Tag: EQ

If you are fond of music and looking for some nice device, which can be a good companion, ten you can consider latest device in the town called Nokia 5220 Xpress Music. It is a mid-ranged MP3 phone. Xpress Music is very successful and adorable range from Nokia and having heads on competition with Sony Ericssons Walkman series.

Design

The most attractive feature of the design of this phone is its slim form factor. It looks sleek and stylish; that is why youngsters adore this phone. It measures just 10.5 mm in thickness. It resembles 5310 in features and looks but still it is slimmer. Although it is built of plastic, but it is durable and have good build quality. It sports a 2″ TFT display having resolution 240 x 320 pixels and supports 262 K colors. The screen offers good brightness and contrast level. As usual, keypad is just below the screen. You can choose from three colors available- red, green and blue. It features 3.5mm audio jack, microUSB port and the volume keys

Other Features

Series 40 platform is a norm in Nokias mid and low range mobile phones. It features the simplest interface but with lots of features. It is fast, intuitive and convenient. It also sports a nice and useful music player interface which blends well with the new look of the phone. You can interact with this phone with lots of customizable settings. It features custom EQ and seven preset EQs. You can listen to your music wirelessly on Bluetooth headphones due to A2DP profile. It is true shiner from XpressMusic category because of its good sound quality. Video player in this phone is better than the previous models. However, 2″ screen is insufficient for video playback. It can play 3GP and MP4 formats.

Nokia 5220 Xpress Music features a 2-MP camera, which allows you to take picture at 1600-x 1200 pixel resolution. Although, you cannot boast of this camera but it can take satisfactory pics. The phone will impress you with its nice call reception quality. To give clear sound, it features background noise cancellation. It features FM radio and is powered by 1020 mAh Li-Ion BL-5 CT battery.

The other siblings of this phone from Xpressmusic category have more advanced features however, 5220 have its own features. It is a good music option at low prices and has a slim and novel design.

FYI: These suggestions are shared with you based on my own personal experience and from watching many independent as well as major artists over the years. How you take it is up to you. But if you are truly serious about wanting to make it in the music industry, I hope you take these points into consideration when you are honing your craft. Read on.

Lesson #1: Microphone Etiquette

-Turn my mic up!-

-Turn the music down!-

-Turn me up!-

-Turn me down!-

-I can’t hear myself!-

How many of you have heard these phrases from an artist performing on stage? Here’s an even better question: How many of you have found yourself saying them before/during a performance? I have, and I’m not afraid to admit it. In some situations it may be the DJ or whoever’s running the sound system. In other cases it may be the sound system itself. But in most cases-and in no way is this being stated to belittle any up and coming performer, whether you sing, rap, or play an instrument-it may not be any of those situations.

Yes, that’s right: It may just be YOU.

I’ve seen many artists who will get agitated because they feel like the audience can’t hear them or they can’t hear themselves, and will automatically blame whoever’s running the sound. But there’s nothing wrong with the system; the microphones are brand new, the speakers are leveled great, and the EQ is on point. The problem is the way they are holding the microphone. If you are a professional and/or major artist-C’MON SON. (Though nowadays some major artists don’t know how to perform on stage, but that’s another topic. *cough*) But if you are just starting out, I understand. At the same time I feel sorry for most of you because you’re just jumping out there ready to make it big, yet you do not have the proper training necessary in this music industry. There are methods that lead to success, and you have to be willing to learn them. If you want people to hear you on stage, you have to learn how to use the microphone.

Holding the microphone

You can sing and/or rap as loud as you want, but the audience will not be able to hear clearly if the microphone is too far away from your mouth. No one should be watching you perform with it all the way down near your chest. For better results, the microphone should be at least 1 to 2 inches away from your mouth while you are performing. If you are a singer, the only time you should pull away is when you are hitting high notes in order to avoid your voice being too loud in the speakers, at least no more than one foot in distance.

-Cuffing- the microphone

Rappers, this is ESPECIALLY for you. We’ve heard this term, before: -Don’t cuff the mic.- To those not privy to the meaning of this term, -cuffing- is when a person wraps their hand around the ball of the microphone while speaking or rapping. From my own experience, this hurts an artist because it blocks the field of sound. It also muffles and distorts a person’s voice to the point where you cannot even understand what they’re saying.

