Today's the day! This morning, I received my Bachelor of Music in Classical Saxophone Performance from Peabody. It was strange to have graduation over Zoom, but I'm grateful for my education nonetheless. I'm also incredibly excited for my last year of school, in which I will be finishing my remaining two degrees: A Bachelor of Music in Recording Arts and Sciences, and a Master of Arts in Recording Arts and Sciences: Acoustics Concentration. Before that, however, I'll be using this summer to work on building my audio and acoustics skills whenever possible. Here's what I'm doing to supplement my education: 

-Remixing and mastering Tanglewood recordings 
​-Submitting to the AES Mary Lea Simpson Scholarship 
-Enrolling in a number of architecture and drawing courses to supplement my acoustics skills 
-Working live sound for livestreams put on by Live Arts Maryland
-Brainstorming ideas for my Acoustics Practicum 
-Reviewing audio concepts in textbooks, practicing my skills 
-Building a portfolio and hopefully beginning to construct a professional website
-Reaching out to my high school (where the dream started!) to give talks/masterclasses to those students
-Attending online masterclasses for recording/mixing/mastering tips
-Writing music reviews! 
-Investing in new software, and hardware to build my inventory and begin to market myself
-Engaging with acoustics students and my professor on a bi-weekly basis to ensure we are meeting our goals!
-Making connections with other creatives, not limited to engineers 

and the big one: 

Putting myself and my work out there, unapologetically and asking for serious feedback. 

...however, I believe there is no better way to spend this quarantined summer! Apart from these activities, I will also be continuing to practice, read, and travel. I truly believe this summer is a blessing in disguise for us young artists and engineers. This time is so valuable to creating, building, practicing, and honing our craft so the world is ready for us to bloom when it opens with an updated idea of our previous 'normalcy.' This time is also valuable for rebalancing ourselves and transitioning into a more centered, professional lifestyle.  

With the COVID-19 outbreak, the Boston Symphony Orchestra has decided to cancel the Tanglewood season, which includes the fellowship program. I'm super bummed out, but I'm attempting to see this cancellation in a positive light. If I spend this summer working on myself and my skills, I know that my Tanglewood summer in 2021 will be even better than this summer would have been because I will be better, smarter, more accomplished and more confident. I look forward to returning to Tanglewood, and I will cherish the moments I had there while I am mixing my files from last summer! 

Last semester, I uploaded my mixing process for the Recording IV Fall 2019 final project. I figured that I should do the same for this project, to demonstrate my latest process. I cannot post the completed files, as the multitrack do not belong to me, however, when Hedera releases their new album, you should definitely check out the song "All-Right." (Note: The mix on their album is not mine, but listening to it will give you an idea of the sounds with which I was working!)

Here goes: 

