arrange • compose • conduct
Where do you look when you’re mixing a concert? I learned this the hard way – by getting a stern correction from Steve Zegree during a concert – but maybe the only way to really learn it is by experiencing it both ways. The impulse of a sound engineer is […]
Sometimes the important work you do today isn’t what looks like the work. For example, today’s studio session was great – we tracked three songs for the Aces in three hours, plus a little bonus track really quickly at the end! They worked hard, grew, and put down some great […]
Studio recording is an entirely different experience from either performance or rehearsal. You’ll hear new things, have new reactions, and learn a ton. That’s why I love to take my students into the studio. But they’re almost always always new to the experience, so I start by giving a few […]
Whenever you always approach a type of problem with a certain strategy, it might be useful to ask: “What other approaches might work?” As a general principle, I often take a few months after a recording session with my ensembles before I sit down to mix it. The distance from […]
I never don’t think of Steve Zegree when I’m in the studio. All these years later, it’s absolutely consistent. I’ve been in the studio a lot this week: ten hours producing sessions with my ensembles, plus two sessions at home singing and engineering some part recordings. I think of Steve […]
These are three keys to success over adversity. Have a Plan B. Or, if not a plan, then the skills to pivot without preparation. (When my studio engineer student got sick, I was ready to jump in, knew who to ask for help, and got the job done.) Work with […]
Pacing in a studio session is one of the overlooked essentials of success. I’m obsessed with getting a new engineer up to speed on my strategies, preferences, and quirks before a session, and the reason is that those are the things that most affect pacing – the downtime between takes, […]