Loving this one....Really cool examples.

love this one. cool examples.

This really is invaluable to aspirieng singers.
To treat the reader (listener) with such info is a service sometimes "pros" forget to pass along. Bravo!

Nice.

When a rocker podcast? ;)

Last week's guitar episode was kind of a rocker podcast, right? There's a "Science of the Riff" one we're cooking up... more rock to come, certainly. Any suggestions of what a rock one ought to feature?

This is a fantastic podcast! Not only is it educational but its produced well. Thanks!

Thanks, Randy! Glad to hear it.

So good that is rock here ;)

About suggestion I can only suggest what I like, rock and melodic heavy, but bands like Queen would be a great podcast (a pity that is not possible to deal with all of them :().

Thanks!

I'd be very interested in a podcast on chords and chord progression... what differentiates delta blues from led zeppelin from AC/DC (if anything ;) ).

Really, really cool podcast. I'm glad I finally decided to listen to one of these!

Is it just me, or do vocals with a large-room reverb tend to have a 'heavenly' feel to them?

good job with podcast. i am a regular. i would be interested in chord progresssions. and orchestration...

Morwen: I agree that there's a certain angelic, heavenly feel to a large-room reverb. Patsy Cline used to have a ton of natural big-room reverb on her voice, and I always think she sounds a bit winged and cloud-hopping.

iellisonPAN & Gorkhali: Chord progressions! Absolutely. Definitely in the works, that one. I love seeing the commonalities of different chord patterns, especially across different styles of music. If you have suggestions of particular progressions that you find in several songs (I-VI-ii-V, I-IV-V), please bring those suggestions on.

kevin seal = divinity.

excellent work, kevin.

i would love to hear a podcast on different meters, rhythms (especially clave stuff) and polyrhythms.

many people wonder about lyric writing, as well.

know what else would be provocative? a discussion that attempted to define a few different genres. i mean, best of luck with that, but it would be entertaining!

go music!

b

Thanks, Ben!! Next week we have claves and polyrhythms ("Elements of Salsa"), and Jeff Anthony (see Episode Two) and I are definitely going to delve into odd meters for you.

And Michael Zapruder of "Play Listen Repeat" is hopefully going to appear on a lyrics-focused episode.

All topics we're fascinated with, absolutely.

As for a discussion with the goal of defining certain genres... whew... I agree that it would be both difficult & entertaining.

Thanks again! I listen to all the podcasts and think their wonderful. What was great about this one is the examples given of each different style that you mentioned. One question: what is "classic Rhodes style"? I see it listed as an element in many of the reverb songs referred to. What does that mean?
Thanks again and please keep the great podcasts coming.
Regards,
Barney
Sandared, Sweden

Excellent podcast with "real life" examples. Great help to budding artists like myself. Thank you

Thanks, Skye!

Barney: "Classic Rhodes style" indicates that those songs feature a Fender Rhodes electric piano. Very interesting that those reverb-laden tracks all seemed to have warm electric piano as well.

Think of Billy Preston's solo on the Beatles' "Get Back" -- that's a Fender Rhodes.

A roomy vocal tone and that Rhodes sound do complement each other well. Good eye, Barney...

ah, i think we missed out sibelence? (dunno if i spelled it right) and perhaps a little more on room acoustics. :) (maybe even a little on presence freq...hrmm...maybe for next time? :) )

great podcast nonetheless.
you are chalking up higher expectations along the way~ :P

kudos once again for the hard work!

Hi, Saklas -- the next part, "Mixing Vocals," will definitely feature sibilance, and de-essing for that matter, and more on reverb and room acoustics.

I don't have presence frequency in there at the moment, but that's an interesting suggestion...

Hi,

I am a complete idiot concerning music creation, but i have changed into a fan though with your podcast. I am a graphic/web designer and have found lots of similarities with graphic and music production (Balance, Rhytm, Color...), especially with the first podcast. Thanks for the inspiration, I really appreciate what you are doing.