Your hand should be gripping the handle directly underneath the ball. This will enable the microphone to better pick up sound so the audience can hear you more clearly. Now I will admit that some people feel differently about this; there are artists (moreso rappers) that believe -cuffing the mic- actually helps increase the volume so they can be heard better. Shoot, I’m actually guilty of having done it every now and then, but moreso out of habit than anything else. If you -cuff the mic- (and be honest with yourself), I recommend you do what I was doing until I habitually started holding it correctly: Practice on at least leaving enough space at the top of the ball so you have a better chance at not sounding muffled.

Keeping the microphone near you

How you hold the microphone when you’re not performing is just as important as when you are. Never should you allow yourself to let it hang to the side in between verses (this goes for backups and hypemen, too). Letting it hang as if you are about to drop it on the ground only adds more effort into bringing it back up to your mouth when it’s time to perform or speak your adlib. Not only that, it also causes that ear-splitting sound we like to call -feedback- when you get near a speaker or monitor. You are literally putting the microphone into the monitor when you let it hang.

So in order to avoid this from happening, keep your arm bent and near your body when you’re not speaking/rapping/singing. This will make it much easier to bring the microphone back to your mouth, as well as avoid putting it into the monitors.

In Closing-

Performing on stage is all about leaving a long-lasting first impression on your target audience. People who see you-fans, other artists, A&R’s and industry executive higher-ups alike-are paying attention. They’re paying attention to your stage presence as well as your energy, determining whether or not you can move crowds. But most importantly, they’re paying attention to your delivery. And, in my opinion, your delivery begins with the microphone.

Perform wisely,
Lyrical Preacher

For the independent artist, sounding great isn’t a luxury only available to big time artists anymore – it is a necessity. Music sales may have diminished, but that doesn’t mean that recorded music is on its way out. Far from it. More music is being consumed on more devices by more listeners than ever before in history! Musicians are making their music available on internet and satellite radio, online music streaming services such as Pandora, Spotify, Rdio, Deezer, and YouTube, selling on direct-to-fan sites such as CD Baby, Bandcamp, and ReverbNation, and still pushing sales through -traditional’ online retailers such as iTunes and Amazon MP3. Let’s face it, there is no excuse for an artist to release sub-par recordings.

For some people, audio engineers are still mysterious. To others, they are -evil’ manipulators of music, creating false, auto-tuned, machines out of terrible artists. This, however, is far from the truth. Every record, no matter the type, gets taken care of by a tracking engineer, mixing engineer, and mastering engineer. The recording engineer uses many of microphones and technique to accurately capture and record the artist’s performance as it occurs in the recording studio. The mixing engineer takes all of the separate audio tracks and crafts the music to sound great and convey the song’s emotion. He sets proper levels, panning, EQ, compression, and adds creative effects where possible to complement the musician’s vision. Lastly, the mastering engineer uses unique gear and highly trained ears in an acoustically accurate room to subtly polish and prepare the track for final release and ensure the recording translates to a variety of playback systems. “While many audio techniques can enhance the final production, we engineers are not magicians and can’t replace a poor performance or terrible recording,” says Scott of Virtual Mix Engineer.

Recorded music is more often used as promotional vessel for musicians. The real money currently is in touring, publishing, sync placements, and merchandise. When a listener connects with an artist’s music, they’ll listen to their music, tweet, and share the music with their friends. The fans want to support the artist and buy tickets to their shows, purchase apparel, and follow and interact with the artist through social media. As the musician grows in popularity, their music may be chosen for sync placements in film and TV, which not only provides great exposure, it also pays quite well. To make it to this stage however, it all begins with a great song and polished recording.

The rise of do-it-yourself recording has led to more musicians releasing music than ever before. With a powerful PC, some microphones, a digital audio workstation, and a little know-how, anyone can create and release music. One area where many artists fall short is failing to recognize their weaknesses in mixing. An experienced mixer has the right tools, but most importantly the knowledge to make a recording reach its full potential. Though it can be difficult for an artist, letting go and trusting your mix engineer will take your recordings to the next level and help you stand out from the others. Fans are instantly attracted to a well-written and performed song that sounds like a hit.

Spend the proper time in pre-production, ensuring your song and arrangement are as solid as possible. Then and only then, book time in the best studio you can afford to record your basic tracks. Connect with a local or online mixing engineer within your budget whose work and personality you gel with, and tweak the mixdown until you’re satisfied. Lastly, send the songs off to mastering for that final touch. Once your production is finished, you can get the music into multiple venues and into the ears of your listeners and fans.