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Recording studio project - The Cutting Room Studios

After researching different recording studios, the one I was most interested in was The Cutting Room Studios (TCR) in SoHo, Manhattan. The music in this studio is produced using a Mac Pro 12 equipped with Pro Tools, as well as a Studer A80 mastering tape deck. The studio provides many monitors, amps, and guitars/basses, the latter including Les Paul Standard, Taylor 310CE, and a Fender Precision Bass. They also have many brands of microphones and pianos/synthesizers, including Neumann, Sennheiser, Yamaha, Fender, Moog, and Roland. This studio has three recording rooms, and I will be talking about their main room, Studio A. This studio has 48 different recording channels with a large selection of monitors and mixing equipment. The recording room is compact, but spacious enough for an entire band to record in together, and comes equipped with many instruments including a Yamaha C5 grand piano. This studio has been home to many famous artists, such as Cardi B, DJ Khaled, Juice WRLD, Lana Del Ray, John Legend, RHCP, Shakira, Wu-Tang Clan, and many more. This studio is home to mastering engineer Tony Gillis, who has worked previously with Prince and Jay-Z.

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Song Analysis - Scenes from an Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel

For this week's musical analysis, I decided to go with one of my favorite songs - Scenes from an Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel. This is my favorite Billy Joel song, and also his longest (fun fact, this is also Billy Joel's favorite Billy Joel song). What I love about this song is the amount of different sections it has, going from a relaxing piece of piano music, to a second jazzy section, then to a third and fourth section that are more rock n' roll, and finally back to the A section to close out the song. The opening melody in the beginning of the song sets a great precedent for what is to come, and the bass and brass do very well to add complementary harmonies. The second section is similar to the first, but becomes a lot more explosive with a nice sax solo to boot. After this, the third section comes right in with a strong drum and bass beat to open it, with this section being somewhat of a mix between the previous and next in terms of genre. This section closes out with another solo before all instruments cut out, leaving just Billy who is slamming octaves on the keyboard with his left hand while playing a very fast descending melody above it with his right hand. After this short interlude, it explodes into the "Brenda and Eddy" section, the longest part of the song. This section is a very fast paced rock n' roll piece, and is not without a third sax solo. My favorite part of this section is the bass, it drives the song forward by playing parts at many times that are almost a melody of it's own. Because of this, this song is my favorite to play on bass. After concluding the story of Brenda and Eddy, the song transitions back into the first section, now with a new string section to accompany it. Finally, the song closes with - you guessed it - a fourth sax solo (shoutout to Mark Rivera) before ending on a final triumphant chord. This song, in my opinion, is the best showcase of Billy Joels talents as a songwriter, instrumentalist, and lyricist all together.

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Electronic Music Analysis: Phantogram - When I'm Small (RAC Mix)

In the search for a piece of electronic music to write about, I found one piece that caught my eye - or rather, my ear - When I'm Small (RAC Mix) by Phantogram. This song hooked me from the start with its smooth vocals and driving instrumentation. Despite the simplicity of the song, the way everything is put together makes the song sound full and complete. While the song starts with just bass, lead, and drums all playing on the eighth notes, the song evolves into something bigger, adding more complex instrumentation as it progresses, evolving the existing instruments and throwing new ones into the mix. By the end of the track, everything comes together in a satisfying conclusion that cuts out and leaves only the hi-hat and a simple synth that grounds the song by playing only its opening chord. I really like the filters that are used throughout the song, which can be especially heard on the hi-hat that constantly changes its sound throughout the song, although the effect is heard most clearly at the end of the song. You can also hear this filter being used on ambient background sounds, which change tone and come in and out. Despite its two-chord progression, the track doesn't get repetitive, and the harmonies created by the vocals and lead lend well to each other to making the song sound as well as it does.

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Music Technology Article Response Assignment

In December of 2024, the UK government made an exception to standing copyright laws on music that allows AI learning programs to use, study, and reproduce music that is currently protected under copyright law. In the article "This “silent album” features recordings of empty studios to protest the training of AI on copyrighted material" by Emily Swingle, she discusses a new so-called 'silent album' backed by over 1,000 UK artists including Damon Albarn, Kate Bush, Hans Zimmer, and Jamiroquai. This album, titled "Is This What We Want?" includes 12 tracks of over three minutes in length, all of which include nothing but ambient recording studio sounds. Each track is titled a single word, all together writing out "The British Government Must Not Legalise Music Theft To Benefit AI Companies." This album was put together by former senior executive at Stability AI Ed Newton-Rex, who left his position due to his belief that AI had the capability to become very exploitative to artists.

Personally, I am very glad these artists are standing together for this cause. This decision by the UK government is not only a blatant violation of artists' rightfully earned copyrights but also increases the likelihood of artists missing out on job opportunities in the future due to the capabilities of AI-produced music, which will only improve in the years to come. The sooner the use of AI in commercial artistic creation is banned or regulated at the very least, the more of a chance there is for real human artists to not have to worry about losing their source of income.

