At this point, this is really starting to sound like a song. But, adding some percussion to It’s Not Happening will really bring it home.
It’s Not Happening percussion: rig run down
- Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphone
- IK Multimedia iRig Pre audio interface
- Beyerdynamic DT-100 headphones
- MXL V67G microphone
- Chicken Shake egg shaker
- Unbranded star-shaped tambourine
- Phil Cooper egg shaker: Phil is a mate of mine from the UK; a super-talented singer-songwriter, who gives egg shakers to the audiences at his shows for audience participation lols
- Unbranded microphone stand
- Pig Hog 10ft XLR cable
- Extream SD Audio Evolution for Mobile
- BandLab free, online, in-browser DAW, and companion app
- La-Z-Boy recliner chair
It’s Not Happening percussion: recording
There were three parts to the percussion in It’s Not Happening: clapping, shaker, and tambourine.
Now, unlike most other sections recorded, these weren’t done in a single session. Specifically, they comprised two sessions: one for clapping, and the other for shaker and tambourine.
Part one: clapping
As I have noted, It’s Not Happening refers to attending a show by Ace Bushy Striptease. Clapping is prominent feature in some of their best recordings, so, I wanted to incorporate them into this song.
To be realistic about the clapping session… I had ten minutes left after I finished tracking vocals at Astoria SoundWorks. So, I recorded the clapping there just to get my money’s worth from the $10 the room costs.
The setup and everything was the same as outlined in the last post. However, I stood back a bit further from the microphone than I did for recording vocals.
That’s literally it. Seriously, here’s a video.
I did that three times, so when it comes to mixing, I can give it a fuller sound.
Part two: shaker and tambourine
After that, it was back to my La-Z-Boy to record shaker and tambourine. As I have noted before, these are my go-to percussion instruments.
Step one – set up
To begin with, I set up my hardware in the usual way. On this occasion, I was using my phone, and the iRig Pre.
Step two – admin
Next, I got my software ready to go.
I know the WiFi in my apartment is relatively strong and stable, I moved tracking back into BandLab so it could sync with the desktop.
Because I had recorded the clapping as part of the vocal session, I had to export the clapping stems from Audio Evolution, upload them to Google Drive, then import them to the new BandLab project I created for percussion.
It was fine, but a bit of a faff.
Step three – recording It’s Not Happening percussion
I pretty much exclusively use a 4/4 timing in my music. With that, I’ve had an idea for ages to use both of my shakers in a song, where I’d use the Chicken Shake for every beat, and Phil’s shaker for every second and fourth beat.
Like this:
So, I finally pulled the trigger on that idea!
However, it was only used on the first section of the song, but I think it sounds mega!
Additionally, I threw in some tambourine in the middle and end sections.
Although a subtle addition to a track, tambourines are surprisingly loud. It was peaking so much, that even in reducing the level on the iRig, I had to move about four feet away, and try not to hit my hand too hard when I needed to do that.
Conclusion
| Duration: because it’s such a short song, it was almost impossible to screw up | Leakage: when percussion is isolated, you can hear the music – I need to watch the volume of my headphones |
| La-Z-Boy: so much easier and comfortable than going across the room to the dining table, or to Astoria SoundWorks | Con two: con two detail |
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How are you recording the tambourine? One of the tips I’ve always gone by, is putting the mic at ear height, and shaking the tambourine at waist height, so it’s on the periphery of the mic’s listening zone. That helps when mixing too, because it’s further back in the mix space.
Hmm… interesting – I’ll try that one next time. And how far back from the mic stand would you be, or is it at the mic stand, below the mic itself?
Yeah, as described in the post, I just got about four feet away from the mic.