Last Friday I had the wonderful opportunity of recording a song in a professional recording studio for the very first time. Unfortunately, there was a mishap in the balancing of my audio file and because I can’t post my full cover of Chasing Cars this week I’ll share about my experience with you all instead.
Walking into the recording studio was intimidating at first. I have my own mic at home, but it is not at all comparable to the one I used at the studio. It even had a pop filter –– something I’ve always been strangely fascinated by. The room I recorded in was completely soundproof and I could see all the fancy recording equipment through a giant glass window I faced. I recorded my song a few times, with my first run-through oddly being the best. I got the chance to hear playbacks of all my takes with effects already added to them.
Initially, my goal was to add multiple layers to my recording, which as of now consists of only my voice and 12-string guitar. In earlier weeks, I had been working on a super rough cut of Chasing Cars. I used the GarageBand App on my phone, limiting me to only 4 lines of instrumentals. The first line was my voice and rhythm guitar, the second was a bass line, the third was backup guitar plus harmonies, and the last was a riff. Though my resources were very limited, I was able to pull off a decent sounding cover. From there, I had hoped to create something even greater using the recording studio as a tool.
My plan for this upcoming week is to add at least one harmony line as well as backup guitar and a riff, which I will record using my personal mic. Can’t wait to share my cover of Chasing Cars with you all!
Words & Images by Samantha Fong