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Small Artist Assignment - Pleasantries

What if there was a song that you could certifiably say was the greatest song ever made? Chances are this song would have great lyrics, as well as masterful instrumentation. Well, if you ask Pleasantries, he would tell you that there already is one - his song titled ‘The Greatest Song Ever Made,’ which boasts having “really good lyrics, and a really cool guitar.” While the nature of this song is clearly comedic, it doesn’t take away the fact that it is still a very good song. Looking through his discography, you will be surprised to find that many songs with this same comedic nature are juxtaposed with themes and visuals that are oftentimes unsettling or straight up disturbing. To me, this is what makes Pleasantries such a unique and interesting artist.

Andy Markantonatos, better known by his alias Pleasantries, is a guitarist and vocalist from Chicago, Illinois. While usually a name for Andy’s solo work, it is also at times a band of varying members. As a band, their first piece of music was a 17-minute-long song titled The Chocolate Chalk Opera, followed by their first self-titled studio album. After these two releases, Pleasantries became mostly a solo project. In 2019, he began to upload to YouTube with the kind of songs that he is mostly known for. These songs are usually guitar or synth driven pop/rock songs, sometimes a mix of both, with themes varying from comedic songs like ‘Please Don’t Put Me Away,’ a rock opera about a kid who gets in trouble at school and imagines his principal sentencing him to a maximum security prison, to unsettling songs like ‘Honey, I’m Home!,’ a song about a serial killer and stalker who falls in love with a woman and kidnaps her husband, pretending to be him and taking his place. All these songs are accompanied by crudely made stop-motion or 3D animated music videos, adding on to the uncomfortable feeling that some of the songs have. He also releases music on streaming services, which tends to be of a different style than much of his work on YouTube. These songs are usually much more serious, with a strong prog-rock feel. His biggest inspirations for his music are Stevie Wonder, Prince, and Jack Stauber, all three of which can be seen at times throughout his discography. Currently, his YouTube channel sits at 127k subscribers, and a new 90-minute album is planned for February 22nd.

Beverage That's Closest to Meat - A short song that mixes together both of his thematic styles together very well, accompanied by an equally as creepy music video.

I Miss Ya - This song has a much more serious tone than most of his other non-album music, yet still keeps the same style.

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Audio Interface Assignment

After researching different audio interfaces on Sweetwater, the audio interface I determined would be best for my needs is the Focusrite Scarlett Solo 4th Gen USB Audio Interface. Firstly, this audio interface is small, simple, and affordable, which is perfect for a first audio interface. The Scarlett Solo 4th Gen features one microphone input, one instrument input, and one headphone output. This is perfect for me because I record and produce my music on my own, so there is no need for anything more. It is also bus powered, which would allow me to use my laptop and record or produce whenever I'm away from home. The interface also includes many quality-of-life features, such as dynamic gain, which automatically adjusts input levels so that your audio doesn't peak and also allows you to change levels manually before and during recording. Each purchase also comes with free access to multiple software tools and subscriptions, which makes this audio interface a good choice not only for its features, but also for those who are in need of a good recording or editing software.

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Computer Comparison Assignment - Dell vs Mac

Dell Inspiron 3020 - $1199.99

32GB RAM 

1TB HDD + 512GB SSD 

13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700 - 30 MB cache, 16 cores, 24 threads, up to 5.1 GHz Turbo

1 Global headset jack, 2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 1 port

Windows 11

Mac Mini - $1198.99

24GB Unified Memory 

1TB SSD Storage 

Apple M4 chip - 10‑core CPU, 10‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine

Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, two USB‑C ports, headphone jack

Mac OS 

I chose both of these computers because they are by reputable brands and are of the same price and have both been marketed for creativity. The Dell Inspiron 3020 is a PC and runs on Windows 11, while the Mac Mini is a Mac and runs on MacOS. While both OSs are suitable for daily use, MacOS comes out on top when it comes to music production. Firstly, it has a built-in free music production program in GarageBand, and, if you’re willing to pay extra, you can get an even better built-in program in Logic Pro. Meanwhile, Windows does not have its own built-in studio and forces the user to rely on outside sources to find and download a third-party app. Secondly, MacOS’s CoreAudio driver is superior to Windows’ ASIO driver, being more frequently updated and allowing for more flexibility in your song production. MacOS also lets you share MIDI files between apps, which ASIO does not do. The Mac Mini also has an advantage in its ports, with three thunderbolt 4 ports and two USB-C ports, in comparison to the Inspiron’s two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.2 port, and only one USB-C port. Not only does the Inspiron have fewer ports, but they are also weaker in comparison. However, the Dell Inspiron does have the upper hand over the Mac Mini when it comes to hardware specs. The Inspiron has more RAM, total storage, and a stronger CPU, as well as turbo speed capabilities. 

All things considered, from a music production standpoint, I think the Mac Mini is the clear winner. Despite its lesser hardware, it’s still good enough to be extremely reliable, and its other features more than make up for it. 

Sources -

https://routenote.com/blog/mac-or-windows-the-best-pick-for-music-makers/