The word “organic” is thrown around quite a bit these days. We hear it in business like organic farming and now we hear it regarding music recording and podcasting. The term “organic” has come to refer to something that is natural, authentic, and has fundamental value. For example, him organic farming in business it refers to true expansion at the company’s core, not inflated increases from outside venues or other sources.
According to the online urban dictionary, organic music it is music that has a central sound and a tone that is natural through the use of acoustic instruments and voices. This definition went on to elaborate on organic music resonating positive vibes or something like that. As musicians, the music industry warns us to be “more organic.” However, in this digital age, recording music in a home studio on a PC via Audacity or Adobe Audition is, by definition, digital. Sound is stored in a system of ones and zeros. Musicians can record short segments and easily repeat these sections by copying and pasting multiple times. Drums can be made on keyboards or made entirely within a computer through the use of software. Most independent musicians use electronic keyboards, drum machines, and instrumentation software when recording. Thesis resonant vibrations however, they are mere recreations of a computer.
Indie musicians are branching out to sell their music to film and television (i.e. sync or sync licences). This leads to the question of how modern independent musicians can achieve an organic musical texture.
PROBLEM WITH QUANTIZATION
quantization it is a digital software adjustment that can move beats to match other beats. So if a beat is slightly off, it can be snapped right into place. The same can be used for voices that are slightly flat or sharp by adjusting the pitch. Anyone who does their own recording and mixing has their own techniques for editing and layering tracks. However, one thing I noticed early on with beat quantization on my instruments was that when I went back to listening, some instrumental sounds would cancel out. The auditory threshold of human hearing is limited, so by lining up each instrument to an exact beat, the listener did not hear everything that was intended. This auditory phenomenon means that only a few sounds can exist in the same space at the same time. I also noticed that if two instruments had similar timbres or tones, one of them might aurally cancel.
maybe this organic music address has a slightly different meaning? maybe it means less perfect?
ORGANIC SYMPHONY
Compare this to a symphony orchestra or a choir in which several musicians play together at the same time. The orchestra has a thick acoustic sound that meets the definition organic music. If all the musicians are playing at the same time, how can we hear the different instruments? There are a few factors that make this possible. The musicians are playing at the same time, but no two people can place note by note at the exact moment like a computer can. This fraction of a millisecond difference when each musician puts his bow on the string can be multiplied by all the musicians playing. This produces a thickness to the sound texture of orchestras and choirs.
Another reason for being able to hear the various instruments is due to the timbre of the individual instruments or the choir voices. No two violins or voices have exactly the same tone or vibrato. This variation allows the human ear to differentiate between sounds.
An additional reason for variation is the use of multiple note ranges. Orchestras have first and second violins, violas, cellos, and a host of other instruments that play different notes in different octaves.
The last reason is where the musicians reside in the linear plane of hearing. For example, violins are heard more to the left, cello basses are heard more to the right, and woodwinds are heard more in the center. This is the result of where they are sitting in the orchestra during a performance and where a listener would commonly hear them from the audience.
APPLY THIS
Knowing this information can be vital to providing a more organic sound to recordings.
Instrumentation- If you’re using more than one type of the same instruments, like guitars from a keyboard or digital strings, try using two completely different textures. You can even adjust one to sound higher than the other. If you’re adding a digital woodwind or flute of some kind, add vibrato. If you’re using multiple instruments, use different octave ranges and divergent notes within the chord structure of the song.
panoramic – Use the pan function and place the instruments in the center left, another center, another center right, etc. This allows the listener to hear the individual instruments. If you are a band but want to achieve a chamber orchestra sound, place the orchestra as you would hear it live: violins to the left, viola center left, cello/bass to the far right. Place these instruments more toward the back using reverb while putting his guitar, bass, and vocals more up front.
Quantification – By all means, quantize your rhythm and drums and some of the instruments. In other cases, play the instruments throughout the song and allow for that millisecond variation, as if several musicians were playing at the same time.
Seals – Add a real voice, real percussion, or other real instrument along with your recording. If you are using the digital ah is on a keyboard song, have a real person sing along with them. Adding real live sounds goes a long way in making the recording more organic.
All the way through – I’ll use quantization to make drum tracks or basic percussion tracks and bass tracks. The rest I play live, until the end. It is challenging to do this and takes practice. The end result is that you can achieve a multi-player sound even if you’re recording solo.
“Music is a form of emotional communication, and when an instrument is played by a skilled player, it can convey that emotion from the composer, through the performer, to the listener. But when machines are allowed to have too much influence, then that emotional connection is broken. Yes, the notes, rhythms and timbres remain, but the subtleties that make music truly immersive are lost. Non-organic music often starts with good DNA (to continue the analogy) , but then it goes through the machine process and is liberally treated with pesticides (quantification) before being packaged and sold to the public.” Reference – Audio Masterclass