Dear Diary,
Exercising restraint is often one of the most difficult challenges in putting together recordings. The opportunities we have in building sound from silence are endless- and we can easily fall in to the trap of associating “more” with “better”. We can always add another layer to our arrangements- but does it make an impactful difference? Yes? Great. No? Mute. I often think the effectiveness of a recording hinges on knowing when to be minimal / maximal.
The same can be said in delivering noise. Manipulating audio is easier than ever- and we have the tools to do virtually all imaginable things with audio. But sometimes those tools can overcomplicate our process. Availability does not mean necessity. Just because I am able compress something doesn’t mean I always need to. Just because I have reverb at my fingertips doesn’t mean every vocal needs it. Sometimes creativity is about saying no as much as yes.
This post does not relate to pizza toppings.
RR@HR.