Capturing Performances

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Module Content

This module will look at the task of capturing a performance in the recording process rather than the different task of capturing the sound that a performer makes. Eisenberg has described the paradox of recording as being the fact that the performer has to work without an audience and the audience has to work without a performer. Given that most, if not all, performers will attest to the fact that the feedback they receive from an audience – the atmosphere of the event – is a crucial factor in stimulating the right frame of mind to produce a good performance, how can this type of stimulus be created in the recording environment?
Drawing on the professional experience of our lecturing team, you will be guided through a series of case studies and will contextualise this practice in terms of how broad principles and guidelines can be extrapolated. This will involve a variety of working methods taking in different musical styles and different forms of creative practice and collaboration. How do you prepare and manage a large ensemble in the recording process? What’s the difference between directing a performance by a session player and collaborating with a singer / songwriter to capture the desired performance?
Scholars such as Meintjes, Diamond and Porcello have conducted ethnographic research in the recording environment that looks at issues of communication, roles and relationships in the process of production. How can studies such as these throw light on the planning and conduct of your own and others’ experience in the studio?
Producers and artists in the past have gone to extreme lengths to create the right atmosphere in the studio to encourage performance and creativity. Many of the technological developments that have helped to improve the clarity and flexibility of a recording (such as multi-tracking, headphones, screening) are often cited by musicians as the things that are most off-putting – playing in isolation from other musicians, not being able to hear ‘naturally’ etc. How are these negotiations between performance practice and recording practice conducted? Where should the decision making power lie? In which circumstances should the producer be a director / leader as opposed to a facilitator?
Different forms of technology have allowed producers and artists different forms of flexibility in the process of selecting, editing and compiling performances into a single, final product. You will investigate a complete range of practice from making decisions on an ongoing basis throughout the recording process (only keeping what you know you will use) to keeping as many options open as possible (keeping everything and making the decisions at mix time). How have these forms of technology affected working practice and the psychology of performance? How do you know when you have the right take – especially when you’re going to compile it out of series of separate performances?

Assignments

Assignment 1

Assignment Title:    Compare and critically assess two historical record productions (not covered in module lectures) with an emphasis on performance, communication and the influence of the producer.
Length:         2500 words

Assignment 2

Assignment Title:    Prepare a production plan and approach that will capture a performance in view of a pre-defined brief, with aims and objectives clearly stated. Practical – record single performance according to the plan and critically evaluate.
Length:     Between 3 and 5 minutes of audio, 2500 word essay.