May 30, 2007
Recording Your Kalimba:
Set a Time Grid, or do a Free Form Recording?

We are starting a new Tip Topic for Wednesday on recording tricks. Many of these tricks will be applicable to recording other instruments, but the kalimba will always be in my view as I present some of the tricks I have used to make my four Kalimba CD's.

The first thing I decide when I go to record a song is: do I want a precise time grid to help me lay down this kalimba part (and other musical parts in the future), or do I want to do a free-form performance that ebbs and swells, not worrying about the precise timing?

If you want to get people dancing, or if you are going to be adding lots of other instruments, you probably want some sort of precise time grid to help you in the recording process. We'll get into some of the ways you can create a precise time grid next week. On the other hand, if you are doing a solo kalimba piece and you want to be very expressive, the free form recording may make more sense.

When recording, I actually like a few surprises down the road, so I don't have everything figured out in advance. However, you don't want to spend 2 hours recording something only to find that it is not possible to do what you want because you have created a bad foundation. Whatever you put down first is part of that foundation, so it is important to put down something you can work with throughout the project.