Moving From Yesterday To Tomorrow
“Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow; you’re only a day aaaawwaay.” OK, maybe not that Tomorrow. And if you don’t recognize that song, you can consider me “the old guy.” (Where was I? Oh, yes…)
When jumping from a rocker into a simpler, lighter, more intimate song, look at what makes up a live intimate song:
Greater dynamic range in the lead vocal. You’ll hear a greater range of volume dynamics which coincide with the emotion of the song.
Greater dynamic range in the instruments. The fewer instruments, the more they need to be distinct in the mix, even permitted to have room to change their volume dynamics.
Only a few sounds front-and-center. Namely, you’ll get a lead vocalist and one primary lead instrument. These sound sources need to be punched up. Notice how Boothroyd said he’d turn off the high-pass filters on Yesterday so the channels could breathe.
Six Steps For (Song) Intimacy
1) Tell me you love me.
2) Turn off your channel compressors.
3) Turn off your channel high-pass filters.
4) Considering the total instrument change-up, make necessary EQ changes such as boosting presence in the acoustic guitar or tweaking the highs. Can you warm up the vocal lead?
5) Consider bringing up the ambiance mic channel/congregational mic channel. The effect of this can vary a lot depending on your room, mic placement, and the resulting sound.
6) Review your vocal and instrument effects. Depending on the song, the arrangement, and the size of the room, you could use a little reverb or none at all. No rules. If it sounds right, it is right.
The Take Away
An intimately mixed live song is one that feels unrestricted. It’s free to be. As a live audio mixer, you’re performing a lot of manipulations and restrictions.
When you get to these types of songs, ask this question: “What’s the least I can restrict?” Let the song live on its own with only a gentle nudging here and there to hold the mix together.
Ready to learn and laugh? Chris Huff writes about the world of church audio at Behind The Mixer. He covers everything from audio fundamentals to dealing with musicians, and can even tell you the signs the sound guy is having a mental breakdown. To view the original article and to make comments, go here.