Lessons

Lesson Info

Tracking Group Vocals

Okay so uh we're actually doing this class vocally in the order that I tracked vocals in the studio which is singing than screaming singing gang vocals so gang in gang singing and then gang chance like yelling and that's what we're gonna do right now the gang saying in the game chance so I made this stuff easy for yu um I actually have to go into another song that I wrote this song is called who needs sleep uh it was when I was preparing for this vocal class uh and I was like after I song with a gang singing part in it and it was like really late and I was really tired and burnt out so I was inspired this is what happened and you guys were going to sing the the ohio part and uh we can leave we can leave the rest I think we might not have time for us this way thank you uh so we're gonna attempt a group vocal now everyone so we'll just have you guys do the ohios let's get this thing set up so we're gonna use this mic the phone uh may as well just leave the pop filter their place in case ...

anyone's area it's over there all right, so whenever I do group vocals or whatever I do group vocals we um there's a few different ways to do what you can do it with headphones or without headphones um we don't have enough channels for probably everyone that's going to do it to use headphones so I'll show you how to do it without headphones which is pretty cool um and when you're singing if it's sometimes it's actually better to do without headphones because when people see in a group they all kind of like I don't know do this thing where I kind of comes together yeah like everyone kind of matches pitch with each other so if everyone is like singing the closest pitch that you khun still you still kind of pitch correct the group vocals actually so like if everyone is collectively flat or collectively sharp you can move it up just a little bit remove it down if you need to so uh sometimes it's more advantageous to actually uh singing group without headphones um and now a question I'm sure somebody has where do you track group vocals? Is it in the vocal booth or is it in like the drum room or something? I like doing it in a really open room like a drum room or somebody that because uh natural reverb on grew vocals sounds so huge for whatever reason it's just like it's hard to to fake hopefully this room sounds cool can has has a little bit of a delaying it not delay but river alright so that is five one little trick whenever you're not using headphones is on the ropes on the master channel for you all right, whatever you want us to take this cube I don't really you don't have to use this one normally is the one that comes with pro tools but these plug ins are completely in a different order than I wouldn't really do it so I just throw uh this uh, high pass filter the bass because the base is what, like really carries into the mic when you're doing group vocals for whatever reason I'm basically just cutting out the face you don't want to turn the click on okay? So uh who's gonna sing the more people that saying the better all right, come on up, come on up, come on out true everybody everyone can you build a hit pitch is here so everybody needs to be oh, everybody needs to kind of gather on the mic in a equal distant if you dont know that means means equal distance from the microphone uh in like a circular pattern. So we're using cardio oid which on lee gets the front if you're in a big room sometimes cool to turn on the omni directional pattern so you could get people around the whole entire microphone that's how you would do that so all right, the let me just play one time normally I would really crank this uh these don't go very loud this might be clipping at home or whatever but we're just gonna do this for demonstrations sake so just uh no the first one um and then there is also another one so let me can you guys just clap so I could get a all right all right good. I just wanted to get a check and then right when says gotta just cut it off okay you guys got it yes so ok so I want you guys the guys is probably getting pretty loud for you it's probably required because might be in your range easily so it's going to be loud we're all going to be loud for all loud together you won't hear people individually okay except for you you guys will probably hear me because I'm a mike on me so that was good that was good okay? We're not done that's not the end of it that's not the end of it all right actually do have to turn up the I okay, well you guys did it are doing a good job I'd normally do at least three of these so let's do two more cool. Yeah. Okay, I will say this no, I thought this was gonna happen but it's not happening I usually have tto weed out the people that cannot sing and you guys were good I didn't have to wed anybody else how do you do that tactfully you don't you're out even though it happened like ok you got you can't sing you got to get out you got to get out and that's it that's how it happens it's like we don't have time to mess around let's get this done okay so we got one more to do give yourselves a hand come on guys that was great idea hire you guys for my micro vocals won't do them hey so we could even whenever we do this so let's let's hear what we just aa group angels or something that really is good good job okay so um what's cool to make a group sound even bigger is uh well dio like lowe's also sometimes called the harmonies and stuff but that's basically how you do it whenever you cut the low end on the master before you do it without headphones it uh it really is pretty good about not carry into the mike too much crackling that you hear I don't I have no idea what that is uh just so you know that's not normal it could be just a slight technical glitch or something but normally you would get in there and try to make sure that you get rid of that uh ah so are you disconnect with are you gonna leave all three tracks and they're just like that yeah like I'm a line yeah well no yeah whenever I get I'm gonna actually do editing and mixing on group. Yeah. Okay, so now the next one uh is we'll show you we're going to go back into the session that tommy saying on called reassemble and we have a group vocal a little a little different kind and I like your voice I like your voice a lot thank that my speed is your thing isn't it yeah yeah yeah and you wrote that the night before you were like well, I mean it was one of the one of them nights I was freaking out like the talent we have here on creative live it just blows my mind that I want but I will say this I