All 10's!!!

[edteja]

Wonderful!!!

[ragani]

Quote:prayer of harmony: great track - did you do the choirs with a "real" choir or just letting one singer overdubb the lines again and again?sounds great! you deserved the all 10s!martinHey Martin, thanks for all your kind words-- I know the caliber of music you do, so it's an honor to hear your FB. I used a real choir for both tracks. I did also use three main overdubs for my vocals on the Prayer of Harmony recording and the lead harmonies for Akhanda Prayer, but the chorus behind me is a real chorus of singers. I had two loving friends (bless them!!) who pain-stakingly auditioned some 40 people who wanted to be on our chant CD's (all our tracks on all the CD's have a full chorus). It takes a load of time to get real chorus recordings organized and planned, but the effect is well worth it for me! Quote:RAAGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!This is outrageous news. I am so, SO happy for you, I'm at a loss for words. Will listen to them later (when I have my ear buds with me), but my guess is they stink and the TAXI screeners haven't got a clue what they're talking about. Your news just brings me joy, plain and simple.congratulations.TedTed, you are so sweet. Yeah, now I will wait for it to turn into a deal that I can also post on my bedroom wall, like yours is. May we all have a LOAD of outrageous news in 2008! Plaster those walls!! Thanks a bundle to Anne, bmete, allends, and Traveling Ed Teja for your sweet posts. You guys are part of what makes celebrating in TAXI land such a joy!! Raags

[davewalton]

Quote:Yeah, now I will wait for it to turn into a deal... RaagsSo would that then be a "Raags to riches" story?

[ragani]

Quote:So would that then be a "Raags to riches" story? ROTFL!!! That's hilarious!!! Yes, Yes, Yes-- it's going to surely be a Raags to riches story!!! (Even though I pronounce my nickname as "Rahgs"-- short for "Ragani"-- it will surely be a road to riches while riding the TAXI bus!!)Raags

[ragani]

err... cab.

[hummingbird]

Quote:This is not a deal yet, but.... I just got notification in my e-mail that two of my forwards were given perfect 10's for ALL the scores!!! I can hardly believe it, and the scores were given to me by a reviewer that I don't remember ever having had review my pieces before. That's a bonus!! I'm just hoping there wasn't something in the egg nog over the holidays at the TAXI reviewer stations... LOL!!The listing was: A wide range of MEDITATION / NEW AGE ARTISTS with FULL LENGTH ALBUMS are needed by a West Coast-based Music Publisher who typically supplies music to companies such as Muzak (tracks for retail shops, restaurants, malls, etc.). For this project, they're acting as an agent to distribute your CD to large retail stores such as Wal-Mart, Costco, etc. to be included in specific CD sections of the store (in the check-out aisles, for example). They're open to many styles of Meditation music such as Ambient, Spiritual, Relaxation, Healing, and Nature. They are NOT looking for pop New Age such as Enya. Your CD must be mixed and mastered, but it is not necessary that you have a large amount of CDs or artwork (though it's preferred). Broadcast quality needed.My tracks were:Prayer of Harmony: http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... m=1Akhanda Prayer: http://www.taximusic.com/song.php?song_ ... ream=1This really made my day. What a way to go out for the year 2007!!!! I feel so many good things coming for 2008!!! AAAWWWWWWEEEE!!!!!!! RaagsWOW!!! That IS success in my book. And your pieces are fabulous - I love your harmonies, and the production is spot on -- I am not surprised at all to hear that you got all 10s! Kudos to you! Now, where can I buy the album???

[ragani]

Aw, Vikki, you are so sweet! Thank you so kindly for listening to my music. Everyone here has been so kind in celebrating this little success with me. Now... after all the forwards, I'm really hankering for a TAXI deal! I can feel it coming... And if this particular one goes through, our music will be on another CD, perhaps finding it's way through upscale restaurants, malls, and 5-star hotel spas! But for now both of our CD's are at Amazon & CDBaby (among others)...And to think, this was the only TAXI listing that I have EVER called TAXI about, as I was wondering about the fit. I wasn't sure if they would accept tracks with non-English lyrics for a New Age listing. Seems the listener believes they would! Raags

[horacejesse]

Raags, conratulations. I have never heard of a ten yet.Can you tell me about your recording technique for the choir? I have to do a group of kids voices pretty soon (15-30 of them). I want it to be in pitch (mostly) but sound like a group of real kids instead of a professional choir.

