Nick Reczynski's TCOM 433 Blogosphereaganza

Boy it has been some time

2008-03-19T17:41:00.000-07:00

Jeez everyone, sorry for not blogging. Spring Break got in the way and distracted me from all the wonderful updates that happened prior. Laura and I recorded in the Music Tech studios and it went swimmingly after some initial kinks. After that, Laura mixed down the piano files and we used them for our recording sessions in Studio B. Those sessions went even better and we got a lot done, including some alternate percussion, melodica and trumpet tracks. We plan on recording sometime in the coming week with a bassist and drummer, and we're also working on some rough mixes to send Sarah Balliet, the cellist from Murder by Death, a band I absolutely love. We're hoping she'll come in and do some session recordings for us.

So there's a lot left to do, but our mixes are going to start taking shape soon. We may do some more trumpet recording since the talent isn't 100% behind his performance, and an accordion part may come into play as well. More updates soon...more frequently.

Sorry about the wait....

2008-02-26T11:20:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a while because I've been busy working on audio for the Wednesday night premiere of The Last Mullet from SE Films (shameless blog plug), but a lot has happened with our project.

After a bit of confusion and email tag, we have our Music Tech building time scheduled! We're set to record on Sunday, March 2 from 5 to 10 PM. As much as we would have liked more time, we're still really happy to be able to get in there and get the piano tracks recorded. Laura and I have discussed click tracks, but, since she doesn't feel comfortable with them (and since she's the one playing the music) we may just do without them. We won't be laying down any vocals on Sunday, just the piano. Once we have the piano, recording in the TCOM studios will be much easier, plus we can already get started on doing our remixes.

We're still waiting to meet to discuss our 5.1 Imaging assignment. It's last minute but Laura was out of town and I've been slaving on the Last Mullet, so procrastination was pretty much unavoidable. However, I'm interested to see what ideas Laura has, since she is not only producing but also composing. I'd like to see backing vocals and strings coming in from the rear channels. Since the piano is the focus of the majority of the songs, I'm thinking about keeping it in the front, doubling up the track, and putting a "wet" piano part in the rear.

So, recording on Sunday in Music Tech, 5 PM to 10 PM. Looking forward to it.

Two Good Days

2008-02-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

After class on Wednesday, (where we moved one of our recording dates from March 9th to March 7th) Laura and I went to the Music Tech building and left a note on Rick DiGiallonardo's door. Today I got an email from him saying that, basically, we should let him know when we want to record, get in touch with a Music Tech student, and then we'll be able to record.

Also, I got a chance to listen to Laura play the piano parts in one of the practice rooms over at the building, and we talked over some choices about percussion, and the trumpet part I'll be playing on This Waltz Will Wear Us Down she's written.

My URL is Upsetting

2008-02-11T22:10:00.000-08:00

So I just realized that the URL for this blog is reczynski4333.blogger.com, which upsets me, because I don't usually make typos.

I emailed Laura today for some info on the songs we're going to be recording and we're going to meet on Wednesday after class to discuss instrumentation and things like that. Here's the long and short of her email, pretty much verbatim:

1. This Waltz Will Wear Us Down:
It's in 3/4, and I believe it's in A minor
On it will be: piano, drums, bass, trumpet, violin, toy piano
Up for Remixing

2. Closure:
It's in 6/8, changes keys.
It will have: piano, drums, bass, violin, multiple vocals
Also up for remixing

3. What I Was Promising
4/4, C
First song I ever wrote...very epic.
It will have piano, some drumming, but not a full kit, violin, multiple vox., melodica

4. It's No Surprise
4/4 B minor
This is a really simple song, kind of somber it doesn't need much done to. piano, some percussion, multiple vocals with effects, and a steady bass line

This could be a cool simpler remix, in the way that "Recycled Air" is at the end of "Give Up"

5. To Think that We...
This is a very optimistic song. Second that i ever wrote. Very something corporate
Straightforward, 4/4 in G
Piano, Drums, maybe a little guitar

6. Seven Days
I think it's in 6/8? E minor
Very Arpeggio and fast paced, the fourth song that I wrote
I'm afraid of what drums would do to this song
Piano, Bass, some percussion, a little bit of violin, multiple vocals.

This is Nick again. I'm really happy with this email and it really boosts my confidence about the songs we're recording. I'm glad we're going to be going outside the traditional 4/4 structure and I think it's one of the big positives about Laura's music. The 6/8 songs will probably be a little challenging but I'm looking forward to working on plotting the instrumentation of the songs on Wednesday.