Multitracking
Posted: 20 Jan 2019 00:58
MULTITRACKING
When we play something on our keyboards we have just 'two hands' to do it (and feet as well if you have an organ). But as musicians, there is probably a lot more we would like to put into our music .. and that's where "multitracking" comes in. This is the ability to add into what you have recorded after the event.
It is not always easy to tell if a piece has been 'multitracked', as when you hear several things going on at the same time there could be a number of reasons for it. For starters, what you are hearing could be a PART in a STYLE, and there are several of those .. Bass, Chord 1, Chord 2, Pad, Phrase 1 and Phrase 2. Then there are the Multipads on keyboards which are used to add a bit of 'spice' to what you are playing. If you are playing an organ, you may be able to play notes on the lower manual at the same time as playing the tune on the upper .. and the voices on the upper and lower can be set up differently making it sound as though some multitracking has taken place. I have an example of this. A piece played by Charles Hughes (ChuckH) called A Trumpeter's Lullaby, written by American composer Leroy Anderson in 1949.
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https://app.box.com/s/uiov301m57msxn4xtxkmqnjbasu0is7z
Listening to that, I made this comment to Charles:
Charles' reply was as follows:
... so no "Multitracking" going on here.
When we play something on our keyboards we have just 'two hands' to do it (and feet as well if you have an organ). But as musicians, there is probably a lot more we would like to put into our music .. and that's where "multitracking" comes in. This is the ability to add into what you have recorded after the event.
It is not always easy to tell if a piece has been 'multitracked', as when you hear several things going on at the same time there could be a number of reasons for it. For starters, what you are hearing could be a PART in a STYLE, and there are several of those .. Bass, Chord 1, Chord 2, Pad, Phrase 1 and Phrase 2. Then there are the Multipads on keyboards which are used to add a bit of 'spice' to what you are playing. If you are playing an organ, you may be able to play notes on the lower manual at the same time as playing the tune on the upper .. and the voices on the upper and lower can be set up differently making it sound as though some multitracking has taken place. I have an example of this. A piece played by Charles Hughes (ChuckH) called A Trumpeter's Lullaby, written by American composer Leroy Anderson in 1949.
Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab
https://app.box.com/s/uiov301m57msxn4xtxkmqnjbasu0is7z
Listening to that, I made this comment to Charles:
Loved that combination of Trumpet and Horn. Tell me, as we can hear Trumpet (on the Upper?) and Horn and chord harmonies (on the Lower?) I presume that you do not actually have three hands, but did a 'double recording'? Multi-tracked it is the expression, I think.
Charles' reply was as follows:
Hugh .. I split the lower keyboard and put a horn on the right of the split which I occasionally brought into play by stretching my right hand between upper and lower keyboard; I've not tried doing a double recording as yet. Stretching to play two keyboards with one hand does take a lot of slow practice which, in the early days, seems to be getting nowhere, then one day it just sort of comes together. I had the solo Dixie Trumpet on the upper keyboad. I used the right foot switch to change the registrations.
... so no "Multitracking" going on here.