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snoozefestaudio75F and sunny this morning. They say we're getting more smoke from Canada soon, but things look pretty normal out there right now.
Today I'm going to work as normal, but tomorrow I'm gonna call in sick so I can get to the DMV and renew my license.
I'm also gonna trim my head tonight, for the DL photo.
Then, tomorrow night, I'll send off the docs to BMO, and get that ball rolling.
--<>--
I need to also get the ball rolling on a new basement hatch door.
With the chainlink fence project off the table, that's now on the front burner.
That requires clearing space on the porch to prep the plywood.
So, I gotta be doing that after work every night.
But the porch accumulated a lot of junk, back when I was clearing space in Dad's room for his hospital bed, and turning the back room into a guest room for Tim.
So, a lot of crap has been waiting to be either thrown away or boxed up.
But I have garbage stickers, and there's still room in the music room to store boxes and furniture.
------------{=0=}------------
9:38PM
Had to do another emergency InstaCart for catfood today, and had them grab me some ice cream sandwiches too.
It's summer afterall!
And speaking of that, the first lone crickets are now singing out there... both field and bush crickets... one over here... another across the street.
Feels earlier than last year, to be hearing them, but... it's happening.
At any rate, after I got home tonight, I did trim my head... low as it goes... #1 on the trimmer!
I'm a cueball, with a bit of peach fuzz now.
--<>--
But then I sat down in the studio and went online to find a train whistle sound effect.
Why bother trying to recreate it with flutes?.. and I found a perfect one.
But Fruity Edition doesn't let me throw in sound files. I have to add such things in Audacity.
So... I exported the latest version of, Closer to You as a FLAC, opened it in Audacity, and added the train whistle at the desired moments.
I was able to change it's pitch to C-flat, to match the music... and it sounded great!
--<>--
I then plugged in the speakers to hear it all out in the room, and took some notes on the mix.
I reopened the song in FL Studio and made the changes.
And this time, I exported it as a high resolution WAV file.
In audacity, I was able to replace the FLAC version with the new WAV file, and then I played it again.
And, oh my God!.. it just sounded GREAT!
Everything I did with the trolley sequence and the ending-builds, over the weekend really works now!.. especially after those few tweaks, and the addition of that train whistle!
It's all nice and clear... the transition into trolley mode isn't jarring... nothing's stepping on anything else... and it really does evolk now, the sense of being on a trolley, and the associated romance of such a thing.
There's no ambiguity... you know exactly what's happening!
------------{=0=}------------
Okay, so... the whole strategy I'm gonna use for recording songs has become clear now!
I don't have to upgrade to FL's Producer edition. I can do everything with Fruity Edition, and Audacity.
FL lets me go back and make even minor changes to the music and the mix with ease, and re-export it as a WAV.
Audacity's AUP file format lets me keep the stereo track of that WAV file separate from the vocal tracks, and the sound effects tracks.
So, in the AUP file... if the music's not perfectly mixed with the vocals, I can replace the WAV file after having recorded the vocals... and it'll all still line up.
So, there's no firm commitment to a final song, until that AUP is exported as a FLAC (or and MP3)... and I can always go back and change things, if, months later, I decide it needs a little something.
And having the music as a high resolution WAV, in the AUP file, means that it'll still sound great after it's further compressed, with the vocals, into a FLAC.
------------{=0=}------------
The only weak link in the chain here is my vocal microphone... but I think I can do pretty well with the one I have... now that I know how to hear myself in headphones while recording.
Audacity does have reverb, delay, compression, EQ, and other features that will give me some latitude with blending that raw vocal track into the music.
So... I really think I'm gonna be off to the races pretty soon here, with a whole album!
I've had years of experience with Audacity now.
And I've also had years of experience... in the field of image creation... with using two or more apps for differents steps of the production process.
------------{=0=}------------
So... tomorrow I start the process of saving the house from foreclosure, by renewing my drivers license, with a photo of me with a cue ball head, that the folks at BMO will be looking at on Wednesday.