Mix Construction: 
     Upon the cancellation of in-person classes for the remainder of the semester, I reached out to Hedera to ask if they had any multitracks that I could mix for the project. Richie, the bassist and a former RAS Graduate student, offered the multitracks from Hedera’s upcoming LP. He allowed me to choose the song that excited me most, and sent over the .ptx in early April. He took the time to provide me with the following information about how it was recorded, some details to look out for, and some things he did to improve the sound of his own mix of All Right. The recording was done in a large church in NJ, and Richie had been experimenting with mid-side during the time of their session. He also explained that he was very unhappy with the drum sound, and ended up replacing the snare and kick with samples for his own mix of the song. This in mind, I began my quest for making the best of the material provided. 
     I studied the band’s Instagram to develop some semblance of an artistic vision for this song. Richie calls them a fusion of jazz and rock with an indie vibe. They enjoy taking Polaroids and may be visually described as ‘hipster’ based on their looks. With this in mind, I began thinking about how to create a new-old kind of sound; vintage inspired, with a modern twist. 
     I began by envisioning what the band would look like to an audience, therefore trying to visualize where the musicians would be on stage in a cool jazz lounge or a small, dingy rock venue. I had seen this song premiered at The Crown back in October, so I used my memory to recall placements on stage and the atmosphere, which I translated into positions on my pan pots. 
     I felt that the drums should be the foundation of the mix because the room sound projects the idea that Hedera envisioned a wash of drums. Therefore, I kept the kick, snare, and single OH in the center while slightly panning toms to create a wider image. I nearly hard-panned the rooms to allow the ‘wash’ idea to manifest itself. 
     Maintaining the idea of the drums as the foundation of the mix, I built the bass sound on top of the kick sound. Although both are panned to the center, I focused on EQing them in such a way that they would be distinct from one another, while also working together. I feel that I was able to carve this EQ well, lending to a strong sense of the mix being ‘grounded.’ I also panned the sub-bass in the middle, allowing it to act as the foundation of the foundation because it is more felt than heard. After this, I decided on where the myriad of guitars, Hammond, aux percussion and sound FX fit into the mix. 
     I began by summing the Mid-Side guitars into stereo aux channels. This included the acoustic guitar and the lead guitar. I wanted the string sound of the acoustic guitar to be a constant throughout the song, so I chose to pan it closer to center. I chose to hard-pan the lead guitar to provide the necessary width for the melody to be strong, while also allowing the other guitars to be present and clear in the mix. 
     I slowly incorporated each of the other guitars into the mix, grouping them together and creating individual aux returns as I deemed necessary or fitting. I tried to pan the myriad of guitars so that the image was very wide, but also never empty. Accents fill the open “spaces” in the image during tutti sections, bringing colors and fuzz to contrast with the cleaner sounds of the mellow sections. 
      Since the Hammond provided a softer version of the guitar melody lines, I chose to pan that widest, allowing for it to peak forward during quieter sections and act as an embellishment for larger sections. 
     For the aux percussion, I made panning decisions based upon any instance of the sounds in the OH signal to avoid any comb filtering. I panned them in a similar fashion to the myriad of guitars: in the empty spaces of the image, so that they can be distinguishable, but also enhance the mix with a certain new color. 
     Finally, I had to decide what to do with the “Organ Noise” as Richie called it. The noise is a swell that almost sounds like the rev of a motor. After looking at its placement in the song, I thought it would be necessary to keep it in the middle so that it did not get lost or overlooked among the many colors in the sides of the image. 
Per standard protocol, I placed Chris’ vocals in the middle. 
            Then, I considered my interpretation of the song itself. Although it is a quasi- ‘love song,’ it is an overwhelming wash of colors, a large image of power and grit but also warmth. This vision influenced my EQ decisions. Per standard protocol, I began by working with the drums and bass to find a good balance of clarity and warmth, with a large, looming shadow. Since the drums were especially difficult to mix, given the tracking choices, I spent much of my time looking for EQs that could bring some clarity to their sound. The VEQ plug-ins provided me with the necessary clarity and flexibility to bring out punch in the kick, snap in the snare, and beef in the toms. The OH was very bright, yet also contained quite a bit of kick. I used a simple EQ on the Waves Q10 plug-in to tame the mid-highs and avoid any muddiness created by the kick in the OH. I also added compression to the kick and the snare to make them pop in the mix. I also added the dbx-160 to the Rooms aux to provide some parallel compression and shape the drum sound. 
            For the bass, I used the Decapitator as a “distortion pedal” in order to design the kind of harmonic distortion I liked before routing it to the Waves GTRAmp2Cab3 plug-in. The Decapitator allowed me to bring a brightness to the bass that helped distinguish it from the kick, and the amp sim dirtied the unrealistically clean DI sound for a real, rock bass feel. I added slight compression to the bass using the dbx-160. Then, I added the sub-bass to the bass sound. The signal lacked clarity and character, so I used the Radiator plug-in to help provide these qualities. 
            I spent the majority of my time working on improving the guitar sounds. I primarily chose to work with the Tonelux Tilt plug-in to achieve warmer gritty guitars, rather than the harsh grit provided by the tracks themselves. I shaped each individual guitar sound based on its purpose in the mix: lead, fuzz, diamond, verse, chorus, etc. This allowed for a wash of colors and tones in the wide image. 
            For the Hammond, I used the Sie-Q and Tonelux Tilt to develop the kind of sound I liked that was both distinguishable and clear, but not too harsh. I designed the organ swell sound with the Radiator plug-in, to give it more a clear, yet warm undulating sound. 
      On the aux percussion, I applied very slight EQ using the Tonelux Tilt to avoid any harshness and brightness introduced by the tambourine and triangle. 
           Finally, I worked on the vocals. To create my vocal sound, I used the Sie-Q to emphasize the mid-frequencies where vocal fundamentals occur. I also used the De-Esser to help mitigate the sibilance of his voice, and I clip gained his breaths to be less aggressive and less obvious in the mix. 
        I added compression to many of the elements of the mix, including kick, snare, drum rooms, vocals, and the majority of the guitars. The compression on the kick and snare was primarily to provide more punch and snap, whereas the compression used on the bass, guitars, and vocals was for the purpose of providing a color and also taming some of the inconsistencies in the transients of the instruments and vocals. I also add some harmonic distortion to the organ drone and the tambourine to bring them out of the mix in an interesting way.
       To make the mix come alive and to place it in a space, I added three types of reverb and a delay. I refrained from using reverb on the drums, as the rooms provided a decent sense of large space and image. I used the Peabody Studio A EMT 240 IR as well as the BX22E spring emulation interchangeably on the myriad of guitars, depending on the tone and inclusion of FX pedals. This was competed by using the Altiverb 7 plug-in. I also EQ’d the plate reverb to better fit my vision of the sound of the space: a bit darker than the tone of the guitars send to it. I also used RVerb as a reverb and early reflection designer for the shakers, which sounded too large and washed out when applying other types of reverb to them. 
           For the vocals, I used the EMT 240 in addition to the EchoBoy. I wanted to balance the sound in a space while also putting slight vintage rock embellishment on it. I think that the balance between the two effects works well, provided a more analog idea of a rock sound. 
            After making all of my creative decisions, I spent many hours tweaking and rebalancing, automating, and listening. Once happy with my mix, I printed it, and reimported it into ProTools to begin mastering. 
 
Mastering Construction: 
            Although using Ozone may be a bit taboo in this class, I decided to use it to help me master, given the limited plug-ins at my disposal. I created a chain of modules in Ozone that helped me to master All Right with the indie vibe and vintage/new-old idea in mind. In addition, I considered where Hedera would be releasing their music and decided on an appropriate goal for LUFS: Hedera generally receives the most listeners from Spotify, which has a streaming loudness of -14 LUFS. 
            My chain of modules in Ozone was as follows: 
            
EQ --> Vintage EQ -->Vintage Compressor --> Vintage Tape --> Vintage Limiter -->LEVELS 
 
      On the first EQ, I used a gentle high-pass filter around 20Hz to remove any mud in the sub-bass region. I experimented with some low-pass and high-shelf filters for the high frequencies, but determined it was not a necessary addition to the sound. With the vintage EQ, I used the MS processing to smoothly cut the 20kHz region in order to tame soften the crash of the OH in the middle. I experimented with other EQ on the side, but ultimately felt that the image was generally balanced. I attempted to have a very transparent compression sound, averaging about 1dB with the Vintage Compressor. I set my release time to be fairly lengthy so the sound would be smooth. Then, I sent the signal through the Vintage Tape simulator, which allowed me to design the harmonics and frequency emphasis I envisioned the song to have. Finally, I used the Vintage Limiter in tandem with the Levels module to ensure that I was meeting the LUFS loudness for Spotify. Spotify requires that the loudness is about -1 dB TP max in addition to -14 LUFS; therefore, I chose my limiter settings primarily based upon the integrated TP and LUFS readings of the song. To further check my loudness levels, I used the Waves WLM Plus plugin. 
 
        In conclusion, I believe that my mix, and ultimately my master, best represent the artistic vision I had for this song, based upon the artistic choices made for their previous album and the mixes for the upcoming LP. 

If you have questions, please contact me! I'd love to discuss my reasoning for choices or how the sounds are manipulated with each type of tool/plug-in. I'll be here all summer 😂

Stay tuned🎙

through senior year! And what a senior year it will be. 