If I understood correctly, the difference in the sound of live recordings versus studio ones is mostly due to the different types of mics used . Would it be possible to use a condenser mic in a live recording or is it too sensitive in a high noise level environment ??

Heri, I'm so glad to hear that!

And Cedric -- do you mean a "live recording" or for room amplification at a live gig?

A condenser could be great for live recording. Have a dynamic & a condenser next to each other, the dynamic for the house sound, and the condenser direct to tape (or virtual tape, i.e. the hard drive). Perhaps mix the two signals together for a sweet lead vocal sound.

But for the house P.A.'s signal, I've found that a condenser is:
a) much more prone to feeding back
b) over-sensitive in reacting to the singer's loud and soft moments
c) more fragile, so more easy to injure if used in a real stage performance

Just my opinions, really, but there they are.

Again... really good!

I think it was too short...

I guess voice can also be recorded through effects... like guitar effects. Actually I think voices can be modified a lot through a mic. I think bands do that all the time. Echoes, reverberations etc...

Looking forward to listen the next one...

Thank you

carlos

Definitely, Carlos... those vocal effects (reverb in particular) will be spotlighted in "Mixing Vocals," another upcoming episode.

But yeah, many of those effects (tremolo, chorus, distortion, delay) you can hear in the "Electric Guitar Effects" episode.

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for listening to the podcast. I hope you are all enjoying learning about what it takes as a vocalist in the studio. I sure had a lot of fun making this. Peace!!

Please feel free to contact with me with any voice questions all. I teach private voice lessons and have a vast knowledge to share on this topic. Have a great day. www.ariahmusic.com

I like the 70's,80's & 90's in country music & some old George Jones ,Merle Haggard &Hank Williams Jr.Tammy Wynette Loretta Lynn Charlie Louvin &Dolly Parton, Billy Jo Spears now that is country music!!! Thanks so much for hearing me out. Love that music! Mary Larkins

Really good, helped a lot! Thanks. Ps.

got it on Kevin!

Excellent! Happy to hear it.

Hey?! This is Anna is Stockholm, Sweden and I just love you guys at Pandora. thank you for awesome advice!

I'm a trained musician and have recording experience, but I've learned at least one new thing in each of these podcasts. Really great work!

Now, I'm off to record myself singing from down the hall...

Hey, Anna! I've always wanted to visit Stockholm. Someday, eh?

great podcast!! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is yeoman work, and a service to the community. Thanks to you all who have made it possible. It is not an earthshaker, but little things like this, in ANY aspect of human endeavor, make our lives better.

Kevin,

Very informative. Plan to send link to my son. He is a graduate of San Francisco College of Recording Arts. He formerly worked for Bad Animal Studio in Seattle.

Thanks for Sharing

Thanks, guys! I'm familiar with Bad Animal -- both the Screaming Trees and Nirvana recorded there at various times, right?

Man, I love Pandora! Thank you so much, truly fascinating!

I was fascinated by this particular podcast. I knew that there were a lot of techniques and considerations one has to employ when recoding, but it was most interesting to hear what they were and why and when they were used. If I ever wanted to record something, this would be something that I could actually use.

Cool! That was our intention. News you can use, as they say in the biz.

Any questions for Ariah? She's happy to field any queries.

I love you!

That was probably to Ariah, not me, right?

Cool info on the vocal pod guys. Thanks. Now here's one for you. Do you ever in the future see anyone sharing info with us about the harp??? Now that would be really cool too. Love your site and hope it continues. Peace.

The harp? I assume you mean the large multi-stringed instrument, not the slang term for harmonica, right?

I'd love to talk about the harp, but I don't know any harpists... anybody know any harp players in the Bay Area? Joanna Newsom, maybe?

