{"id":209,"date":"2019-06-13T15:46:31","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T15:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.emmetrobinson.com\/wp\/?p=209"},"modified":"2019-09-26T19:01:11","modified_gmt":"2019-09-26T19:01:11","slug":"small-body-big-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.emmetrobinson.com\/wp\/announcement\/small-body-big-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Body, Big Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"
AUDIBILITIES<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
By Emmet Robinson \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 King Street Recording Company<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
Professional Audio Services for Any Purpose You Can Think Of<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
Video and Photo Too!<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0610-647-4341 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/b>
\n<\/span><\/div>\n
www.kingstreetrecording.com<\/b><\/a><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/b>kingstreetrecord@aol.com<\/b><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Blog:\u00a0<\/b><\/span>www.emmetrobinson.com\/wp\/<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 Celebrating Fifty-one Years in Business!<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/i><\/b>
\n<\/span><\/div>\n
Volume 72, Summer, 2019<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Small Body, Big Voice<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 The tiny mandolin is yet one more descendant of the lute family, with ancestors dating back to Mesopotamia three thousand years ago. Although roughly the size as a ukulele, the modern mandolin has a few interesting differences:<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022<\/span>\u00a0For each single string on the ukulele, the mandolin has two, tuned in unison.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022<\/span>\u00a0Instead of gut or nylon, the mandolin is strung with steel.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022<\/span>\u00a0The abrasive nature of the steel strings requires the use of a pick rather than the fingers.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022<\/span>\u00a0The tuning is very different from that of the uke \u2013 more like that of the violin and viola. As a result, different chord formations are used.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Like most other stringed instruments, the mandolin is found in a variety of shapes and sizes.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022<\/span>\u00a0The body of the Neapolitan or round-backed mandolin is quite deep, and shaped something like a gourd. Difficult to play while standing, it\u2019s generally held on the lap of a seated musician.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022<\/span>\u00a0The carved-top or arch-top version is much shallower, with a gently curved top and back. A simple shoulder strap allows this version to be played while standing.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022<\/span>\u00a0Also playable standing, the flat-backed mandolin is made from thin sheets of wood, with internal bracing added for strength. Its construction is similar to that of the guitar.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Mandolin soundboards \u2013 the fronts or tops of the instruments \u2013 may vary widely. As there must be an opening to allow the music to escape, some sound holes may be round or oval in shape. Others take their design from the violin which has two sound holes, each shaped like a stylized letter\u00a0S.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 While the development of this instrument can be traced over much of the world, the modern design appears to have been developed by the Viniccia family of Naples. The raised, extended fingerboard and geared tuning pegs were accredited to Pasquale Vinaccia in the late 1800s.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 The versatile mandolin, and its relatives, has been used over an extraordinary range of music. There have been mandolin orchestras dedicated to the performance of classical music. Chris Thile plays superb mandolin solos of complex Bach compositions. Much of the music I\u2019m personally familiar with is in the related fields of country and bluegrass.\u00a0<\/span>Bill Monroe, known as the father of bluegrass music, played a Gibson.<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 A highly versatile instrument, the high, crisp tone of the mandolin allows it to project well, even without the aid of a microphone.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/b>
\n<\/span><\/div>\n
IN THE STUDIO<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
VOICES<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 In producing musical recordings since 1967, I\u2019ve heard a lot of singers. Many were quite good. Just recently, however, I was delighted to work with a young professional new to the area who is quite extraordinary and needs to present herself to agents with a current demo.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Professionally trained, with Broadway experience, Kelly Briscoe has every quality I admire in a singer. With accurate intonation and perfect vibrato, she presents wonderful warmth of tone \u2013 even at the top of her extensive range. As a self-described \u201cBelter,\u201d when emphasis is\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
needed, she has power to spare. Best of all, she lends genuine emotion to the lyrics \u2013 she means every word she sings!<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 As she was able to provide her own pre-recorded music tracks in a useful format, we began by importing them to the recording system in the control room.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Then, in the studio, she put on headphones while we adjusted recording levels and the volume in her headphones.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 With the experience of many hundreds of live performances behind her, she was easily able to begin with minimal warm-up.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Her first song had an interesting history. Written in 1920 for a French musical revue, \u201cMon Homme\u201d was eventually translated into English under the title, \u201cMy Man,\u201d and performed by Fanny Brice in the 1938 Ziegfield Follies. Ms. Brice\u2019s recording eventually earned a Grammy.\u00a0<\/span>Many major vocalists have produced their own interpretations of this classic ballad since then, but my absolute favorite is Kelly\u2019s version recorded here.<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Two more tunes were recorded in quick succession with revisions recorded on parallel tracks and carefully blended in. The result was an audio CD and three mp3 files that should attract the attention of any intelligent talent representative. Watch out world, here she comes!<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
It\u2019s a Wrap!<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 After several months of extensive recording and editing, the audio version of Pax Tandon\u2019s new book,Mindfulness Matters,<\/i>\u00a0now appears to be complete. In listening to her warm voice, you\u2019ll have the sensation that she\u2019s speaking directly to you.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 All that remains now is duplication and packaging of the eight-disk series. For details, contact Schiffer Publishing at 610-593-9292.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Note:\u00a0The printed version is currently available on Amazon, and is well worth the small investment. Pax simply makes the point that a positive view leads to more positive experiences and a fuller, richer life.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
The Artist\u2019s Voice<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 A Philadelphia artist brought in a PowerPoint presentation needing narration to accompany her powerful original images. Rather than use a professional narrator, she chose to lend her own voice to the production and did very well. Working from her original script, she spoke softly, quietly, but with sincerity and heartfelt emotion. In a world of so many pleasantly glib voices, she was a refreshing change of pace.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Interesting\u2026<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 All of the voices I\u2019ve recorded this year have been those of women. Where are the guys?<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