With the outbreak of the coronavirus, my university has decided to transfer to online learning for the foreseeable future, which is necessary but also rouses many questions regarding how the recording and acoustics classes will be translated. What of the final project I was so looking forward to? What about the awesome acoustics field trips to halls in the DMV area? And the Noise Control field trip to one of the acoustic manufacturers in Pennsylvania?  Man, the remainder of this semester is going to be so strange. I'm just glad I had the opportunity to perform my senior recital before this! (If you'd like to watch some of it, click here) 

Zoom classes and lessons. No ensembles. Super strange, but I think we can make it work! 

For my recording class, the recording 'element' of the final project has been removed. We will be given a multitrack that we can mix, and we will now be required to submit a master of this track as well. I have reached out to the band with whom I was supposed to record, Hedera, and I'll be using a track that their bassist and audio engineer (and my close friend!) recorded. I'm excited to begin working on this project because I love the music that these guys put out. If you don't know Hedera, check them out here. During our class periods, my teacher will be giving 'Mix with the Masters' style classes, where he will mix a song in realtime, while explaining his process. In order to distribute audio from ProTools, we have been using the AudioMovers plug-in to stream session audio in real time. This plug-in has been so helpful, and I look forward to working with Drew and others on sessions and getting feedback on my work in real time. 

As for my acoustics classes (Audio and Acoustical Measurements, Architectural Acoustics II, and Noise Control), the projects have been modified so that they are doable via individual or group work over Zoom. Noise Control has the easiest transition of my schedule this semester, simply because it is more 'textbook' based. Architectural Acoustics II is mostly discussion based, therefore, this transition has also not been too difficult. I quite like that, since we have limited access to our materials at school, this class can cater discussions to exactly what the students are interested in from a strict theory and practice perspective rather than a statistical one. Measurements has had the most difficulty with the transition, as many of the tools and materials we need to complete are projects have become inaccessible. In a similar fashion to AAII, we have adapted to a more discussion based format, with projects that deal primarily with research rather than application. 

Finally, my saxophone lessons! One would think that you could relax post-recital. Not me! I  began learning a brand new horn (soprano) and new repertoire that will carry me through the remainder of the semester. Although I am not yet convinced that I enjoy playing soprano, I have begun to embrace its sound and the joy that comes with playing the interesting combination of repertoire available for it. 

With the closure of Baltimore City, and most of the US, there is no opportunity to work for Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in the next few months. ASP help is practically at a stop, since the projects must now be completed in every student's home studio environment with only the media they recorded in the Peabody studios prior to their closure over spring break.  While this allows for very little recording opportunity, it also allows for much time to revisit and re-mix recordings from Tanglewood and other past work. I am happily doing so. Back in late fall and winter, I began to revisit a recording I did at Tanglewood for the AES Mary Lea Simpson Scholarship. With the extra time and nowhere to go, I'll be able to give this recording the attention I have long wanted to give. I am so excited for this journey! And I look forward to the day when I can return to campus and return to audio. Until then, I'll be here. 

And as always, stay tuned. More exciting things are coming; I feel it. 

​🎙

Hey there! Welcome back to my adventure. This semester has felt both incredibly long and short - but I can assure you, there was a lot packed into it! The early months of the fall kept me quite busy with performance gigs, while the remainder of the semester, I often found myself in the studio and the library. 

This year, my Recording IV class focuses on rock and pop genres. My class is taught by the esteemed Drew Mazurek, who is not only an excellent engineer, but also a confident teacher and passionate, kind person. This semester, Drew decided to teach the class "backward," so we began by exploring mixing for these particular genres. Drew has a starkly different, yet much appreciated, philosophy on mixing technique than some of my other professors and mentors. This perspective really opened my eyes (and ears!) to a different way of listening, honing in on a desired sound, and creating a soundscape that best represents the performance. Drew spent about a month and a half exploring EQ and compression techniques, as well as his favorite plug-ins, his ProTools template system, and his internal routing techniques for effects sends. 

In mid-October, Drew invited our class to begin taking classes at his home studio. It was during these classes that we began to receive the important recording information, techniques, and experience that would later ameliorate the mixing process. Drew kindly asked a friend's band if they would like to come in and have their songs recorded during our classes, to which they happily obliged. The band, now called Roadside Pet, was a standard rock group with drums, guitars, bass, and vocals. During these sessions, Drew focused on the microphone techniques for one instrument, and we tracked all of the songs the group wanted to have recorded. Drew also made sure that each student had the opportunity to sit at the console and engineer part of the session every week. I found this hands-on experience to be the most helpful part of the recording classes. I am more excited for next semester, when the hands-on experience format becomes the primary format for our classes!! 

Our fall project was, per usual, a mixing project! This project included specific requirements regarding the usage of EQ, Compression, automation, aux tracks, effects sends, etc. Drew also asked that we provide a short report about our choices to accompany our mixes. For this project, all students were provided with the same set of files: The Telefunken multitrack of "You & Me & The Radio" by Human Radio. Again, I am super excited for next semester, when all of our mixes will be different! (For reference, the traditional spring project of Recording IV is a tracking and mixing project. You must find your own band and record and mix a track for submission. I can't wait to hear everybody's work!). This song had quite a few components, and needed a bit of work on all of the sounds. Below, I have included a brief summary of my report for the project. For those that are unfamiliar with audio terms, I have included brief explanations and I encourage you to comment and ask questions! 

First, I started by envisioning what the band would look like to an audience, therefore trying to visualize where everyone would be on stage and what kind of venue this would be in. From past mixing experience, I knew that the drums (specifically the kick and snare), bass, and vocals should be generally centered. After this, I decided on where the background vocals, keys and guitar should fit into the mix. Since the Hammond provided this undulating sound, I chose to pan that widest, which added an interesting back-and-forth effect between the ears. I panned the piano to the right, but having a wide image to support the full spectrum of keys. For the guitars, I panned Gtr 1 and Gtr 2 on opposite sides to provide a back and forth effect similar to the Hammond. I also made similar panning decisions with the solo guitars (3, 4, 5), which I panned L, Center L, and R, respectively. With stereo lead vox, I wide panned, and I panned the background vocals spanning from far left to far right. I didn’t want this to sound like a studio recording, so I felt that panning was important in helping to identify where, visually, each person would stand in, say, a medium-sized rock venue. 

