How Do I Do What I Do?

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A lot of people ask me how I go about recording my songs so I figured it'd be good to take some time to explain my process  :)

Let me first say one thing: I'm a poor musician.  I don't have equipment per se, but I make do with what I have.

The first thing I do (typically) is record a base track with keyboard and lead vocals.  The reason why I don't record on our upright is because it tends to be too loud on recordings and I'm not skilled enough to control the dynamic level manually, so instead I use the Clavinova keyboard.  It has weighted keys and a million settings, but I usually just opt for a Live Pop Piano sound.  It sounds different on the recording anyway, so I don't sweat over the settings too much.  The first track takes some time.  And by that I mean it's really frustrating.  I don't do any punch-ins, so if I make a mistake on keyboard or vocally...I start all over.  The worst is when my voice cracks on the very last note or I flub up a chord at the end.  I've also noticed that I tend to start recording before I've figured out how I'm going to end a song...why do I do that?!  While I could record each track individually, I think it's good practice for me at this stage to try and play/sing together as much as possible.  It's still pretty difficult at times, but if I ever want to perform in public...I'll have to do that anyway, so it makes more sense to just suck it up and do it.

Plus it looks cool.

You'll probably be shocked to know that I record everything on my digital slr, Canon Rebel T3i.  Er, at least most of it.  If I'm feeling fancy, I'll use my other slr which is a crappy Fujifilm and perhaps my Kodak zi8 for extra angles.  Most of the time it's too annoying to have to get up and hit "record" on three cameras...play a few bars, make a mistake and have to stop/delete/re-record again.  So lately I've only been using two cameras.  Once I get a decent take, I upload it into iPhoto and then transfer the audio over to Audacity.  Then I start layering.  Usually I'll start with harmonies.  I'll put on some headphones and try singing along with the lead vocal I already recorded.  I'll typically add at least two harmony lines for choruses and some harmony fillers during the verses.  I use my T3i for this as well (The advantage of using my camera is that I never have to worry about lining up audio with video.  Once the audio track is finished, I just take pieces of all the video I recorded and splice it together).  Depending on the song, I usually add a few violin lines using the same method of recording and layering.  Then perhaps a solo part if necessary.

I try to think outside the box a little bit, especially when it comes to my violin.  Eventually I'd like to incorporate some more complex lines and such, lending inspiration from my classical studies, but I just haven't yet.  If you watched "Fool of Me" I used something that are called false harmonics at the beginning.  Not extravagant by any means, but not something you typically hear in pop music.

I don't know much about the logistics of Audacity.  I know how to make certain tracks quieter, but I don't really do anything to change the tone...at least intentionally.  Every now and then I mess around with something and type a few numbers into some settings and I suddenly get a cool sound, but I don't actually know what I'm doing.  Ha.  Once I finish the song...I import it into iMovie and start splicing the video parts together.  It takes some time trying to find the exact moments I'm playing certain things, but having done it so many times I've been able to speed up this process.  Then I sit back, watch it to make sure everything lines up, export it, and upload it to the world wide web for your enjoyment.

So yeah.  It's a little west coast, but for not having a mic or legitimate recording equipment...it's sufficient enough for now.

Do any of you have special ways you record?  I mean, other than going into a studio and doing it the right way :)