watched been preparing for this class I I did a lot of stuff to prepare for this class, but one of the things was watching youtube videos of other people doing the same class basically and the material that they used for the classes was like the musical material was horrid it was like no it's like I don't want to learn from you like this is like do you have talent like should I be taking your advice so I figure hey, you know, like if you actually hear a good end result, you don't have to take my word for it you can listen to it yourself so um I don't no I thought it was pretty funny when I actually wash that so so uh okay import it's important I can't even see the bottom of the screen sorry bear with me okay, so uh I have a little trick when I do these kind of gang vocals let's find him for you these are pretty you know so it's no where I made a last minute change that I want you guys try uh not know where I just wanted you say no we're safe so this is how the rhythm is going to go see oh it no no where where? Safe um now there's a few different ways we can do this I demonstrated the over the speakers I'm gonna demonstrate another one now. Okay, I have on my phone uh I have a metro map that I use uh okay uh uh uh uh there's a there's a bunch of metro no math so you khun you can get for free or whatever it doesn't you have an iphone or anything like that so what I do is I'll just find the tempo of the song one sixty eight um so come on up here, guys. So this is what's gonna happen? This is another really, really cool uh now all I do all I'm going to do is simply start this metro nope so I'm going to hear the metrodome and I'm going to be the conductor for everyone over here so this is a really simple gru vocal so it will work easily um so you're not gonna hear any music it's just gonna be us and that's it so whenever you do a group vocal and you wanted to make it to make it sound is biggest possible especially in this style of music uh you want to yell you want to almost scream you want to be low anyone to scream I don't know if you will be able to do this but um yeah just you actually might want to sit this one out so anybody that has like kind of a high voice will kind of cut through so what you want is you want something giant men you know just like screaming yeah so just go is not giant man man I like that option so but the best way to get the biggest sounding group is not just saying no where it's like really pushing your voice no yeah yeah you want to be at loud so loud that is distorting so is this going to be very, very loud and this is why I saved for the last thing that we do today because it totally tears up my voice and it's a short thing so it's okay so I'll be all right so I do is hit record here guys clap just make sure it's going good um so it's ah so that's three for no where but it's safe no no where we're safe we're safe yeah so so safe comes in on a half that's a half measure so it's like cardio no where we're safe captain so no so okay no it's going to go like this you can't really think about the music has sometimes it'll be disorienting so it's gonna be one, two, three, four no where safe okay and that's going to fit in the song you have to really have understanding of the part if you do it to no music so and I'm just gonna keep my hand in time with the metrodome and so so were just on time with this so I'll be want to know yes good okay, I'll see you again so no where good no worser know where say good rangers and that's it and we did it three times waited three times you can do it more you do it five times if you want uh but you've got to keep in mind when you when you're doing group vocals just anticipate people's voices going out just like everything else that we've been talking about when it comes to vocals so all you gotta do is just come on, line it up and even if it doesn't line up exactly there are a lot of tools to help let me know where to go where no s oh, there it is we owe you and that there's no effects on that or anything that's just how we sound he has it good with the group vocals ah that's all this is a good place to start for the day yeah, all right, cool well, let's ask some questions you have any questions? Final questions of the day for you guys all right, but we have someone in line. What do you got, drew? We d'oh let's see mark zero says to match edit to those two takes would use elastic audio or something similar teo or use village girl line for the group vocals yeah group vocals or the single layered vocals when you're doing just well we get into editing in detail tomorrow. Okay, but for group vocals I would I might just use um something like elastic audio or something just because it's it's a little more complex than a single vocal okay and uh andrew from edmonton says do you always double your main tracks for screaming? No, no, not always uh if the singer is very strong um it's it's awesome toa leave them as as one or if they have a certain kind of voice like tommy has really has a strong pitch in his screams, so if I was recording his band I might just end up doing one track because two tracks might kind of sound a little weird pitch wise but uh it all depends on the actual vocalist ok um one day um clint says hey andrew and creative lives andrew have the sm seven built in engages it said toe flat so when that was what it wass usually use it flat or no okay, I would I would turn on the presents boost and and the, uh the low end cut I just have have the loan cut here so I didn't but normally I would and I actually couldn't find something small enough to switch it for this for the show, but normally I would do that can I just say how cool that wass now this is like my favorite day on credible I've ever even though I was going like this time the screaming was happening that was things like girl had drums in here and guitars when I did I mean, come on yeah, but the screaming scares me it's screaming it's scary no good hiding I loved I loved I loved getting to hear it just with nothing else going just getting to hear screen time with that's awesome single time because I'm like I sound and now he has sound like such a nice guy that given that all the time in the process and it all comes together you're like, oh wow, so I tend to try to suspend judgement in the process because I'm screaming in a room it doesn't sound nice fit when it's done well, and I'm not saying me, but like for him. When it's done well, well, it sounded. It sounded awesome in the mix. It's, kind of cool, and you guys all gang, go close your eyes. Yeah, way, just for not being a large man.