 Then, I considered my interpretation of the song itself. Although it is a ‘love song,’ it is a gritty yet warm rock love song as opposed to a ballad. I wanted all of the instruments to reflect this grit, which was very present within the guitars. Therefore, I began by working with the drums and bass to find a good balance of clarity and grit. I chose the SansAmp PSA-1 to help provide some punch, crunch, and buzz to the bass. Then, I worked with the MassivePassive and the BlackOp Distortion plug-ins to provide a harsher, mildly distorted sound to the hi-hat and tambourine that blended well in the mix, as you demonstrated to us at the beginning of the semester. For the some of the remaining drums, I used EQs I was most familiar with, such as the API 560 on kick and snare top, 550A on snare bottom.

For other drums, in addition to the guitars, I experimented with other EQs based on consoles, as I am also more familiar with those sounds, given that I use the console EQ at Peabody quite often. Therefore, I tried out a number of different Neve and SSL EQs until settling on Neve88RS and SSL E Channel Strip. Coincidentally, these are the EQs I have read most about for rock drums and guitars, so I felt assured in my decision. For the solo guitars, which were sort of thin and gritty, I added a bit of warmth and body with the Pultec, a plug-in and hardware device I know well. Using the Pultec only on the solo guitars allowed for them to sound different and to pull them forward in the mix, as is necessary for a solo. For the keys, I used the UAD Sonnox Oxford EQ, which I had used with some recording mentors when we had the Oxford console back in the day. I also applied the Decapitator plug-in on the piano to pull forward some of the harmonics and add body and warmth to the sound. 

Admittedly, I am not incredibly familiar with vocals, and I felt that this was the area where I struggled most in choosing equalization and compression. Studio A sessions during work study often employ the FATSO EL7, therefore, I applied this plug-in and tinkered with some settings to find a sound I liked. Then, I used the Oxford plug-in to provide some EQ and the De-Esser to get rid of some unwanted sibilance.

To make the mix come alive and to place it in a space, I added two types of reverb and two echos. On the drums, I used a Lexicon 480L plug-in to provide the snare, room, and tambourine with a bit of presence. I used the AKG BX20 as a spring reverb (mistakenly labeled as a Plate send in my session! Sorry, Drew) for the piano, guitars, and vocals. I EQ’d the reverb to accentuate the high frequencies of both and pull them just a bit forward in the mix and to provide more warmth. Finally, I used the Soundtoys EchoBoy on two different aux sends: one for vocals and one for guitars. Each send has different echo settings, as I wanted the guitar echo to be a touch later than the vocals. I decided to use the EchoBoy in addition to the spring reverb on the vocals because I imagined that this band would not be playing in a hall, but rather, a small venue, and therefore, it might not be optimized for excellent acoustics, allowing for some echos in the room. I wanted to make sure that the vocals didn’t sound too close or dry like an isolation booth, and that they wouldn’t sound too polished as if in a hall. I panned the Vox Echo slightly inward to prevent harsh echo of fricatives, plosives, and sibilance from being obvious, as the lead vocal was hard panned. 

Finally, I added Stereo Bus EQ and compression, employing the Softube Curve Bender EQ Drew suggested in class  as well as the UAD Precision Buss Compressor. I made sure that these plug-ins were not active while I was mixing, but were active when I printed the mix! The EQ added a brightness for the mix that I enjoyed, and the compressor made sure that no peaks were being squashed while also maintaining an appropriate loudness. 

Although the assignment said that no automation was necessary as we would be working on it next semester, I went ahead and applied some automation to the volume in addition to the vox echo send and the De-Esser plug-in, where I felt it was necessary to maintain balance and also good vocal sound! 

That was quite a bit to digest, but I hope it was interesting! I would love to post the mix at some point, but I need to first re-mix it to my liking (although I was happy with it for this submission!), and I'd like to take some time to look into the complications of posting a mix of the Telefunken multitracks. Don't want to get into any trouble or offend anyone! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apart from schoolwork, I've been back to help Rick at BSO for performances this semester! He'd like to take me to Philly next semester, but we have to work around my *Senior Recital* date. Eeek!  As usual, I have also been recording recitals and helping out friends with their projects and sessions whenever I can. This semester has been fruitful, and I have enjoyed every bit of it! Here's to Senior Spring. 

Stay tuned, friends. 🎙

Something unbelievable: Summer is already over and SENIOR year of my undergraduate career has begun. 

Something else unbelievable: I started this blog 4 years ago as a senior in high school. I never thought I would maintain it this long, but I'm so happy I did. And I'm so grateful to those of you who have followed my adventure - especially those who began this journey with me in the EW Signature program in September 2015. Thank you for your support then, during these four years, and now. 

...which is me apologizing because they virtually never happened. Last time I told y'all what I was up to, it was June and I was taking on the first Chamber Concert of the summer at Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, MA. This was one of many concerts that occurred within the almost-3-month period. According to an email my colleagues and I received from Tanglewood directors and administration, the audio team had a hand in 828 concerts/rehearsals/events between four different venues, 1308 additional rehearsals, 240 total audio recordings, and between 140 and 150 video recordings between two of the fellowship program's main venues. So really, I did very little work this summer 🤪

What did I do? I soldered a large amount of cables, I edited high profile projects, I recorded small orchestra/chamber ensembles in addition to soloists, I manned the front of house PA system, I assisted other engineers on projects large and small, I edited and mastered my concerts in Pyramix, I sat on the lawn and controlled the outside sound system, I climbed into the attic and hung microphones, I stood on a truck bed and rode across campus to prevent gear from falling out (Mom, if you're reading this, I did it for the job 🤷🏼‍♀️), I helped fix a toy-train-controlled winch system, I installed cameras into Ozawa Hall using a power drill (that's right; girls can play with power tools too!), I deconstructed a bunch of wires in one of our device racks and put it all back together in a tidy manner (pulled out a bunch of useless wires along the way!), I tested new devices for efficacy and quality, used my ears to determine milliseconds of delay (W O W, I had no idea I could do that), and that's about it. Oh yeah, and I put a microphone on both the legendary Renée Fleming and the iconic movie babe, Uma Thurman 😍

Tanglewood provided me with some of the most valuable experience I could receive in this industry. I had exceptional mentors and supportive peers, and the vision, gear, and outcome of all our activities was top notch. Tanglewood also gave me a better idea about what I might like to focus on in my recording life. Although I'm not as well-versed in classical music as some of my traditional-orchestral-instrument-playing friends, I love it. I love it so much. If provided with the opportunity to continue down a path similar to the work I was doing at Tanglewood, I'd do it in a heartbeat. 