I enjoy the short lesson on vocals,the effects
a artist may have on a particular song.Thanks

Ariah is JUST now putting out an album? what an awesome voice. These pods can't take the place of talent however they help understand why and how singers can sound so different on their songs. Too many times the untalented (a certain blonde last name rhymes with "rears") can have a carreer due to much sound engineering influences. Most refreshing to actually hear real talent.

Thanks a lot,from Spain....

This vocals program is awesome! thank you! from an aspiring recording vocalist!

This is what every new person needs to know before they walk into the recording session for the first time. The studio are design for all types of recordings and the enginer has total control of the boradand other equipment.He is really the person that makes the artist sound so good. Everyone always asks how did they do that and now we know the rest of the story.

I've always wanted to learn this stuff. Great posdcast.

Pandora and Tim you are awesome this was so interesting....

Muuuuuito bom!

What a great voice!!Thanks a lot Pandora.

Do I have to buy this program if I want to use it?

What a great idea! Very valuable stuff for people starting ourt on a singing sojourn. How about some similar ones for guitar, drums, bass and keyboards?

neato! i always wondered what that screen thingie was for! it really sheds some light on the complexities and artistry involved in recording. i'd be interested in other things related to music production... oh and someone suggested lyric writing, that'd be neat too!

excellent job, kevin, ariah, everone!

hey all! thanks for listening. To answer Aj's question, this is my second album. The first one was last year called Brooklyn Dreams. The new one is coming out and called Stop Look and Listen. Live clips are on mypsace.com/ariahfirefly. I am so happy you learned and enjoyed. These comments make my day, Love, Ariah Firefly
Keep singing ya'll.....

you sing excelent and you is a very good singer . thenks you .

tatiana

Agreed -- Ariah is a fantastic singer. I'm really looking forward to "Stop, Look, and Listen."

Kev: the next podcast, debuting on April 4, is a Bass exploration. Definitely more on their way focusing on guitar and keyboard recording and part-writing, too. You checked out the drumming and guitar-effects episodes as well, I hope?

Very interesting.

As an aspiring singer, this is pretty valuable to me.

Thank you!

Pandora = life!

You're welcome! Keep singing, Maleeha!

nice, looking forward to new podcasts

Once again I am so impressed by musicians. All the things that are going on while I'm just sitting back and listening. This is such an interesting pcast. Thanks and keep it up.

Genial la musica del recuerdo, estas es verdaderas melodias de sentimientos.

Thank you guys!

thanks friends ,,it's been a good time listenning to that song you've sent to me ..thanks again.

The Dynamic and Condenser examples seemed like they were recorded in different rooms. The condenser micing sounded like she was in a steel box.

Amazing, innit? Those dynamic & condenser mics were positioned right next to each other, with Ariah standing directly in front of both of them. They have such different sounds that it makes the recording sound as if it were taped in wildly varying settings, but not the case.

This was one of the most informative sessions I have heard. The mic examples really helped me to understand. Thanks and keep up the good work.

This was really interesting and informative. I have really enjoyed the Pandora site in the past and this is just one more great feature. Thanks again.

Cool Podcast!
I just think it's good to remind people the importance of room acoustics. When using an omnidirectional mic you have to be very careful because instead of getting a warmer sound with a little reverb you might get some nasty frequence resonance unless you're in a really well-conditioned room... what I mean is that there are a lot of factors to consider when choosing a microphone, it's not always like "hey, I want that sound so I'll use that mic"... just a thought but still very good work! and Ariah is a great singer, congrats!

I am so glad the podcast has been enjoyable and educational. "Today I'm asking the sky the that was falling to stay where it was..I choose joy..." Ariah Firefly

thanks so much...as a vocalist who often works with other singers, teaching appropriate "mic" use is often not as easy as you would think...thanks to you and this podcast, all I have to do now is refer my folk to the "Ariah" podcast...great examples....