FROM THE ATTIC<\/span><\/div>\n
Grit and Determination<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 In processing a recorded biography, I heard the inspiring story of a woman who managed to rise to success from very humble beginnings.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Born in Pittsburgh in the 1920s, the African-American daughter of a steel worker and a domestic, she lived with her family in a two-room third floor apartment where the beds were shared and the building\u2019s single bathroom was shared with other tenants.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Developing a love for reading at an early age, and inspired by a sister, she did well in school and decided to attend Tuskegee College in Alabama.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Although both her neighborhood and her schools had been ethnically mixed, her bus trip to the South was a very different experience. The long trip required many transfers from one bus to another and, beginning in Wheeling, West Virginia, the buses were rigidly segregated with black passengers often ushered off to make room for whites.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 On arrival at Tuskegee, she found herself without sufficient funds for enrollment and had to call on a brother for help.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 At last, with grit and determination, she completed her courses and graduated in 1948 with a degree in commercial dietetics.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Considering the challenges she faced, earning her degree was an astounding achievement. Every time I think my life is too difficult, I\u2019ll think of her and her triumph over adversity!<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
A New Record<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Some restoration projects are more complex than others and require the creation of many individual sound files. The previous record of sixty-four, set by a local university, has just been broken by an overseas client with an order for more than 120! Can you beat that?<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Family Reunion<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 The tape I received wasn\u2019t playable due to a missing pressure pad in the cassette shell. So, I carefully opened the shell and transferred the tape to a new one. With that out of the way, I could then digitize an entertaining recording of a family reunion held in New York in 1960.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 The client provided text, so the CD labels were easy to produce.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 More interesting was the photo for the CD covers. At first glance, it seemed fine. On closer inspection, it was clear that the upper left hand portion of the photo had somehow been tapered off. Well, now, we can\u2019t have that!<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Using appropriate software, it was possible to re-create what was missing. As there are no single buttons to push for this kind of photo restoration, it was done with hundreds of tiny strokes with the equivalent of tiny digital paintbrushes. As all of this could be done within 30 minutes, it fell under the standard rate for custom CD covers of $24.95 for processing, plus $2.75 for each cover printed. The restoration allowed including the\u00a0entire\u00a0<\/i>photo, not just most of it.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
A Lucky Save<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Although I normally retain digital audio files for only a year, some instinct borne of decades of experience leads me to save some of them even longer. A recent request for a single copy of a piano recording proved that to be a useful practice. With the file still in the system, no processing was required and the extra copy was ready in just minutes!\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Word Gets Around<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Because the menu of services available here is diversified far beyond the norm, happy clients tell their friends and word gets around. This results in inquiries and orders from beyond the immediate neighborhood. For example\u2026<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022<\/span>\u00a0A call from\u00a0Oklahoma City<\/b>\u00a0developed into an interesting restoration project. An old tape of a musical family get-together had gotten mangled in the recorder and needed repair. In the absence of a suitable local provider, a search of the Internet led to the tape arriving here.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Opening the cassette shell, I found the damaged portion of tape to be quite short \u2013 only two or three seconds of music would be lost.<\/span><\/div>\n
Using a precision splicing block and special adhesive tabs, the damaged portion was carefully removed and the remaining ends joined.<\/span><\/div>\n
The repaired tape was then reinstalled in the cassette shell, tested, digitized and transferred to disk. Once all was processing was completed, two CDs and the original tape were sent to the client by certified mail.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
HINT:<\/b><\/span>\u00a0After playing a cassette tape, wind it completely to one end or the other. This will prevent a loop of loose tape being caught in the machine and damaged.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022<\/b><\/span>\u00a0<\/b>A caller in\u00a0North Carolina<\/b>\u00a0provided a challenge in the form of a poor quality video file of what appeared to be a talent show. The file was made from an original source, which had then been discarded. Somewhere in the middle of the video was a five-minute segment needing improvement.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 Since the file I received would not import directly to any useful application, I resorted to trickery and deceit to fool the computer into accepting the file anyway. The requested improvement proved to be possible and, along the way, I had an interesting learning experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022<\/span>\u00a0From a client in\u00a0Colorado<\/b>\u00a0I received a VHS tape of an original school performance of\u00a0The Sound of\u00a0<\/i>Music for transfer to disk.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022<\/b><\/span>A client who makes his home on the island of\u00a0Maui\u00a0<\/b>keeps rummaging through his garage and finding more tapes of his original concerts. The two newest were recorded in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Panama City, Panama respectively. I wonder what he\u2019ll find next?<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
NOTE:<\/b><\/span>\u00a0For safe delivery in sending original recordings here, please send by Certified Mail with a return receipt request.<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The tiny mandolin is yet one more descendant of the lute family, with ancestors dating back to Mesopotamia three thousand years ago. Although roughly the size as a ukulele, the modern mandolin has a few interesting differences:
\n\u2022\u00a0For each single string on the ukulele, the mandolin has two, tuned in unison.
\n\u2022\u00a0Instead of gut or nylon, the mandolin is strung with steel.
\n\u2022\u00a0The abrasive nature of the steel strings requires the use of a pick rather than the fingers.
\n\u2022\u00a0The tuning is very different from that of the uke \u2013 more like that of the violin and viola. As a result, different chord formations are used.<\/p>\n Continue reading →<\/span><\/a>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-announcement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emmetrobinson.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emmetrobinson.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emmetrobinson.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emmetrobinson.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emmetrobinson.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.emmetrobinson.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212,"href":"https:\/\/www.emmetrobinson.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209\/revisions\/212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.emmetrobinson.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emmetrobinson.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.emmetrobinson.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}