Tanglewood also inspired many moments of introspection. If I'm being truly candid, I went into Tanglewood feeling like a dark horse; I had a bad case of Imposter Syndrome. I was insecure about my qualifications to be at Tanglewood, and also about holding my own, as a young engineer and also on a team of men (not like this hasn't happened before...). I struggled internally, and I struggled in communicating my frustrations with my colleagues, the people who I now consider some of my dearest friends. Through my work and careful evaluation and conversation, I discovered that most of my worries weren't realistic, and I believe I am returning to school with a more positive outlook on my progress, my work, and myself. 

So, thank you Tanglewood team, for the invaluable knowledge and experience. And for the music. The music there was so incredible, as a result of the caliber of musicians, conducting, and the environment of community and love. I sincerely hope that I will be able to return next summer for another few months of gorgeous music.

Senior year means: 
-Senior recital! The culmination of four years of hard work as a performance undergrad.  May the time crawl so I can prepare thoroughly. 

-Year 4 of recording studies, which means there's a focus on rock and indie styles- almost completely foreign from my engineering standpoint. This will be interesting...

-Year 1 of graduate Studies in Acoustics! I couldn't be more excited to start this next chapter in my sound career. 

-The first of two graduations (from Peabody, at least). No paper-white dress required for this one. 

-Start thinking about my post-grad opportunities. This might seem early, since I have a fifth year to complete, but beginning the search now for work or for grad school is important, as I will need to prepare accordingly for whichever I believe will be the best option...

Hi y'all! I'm back after a good bit of time. This past semester was absolutely *WILD* due to my junior recital as well as my classes, rehearsals, ASP sessions, my own recording sessions, summer applications, apt planning, etc. But here we are, at the beginning of July, in a brand new place for recording. 

After spending the semester working in studio recording (and last summer in radio), I am spending this summer as an assistant recording engineer at the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, MA under Tim Martyn,  Carl Talbot, and Dr. Douglas McKinnie (click on their names to see just some of the work they've accomplished!). We arrived here on June 17, loaded in the gear from Tim's studio in NJ, and then set about setting up and routing Seiji Ozawa Hall for concerts. In addition to SOH, we have a few new halls this year, a result of the opening of the Tanglewood Learning Institute, or the Linde Center. The opening of this facility has caused some craziness lately, since we had to completely set up two new spaces along with SOH in a short three days, before the very first concert. 

Speaking of which, I'm incredibly excited that this summer will be full of concert recording! As of this week, I led my first small concert here and on Sunday, July 7, I will be leading my first medium-size concert. The first concert I led was a part of the String Quartet Marathon last week. In addition to the SQM program, I assisted on a Brass Extravaganza concert with my co-engineer and friend, Cole. From working with Cole, I learned much about the work flow, desired sound, routing, editing process, and more. Although he claimed he was nervous, his presence is quite calming, and our concert went smoothly. I'm excited to use the knowledge I learned from him on my upcoming chamber concert! The program will be comprised of mostly wind pieces, however, there is an interesting new string quartet and double bass septet thrown into the mix. Rather curious 😳🤪 If I'm not mistaken, at least two of these pieces are commissions for Tanglewood, which is very exciting! New music is so important in this day and age, and the Tanglewood audience is brilliantly receptive to it, creating a comfortable, friendly environment for all performers, composers, musical humans, etc. 

This winter, the saxophone studio at Peabody commissioned esteemed composer Alexandra Gardner to write a saxophone quartet with electronics - and the work that resulted, Tides​, was brilliant. 

Long story short about this recording: My recording class required us to complete a final project that incorporated both/either electronics, overdubs, an ensemble of at least four musicians (styles: classical, jazz, pop, etc.) and required us to use the appropriate mic techniques learned over the course of the year. I had my own quartet piece in mind, Alex's Tides, however, I was unsure how that would play out, given that I was also supposed to be playing! This is where the overdubs would come into play. 

I asked Alex if she would mind me using her new piece as part of my project, to which she responded an enthusiastic, "Of course not!" I mentioned that I would be recording my quartet mates first and then overdubbing my own part in, and I offered to also record a few takes of all four of us so that she could have them for her own use. Additionally, I asked if she would be a part of the recording process, as working with a composer provides another dimension/level of specificity to my project. Alex quickly - and happily - obliged. 

For my project, I only needed a movement or two of a piece, so I chose the first two movements of Tides to be recorded. One Friday night, my quartet and I, Alex, and my assistant engineer spent a few hours recording the two movements, which I then spent the next few weeks mixing. After my project was nearly handed in, Alex asked if we could record the other two movements for use on her website. I didn't think I would be able to handle the recording, given my shortage of time with my recital and academics, but I offered her the name of close friend/fellow engineer/fellow saxophonist Ana Kupstas to complete the recording process. Again, we spent another few hours one day in the studio doing recordings of all four of us (no need for overdubs this time!) and completed the recordings of Tides. Then came the question: who will mix the full recording? 

Given that I had mixed the first two movements, the Recording Arts manager stated that I should finish out the project. So, I did some preliminary mixing on all of the movements and invited Alex into the studio. Alex and I spent one rainy Saturday afternoon in May mixing for nearly six hours - until every last edit, reverb level, balance, panning, detail etc. - was to her liking. The following week, I mastered them and sent them off, in several different formats, for publication on CDs, Soundcloud, website, you name it.

Here they are: https://alexandragardner.net/music/tides/ 

Alex, should you ever read this, thank you so much for this opportunity. Working with an alum, a well accomplished yet humble female composer on new saxophone music was an absolute dream. This opportunity may be once in a lifetime due to the rarities of all of these circumstances, and I'm grateful that I was chosen to be a part of it. I hope that we will work together again soon, and I will remain forever appreciative to you for allowing me to perform, experiment, and succeed in my first "professional" recording. Thank you. 

That's all for now, y'all. I'll update again soon ✅🎷

Another long hiatus....*sigh* I can't seem to find the time to consistently write! I apologize, I've been in the studio quite often. 

