Learn How Young Guru Engineers for Jay Z: An Introduction to Audio Recording

Since Berliner’s phonautograph introduced the world to the concept of a playable audio track, human beings have been enamored with recorded sound. In the centuries following, technological innovation and studio wizardry have made the process immeasurably more complex, but there are several basic recording principles that still apply. Audio recording, the process of reproducing live sound, will always be a celebrated practice because it allows us to tell stories, share ideas and preserve our voices across nations and through generations.

I’ve had the fortune of recording a diverse variety of music’s most essential artists from Jay Z to Beyonce to Eminem, so I’ve learned what recording techniques work best with the various aural textures. Drawing from my personal experience and lessons, I'll provide you with the tools you need to add a professional touch to your audio recordings.

What You'll Learn

I’ve created this Skillshare class to best help you bring your recordings to life with the effects you want, regardless of the pricepoint of your equipment. This will all be presented through exclusive videos and written direction. We'll cover:

• Understanding Audio Physics. This unit will cover the science of sound and how it reacts according to its surroundings.
• Selecting a Recording Space. This unit will cover how to select the appropriate space for your recording, and how to properly optimize it for your desired effect.
• Positioning Microphones, Instruments and Voices. This unit will cover how each take will be affected based on where the microphone is in relation to the audio source/ the recording space.
• Monitoring Levels. This unit will cover how to ensure your recording is clean (or muddled, if that’s the desired effect) and within an acceptable dynamic range.
• Making Adjustments and Multiple Takes. This unit will cover how to alter the recording variables (mic placement, recording space adjustments, microphone add-ons, instrument add-ons) to create multiple tracks, which will eventually be layered to complete the whole of the audio project.
• Finishing. How to properly label each take, how to organize each track and who to send everything to upon the completion of recording. 

What You'll Make

Your Class Project will be a recording of your own audio file using the principles we’ve discussed.

• Trailer
• Understanding Audio Physics
• Understanding Audio Physics (continued)
• Choosing a Microphone
• Setting Up Your Recording Space
• Setting Up a Session
• Recording Rap Vocals
• Recording a Singer
• Finishing the Recording