Remote Big Band Weekend Recording Session
We are running an exciting 'remote-recording' session during the current Coronavirus lockdown, and it is open to anyone who has previously attended one of our big band weekends.
We thought we would start with the piece composed for our dear friend Cheryl King, who was a stalwart of the big band weekends, and sadly Cheryl is no longer with us. She was the most amazing musician, and character, an inspiration to us all.
The composition is "For Cheryl" and the parts and backing guide tracks are available on this page as downloads.
The music
This piece should be returned as 2 separate recordings - the intro and the main piece.
Each backing track has a 2 bar click count in crotchet = 80 for the intro and crotchet = 160 for the main piece.
Brass & woodwind players
There are various backing tracks available here, some with a click just for the count in and some with a click throughout. Download them, and choose the track that works best for you.
Rhythm section players
There are various versions available, with different rhythm section instruments missing and some with no rhythm section and just a click.
We are sure that there will be a backing track to suit everyone,
How to record your part
You will need to record with the backing track you choose playing in headphones, and with no effects, equalisation (EQ) or multi-tracking.
Do I need to wash my hair?
Don't panic. If your only option to record is by filming yourself from your smartphone iPad or tablet, that's absolutely fine - we will extract the audio from the video, and the video will never be used. It is an idea to wash your hair at least once during lockdown though!
Using a smartphone or tablet
We are aware that not everyone will have recording facilities set up at home, but this can be quite successfully done by recording into the audio recorder on your smartphone or iPad or Tablet. Also, there are a lot of audio Apps available that will help you with multi-takes too!
If you have a digital audio interface already but need audio recording software for your PC, there is an If they need recording software the free Lite version of Multitrack Studio which is very good.
When do you need it?
Our submission deadline is Saturday 30th May 2020 - so there's plenty of time to get your big band chops in!
Where do I send my recording
Recordings should be sent to Steve at steve@stevewaterman.co.uk
Very large files should be uploaded to an FTP file transfer service such as WeTransfer
this is a free service, and it allows Steve to click a download link, rather than filling up is email in-box.
Good luck - have fun!
There's no pressure - if you make a mistake, it doesn't matter - it's about us all connecting, through a medium we all love - music!
