Day 4 - Magic & Technology

When The Beatles went into the studio, they had to get it right. Everything was recorded on analogue tape, and the term 'cut and paste' would have been meaningless to Ringo and his chums. Today, I have been amazed by the power of digital technology - and in fact, I can't seem to find a distinction between that and magic. Or possibly, it's just that Barnaby is a superhero.

This morning, we packed up the studio microphones and some other kit, and headed to a friend's house to record some piano. This was an ambitious venture, since I do not actually know how to play the piano. Seriously. I can string a few chords together, but I can't figure out how to use the pedals and I can't play any chords in which my baby finger has to hold down a black note. I must commend Barnaby on his patience - he sat through mistake after mistake and was able to use his magical powers to make my key-bashing sound a whole lot more natural.

We successfully recorded a full take of 'Soldier', but problems occurred as I tried to add some piano to 'Carry Me (Part 1)'. Having already recorded the guitar track, the plan was simply to play over the top of it. However, I'd played the guitar in the key of A-flat, forgetting that I cannot play in that key on a piano. There are black notes, you see. But never fear! Technology is here! At the touch of a button, Barnaby was able to transpose the guitar track temporarily into the key of G, which is much easier to play in on the piano. Once we had a good take, we simply returned the guitar track to A-flat, and altered the pitch of the piano track to match. Magic!


Of course, the living room we were recording in had no soundproofing, and as we listened back to the piano tracks, we noticed some rather persistent twittering birds in the background, coming from the garden. After the initial fear that we'd need to re-record, I have decided that they actually sound delightful, and we're keeping the takes - so listen out for them on final cut the album!