My Take on Music Recording with Doug Fearn Doug Fearn

Most people have time conflicts between what they do for a living and the rest of their lives. That includes time for family and friends, hobbies, obligations, and exploring new directions.
Musicians also must confront these same issues. It is often more difficult for a creative person because music and any art not generally lucrative, especially for those starting out.
In this episode, I talk with singer-songwriter Corrie Lynn Green about how she manages her obligations with her family life, including a teenage daughter, her day job, which is her own business, her extended family and network of friends, while pursuing her musical career.
She also talks about other challenges for the independent artist, including managing social media, choosing the right gigs to accept, travel, and keeping in touch with her fans.
At the end of our conversation, one of Corrie’s songs is included.
This episode was entirely spontaneous, recorded one night after two very long days of sessions.
Thanks for subscribing, commenting, and helping others find My Take On Music Recording. I can be reached at dwfearn@dwfearn.com
email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn
https://dwfearn.com/

Studios are complex technological environments and it is common for problems to arise. But a problem in the equipment might be a minor inconvenience if you have the skills to quicky determine where the trouble lies and understand how to fix it. Most problems in a studio are human errors.
There are often ways to work around the problem. That keeps the session going and you may be able to solve or bypass a problem without anyone else even knowing. There is already enough pressure in most recording sessions, and no one needs to have the mood of the session disrupted by a problem.
In this episode, I talk about the most common causes of problems and offer tips for determining the cause. I give several typical session problems and ways to address them.
This isn’t the most exciting part of recording for most people, but troubleshooting is a skill you can develop and utilize when necessary.
Thanks for listening, commenting, and subscribing. I can be reached at dwfearn@dwfearn.com
email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn
https://dwfearn.com/

Most of you in the professional audio world have learned that Dave Hill, founder of Crane Song, died in February.
Dave and I were friends for over 30 years. In this episode I tell some stories about our interactions over the decades. Not only was Dave an amazing engineer and designer, but he was also a wonderful human being.

There is a terrific documentary about Dave, made by French filmmaker Alain Le Kim. It is now available on YouTube. Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68VPMNeIlVs

Your comments are always appreciated. You can reach me at dwfearn@dwfearn.com


email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn
https://dwfearn.com/

How do you decide what microphone to use for any instrument or voice you will be recording? All microphones sound different from one another, which is a wonderful tool at our disposal. Making the right choice will improve your recording, eliminate many problems at the mixing stage, and minimize the amount of processing you need.
In this episode, I talk about why I chose the mics I did on two very different projects. One was a punk session and the other an acoustic singer-songwriter project. I explain why I decided to use a particular microphone, and sometimes suggest alternatives.
Of course, this reflects my style of recording. I don’t expect my choices to be your choices, but perhaps this explanation will help you when it comes time to make your decisions.
In this episode, I talk about microphones from AEA, BeyerDynamic, Flea, Neumann, Royer, and Shure. To be clear, I have no connection with these companies except that I love the mics they make. And I have friends at some of the companies. There are mics from many other manufacturers in my collection, but in these examples, those were the mics I used.
email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
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The typical music consumer these days is listening on earbuds or headphones. Or maybe on the tiny speakers in their smartphone. Few are listening on speakers, at least none of any reasonable quality.
It makes sense for us to take this into consideration when we mix a song.
Engineers have always had to make adjustments and compromises in order for their mixes to translate well for the public. Since most of your work will be heard on some sort of personal listening device, it is often good to either mix using headphones, or at least check the mix that way.
In this episode, I talk about my personal preference for headphones for mixing and listening, which goes back decades. Sure, I use the studio monitor speakers as another reference, but when it comes to details, I just hear more with the headphones. This is especially true when editing.
Everyone has to develop their own approach to this, and I expect many people prefer monitoring and mixing through their expensive monitor speakers. And there are times when speakers are the way to go, such as when more than one person has to listen, or when you want to get that visceral experience of feeling the bass.
 
Many people in the world of recording were saddened to hear of the death of Joe Tarsia, founder of Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. Joe was a pioneer, always on the forefront of new technology. Many successful engineers came up under Joe’s mentorship. I know I will miss the interesting conversations I had with Joe, going back to the late 1960s.
You can listen to my conversation with Joe Tarsia from 2020 in episode 26. Here is the link:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/942952/5418067
There is also a YouTube video of the same conversation, with some extra content, including a series of photos from Joe’s career:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMwTQ8XhY9c
email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn
https://dwfearn.com/

Recording is a technological endeavor, but it also invariably involves people. The psychology of recording sessions has always fascinated me, so when a listener suggested that I have Terri Bright on an episode, I was intrigued by Terri’s dual career as a singer-songwriter, as well as a someone with a PhD in Applied Behavior.
In this interview, we discuss how behavioral science can be applied to a recording situation, from Terri’s unique perspective as an expert in both worlds.


Thanks for listening, commenting, subscribing, and sharing this podcast. I can be reached at dwfearn@dwfearn.com


email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn
https://dwfearn.com/