Clangers Part 1 Mock

We recently completed a mock Clangers part 1 test. This was my work:

Amy:

The majority of this song sits in the higher end of the sound spectrum. The voices are sung towards the top of the singer’s vocal range without going into falsetto, one of the guitar parts is played mostly on the higher strings with light finger picking which has a higher frequency. Another acoustic guitar plays some of the bassier notes which are closer towards the mid section of the sound spectrum. At numerous points, the song has high end orchestral accompaniment from strings like violins and violas, as well as woodwind instruments which sound like flutes and maybe recorders. At occasional points in the song, lower bass frequencies are sparingly used, like at 1:11 when a fill is played on kettle drums. At around 2:25 more wind instruments join the piece briefly to bring in more bass frequencies, these sound like oboes and bassoons.

The song is quite natural in terms of effects used, however one of the most distinctive features of the song is it's use of double tracked vocals which sing in unison for almost all of the piece. I think the composer has done this to thicken up the vocal part, without adding in harmonies and backing vocals to help keep the song sound raw and natural during the orchestrated parts. I think they have been very successful at doing this and it stops the song from feeling over the top when the orchestra comes in, but at the same time it stops the vocals from getting lost in the mix and being drowned out. Besides this there is very little in the way of effects, with no processing, and maybe only slight reverb added to the orchestrated parts. The vocals and guitars I think have been left intentionally dry, to help keep the song sound natural and intimate which I think works well.

The vocals sound very close in the mix and breathy which could indicate the absence of a pop filter, which I think works well to highlight the song’s intimate subject matter. It especially works well at times when the vocals drop down to what is almost a whisper like at around 1:04. There is quite a lot of panning, with both vocal parts panned slightly in each direction. The panning makes me feel like I’m sitting close to the musical ensemble when I hear the drums panned in different directions according to where they would be on the kit, this is most effective in the musical break at around 2:15 with the panned drum fill and a cymbal swell at the end. Most of the instrumentation sounds close apart from some of the woodwind parts which sit lower down in the mix.

Overall I think the composer is trying to make the listener think of a natural outdoor garden like environment, this is because of the close sounding vocals and folk style acoustic guitars, and the accompanying orchestra almost brings an element of a film score to this scene. I think that this is all very effective.

Imagine:

This song covers a wide range of the sound spectrum, with the piano part covering the low and mid range while the vocals and strings cover a higher part of the spectrum. This particular recording is of quite low fidelity, which makes me think of the acoustic environment as an unprofessional home recording studio for the vocals, piano and drums. However it is unlikely strings would be recorded in this way so could have been added on in a more professional studio.

In terms of the sonic field, the piano is the most immediate and present part of the mix, sitting at the front. At times the vocals sound quite distant through the use of quiet singing and reverb effects (0.15) while at other times the vocals sound much more prominent (0.41) where they are generally louder and maybe recorded at a closer distance from the mic. I think like the distant feel to the vocals was an intentional decision by the artist to help convey how distant the world they are singing of seems to them. Throughout the track the strings also sound distant and sit towards the back of the mix, except from the last chorus where they grow louder and move closer to the front of the mix.

The artist makes use of effects in this recording, most noticeably reverb which is heavily used on the piano. I think the artist has used this to help reinforce the dreamlike/idyllic imagery of the piece and its lyrics. Reverb is also used on the vocals which helps give them a feeling of distance from the listener. At times it also sounds like a very slight delay is used on both the vocals and the piano, which helps bring extra sustain to both parts and create a wider soundscape.

Eid Ma Clack Shaw

A large majority of this song is towards the lower range of the sound spectrum. Throughout most of the song, the vocals are in the low/mid range of the sound spectrum while a piano covers more of a mid section. Also prominent is the low end bass guitar and toms which also make the song more bass heavy. There is a large orchestrated string section in this song, with a majority of the strings creating lower frequencies like cellos and double basses, while a smaller section of high end violins adds ornamentation during parts of the song. A brass section is also used in a similar way to this. The sonic environment for this piece sounds like a tightly controlled professional studio environment due to the clean nature of the tone and high production element of the varied instrumentation. The vocals sound very intimate and close, I think this was an intentional choice by the artist and was achieved by singing without a pop shield.

This song has a wide sonic field, created through the use of panning. The most notable use of panning is on the toms which are panned in different directions, along with the lead guitar and horn section panned towards the left and the the strings and piano panned towards the right. In the middle are the vocals which are at the front of the mix, along with the drums and bass guitar which sit further towards the back of the mix. There isn’t a great depth of field to this song, the field is more narrow and wide.

There isn’t too much use of effects in this song. There is a lot of reverb on the tom sounds which are very booming and prominent, and it sounds like EQ boosts have been made to the low end of the toms.

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