​    The countdown has begun. Countdown to what? The Advanced Studio Production panel. 
     That's right, y'all; its ASP season again! For those of you that are familiar with this part of the semester because you are a current or former RAS student at Peabody, you know what I'm excited for/stressed about. For those of you that aren't, every year the ASP students, comprised of fifth-year RAS undergrads and second year RAS graduate students, each complete three studio projects: one classical project, one jazz project, and one project in a genre of their choice. In each of their sessions, the ASP student must act as the lead recording engineer, mixing engineer, and mastering engineer, as well as the producer. It's a large task to take on, therefore, they seek out the assistance of younger RAS students to help with setup, breakdown, and any other problems they might run into.
     Some of you might remember my former posts about these projects, as I have been privileged enough to work with many student engineers on their projects since my freshman year at Peabody. Again, I will say that I feel I have learned more from these sessions and engineers than I sometimes do in my classes, simply because ASP sessions give me the opportunity to gets my hands on equipment and try out placement, outboard gear, and software. Although the ASPers are super stressed, as their work will eventually be presented publicly to and critiqued a panel of famous engineers and RAS students in May, it is a great opportunity for them to push themselves, and to push their assistants, to be better engineers. For some of the previous projects I've worked on, click here or here
     I am creating a tally for the number of sessions that I help with this semester, and I will post a little about each session toward the end of the semester. For now, I need to keep my hands on the faders in the studio☺️

In the meantime, here's some photographs of some of the ASP setups from this semester so far! 

You name it, and I've probably done it. Just kidding. But I have been busy: 

-Missing NPR
-Mixing in surround sound
-Re-mixing string quartets from last semester. 
-Applying for a MA in Acoustics 
-Taking the Avid ProTools 101 Course (I aced the exam and now I'm halfway to a ProTools User Certification!) 
-Working recitals and sessions at Peabody 

Apart from that, I've been practicing like crazy. Hopefully, I will be giving a junior recital with my duo partner in May! 

I also have some new blog tabs, in case you didn't notice! Please feel free to check them out! 

Fast-forward a couple of months and it's already November. How? I have not one clue. The end of summer sped by, classes began, and here I am, about nine weeks into my fifth semester of ten. Ohhhh, we're halfway there! 

Since my last post, here's what I've been up to: 

-I finished up my NPR internship on August 10! I spent my last weeks there researching and testing new shotgun microphones for reporters, working at Engineering Support, helping out with Tiny Desk, and helping engineer the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, RI. It was WILD. I had the opportunity to work with Steve Remote and his mixing trucks while there. It was awesome! Fun Fact related to my research for NPR: I just recently reconnected with my supervisors, who said that the higher ups went ahead and decided to use my recommendations for both the new handheld recorder and accompanying shotgun microphone for reporter kits. *bows*  
For a deeper look into my internship, look for my posts on the @nprinters Instagram! 

-About 1 week after the start of classes, I took the MARC train to DC back to....you guessed it! NPR! NPR hosted the AES meeting for the DC chapter of the society in late August to give members a behind-the-scenes look into what NPR audio engineers are up to. Although I didn't learn too many things from the tour, after spending the summer there, I did have the opportunity to connect with engineers from the DC area, including the head engineer of the beloved DC music venue, The Anthem. I also met the head of the DC chapter, who personally asked me about my experience as a student in the AES chapters. He and I have been emailing back and forth about organizing an event for the younger generation of audio engineers in the greater DC/Baltimore area because he believes that our networking is crucial to our success in the field, and networking with other students may help us to find potential partnerships in the future. I'm excited to see what will come of our discussions! 

-I began working with my mentor Rick at BSO again! I'm excited to continue our mentorship. Rick said that I might be able to help out on a Philly concert this winter in addition to the BSO concerts to which I'm already assigned. Nutty! 

-Classes have begun, and Recording III sessions are in full swing! This year, my recording class focuses on techniques of concert recording. So, every week we attend class and we have a specific instrument type or group come in and record so that we can learn the most appropriate, most efficient, and best sounding mic techniques, tips, and tricks for recording each instrument in an ensemble or solo. Our midterm project was to make a recording using a couple of stereo pairs. My partner and I completed a recording of our other classmate's string quintet composition that came out well. He, as well as my partner and I, were very excited about the turnout. At the end of the semester, my partner and I will be recording a piano quartet with more stereo and close mic techniques. Perhaps I'll share it, if I love my work on it! 

-I've continued my position as a student recording engineer and will be doing some recital recordings pretty soon! I hope to find recitals in different halls this year, as I have only truly been able to record in 2/4 halls and accompanying controls rooms, and I'd like to have exposure to and mastery in all four of them by the time I graduate. Speaking of which....

-I'm becoming increasingly interested in acoustics. I'm currently enrolled in an acoustics class that evaluates the architecture of concert halls, music rehearsal spaces, theaters, etc. and it is so fascinating! Understanding how sound travels and propagates as a result of different surfaces and understanding its behavior as a result of contact with the surfaces and then considering aesthetics....it's all mildly overwhelming but also intriguing. Perhaps I will apply for the Acoustics M.A. in the spring? Only time will tell...

-I attended AES NYC 2018 and WAMCon 2018 during the middle of October and I've never been more inspired to be in this industry, especially after attending WAMCon. The Women's Audio Mission hosted WAMCon at Jungle City Studios and The Center for Social Innovation in NYC. The weekend was full of seminars hosted by females in the music industry - music lawyers, artist managers, recording engineers, mastering engineers, mixing engineers, producers, archivists, microphone technology engineers, DSP engineers, beat makers, composers, songwriters. You name it, and there was a woman there who did it. I attended some incredible mixing and production demonstrations with Ann Mincieli, Erin Tonkon and Simone Torres, as well as an awesome DSP engineering lecture with Shure engineer, Lena Sutter. WAMCon reminded me that the opportunities are there for anyone to take them, not just the guys. And, it reminded me to keep my eye on the prize; you have to study and practice harder than the next guy in order to get the opportunities you desire. 

Other than ALL of that, I've just been practicing my instrument, commissioning a new work for saxophone and percussion, and taking care of schoolwork (as if recording wasn't enough already...)

