SAE Magazine 13-3

INDEX ges, despite an important mely the appearance of al remained exclusive to ere the opportunity to store cale has appeared: perfor- nical reproduction. ution of the 20th Century ew way of storing music d the emergence of new ppearance of a new role and performer: the pro- ecame essential after the d which consolidated the tudio as a central element s the person ultimately in of the recording, has un- lution in the last few years. ork of many producers has r producer’ figure, typically mistakenly considered as . roduction depends directly nvolved in the customisa- g: microphones, preamps, multieffects,plugins,DAW analyse a mixdown? eative possibilities of new definitively rendered the olete in one field – pop he creators lack an educa- The personal use of electronic media, where each musician achieves a certain sound or certain mix, makes it possible to “identify musical styles and trends related to the recording mode and the use of certain machines” (M. Chion, 1994: 50). This aspect leads us to consider that, with an appro- priate methodology of analysis, it would be possible to establish schools of music production equivalent to artistic movements linked to musical trends with- in classical music and the fine arts. An extrapolation of some of the more tradition- al compositional musical resources could give us some guidelines for production analysis. In the Baroque period the desired contrast between one section and another was achieved by adding or reducing the number of instruments. The alternation between tutti and concertino in Baroque could be compared to, in contemporary music production, the use of a transparent sound in the verses of a song against distorted chorus- es, producing a fuller sound, or alternating between a stanza without panning, where all elements are placed in the centre, and a chorus where the stereo field opens through guitars and doubled vocals. A song can be exceptionally well recorded, can be well mixed and well mastered, but on top of this, one determining factor is that the production has to be able to convey emotion. This is achieved through the personalised use of technological resources. Each section of a song is usually given a different sound treatment which brings about a level of emo- tion in the listener. ➤

SAE Magazine 13-3

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