necessary to make Smith's vocals the main focus of the track and then feature the rest of the instruments around his voice.
The Newman U67 was used to record Sam's vocals, this mic generally retails at about £4000 so as you can imagine it is of very high quality. This mic is a multi-directional tube condenser mic meaning not only will it pick up the direct sound from Sam's voice, but also the reverb.
The piano was recorded whilst the song was still being written, meaning that it was simple. Spring reverb was applied to the piano sound to make it sound like the pianist was performing in a large concert hall.
Very few overdubs were done whilst recording the song, making it sound very natural and original. The main aim of recording this song was not to be overpowering and use loads of instruments, but instead to accompany Smith's vocals.

Full Article: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep14/articles/it-09-14.htm

Process of setting up a session

A Cubase file needs to be opened and tracks need to be set up for the instruments intended to be on the final track. Here is a track list:

• Piano
• Bass Guitar
• Guitar
• Drums 
• Vocals
• Over vocals
• Backing Vocals 
• Harmonies
• Backing Track

Then, upload an audio track of the original sound onto cubase and google the BPM of the song. Once you have found the BPM of the track, you can adjust the click track speed to go along with the actual song, it is important that you do this as it helps all instrumentalists keep in time with each other. 

Once you are ready to record the track, click record on the audio track you wish to record on, making sure you mute all other tracks apart from the backing track. Then press stop when you want the recording to terminate. 

Now, listen through of the track which you have just recorded, listening out for any parts that aren't perfect or that dont match the initial timing of the original piece. If you're happy with the recording then you have finished recording for that track. If not. try again. 

When you have recorded all of the track, you can do a mixdown of the overall piece. This included balancing the volumes of tracks to ensure that one track isn't 'too loud' or 'too quiet'. For example; you will probably find that the vocals will need turning up, but the drums will need turning down. 

Recording Log 

Session 1- During this session we were given the brief and task sheet needed for this section of the course. We were also given a selection of songs which we could use and rerecord, I chose Stay With Me by Sam Smith. 

Session 2- Once I had decided my song, I was able to plan and research the original track. I did this by watching a lot of cover and music videos of the song to give me ideas and inspiration for my recording of the song. It was also necessary for us to research the recording techniques used to produce the song. 

Session 3- Now that I have completed all of the necessary research about and around the track, I knew enough to plan my own. During this session I decided what instruments I would need in my piece, how I would record it and when I would record it. Then I contacted the musicians who I wanted to record and arranged/booked studio time. In the lesson I also added some of the plan to my blog. 

Session 4- This is when I began to record instruments in the studio. I successfully recorded guitar, bass guitar and piano. I then spend a little bit of time balancing the tracks and ensuring that they were all in time with the original piece. 

Session 5- I carried on recording in this session, but this time I recorded drums, vocals and also backing vocals/harmonies. Once this session was over, I was left with all of the necessary audio needed to construct a cover of 'Stay With Me' by Sam Smith. 

Session 6- Now that all of my audio tracks had been recorded, I was able to spend time altering little things within the track and make it better. I did this by editing the mix and making the instruments compliment each other. I believe that this achieved a recording which was to a near professional standard.

The Recording

https://soundcloud.com/user-804953953/stay-with-me-instrumental

Evaluation

I believe that the recording technique used was very successful as I have achieved a professional sound with the audio tracks. Personally, I really enjoyed working with the audio produced from the DI as it was easier to edit and put different sounds on. For example, with the guitar we could load different types of guitars to the original audio.
One of the challenges I face within the recording process was recording the drums. This was difficult to mic up the kit as I had to think about where the best place was to put the microphones without allowing them to interfere with the sounds from the other drums. I overcame this problem by placing the hi hat mic at least 30cm above the drum. Also, to achieve a perfected sound from the kick drum I placed the mic on the other side, away from the sound hole. But instead, I placed a pop filter over the mic. The Samson Audio 8Kit was an extremely good choice to use for drums as the kit contains specialised mics for each drum.
Towards the end of the track you will hear a guitar solo which plays the riff twice through. But, instead of recording the riff twice playing it through I copied the track on cubase. This was helpful as it allowed me to overlap the tracks and ensure that the sound was played perfectly twice. Bass guitar was also recorded using DI.
Once all of the tracks were recorded, I discovered that the drums were too loud and we couldn't really hear the piano. This was resolved by balancing the tracks, so that the drums were quieter but the piano was louder.
After comparing my track to the orignal track a couple of time, I decided that my track also shouldn't include guitar straight away to begin with, instead I cut the track so it began at the beginning of the first chorus, giving the piano a chance to be heard throughout the intro and first verse.
In future recordings I think that I should record a couple of audio tracks using DI, especially for guitars as it gives a good representation of sound. But, I don't think that I would record piano using DI as I don't think that it would be able to portray the true sound and feeling of the piano playing. Also, if I had more time then I would record vocals to a high quality standard with added harmonies and backing vocals. In my original plan I was going to record keyboard and trumpet too, but after recording bass, guitar, drums and piano I thought that it sounded better with less instruments rather than too many.

Here is the track:

https://soundcloud.com/user-804953953/stay-with-me-sam-smith-instrumentalkaraoke-version