Here's some photographs from my amazing experience at Newport with NPR this August! Stay tuned, dudes🤙🏼

I've been working at NPR for almost seven weeks now, which means I only have about five left (bummer). Time is absolutely flying! 

Since my last update, I've been involved in so many different things at NPR - something I find incredibly unique about my internship. Whereas many interns have a "desk" that they belong to, I have the opportunity to bounce around in different areas of the building and participate and learn how to complete the work for a number of different positions. It's pretty rad. 

For example, I spent a week performing shifts for Master Operations (MOPS/Master Control) and Engineering Support. MOPS takes care of scheduling and routing. These engineers essentially route remote guests or members stations over codecs (such as Comrex or IP) and connect them to a control room in NPR HQ so that they can perform an interview on air or for a recording with a reporter. Understanding the routing is extremely important, however, understanding the application that helps us complete the routing request is even more important. If MOPS doesn't properly route the connection on time on the application, the connection won't be completed. I swear half of my work is IT...

When I helped out at Engineering Support, I was required to work with the RX 6 Advanced application to "clean up" audio clips sent to us by reporters before their story went on the air. Engineering Support is fast-paced; your ears have to quickly identify the present issue or issues, choose the right tool, accurately fix the problems, and send the clips back to the reporter for approval. Engineering Support is often at its most busy/crammed an hour or so before a show, such as All Things Considered or Morning Edition, goes on the air. We often receive an influx of audio that needs fixing in a pinch, so working quickly and diligently is necessary. This process is so vastly different from mixing processes I am accustomed to using in the studio. In the studio, you have hours, days, weeks to work on a piece of audio and fix it until it's nearly perfect. But here, you have minutes, sometimes just seconds, to put out your best editing work and send the clips off for approval before they are aired. I've found this shift to be the most stressful, but also perhaps the most educational. I've learned how to train and trust my ears to identify problems and how to quickly fix them in RX. Hopefully I can get some more practice with this soon because it's valuable.

I've also been working all of the Tiny Desk concerts. Yes, you read that correct; all of them. I've been lucky enough to have the opportunity to record amazing artists, including Tower of Power, Dave Matthews, Khalid, Lalah Hathaway, Yo-Yo Ma, Tech N9ne, and more. Tiny Desk is where I am most in my element, probably because it is music recording. I am so comfortable with mic placement, cabling, and ProTools that this just feels like the dream job. Tiny Desk has taught me how to consolidate inputs while still being able to get a fantastic recording. It's also taught me to work quickly in setup and breakdown, and to accommodate the requests of an artist with an out-of-the-box idea or solution (i.e. we needed a piano seat one time so we gave the artist an amp to sit on). Additionally, it's reminded me that artists are not the glitzy aliens the media makes them out to be. Every artist that I have had the pleasure of working with these past few weeks has been so polite, excited, passionate, and grateful, especially to the engineers. The "starstruck" phase leaves you once you regularly begin working with these people because you realize two things: 1, You might work for them, but they also can't do what they need to do without your help as an engineer and 2, they're normal people with a big name. Sometimes I forget that the artists are famous; it feels like we're on the same level in this space. Who knows...maybe we will be, one day. 

 Apart from all of this, I have also been observing the driving of regular NPR shows such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered as well as Performance Chats (special segments where an artist comes in to talk about their music and experience and plays for a bit) and shows held by member stations at the NPR HQ (I worked with KERA, an NPR member station in Texas, to broadcast their show from DC). I have also had the opportunity to weigh in on the research and presets for loudness processing algorithms for Smart Speakers (NPR is trying to figure out which settings will maintain the NPR sound on Smart Speakers while also boosting the volume to the regulated level. The listening tests essentially provide us with an idea of what each preset sounds like and which we think would sound best/least compressed or affected on air through devices like Amazon's Alexa). Additionally, I've been writing User Guides for the new R-07 recorders that will be issued late summer/early fall to reporters (NPR TRUSTED MY EARS TO PICK A RECORDER! AH!), researching larger handheld recorders as a backup (I'll probably have to test some later in the summer), and researching and testing a handful of different shotgun microphones with the ultimate goal of reaffirming our shotgun mic choice or replacing it with a new and improved one by the end of the summer. 

As if I couldn't get any busier/more lucky with my opportunities here, the Tiny Desk engineer offered me the opportunity to accompany him on an NPR remote gig. Destination: Newport Folk Festival. So, later this month, Josh and I will be heading out to Newport, RI with several members of the NPR Music department to record the Newport Folk Festival for about five days. I can't believe it! I get to record Tiny Desk, and now a large festival? This is absolutely insane. I am so grateful for these opportunities. 



Okay. Deep breath. That was a lot.

Ah, yes. Last time I updated, I mentioned leading a BSO concert. That happened. Side note: I thought my mentor would be around and I would just be leading, but he was actually at home in NY, so if something went haywire, I would have to fix it. I almost wish something had gone wrong so I could have learned how to fix it all by myself, but I'm also grateful that it went so smoothly. 

Tuesday, June 26 - I arrived at BSO around 5 PM to set up a small stereo alignment (ORTF and a spaced pair) in order to record the BSO Academy program's chamber concert. The performances included small groups, the largest a sextet, of woodwinds, strings, and brass. After spending many BSO performance's observing my mentor, I felt confident I lead a small session by myself. And so I did. 

Wednesday, June 27 - I arrived at BSO around 6 PM to set up only the spaced pair (wasn't happy with how the ORTF sounded in the space/with the way the audience was set up on stage. The audience chairs had also been moved closer to the performers, so my setup was closer, which meant that my recording would also sound closer. To counter this, I raised the mics and re-angled them accordingly to capture the best balance of the groups. Everything went smoothly - setting up and recording on three different computers, routing in Dante, setting gain levels, and backing up to three different drives. When my mentor arrived in town on Friday, he took a listen. He said the recording sounded pretty good, especially the levels (A+ for Tay). He explained how I could achieve a better balance among the players by adjusting the mic position to be a bit higher and angled farther out toward the back of the last chair in the group. These tips would also help make the recording sound less close. He said, and I quote, "Keep this in mind for the next time," which means there will be a next time. Bless me.

