In today’s post I thought to do a lesson for you that you like Greek folk music and especially if you are a beginner with home recording.
I will try to explain to you as good as possible ,so you can record as better as you can.
Before you start doing anything ,I suggest to configure the signature and the tempo of your song. Zeimpekiko is written in 9/8 ,but it’s better if you set it 9/4. You can do this with two ways. The first one is from the transport panel. If you are sure that all the bars in your song will be 9/4 and you will not have any changes in the tempo , then you can actually set tempo and signature from your transport panel. If you have a bar that maybe it’s not 9/4 and if you want to increase or decrease the tempo ,then you have to configure all these from the Tempo track. In menu bar – Project – Tempo track and you from there you set your signature and tempo of the song.
As you can see in the pictures below if you double click the little box on the left corner ,you can set the signature time of the song and you can change it in any bar you want and set it back again. On this screen ,you see a bar, and by holding the left click you can move this bar up or down. In Zeimpekiko a tempo to start with is between 58-61 bpm. It depends how fast or slow your song is.
After you have set the signature time and the tempo of your song ,you can start adding tracks in your project. From Project menu – Add track – midi or instrument track so you can record with vst instruments. With the same way, you can add audio tracks. In this example I have chosen 5 midi and 7 audio tracks for guitars, bouzouki, and vocals. Don’t forget: For recording these instruments you use mono tracks.
You can start by recording a guide track,so we can know the structure and it will be easier for the instrumentation. You can record this guide track with a piano ,using a vst instrument like Halion one that comes with Cubase or anything else that comes with your DAW. Also you can record your guide track with a guitar , or whatever is your instrument. Very important: You have to record with your metronome or a click track. I know what you are going to say “ This is the obvious!” Yes,I iknow but I have to remind you ,because I have heard some friends that they can’t record with metronome ,because they aren’t used to.
After that,you are ready to start recording. I would suggest to start with the rhythmic parts ,drums and bass. If you have a drum loop ,you can insert it in your project. If you don’t have one ,you can easily create a rhythmic pattern.It’s very easy ,as long as you understand the rhythm. Then you continue with the bass. You can create a bass line very easily too. I will be more detailed in the upcoming video.
If you want to add some other instruments like a piano for playing some chords or phrases and of course you can record some strings like a pad for your song. If you want to keep it simple ,then you can use the traditional instruments we use for Zeimpekiko like guitar , bouzouki , baglama , bass ,drums and maybe a tambourine.
After you have recorded all the rhythmic parts ,you can start your audio recordings. It’s very important to rename all your tracks. I would suggest to start with guitar. The first thing you have to do before recording is to check the input signal. You should keep your input signal as low as possible ,so you won’t have further problems in your mix later. Once you record your guitar track ,record the second track ,don’t copy paste it,because you are going to add more physical tone ,and you ‘ll get a fuller sound.
After that you continue with bouzoukia.In an upcoming video ,I will show you how you can record bouzoukia,so you can get the best sounding results. If you are going to record with your microphone ,something that I suggest to do, then keep the right distance between microphone and bouzouki and try some mic placements until you find the right position for your recording. If you want to add a more electric sound in bouzouki you can plug it directly to your audio interface. If you want to create a nicer sound and solid sound you can record a track with second voice of bouzouki. Be careful to align your recording with the first recording ,so you won’t have so much to do in editing.
After that you can add more instruments like baglama, or anything you want to complete your instrumentation. And for last we have the vocals. You do the same before all recordings. You check the input signal,keep the proper distance from the microphone,so you can avoid any peaks. You can add second voice and backing vocals.
I hope this post is helpful to you and leave your comments below or any question you may have.