Santa Susana High School

The Production of an EP
Gorilla Man

Katherine Corrigan
AP English 12
Ms. Bradley
October 25, 2016

I am producing an EP in order to certify in Instrumental music. Of course, that is not the only
reason for this project, as I am interested in music as a career and have personal interest in music

Corrigan 2

as a hobby. Music, especially composition, has always been a passion for me and the process of
recording is something that interests me very much. My project will produce a total of five to six
songs. While the EP will be available primarily through the internet, a small number of physical
copies will also be made. I will also arrange for at least one performance of some songs from the
EP either at a Santa Susana event or a local one.
I already have experience in playing musical instruments I have had somewhat limited
experience in musical composition, primarily for self-interest and never for others to hear. I have
personally never recorded music or engineered the sound of music on a computer program
before. I do not have as much experience as I would like to have with the engineering of sound
using reverberation and space within the sound.

A major part of this project is the technical side of recording music. According to Elio D Di
Claudio, Raffaele Parisi, and Gianni Orlandi, the localization of a source of sound in a place with
reverberating sound is important in order to capture realistic sound. Microphones in an
environment that reflects sound should be placed in areas where sound waves are clustered the
most. In addition to this placement, microphones should be placed close to one another in order

Corrigan 3

to minimize fluctuation in pitch and volume. Speakers should also be placed parallell to areas
with clusters of sound. The location of speakers in a reverberant environment is imperative to
how the audio sounds with the reverberation.
Reverberation in recording was also emphasized by Amandine Pras, Catherine Guastavino,
and Maryse Lavois . These authors describe the Tonmeister concept, a method for recording
classical music. The Tonmeister concept focuses on recording music in a way that mimics the
sound of music being actively listened to in a concert hall. The differences between analog and
digital equipment is also discussed.
After interviewing music producers, the general consensus that the authors reported was that
both analog and digital equipment have similar, if not equal, sound quality. Digital equipment,
however, provides the ability to continuously edit, revise, and improve music samples. Analog
equipment does not allow music producers to do this. The use of digital equipment has actually
increased expectations for higher quality music throughout post-production because of the
amount of editing and improvement that is possible with digital equipment. Some of the
producers involved in this research asserted that the recording of live performances will replace
studio recordings as the most popular setting to record music in. The

authors also state that music producers are now expected to take on multiple roles within music
production and have advanced knowledge of technology, especially digital recording equipment.
Paul Draper asserts that musicianship and artistry should be shown through the technology
of recording music, not compromised for it. Recordings should accurately display artistic
concepts and the conclusions of the performer. In addition to this, the artist should be able to
reach conclusions and reflect on their art throughout the process of recording.

Corrigan 4

Draper references artists who have used foreign objects like bowls, sticks, and glass while
recording in order to bring a new aesthetic to minimalist music. Paul Draper also warns that
inexperienced producers may feel eclipsed by the technologies available for production instead
of inspired. Draper suggests that inexperienced producers utilize improvisation and observe the
flow of the music and their musical intentions.
Klaus Scherer and Marcel Zentner write that musics purpose is to communicate emotion.
Structural features within music can affect both the quality and emotional impact of music. The
location or event can also affect emotional responses based on the acoustics of the location and
the context of the listeners state of mind.

After analyzing this research, I will focus on using digital equipment rather than analog
because of the technological advantages of digital equipment. The movement of sound in the
room that I am using as a studio will need to be studied. Also, I will pay more attention to
placement of microphones and how close the microphones are to one another.
I will also consider using foreign objects while recording in order to make the music more
interesting. While doing this, I must be careful in order to prevent the foreign objects from
upstaging the rest of the instrumentation.

Corrigan 5

While composing music, I will be more aware of the emotional and behavioral responses that
my music may affect. The music should also avoid a sense of commotion in order to elicit
empathy and postitive emotional responses.

Draper, Paul. On critical listening, musicianship, and the art of record production. Journal
on the Art of Record Production 8.1 (2013):1-2. Web. October 14th, 2016.
Tankel, Jonathan David. "The practice of recording music: Remixing as recoding." Journal of
Communication 40.3 (1990): 34-46. Web. October 14, 2016.

Pras, Amandine, Catherine Guastavino, and Mary Lavoie. The impact of

technological advances on recording studio practices. Journal of the American Society
for Information Science and Technology64.3 (2013): 612-626. Web. October 14, 2016.

Hracs, Brian J. a creative industry in transition: the rise of digitally driven independent
music production. Growth and Change 43.3 (2012): 442-461. Web. October 14, 2016.

Corrigan 6

Katz, Bob, and Robert A. Katz. Mastering audi: the art and the science. (2003).
Web. October 14 2016.

Morton, David. Off the record: the technology and culture of sound recording
in America. Rutgers University Press, 2000. Web. October 14 2016.

Shukla, Mrityunjaya, and Rajesh M. Hedgde. Significance of the music-group delay

spectrum in speech acquisition from distant microphones. 2010 IEEE International
Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing. IEEE, 2010. Web. October 14
2016.

Di Claudio, Elio D., Raffaele Parisi, and Gianni Orlandi. Multi-source localization in
reverberant environments by ROOT-MUSIC and clustering. Acoustics, Speech and
Signal Processing, 2000. ICASSP00. Proceedings. 2000 IEEE International Conference
on. Vol. 2. IEEE , 2000.Web. October 14 2016.

Fukada, Akira, Kyoshi Tsujimoto, and Shoji Akita. Microphone techniques for ambient
sound on a music recording. Audio Engineering Society Convention 103. Audio
Engineering Society, 1997. Web. October 14 2016.

Doyle, Peter. Echo and Reverb: Fabricating Space in Popular Music Recording, 19001960.(2005). Web. October 14 2016.

Corrigan 7

Scherer, Klaus R., and Marcel R. Zentner. Emotional effects of music: Production
rules. Music and emotion: Theory and research (2001): 361-392. Web. October 14 2016.