<![CDATA[TWO BODIES OF WATER - James\' Blog]]>Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:05:37 -0600Weebly<![CDATA[Email: Music Production, Where to Start]]>Tue, 15 Aug 2023 22:08:55 GMThttps://www.twobodiesofwater.com/james-blog/email-music-production-where-to-startI often receive emails from creators or "Yet-To-Be" creators asking for advice or lessons on how to start producing music.  I thought my reply would be helpful to more than just this young high school student, so I'd like to share it here.  I hope you find it useful.
To the high school student, I wrote:
It’s really great that you want to help out your mom through music.  Not something people tend to talk about all that often.  If you have her in mind as you go through this industry, you’ll find a lot of the hard work doesn’t seem so hard.  

I actually teach a course on music production through a school down in L.A., and I’d be happy to introduce you to them.  It’s a pretty expensive program, though, so in the mean time I thought I’d give you some resources to look into. 
#1 - Learn to Play an instrument
If you don’t already have a music background, learning the piano is one of the most valuable skills a producer can have and is a clear dividing line between the average home producer and the BIG TIME producers.  You don’t have to be an amazing player, but knowing the piano is more helpful that you can possibly imagine. 

#2 - Learn the Basics of the Software
If you don’t already have software that you’re playing with, there are two beginner producer software options that keep things simple and get you creating music right away. Knowing the basics of the software is SUPER important because there’s so much to know.

https://www.apple.com/ca/mac/garageband/
If you’re on Mac Garageband is amazingly powerful and likely already on your computer. Many people dismiss it because it’s free but the creative potential is off the charts.  It’s also simple to use but professionally designed, which makes it a GREAT starter producer software. 

https://www.akaipro.com/mpc-beats
If you’re on PC or Mac, MPC Beats, by Akai is one of the best starter producer softwares out there to get started with.  It is so simple to use that you can’t help but start creating right away.  You may outgrow it quickly, but you’ll always come back to it because it sounds great and it’s so easy to use.  

#3 - Find some Free Online Tutorials
Nothing helps you get started like good free courses.  Here are some free starters you can consider… 

https://musictech.com/guides/essential-guide/beginners-guide-music-production/
This one is a crash course on getting set up at home… So many free resources are included within.  

https://www.skillshare.com/browse/music-production?locale=en&coupon=GOOGNBEN30DAYSFREE
Skillshare has so many REALLY GOOD courses and you get a free month with this link.  It might be the right fit.

https://rolandcorp.com.au/blog/computer-music-production-for-beginners-part-1
https://rolandcorp.com.au/blog/computer-music-production-beginners-part-2
https://rolandcorp.com.au/blog/computer-music-production-for-beginners-part-3
Another really great crash course into music production that can help make sense of the whole process.  It’s a great place to start for the beginner.  

#4 - Start making music  
It’s reasonable to keep your expectations low as you’re figuring this stuff out.  You might make something really cool really quick, or maybe it takes a couple years before you feel like you’re creating something good.  The most important thing is to always be making music.  That’s the only way to get good at it.
]]><![CDATA[Email: Value of Automation]]>Wed, 20 Apr 2022 16:32:05 GMThttps://www.twobodiesofwater.com/james-blog/email-value-of-automationI often work closely with students learning the skills and more of the audio engineering world.  This was an email I recently shared with a student I felt would be useful to more than just them.  Hope it helps.  :)

To a student I wrote:
"Sounds good.  :)  Did you hand in the mix already?
Automation is a valuable tool to use.  Often the difference between a Semi-Pro mix and a PRO mix is automation in a variety of ways.  I use a medium amount of automation and most mixes I do will have at least 30-40 different automation moments throughout one of my mixes.  All I’m saying is don’t discount the value of automation.  It is such a useful tool in a mix. 

Here are some examples of automations I would use in a mix.
1. EVERY lead vocal will have volume automation to keep the vocal “feeling” like it is front and centre of the mix.  Let me repeat that.  EVERY LEAD VOCAL.  :)  
2. A mix with more than one or 2 vocal tracks will usually have Panning automation, as well.  It might be as simple as: 
- Background vocals in the verse are narrower in the mix while chorus vocals are wider in the mix.  
- I might have a backing vocal alternate panning left and right
- Some backing vocals automate between side and centre for different lyrics to change the emphasis or feel.  
3. Background vocals will often have volume automation, as well.  Maybe quieter in certain lines and louder in other lines, or louder for a hook but quieter for a bridge.  
4. I usually have some element (voice or instrument) with a LoFi plugin of some sort on it, and I will automate that on and off.  
5. For sections of the song that are more sparse, I might bypass a high pass filter on a lead instrument to maintain a fullness in the section, then turn it back on as the song starts building again.  
6. I usually have automation on the Sends to certain effects to either turn them on or off, or to increase their level for momentary effect.  
7. For songs that have a lead instrument, that lead instrument might have volume automation to increase it’s focus when it’s that instrument’s time to take the spotlight.  Plus, I would usually have volume automation on different sections of that lead section to make sure every note stays in focus.  
8. I would do the same with a duet.  As each voice takes it’s turn in the lead role, I would use volume automation to keep the appropriate voice in focus, while turning down and panning the other voice.  