I am a songwriter who records her own demos at home using Audacity mixing software, an open source application that ROCKS! I would love to hear a bit more esoteric things that maybe the rest of the audience wouldnt care about, but I'll throw them out there anyway...

1. How EQ settings can change instruments and vocals and how they are used in certain song genres.
2. the best settings for vocal echoes or delays for different song genres.
3. Where to submit songs, and how to package them... whether you need an agent and how to find and choose one if you do.

I could go on and on... but I won't

Check, and check. "Mixing Vocals," part two of this episode (also starring Ariah Firefly) goes into Questions #1 and #2. #3 is a bit of a different beast, but definitely an interesting and useful topic for independent musicians. Have you submitted your songs for inclusion on Pandora?

Ah, whatever. It's fine

cool liked the part between the condener and dynamic mics-and I thought singing low close to the mic was cheaping huh I guess it works, I have a small digital studio, I want to try a few of the tricks that I learn on this podcast program and other program great...

Excellent. Yeah, the condenser-vs-dynamic distinction was something that took me years to wrap my head around, even as I was frequently recording vocals.

Have fun in the studio, Mike!

these podcasts are really informative. they are really easy to understand without being dumbed down (even for someone who knows a little about recording). good job, guys.

Thanks, Bill. It's reassuring to hear that we can keep the information level high without alienating anybody. Some of these shows cover a lot of ground -- theoretical or musicological at times -- rather quickly, which I enjoy. I'm glad to hear you enjoy that too.

Ms. Firefly, you have a superb voice!

Ms. Firefly certainly has talent....

This podcast has only clarified what I already know about recording vocals....

My confusion was on omni vs. cardoid....
I couldn't hear the difference always in some songs being that reverb and other effects has a role in music....

I still want to hear more about vocals and recoding, producing in general on these podcast casts as they would be informative....

Personally, I feel that some singers have a hard time figuring out where to stand when recording as a good mic can make soft sounds from distances stand out.....so I could certainly recommend books to folks who have questions...

I have songs that require strength and diction that I sing real close to the mic...and even softer songs that I have recorded far away....This shows that rules aren't really written in stone...but this podcast certainly gives great basics and how-tos for students....

As a vocalist and guitar player, I think you succinctly got the information organized and easy to comprehend for the layperson interested in recording/reproducing sound. Ted Donovan

Thanks for listening, folks. Ted, Valerie, glad you liked it.

Hi, Alexsandria -- the new episode, "Mixing Vocals," goes much more into reverb and other aspects of vocals in the studio. We hope you enjoy it. It went live on 5/16/07.

Hello.
I liked your site. Very useful resource. THE BEST.
Thanks.

Sincerely,

Renat Li

Hello good design. Very nice. 0n79p7 Enjoy. Goodbay.

Cheers. Glad to hear it.

HI; There Wow That was Great I Had NO Idea It could sound this good. Great Job Ariah Firefly.

hi all, i am happy it is helping you figure out how to do your own voices! Ariah Firefly

and thanks for the love..

This podcast was awesome. I was taking notes! Thanks so much.

Rock on, Tulips & Music!

Hi,

I liked your site. An excellent content. Fine the schedule.

Thanks.

i love this pandora music

Thank you for your job!!

Wonderful, guys. Happy that you're enjoying it.

I'm thrilled that there's an education component to Pandora. I love the music (I've gotten my stations to play 95% music that I love - & my music expenditures have skyrocketed as a result), but I love learning what's going on even more. Thanks!

It's great to hear that you are enjoying more new music, Christina. I'm also happy that these shows are tickling your fancy, as it were. Thanks for listening.

Seriously...I am building a home studio and these podcasts are very informative. This saves a lot of pointless conversations with uninformed sales people at Guitar Center.

Direct, to the point, and informative!

This site is unmatched. Thanks!!

You are all amazing. You have all done something incredible here. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Alas, too much spam, gotta shut down the Q&A for a while... check back later, and it should be back up. Thanks.