What is tracking in music

Learn more You may notice that the 'cookie consent' form pops up more often than usual lately - we are tweaking it behind-the-scenes to make sure it's working comprehensively. If you see it again it's because something has changed so please set your preferences accordingly. It's really just another word for recording. Recording to one or more of the tracks became tracking.

Just another term for recording. Sent from my Droid using Gearslutz. By using this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Code by Port Forward. Hosted by Nimbus Hosting. For example, the 1st verse only has guitar and vocal, the 2nd verse adds the bass and drums, and the 1st chorus adds the synths and vocal harmonies. This is the arrangement of the various instruments within the song. The possibilities are endless. Even subtle additions can add a lot of interest for the listener, whether they realize it or not.

I like to judge by feel. You can usually feel when a section has reached its limits, or if you need to change something up to keep people interested. Instruments should come in and out, building in energy, introducing twists and turns along the way. Whenever I think about the arrangement, I first try and pick out the one or two elements that are most important to the song and what I want the listener to focus on.

Then I listen to the track and ask: What else could I do here to vary it up? Does it need anything else? Sometimes the right answer is to leave it alone. Knowing when to do this is what makes a great producer.

Now we bring the gear in. A song exists in the ether. What makes it tangible is a recording of that song at a certain point in time. Tracking is the process of recording the various instruments that are used to perform a song. Usually, a song is recorded one track at a time. This is the process of multi-track recording. Why is it important to think of tracking as a separate process than songwriting? Because songwriting is a different kind of focus than performing. However, when performing a song — for posterity, nonetheless — you need to use your mind to concentrate in a very different way.

You need to be focused on playing in time and with the right feeling. Although you have many editing options for fixing mistakes and helping a performance, there is a limit to what you can do while still having it sound natural, and nothing beats having a superior performance to begin with.

If you try and combine the writing and performing into one process, then typically both suffer. When you push record, give the performance of your life and think about nothing else.

Every time. Check out how David and Lusil record a song live through plugins:. The possibilities of digital editing have made capturing a great performance easier than ever.

And when it comes time to do some editing, you should treat this as a separate stage for a couple of reasons. Leave the editing to a later stage. If you need some step-by-step advice on cleaning, editing and polishing your vocal tracks, check out this video tutorial. The goal of this stage is to get the performance sounding as good as possible, nothing more.

You know the scene, you have just spent days, weeks and more preparing, writing and rehearsing your tracks. But what are your next steps when it comes to recording Are you looking to hire a music producer? Visit our freelance marketplace to post up a job and top quality music producers will contact you with their rates. The key to getting the production you want on your track is to make sure you give your For the past eight months, we've been sending out Twine Snacks - our daily tips and tricks to help you break into the music industry!

But don't worry if you've not subscribed yet, because we've compiled some of our best tips for you to peruse right Mix Engineering Music Production. Joe Scarffe. Tracking Tracking simply means the process of recording tracks.