Anyway, I hope that gives you some more insight into the value of automation.  You don’t always need compression.  Sometimes automation is the better tool.  For the thought…  
Compression is automatic but not perfect AND it adds distortion.
Automation is not automatic but can be perfect and doesn’t add distortion. 

Best of luck in your final.  :)  
]]><![CDATA[How To: Vocal & Acoustic Guitar]]>Sun, 27 Dec 2020 21:55:21 GMThttps://www.twobodiesofwater.com/james-blog/how-to-vocal-acoustic-guitarI recently had a text conversation with a home studio guy on vacation, and he was surprised that he'd never recorded a vocal and acoustic guitar at the same time.  He asked my advice, and this is what I sent him.  :)  Thought it was a worthwhile share.  

"First, I hope the performer is decent at controlling their own dynamics, better at singing, and a good guitar player.  It’s a useless endeavour unless you can check off those boxes.
Second...  Use the “Null” of the microphones to eliminate the other source.  It may look oddly angled, but it’s worth doing because you can get GREAT isolation that way.  For example, if you use the ribbon on the vocal, put it on its side and rotate it so the side of the microphone is pointing at the guitar body and the front of the microphone is slightly angled upwards...

Second (also) ...  You can achieve the same with the WA-87 (or do you have a WA-14?), set the microphone to “Figure-8” polar pattern and do the same as with the ribbon.

Third...  If you can use a “Figure-8” microphone on the guitar too, same principle applies, except the front of the microphone would be pointing slightly at the floor.

Fourth...  The vocal mic will hear more of the guitar than the guitar mic will hear the vocal.  There’s nothing you can change about that.  So, get the vocal sounding good with JUST the vocal mic, then adjust the guitar mic without singing so the guitar sounds as good as it can with BOTH mics live.  Guaranteed best results.

Tweaks...  You can rotate either mic to adjust the “Null” to taste to try to eliminate more sound from the other, but there will always be some.  You can also use more absorbent material in front, above, and behind to reduce bleed, but you’ll never eliminate it."

That was the end of the text messages.  I'd also like to point out that if the singer/guitar player is really good, you should be able to place a single mic about 3 feet in front of them and it will sound amazing.  One of my favourite recordings was a girl with a ukulele, the ONE mic aimed at her collarbone 36" away.  It was intimate and full, as though she was right in my ear.  I loved it.  

​Hope it helps.  :)
]]><![CDATA[EMAIL: Hi Hats in the Overheads]]>Fri, 11 Sep 2020 17:34:15 GMThttps://www.twobodiesofwater.com/james-blog/email-hi-hats-in-the-overheadsSometimes I answer emails in a way that explains exactly what I want it to so easily, I want to share it.  Here is a recent email to a new home recording artist about trying to solve hi hats being too loud in overheads.

​"... here are a number of things you can try.  (in order of what I would try based on what I hear…)


1. Try angling the microphones so they point a little bit more away from the hats.

2. Do you have a different set of hats to put on the kit?  They might just pair with the cymbals in a way you don’t want.  

3. If you think of the drums as sitting in a circle, and the the overhead mics as sitting ON the circle’s edge, try rotating the overheads to they are the farthest points away from the hats while still maintaining the image you want.

4. Keeping with the circle metaphor, try moving the overheads to different points on the circle than you currently have them, but in a different ratio of distance to each other AND to the hats.  

5. Try a completely different overhead setup. Here’s a link to a great article with pictures and examples of 7 different overhead setups.  
http://recordinghacks.com/2010/04/03/drum-overhead-microphone-technique-comparison/
It’s very likely that one of these might naturally adjust the balance to your liking, but really hard to say which one.  I’ve used all of these techniques to great success.  

6. Fix it in the mix.  
  a. Simply EQing the right frequencies might help, or automating some EQ moves when the hats are there.
  b. Automating volume changes when the hats are there vs not.  
  c. A little of both.  
Both are very common tricks to make it work and happen all the time.  Compression likely won’t help the issue.  In fact, It would likely make things worse.  The above should help though.  

I hope you find something in there useful.  :)  There are so many possibilities, something is bound to work."
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