Words & Photos from Eva C.
When we arrived at the lecture theater for our final set of experiential days, we were all ready and excited to reconnect with Dante and record our songs. Zach, a music producer, had come to help us put together the songs that we have been working on for the past few months into a recording. We started off my practicing ‘Be My Baby’ by the Ronettes, the song that we learned during the first experiential session. After we remembered how to play it, we initiated the recording process by playing it as a whole group five times in a row, recording every time, and choosing the best one. When we came back from our lunch break, we recorded each of the vocalists individually, in a process called overdubbing. This way, each of the singer’s volumes could be controlled. Next, we recorded other percussion instruments, like shakers, tambourine, and castanets, and headed home for the weekend.
When we returned to school on Monday, we started recording ‘Valerie’ by Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse - one of the songs we learned on the second experiential days. Following a similar process to the previous recording day, we played the song five times in a row, and did the overdubs afterwards. This time, we had a saxophone part, which was a very nice addition to the song. We recorded the vocalists, extra percussion and sax, and fixed up parts on both songs that we wanted to make just a bit better. The recording process took a while, and required a lot of patience, but it was definitely worth it in the end. The best part was being able to listen back to the recording. It was incredible to hear our music being played so cleanly, and with such good sound. It was amazing to work with Dante and Zach for these days. We learned so much and had a fantastic time.