I have now finished one of the most stress inducing, mind melting project I have ever done. It is a binaural music therapy piece. It was not for one particular reason or another more of an accumulative effort of multiple small stressors.
A 10 minute version can be heard below. Make sure to wear headphones.
To begin with it was easy to find a project as I was told about this job and was intrigued. In our initial discussions it was mentioned that a video might be nice. I then spoke to my friend Ethan Vandersee who I had previously done Documentary Voice over recordings for. He was fine with helping me as he had a low workload at the time. I had learnt from previous experience with working with other disciplines to make sure to ask for the final product 2 weeks before you actually need it. This was beneficial as it allowed me to have everything done a week before the deadline. We went out together to the beach when we did the recording and filming which meant that I knew that he had video to use.
When it came to the actual piece, I had been talking to my client for a story to tell and all the elements he wanted. He his gongs and Himalayan bowls as well as an ambience. I further helped him develop it to have vocals and synth. Two weeks before I was to do the field recording, he asked for a hydrophone. I’d never heard of this. I quickly research realised that I could not get one in time as they are made to order in either the UK or US. I further researched and saw several methods to make one. I saw the parts realised I could make it work as long as I could get piezo elements and a longer mic cable. I ordered some that were said to be in stock (and they were not and came late so now I just have some). I then found another company that did get them here in time. I easily could get the mic cable and made the XLR end before I got the other parts. I then made the rest of the mic which was infuriating as it was the day before I was going to record, and my soldering iron’s tip does not heat up properly. I did get it working and I did the recordings, but it has a large amount of noise. I can’t get to the elements anymore to see what the problem is, so I think I’m just going to make it into a normal XLR. I’m still glad I went though this it was a fun experiment and reminded me of the frustration and achievement that I felt in high school when I did experiment reports (the electro-magnetic motor was especially painful with the amount of sparks I got hit with).
When it came to the recording sessions I struggled as I needed to visualise the 3D space and I was vastly unprepared. I had been given an arrangement by my client however, I now realise what I really needed was to know where the sounds would be in the space. I made sure I had a map of this for the second session which helped me with the mic placement and mixing.
When it came to the mixing it was all about moving the sound to the space and also realising which recordings sounded best. For instance, the spot mics for the gongs sounded better than the 3Dio and so I used an HRTF to move them into the right space. I was so unprepared for working on a session so large, long, and also requiring me to wear headphones. I spent as much of the editing without the headphones but once I got into the EQ and HRTF work I had to wear them from then on. I definitely feel proud that I worked hard on it and got it finished. I don’t know whether I would want to go back to this session as it was a massive headache from all the visualisation of space and manipulation of sound. The hardest part was also making sure it was audible. The separation was difficult and got harder in the mastering.
I don’t think I ever want to work on a binaural piece this long again. It was infuriating. I love music therapy and soundscapes. I have been mediating to these types of pieces since I was 13. It has helped me with focusing and calming down when meditating and reflecting. I also would prefer this type of work if it was arranged completely before as I had to put a large amount of work in to make it a full piece. I’m glad I took on this challenge. It tested me mentally and practically and I’m glad for the growth. I think this will be a piece that I will remember well as I find that the most infuriating pieces that challenge me are the ones in which I learn the most.
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