[ragani]

Hi horacejesse-- The chorus techniques vary somewhat depending upon the room and equipment you have available. If you'd like, you can send me a pm and forward my e-mail address to you so we can talk more about details for your situation, if there is anything I may offer. Here are some of my notes on technique. You can take what’s useful. My main "technique" really is to listen to what I am recording, to make sure it sounds great as is. I never wait until the mix to "fix" things-- I want all the fullness and feeling to be there in the raw recordings.Studio: You may not have much choice here, but if you do, it’s worth considering. For my recordings, I prefer a more open room with wood floor and medium high ceiling for recording-- that's allowed some natural resonance and room feel to be in the recordings. Consequently, I move my entire recording gear to a hall (such as a large yoga studio, etc.) just for the chorus recordings. If I'm recording in a smaller space, I do rely upon added effects more for the final mix.Mic Set Up: When I'm in a new space, I test the mic placements with a few friends before the actual chorus arrives, so I know as close to possible where I want the mics for recording in that space. This can take me a full hour sometimes. I use two Rode NT-2 mics in an X-Y pattern (if you don’t know what the X-Y pattern is, you can see a diagram here on p19: http://www.studioconsultants.com/manufa ... dixmic.pdf), and I place both mics close to each other and directly in front of the chorus, with the sweet spot of the mics parallel to middle height of the group. I also use two room ambient mics (Shure sm81’s) in the back of the room, also X-Y pattern, but with the mics in opposite corners of the room, both pointing toward the chorus. I move them around while listening to my friends singing in the pre-recording set up, in order to hear where the room mics sound their best. This is a big part of getting a good sound.Chorus placement: I use a minimum of two rows of people or three rows (depending upon how many people you have). To get the richest feeling of depth, I have the second row standing behind the first row and slightly higher than the first row. Same with the third row (if I have one), so that the front row is the lowest and the back row is the highest. Because I don’t have a chorus platform, my first row will often sit cross-legged on the floor, the second row will be seated on chairs, and the third row would be standing, for example. If possible, I also make each row a little longer than the previous row (so the first row is the shortest, the second is longer, and the third would be the longest), and I have them form a very slight semi-circle (don’t want them closed into the mics too much!). For example, if you have only 15 kids, you might use only 2 rows (that’s what I do), 7 in front and 8 in back, with the front row lower (seated low or on the floor) than the second row (standing or seated higher than first row). With 30 kids, you could have three rows of 8 (front), 10 (middle), 12 (back), or something like that.Most everyone I record with (of the chorus, that is) has never been in a studio before or recorded anything vocally, so I always prep them a little. You can pm me and I’ll send you my “before the studio” notes that I e-mail to the group, and you can adapt them for the kids, if you like. Once they are in the studio, we warm them up vocally with some fun exercises to loosen them up (reduce their nerves), and some gently stretches to get the juices flowing. We like to do group shoulder rubs to get the group energy going too. J Once they are in their general places for recording, I have them all make sure they have a straight view of the mic and move them accordingly. That means usually that I am right at the mic looking at all their mouths (literally!) to make sure each voice has a straight path to the mic. That seems to give me the best sound quality. Then I do a dry run to see how it sounds (i.e. to see who is singing the loudest or the most off-keyand maybe needs to be in the back row instead, etc.)Actual Recordings: I generally do at least 2-3 takes for each song, as that gives me a little more fullness and allows me to minimize any errors (loud noises, etc.). After each take, I move the individuals around so they are in a little different position than before, as it will allow for more fullness. This usually means moving the back group forward, and moving those who were on the outside toward the inside, etc. You will probably need to direct people, as people will tend to all just move to the opposite side, and that accomplishes very little (because it only reverses what you just recorded and that is not as useful). I try to think in terms of back to front, and inside to outside, etc. rather than left to right. You can always pan people in the mix later, but you cannot move them forward or backward.If you do 2 takes at least, you will have 4 main tracks (2 main mics recorded 2x) and 4 ambient room tracks (2 ambient room mics recorded 2x) to work with. In the mix-down I spent time panning the main tracks, then panning the ambient mic tracks to see where we can get the fullest sound. Maybe this could have been a whole new thread, but what the heck. I'm going to post it here. Hope it's helpful! Raags

[horacejesse]

Quote:Maybe this could have been a whole new thread, but what the heck. I'm going to post it here. Hope it's helpful! Very helpful indeed, Raags. Thanks for all that information! Good stuff!