I consider myself an amateur musician. I have spent the last eleven years of my life studying the banjo and slowly learning how to play it. Where I grew up nobody was interested in Bluegrass music. It was hard for me to grow as a banjo player because I was on my own. Despite all of the troubles I faced, I continued to push myself to be a better musician. I knew one day, when I made friends who are passionate about Bluegrass music, my musical ability would finally blossom. Before I moved to Boone, North Carolina, I had little experience playing with other people. Since moving to Boone I have kindled friendships between many incredible musicians that are my age! I play music with my new found friends as much as I possibly can. Last night we had a wonderful time recording a song in the recording studio in my friend's basement.
As I walked into my friends basement, the headquarters for Trailhead Records, I was amazed at the sight of a room filled with cunning-edge recording equipment. Because I had no prior recording experience the room and its contents felt foreign to me. Most of my friends have recorded Bluegrass albums before and they showed me how to run the complex computer programs needed to record. Bluegrass music is hard to record because it relies on perfect timing in inventive solos. The first thing we recorded was a rough version of what we wanted the song to sound like. This rough version had no embellished solos and served as an outline for my friends and I to build upon.
After hours of recording different instruments such as guitar, mandolin, and vocals, we finally had a decent outline of the song we wanted to create. I recorded the banjo part fairly quickly, even though it took me twelve tries to record a banjo solo I was proud of. The overall experience of recording at Trailhead Records was surreal. I felt like a bonafide Bluegrass Musician. I can't wait to visit TrailHead Records again over the next few months to create a final product that my friends and I can be happy with.
No comments:
Post a Comment