And as I move ahead through the second half of July, I'm also now thinking of the little recording studio in Dad's room as... my birthday present to myself.
°¦}
https://soundcloud.com/snoozefestaudio
Today I'm going to work as normal, but tomorrow I'm gonna call in sick so I can get to the DMV and renew my license.
I'm also gonna trim my head tonight, for the DL photo.
Then, tomorrow night, I'll send off the docs to BMO, and get that ball rolling.
I need to also get the ball rolling on a new basement hatch door.
With the chainlink fence project off the table, that's now on the front burner.
That requires clearing space on the porch to prep the plywood.
So, I gotta be doing that after work every night.
But the porch accumulated a lot of junk, back when I was clearing space in Dad's room for his hospital bed, and turning the back room into a guest room for Tim.
So, a lot of crap has been waiting to be either thrown away or boxed up.
But I have garbage stickers, and there's still room in the music room to store boxes and furniture.
Had to do another emergency InstaCart for catfood today, and had them grab me some ice cream sandwiches too.
It's summer afterall!
And speaking of that, the first lone crickets are now singing out there... both field and bush crickets... one over here... another across the street.
Feels earlier than last year, to be hearing them, but... it's happening.
At any rate, after I got home tonight, I did trim my head... low as it goes... #1 on the trimmer!
I'm a cueball, with a bit of peach fuzz now.
But then I sat down in the studio and went online to find a train whistle sound effect.
Why bother trying to recreate it with flutes?.. and I found a perfect one.
But Fruity Edition doesn't let me throw in sound files. I have to add such things in Audacity.
So... I exported the latest version of, Closer to You as a FLAC, opened it in Audacity, and added the train whistle at the desired moments.
I was able to change it's pitch to C-flat, to match the music... and it sounded great!
I then plugged in the speakers to hear it all out in the room, and took some notes on the mix.
I reopened the song in FL Studio and made the changes.
And this time, I exported it as a high resolution WAV file.
In audacity, I was able to replace the FLAC version with the new WAV file, and then I played it again.
And, oh my God!.. it just sounded GREAT!
Everything I did with the trolley sequence and the ending-builds, over the weekend really works now!.. especially after those few tweaks, and the addition of that train whistle!
It's all nice and clear... the transition into trolley mode isn't jarring... nothing's stepping on anything else... and it really does evolk now, the sense of being on a trolley, and the associated romance of such a thing.
There's no ambiguity... you know exactly what's happening!
Okay, so... the whole strategy I'm gonna use for recording songs has become clear now!
I don't have to upgrade to FL's Producer edition. I can do everything with Fruity Edition, and Audacity.
FL lets me go back and make even minor changes to the music and the mix with ease, and re-export it as a WAV.
Audacity's AUP file format lets me keep the stereo track of that WAV file separate from the vocal tracks, and the sound effects tracks.
So, in the AUP file... if the music's not perfectly mixed with the vocals, I can replace the WAV file after having recorded the vocals... and it'll all still line up.
So, there's no firm commitment to a final song, until that AUP is exported as a FLAC (or and MP3)... and I can always go back and change things, if, months later, I decide it needs a little something.
And having the music as a high resolution WAV, in the AUP file, means that it'll still sound great after it's further compressed, with the vocals, into a FLAC.
The only weak link in the chain here is my vocal microphone... but I think I can do pretty well with the one I have... now that I know how to hear myself in headphones while recording.
Audacity does have reverb, delay, compression, EQ, and other features that will give me some latitude with blending that raw vocal track into the music.
So... I really think I'm gonna be off to the races pretty soon here, with a whole album!
I've had years of experience with Audacity now.
And I've also had years of experience... in the field of image creation... with using two or more apps for differents steps of the production process.
So... tomorrow I start the process of saving the house from foreclosure, by renewing my drivers license, with a photo of me with a cue ball head, that the folks at BMO will be looking at on Wednesday.
And as I move ahead through the second half of July, I'm also now thinking of the little recording studio in Dad's room as... my birthday present to myself.
°¦}
