Lesson 7: Recording Roles Learning Aim B: 8th November 2016 Understand job roles in the music industry

Learning Objectives By the end of this lesson I will: Understand the skills and responsibilities of different recording and production roles. These roles include: recording studio personnel, producers, session musicians, mastering engineers and CD manufacturers.

Recording studio personnel Recording engineer - record audio (sounds), listen to recordings from a musical and technical perspective, mix the audio to make it sound as best it can. Responsibilities - producing a ‘clean’ recording of the audio - ensuring all equipment is set up and working. Skills - Musical awareness of the goals of the recording session - technical skill needed to mix the audio (fixing balance issues etc).

Activity 1 THINK - PAIR - SHARE (30 seconds each) What are the musical skills required of a recording engineer? What are the technical skills required?

Musical/Technical skills Musical: engineers are often musicians themselves - MUST have a GOOD EAR - awareness of performers’ accuracy of pitch, balance, tempo, and rhythm. Technical: ability to mix the audio in order to improve the quality of the recording (audio post- production). Use of equipment and software (Logic, Cubase and Pro Tools).

Activity 2 Scenario 1 - I am a Classical/Pop style pianist, and I want a professional recording of myself. Listen to me play and tell me what a recording engineer should do in this situation.

Other R.S. personnel Assistant engineer - handle pre-session tasks like running cable, checking mics and setting up baseline levels on the control panel and in Pro Tools before the client arrives. Technical manager - tend to possess a high degree of expertise in a given technical area, such as software development or electronics manufacturing.

Other R.S. personnel Tech support - set up, operate and maintain technical equipment to amplify, enhance, record, mix or reproduce sound. Maintenance and repair - responsible for keeping all equipment in good working order and fixing any issues as they arise.

Producer Producers - work alongside the sound engineer in the recording process. Some experienced sound engineers become recording industry Producers. Musicians and disc jockeys who have contacts in the music industry and have the technical expertise may also move into record production. Producers work with a wide variety of people, including: performers, writers, arrangers, lawyers, accountants and distributors. Hours are long and irregular, often including evenings and weekends.

Producer (cont.) Responsibilities: selecting music and contacting musicians, identifying music with commercial potential, setting the budget and recording schedule, negotiating and signing contracts with performers, engineering the recording, and delivering the product within budget and on schedule. Skills: leadership and team-working skills are essential (collaborative process) - good ‘business mind’ and creativity - excellent communication skills.

Session musician Session musicians - can either be used for live gigs or recording sessions. Responsibilities: being professional at all times, turning up to recording sessions on time, supplying your own instrument for the recording, working tirelessly in order to creat the best final product possible. Skills: high technical ability, versatility, fast learners (good at sight reading), and well organised.

Session musician (cont.) Benny Goodman - a good example of a session musician from 1920/30s. Jazz clarinetist and bandleader - known as the ‘King of Swing’. Audio clip 1 - Benny Goodman ‘That’s a plenty’ (1928) - at the age of 19!

Mastering engineer A Mastering engineer takes the mixed audio sounds and prepares them for distribution. The finished mix must comply with all technical requirements - quality control. Activity 3: THINK - PAIR - SHARE - what ways can the audio then be distributed? Has this changed over time? They should have expert knowledge of audio engineering and may have an audio or acoustic engineering degree.

Mastering engineer The best Mastering engineers might possess arrangement and record production skills, allowing them to 'trouble-shoot' mix issues and improve the final sound. Generally, good mastering skills are based on experience which can be the result of many years of practice. Mastering is considered an art as well as an audio engineering discipline. Audio mix must have good harmonic balance.

CD Manufacturer CD Manufacturer - produces multiple copies of provided master CDs on demand. Also responsible for production of the final, physical (or digital) delivery to distributor. In this process they will work on which case (jewel or slip) is used, the artwork that goes on the final product and its packaging. The product will also most likely be delivered digitally to iTunes etc.