Music

Musical composition, or simply composition, can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece, or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called composers. Composers of primarily songs are usually called songwriters; with songs, the person who writes lyrics for a song is the lyricist.

The act of composing typically includes the creation of music notation, such as a sheet music “score,” which is then performed by the composer or by other instrumental musicians or singers. In popular music and traditional music, songwriting may involve the creation of a basic outline of the song, called the lead sheet, which sets out the melody, lyrics and chord progression. In some cases, a pop or traditional songwriter may not use written notation at all, and instead compose the song in their mind and then play, sing and/or record it from memory.

Although a musical composition often uses musical notation and has a single author, this is not always the case. A work of music can have multiple composers, which often occurs in popular music when all members of a band collaborate to write a song, or in musical theater, when one person writes the melodies, a second person writes the lyrics, and a third person orchestrates the songs.

A song usually consists of many things in which harmony, melody and lyrics (if it is not instrumental) are the main components.

Melody

The melody is often the most distinct part of a musical work. It is the melody you often remember from a song and maybe recapitulate afterwards by whistle it. A melody can be created from a small musical idea, sometimes referred to as a motif.

Harmony

Harmony in music can be described in many ways. You could call it the mood or atmosphere of the song. A concrete example of harmony in music can be an instrument accompanying a singer. Whatever the ingredients are the harmony is collaborating with the melody.

Combine harmony and melody

The order in which harmony and melody are created can vary among composers. The art of combining harmony and melody is done with talent, experience and some guidelines.

The song structure and related areas

When you are composing a song, it is often enough to stay in one or two keys throughout the song. A typical song starts in one key and stays in it, or, changes key somewhere in the song and most often return back to the original key before the end.

In popular music a typical song structure could be something like this:

1. Intro
2. Verse
3. Chorus
4. Verse
5. Chorus
6. Bridge
7. Verse
8. Chorus
9. Outro

The verses approximately consist of three to six lines and usually with different lyrics. The choruses tend to use fewer lines and often repeats the same lyrics. Needless to say: the harmony and melody should both change going from verse to chorus.

For what purpose do you need composition?

Single vocal or instrumental composition is often written for one or multiple singers or orchestra. Multiple compositions are usually created for whole music album, concert or TV show. Apart from this, music compositions can find purpose in various other applications. They can be created for intros, outros, commercials, jingles, podcast music, corporate music, movie soundtracks, background music, music for games, music for festivals, ringtones… Also, they can be composed in various musical styles and genres.

Singers, composers, songwriters and lyricist are always welcome for cooperation.

For recording vocals, acoustic and electronic instruments studio is equipped with quality condenser and dynamic microphones. Depending on the live sound source and application, different types are used. All mics are made by reputable manufacturers AKG, Shure, Rode and Sennheiser.

RME AD/DA convertors are great for transferring analog sound signal from mics to digital audio signal used in a production workstation. RME convertors retain transparent sound and add no color to the tone.

The studio equipment can also be used portable for recording live sets and concerts.

In the earliest days of the music recording, the process was much simpler than it is today. Entire performances were recorded in single takes, sometimes with just 1 or 2 mics.

Today though, we use a more sophisticated process known as multitrack recording, where each instrument is recorded separately and combined later in a “mix”.

This offers two BIG advantages:

• It allows engineers to mold and shape the sound of each instrument independently of the others.
• It allows each instrument in a song to be recorded one at a time.

Mastering is the final step of audio post-production. The purpose of mastering is to balance sonic elements of a stereo mix and optimize playback across all systems and media formats. Traditionally, mastering is done using tools like equalization, compression, limiting and stereo enhancement.

Think of mastering as the glue, varnish and polish that optimizes playback quality on all devices — from tiny iPhone speakers to massive dance club sound systems. Mastering bridges the gap between artist and consumer. The term itself comes from the idea of a master copy. All copies or duplications of the audio come from the master. These copies can be distributed on multiple formats like vinyl, CD’s or Tape, and streaming services like Spotify, iTunes and SoundCloud. Additionally, mastering allows for restoration of hisses, clicks or small mistakes missed in the final mix. Mastering also ensures uniformity and consistency of sound between multiple tracks on an album. Ultimately, what mastering does is create a clean and cohesive feeling across all your audio.

Why master?

The goal of mastering is to ensure that your audio will sound the best it can on all platforms. Music has never been consumed on more formats and devices than today. Even if you are recording and mixing in a million dollar studio, or recording in less than ideal conditions, you still need the final quality check of mastering. This ensures that your sound will be heard the way you intended it to be.

A good mastering job makes an album consistent and balanced across all tracks. Without mastering, individual tracks can sound disjointed in relation to each other.

What’s the difference between mixing and mastering?

Though mixing and mastering do share similar techniques and tools, and are often confused, the two are indeed different. Mixing typically refers to a multitrack recording, whereas mastering is the final polish of a mixdown. Think of it this way:

Mixing

Mixing is all about getting individual parts or instruments to work as a song. Think of it like building a car. All the parts of the car need to come together for it to run properly. The mixdown process is all about making sure all the parts are in place.

A good mix should easily flow into the mastering process.

Mastering

Now think of mastering like the best car wash ever. You want your new car to look as slick and shiny as possible. Mastering polishes everything to a perfect shine. It puts gas in the tank and oils up all the moving parts for the best possible performance.

What does mastering do?

Mastering is a complex process. Here are few techniques involved: audio restoration, stereo enhancement, EQ, compression, loudness, bit depth reduction, sample rate conversion…

Think of mastering as the bridge between creation and sharing. After mastering, your audio should sound complete, uniform, professional and balanced. Whether you’re sharing online as a free download, or pressing a massive run of vinyl, good mastering allows you to release your work with confidence — no matter where it’s played.