Recording secrets of Depeche Mode's cult album
Report / ShowReleased in early 1990, "Violator" is Depeche Mode's seventh studio album. It was produced over most of 1989 with the help of producer Flood, sound engineer Steve Lyon and mixer François Kevorkian.
Ten Beatles production secrets
LearningTo express the full extent of their genius, the Beatles spent hundreds of hours in the studio experimenting. Since then, some have devoted entire books to their production secrets. For our part, we o…
Tips for Better Headphone Mixing
LearningHeadphones are more critical to the mixing process than ever. One reason is the popularity of music streaming. More people than ever are listening to music on mobile devices with headphones. So makin…
Arranging Tips
LearningSongwriting and performance are crucial ingredients for producing a great song. Another is the arrangement. That is, deciding which instrument and vocal parts will be in a song, and where they'll com…
How to get the best results when you record vocals
LearningNo matter the genre, a lead vocal track is always the focal point of a song. As a result, you should approach recording vocals with forethought and planning. If you want the best results, you need to…
Synthetic scales from tetrachords of altered modes - Part 3
LearningIn the previous article you learned that Lydian tetrachords were absent from the modes of the melodic minor scale. But since we really like the oddest combinations, I suggest we wrap up this brief re…
Headphone mix for the singer - Part 4
LearningIn this fourth part you'll learn how to fine-tune the cue mix for the singer by improving the ordinary in no time.
Synthetic scales from tetrachords of altered modes - Part 2
LearningLast time we started exploring the tetrachords of the altered modes in general and the synthetic scales created from the tetrachords of the melodic minor scale in particular. You saw that apart from …
Headphone mix for the singer - Part 3
LearningAfter the brief detour last week to discuss a less conventional way to handle the cue mix, today we'll go back to the more traditional way, that is the use of a good ol' pair of headphones. We'll dis…
Synthetic scales from tetrachords of altered modes - Part 1
LearningAfter having reviewed in our last article the synthetic scales resulting from the taking apart of natural modes and the redistribution of their tetrachords, let's see what you get when you do the sam…
Headphone mix for the singer - Part 2
LearningLast week I mentioned the preposterous idea of using a speaker instead of headphones to send the cue mix to the singer. This obviously entails the mic picking up a lot of bleed, however as I implied …
Synthetic scales from natural modes
LearningIn the previous article I introduced synthetic scales, which made us dig up an element of scales and modes which we had already touched upon before: tetrachords. So before we move on I think it's imp…
Headphone mix for the singer - Part 1
LearningToday's article could've been easily included in the previous section because we are once again dealing with the comfort of the singer. However, I decided to make it part of a new, much larger sectio…
Synthetic scales
LearningLast time I told you we would discover a couple of somewhat particular scales: the harmonic major and double harmonic major scales. But they belong to a larger group called synthetic scales, which I …
The comfort of the performer - Part 3
LearningThird and final installment of the chapter dedicated to the comfort of the singer during vocal recordings. Today, for the first time, we will discuss the gear used. However, before looking at it from…
Harmony Basics - Part 63
LearningToday we'll continue studying the modes of the harmonic minor scale we began last week. I invite you to discover with me...
The comfort of the performer - Part 2
LearningSecond part of the chapter dedicated to the comfort of the singer when recording vocals. After discussing the place last week, today you'll see some really nice tricks that will allow the singer to f…
Harmony Basics - Part 62
LearningAfter having studied in the previous article the altered modes of the melodic minor scale, today we'll look into those of the harmonic minor scale.
The comfort of the performer - Part 1
LearningIn the previous article I mentioned the famous "comfort zone" of the singer. In the coming weeks we'll look into the material conditions around a vocal recording which are susceptible of helping the …
The modes of the melodic minor system
LearningAfter the brief deviation in the last installment, it's time to continue with our favorite altered modes.
Singing or the art of performance - Part 4
LearningTo finish with the performance question, today we'll discuss a somewhat particular topic which was inspired by a comment posted in the French forum by ex-Moderator in Chief, Will Zégal, in response t…
Harmony Basics - Part 60
LearningDear friends, do allow me to open a brief parenthesis in our harmony series with this article.
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 91
LearningToday we'll continue exploring the art of performance with an installment that could be easily renamed into "Theatrics for Dummies." However, anyone who takes the time to put into practice these tips…
Harmony Basics - Part 59
LearningYou might be wondering why I'm writing about these scales as a "particular case" even though I hadn't mentioned them when talking about the altered and Bartok scales. Well, these two scales often lea…
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 90
LearningAs you saw previously, the singer, as a performer, can be compared to an actor. However, unlike a "traditional actor," the singer must only rely on his/her voice to bring to life his/her character wi…