On Saturday, June 30, I helped my mentor to record the final BSO Academy concert, a concert in which Academy attendees play standard, if not difficult, orchestral repertoire alongside members of the BSO. The rehearsal took place from 10:30 to 1, so I arrived around 10 to help with setup and setting gain levels. My mentor actually allowed me to mix the rehearsal, and he offered to allow me to mix the concert, which began at 7:30 PM that night. I respectfully declined, saying I didn't trust my ears yet. He gave me some wonderful advice about this, saying that it takes time to trust your ears, but the more you do it, the better you become. I didn't end up mixing the concert, however, he stated that he didn't have many changes to make to my mix during the concert; it was mostly good. I guess I did something right! 

And that was the end of my BSO opportunities for the summer, as the BSO does not necessarily need recordings done until the fall concert season begins. My mentor said he will call me as soon as he has dates for the fall season. He also said he would not hesitate to call me to do more solo recordings; I could definitely handle it. Finally, he offered me the opportunity to assist him in recording the Philadelphia Orchestra when their season begins in the fall, as well as any projects my university hosts in conjunction with him and the orchestra. Wow. I am one lucky engineer. 

Well, seeing how I was blessed with unexpected opportunities, I'm not sure what will come next. I'm assuming NPR will present me with a new opportunity and challenge every day, and I know Newport will likely be part of my next update. After that, I have no clue where this beautiful life will lead me. But I'm here for the ride. Stay tuned. 

The novelty of working at NPR has yet to wear off, even after 1,2,3 weeks. However, I had an interesting realization this week: 

A large part of audio engineering is information technology/technology strategy, especially in broadcast environments. 

But why? Why is that important and why should I care? One of my supervisors explained it quite clearly. 
An engineer needs to understand technology strategy so that she can be self-reliant when it comes to troubleshooting. It is often too expensive to send a technician to a gig with an engineer, therefore, the engineer is at a loss, unless she knows how to setup network connections and fix them, should something go wrong. IT strategy is about precision and meticulousness; an engineer needs to check the connection 1, 2, 3 times or more in order to ensure that it will work for the required gig - and even then, something could go wrong and a connection will be lost in the middle of a broadcast and the engineer will have to hop to it! In broadcast, we are all about pleasing our clients; if something is missing from a show (i.e. nothing is being broadcast on the air), we're not doing our best to serve our clients. It is for this purpose that broadcast engineers work closely with, or even in, IT to ensure that this rarely happens, and when it does, it happens for a short period of time (i.e. a few seconds at worst). 

This brings a whole new understanding to my professor and Audio Jedi's love for the phrase "signal flow." 

So here I am, Googling every possible explaining for IT jargon I don't yet understand. I thought I would be working this summer, but it looks like I will also be studying...

On the engineering side of things, I've got some pretty exciting projects coming up! 

For the past 2.5 weeks, I have been conducting a series of about thirty tests on 1, 2, 3 handheld recording devices for field recording. I was comparing the sound quality, accessibility, user friendliness, etc. of the tried and true Marantz 620 with the Roland R-05 and the Roland R-07. I wrote a brief blog post about the description of this project a few weeks ago, which you can find here. As a quick refresher, NPR AE had decided to replace the Marantz 620 with the Roland R-05 back in the fall. However, the R-05 was no longer being distributed soon after the decision was made. Therefore, it has been my job to compare the performance of the R-07 to these other two "archived" recorders. I composed a thirteen page analysis of every possible criteria I could examine and then set off on researching all of the recorders, reading through Owner's Manuals and Reference Guides and reviews, learning about memory card speeds and what was most helpful for file transfer, testing battery life, creating audio examples of functions such as limiters, high pass filters, and attenuators as well as MIC vs. LINE inputs, clipping/distortion, input gain increments, hiss, width of stereo image, resistance to wind noise in the field, handling/button noise, and resistance to plosives. I also tested functions such as the 2x WAV, which makes two recordings simultaneously but they have different input gains: one is recorded at the original level, where another is recorded 20 dB below the original level in order to avoid the possibility of distorting. I also performed some real interviews using my intern friends as my test subjects; these tests were done for the purpose of seeing how clunky/not clunky the gear would be in an interview setting, as compared to both the Marantz 620 and the Marantz 660/661, which NPR still distribute to their reporters as well. 

In my personal opinion, I think the R-07 will work well for field recording purposes. It has some fantastic features, although it also has a fair number of traps. According to my ears, the overall sound quality, signal-to-noise ratio, and prevention of distortion exceeds that of the previous recorder, and therefore I recommended it to the Operations management. Our reporters might never again have to discard the audio they collected because its too hissy or distorted. Functionality at its finest. (PSA: I essentially just made a really important *audio* decision for a national radio station. WOW, I'm so excited/proud of myself.) 

In addition to all of my individual work, I have been sitting in on meetings and listening sessions, attended training sessions, helped my supervisors on their projects (including a project with the one and only Guy Raz!!), and networked with other NPR engineers. I also attended my first Tiny Desk concert yesterday. Khalid was the visiting artist, and he sang beautifully. It was so fantastic!

What's next on my agenda here? Tomorrow, I begin shadowing one of the AEs on her MOPS Engineering Support shift. MOPS stands for master operations, and Engineering Support is essentially the phone line/e-request helpline. I'll have to troubleshoot field issues, tech issues, recording issues, etc. I'm excited to learn about this. Additionally, I will be helping engineer tomorrow's Tiny Desk concert! The engineer for the TDC series asked for my help for the rest of the summer, so catch me doing both recording and IT stuff!

As if all of that wasn't enough on my plate, I'm continuing my internship with my mentor at BSO. I recorded BSO last Saturday, and I will be recording BSO this Friday as well. Additionally, I'll be running the show on my own to record BSO's Summer Academy performances during the last week of June. I'm so excited; it's going to be such a rad experience to be lead engineer on a BSO-related gig, and for that gig to be my first super-involved concert recording. I'm not just chasing dreams anymore; I'm achieving them. 

I've got to get back to my document studying for my MOPS rotation tomorrow, as well as increasing my general understanding of IT strategy. I'll keep y'all updated. 

See the (poorest of the poor) inspiration for my entry title here. I'm too ashamed of recalling this song to post it. Gross. :P