Do you travel a lot? Play an instruction CD for improving an instrument, such as guitar or bass or sax. EVEN IF YOU DON'T play the "real" instrument but use a controller. You truly will find that your travel time helps you learn how to improve studio tracks. Examples:
1. You'll learn where to add REALISTIC BREATH rests for all woodwind and brass instruments. A common FLUTE TRACK mistake is to forget that the player will pass out if there are no breath spots!
2. Hearing the actual instrument will help you USE VOLUME controls to sound more realistic. For example, STRINGS TRACKS should waver and fade off at the end of a note....
3. And you'll learn how to better use STACCATO (short choppy notes) to break that Strings rule (#2) and do the same with other controller instruments to create a light or jazzy mood.
4. Especially important for instruments you don't actually play -- You'll learn a "FEEL" for the instrument's natural note range. When I began supplementing live bass tracks with controller bass tracks, at first I sometimes included a note below the lowest B of a 5-string bass!
5. Finally for this list of benefits (but by far not all the reasons you'll improve studio tracks listening to CDs while traveling):
You'll gain a feel for the natural capabilities of the instrument that cannot be duplicated easily on a controller.... Such as gorgeous deep slides for a bass, or fast trills of a flute, or the resonating vibrato of cello.
So you'll learn when to seek out friends who will record the actual instrument for your music track!
May you have MUCH joy learning more and more for your music recordings!
©2013 DianaDee Osborne; all rights reserved 