Overdubbing
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Overdubbing (also known as layering)
In vocal performances, the performer usually listens to an existing recorded performance (usually through headphones in a recording studio) and simultaneously plays a new performance along with it, which is also recorded. The intention is that the final mix will contain a combination of these "dubs".[4]
Another kind of overdubbing is the so called "tracking" (or "laying the basic tracks"), where tracks containing the rhythm section (usually including drums) are recorded first, then following up with overdubs (solo instruments, such as keyboards or guitar, then finally vocals). This method has been the standard technique for recording popular music since the early 1960s. Today, overdubbing can be accomplished even on basic recording equipment, or a typical PC equipped with a sound card,[4] using digital audio workstation software.
Because the process of overdubbing involves working with pre-recorded material, the performers involved do not have to ever have physically met each other, nor even still be alive. In 1991, decades after her father Nat King Cole had died, Natalie Cole released a "virtual duet" recording of "Unforgettable" where she overdubbed her vocals onto her father's original recording from the 1960s. As there is no limit in timespan with overdubbing, there is likewise no limit in distance, nor in the number of overdubbed layers. Perhaps the most wide-reaching collaborative overdub recording was accomplished by Eric Whitacre in 2013, where he edited together a "Virtual Choir" of 8,409 audio tracks from 5,905 people from 101 countries.[5]
History
Perhaps the earliest commercial issue of recordings with overdubs was by
A foreshadow of overdubbing can be seen with Sidney Bechet, an American jazz musician who made a pair of famous overdubbed sides in 1941 entitled "The Sheik of Araby" and "Blues of Bechet". The multi-instrumentalist recorded the clarinet, soprano, tenor saxophone, piano and the bass and drum parts for both songs, and then he recorded each track separately on top of one another to create two single tracks. The recordings were then issued as "Sidney Bechet's One Man Band".[6]
The 1946
In 1948, experiments mixing sound effects and musical instruments made by
The invention of magnetic tape opened up new possibilities for overdubbing, particularly with the development of multitrack recording with sel-sync. One of the first known commercially released overdubbed recordings was "Confess" for Mercury Records by Patti Page in 1948, although this overdubbing was done with acetate. With the popularity of this recording, Page recorded "With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming" using the same overdubbing technique.[8] The vocals were listed as "Voices by: Patti Page, Patti Page, Patti Page, Patti Page".[citation needed]
Les Paul's advancements in recording were seen in the adoption of his techniques by artists like Buddy Holly. In 1958, Holly released "Words of Love" and "Listen to Me", which were composed with overdubbing for added instrumentation and harmonies.[13]
Examples
Overdubs can be made for a variety of reasons. One of the most obvious is for convenience; for example, if a
Overdubbing has sometimes been viewed negatively, when it is seen as being used to artificially enhance the musical skills of an artist or group, such as with studio-recorded inserts to live recordings, or backing tracks created by session musicians instead of the credited performers. The early records of the Monkees were made by groups of studio musicians pre-recording songs (often in a different studio, and some before the band was even formed), which were later overdubbed with the Monkees' vocals. While the songs became hits, this practice drew criticism. Michael Nesmith in particular disliked what overdubbing did to the integrity of the band's music.[14] Additionally, in working with producer Butch Vig, Kurt Cobain had expressed a disdain for double-track recording. Vig had to reportedly convince Cobain to use the recording technique by saying, "The Beatles did it on everything. John Lennon loved the sound of his voice double-tracked."[15]
In December 2023 Paul McCartney put the concept of overdubbing in the spotlight by re-releasing an underdubbed version of the Paul McCartney and Wings album Band on the Run. The underdubbed tracks highlight the bare-bones nature of the album's original recordings made in the EMI Records studio in Lagos, Nigeria before additional instruments were added in London.[16]
).See also
- AMPEX
- Auto-Tune
- Dub (disambiguation)
- Dubbing (music)
- Dubbing (filmmaking)
- Multitrack recording
- Punch in/out
- Recording studio as an instrument
- Music tracker
References
- ^ "Recording Process". Audio House. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-240-81069-0.
- ^ The Carpenters - Richard explains overdubbing (YouTube, published Feb 11, 2011)
During a live concert by The Carpenters, Richard Carpenter explains how his and his sister's voices are made to sound like many more voices by the technique of overdubbing. The band then gives a demonstration of layering voices. - ^ ISBN 978-1-136-12533-1.
- ^ "Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 4: Fly to Paradise". YouTube.
- ^ Palmer, R (February 3, 1982). "The Pop Life". The New York Times.
- ^ Rich, Sharon (2014). Sweethearts: The Timeless Love Story - On-Screen and Off - Between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.
- ^ Sylvester, B (May 30, 2003). "10 questions for patti page". Goldmine. 29: 26.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8108-8202-7.
- ISBN 978-0-688-08467-7.
- ^ Cleveland, B (December 2009). "Les paul 1915–2009: Les paul's new sound". Guitar Player (43): 86–87.
- ^ Johnston, R (April 1997). "Gearheads: Les paul". Guitar Player. 31: 31–32.
- ^ Dahl, B (February 1, 2008). "The crickets are chirping". Goldmine. 34: 20–21.
- ISBN 1-59223-372-4.
- ^ Fricke, D (September 13, 2001). "The tenth anniversary of nirvana's "nevermind": A guide to nirvana's bootlegs - vital episodes in kurt cobain's life". Rolling Stone Magazine.
- ^ Postelwait, Cameron. "Band On The Run – Underdubbed Mix Review". SleepyJack.
Further reading
- Modern Recording Techniques, by David Miles Huber and Robert E. Runstein. October 1, 2009 0240810694