With the guitar takes edited down, it's time to finish up the rest of the tracking and overdubs for "Lucky Number".
In this episode of Greg Well's Start To Finish Series, he completes the edits on the keyboards tracked in episode 8 and then gets Bryce Drew back behind the microphone to record a gorgeous layered background vocals arrangement that elevates the song to a new place.
By the end of this episode, the full arrangement will be tracked, edited, and ready for mixing.
Watch as Greg:
Explains his composition choices on the keys
Discusses several past experiences and how they inform his decisions today
Explains why he leaves the vocal in while working on the arrangement
Edits the multiple takes of keyboards to find the indispensable moments
00:00:23 And now I think that means
it's time to go through
the various Mellotron takes.
00:00:29 I'm going to leave the guitars in
but I've pulled them back,
I created a VCA and they're down -4.6 dB.
00:01:36 Something I learned a long time ago
when I first moved to LA,
the producer David Foster
was just completely on fire in the 1980s
when I was in high school and college.
00:01:47 David's got his own style
and it's not exactly indie rock,
but he's amazing at what he does
and he's a real beast of a musician,
he's an incredible piano player.
00:01:56 I was living in a rent-controlled
apartment in Santa Monica
and there was a studio
that he worked at all the time,
literally a block away
from where my apartment was.
00:02:08 So I'd see him all the time
in this... restaurant
just beside the studio, where we both ate.
00:02:16 And I had met him once or twice in Canada,
and he recognized me
and he came over to the table.
00:02:21 I was all nervous and he said,
"Hey, I'm working on this movie
called The Bodyguard.
00:02:24 Do you want to come by the studio?"
And I said, "Yeah!"
I had nothing to do other than that,
so I did and I spent the whole day
with David and Humberto Gatica,
his engineer,
and I just sort of quietly, you know,
observed what was going on.
00:02:40 And David would talk to me a little bit
and explain what it was,
and it was actually a thing
that I don't think ever got released.
00:02:46 But
Kevin Costner had recently made
that huge movie, Dances with Wolves,
and Kevin was involved with The Bodyguard,
and he had asked David to do
some sort of radio remix of...
00:03:01 I think it was for Dances with Wolves,
I can't remember what it was.
00:03:04 Anyway, it was some sort of remix thing.
00:03:06 And I was watching Humberto
work on the console,
and he was constantly soloing things.
00:03:12 And at first I didn't know why
he was doing that,
and then I realized he was just...
he'd hear something entering the mix,
and he would just hit Solo
to make sure, I think,
exactly what he was hearing,
exactly what was going on.
00:03:25 And I do that all the time now.
00:03:27 You know, you think
you're hearing something,
but sometimes there can be
other information that's more subtle
that you might attribute in your brain
to another instrument
or something else in it.
00:03:36 I think it's really...
it's just a tiny point,
but it helps me a lot in mixing
and making choices,
just making absolutely sure
that I know what I'm bringing
into the party, you know?
I'm taking out anything
I think we don't need for now.
00:04:10 I like that note.
Let's hear what's going on here.
00:05:35 Where those Mellotron strings
enter in chorus two
I want to do a big, long crossfade up
so they really appear
halfway through the chorus.
00:06:06 Okay. Bridge.
00:06:41 That's another thing I want to point out.
00:06:43 I do it a lot with really any kind of
accompaniment harmonic part,
like on piano or guitar,
anything, synth pad, strings.
00:06:53 There is no parallel between me and Bach,
but Bach did a lot too
of what I'm talking about,
notes that are...
00:07:00 Like pedal notes, like the same note
that can hang through different chords.
00:07:05 I love that,
I love hearing it constant
and then the floor changes
and it changes again and it changes again.
00:07:11 And sometimes it can really change, but
that thread of continuity of the one note,
or it can be two notes,
or even more sometimes.
00:07:19 It could be a triad, three notes.
00:07:21 I love that
and I'm always trying to sneak that in.
00:07:24 It creates this sort of, like,
long feeling through choppier sections.
00:07:29 This is a good example,
the chord changes here
in the modulated key at the end.
00:07:33 It goes from C Major to G Major,
D Major to E Minor,
but the note D kind of goes through it.
00:07:40 So it's a D over a C chord,
it's the Sus2, it's the second note
of the C Major scale.
00:07:45 C, D, E,
the second note.
00:07:48 And the D is the fifth on the G chord,
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, it's the fifth.
00:07:52 And then when you go
to the D Major, it is a D.
00:07:55 And then E Minor, the D is the Minor 7th.
00:07:58 It works with all those chords
and I could've just played that
the whole way through.
00:08:02 I don't know what I did here,
but it's playing for a while.
00:08:45 I like all of that.
00:08:46 I don't know what the levels should be
but I'm going to keep it like that.
00:08:50 I'll tuck it for now.
00:08:51 Let's go through all this stuff
in the bridge.
00:09:54 You know, I also really want to
point out something:
that I'm leaving the vocal in
this whole time.
00:10:01 I think it's fair to say
most people don't.
00:10:04 Most people will turn it off,
and quite often because
the vocalists themselves will say,
"Can you shut my vocal off?
I don't want to hear myself."
I won't mention the project,
but early on, on one
of my early studio sessions
I was working on an album
and it was exactly that.
00:10:18 The singer did not want to hear
themselves,
so the vocals remained muted
while we were working days
and weeks on this album.
00:10:27 And then, when I finally
heard the final result,
when I was sent the CD
which had been mixed and mastered,
it was done and it was about to be
for sale in stores,
I heard my parts, and the good news
was I could hear my parts,
which doesn't always happen,
but
I thought there were things that were
really getting in the way of the vocal.
00:10:48 I would not have played
some of those parts
had I known what the vocal was doing.
00:10:52 I know "Mutt" Lange
doesn't really give any interviews,
but I think maybe once he did,
and I might've made
this whole thing up
but I'm sure I read
in an interview with him,
or with
someone in Def Leppard
who described the following thing.
00:11:07 I swear it was "Mutt" himself,
but basically
the article said that "Mutt"
likes to start with the lead vocal
as the first instrument,
and drums.
00:11:19 And it just gives the singer
enough to work with
where you get the lead vocal.
00:11:24 And "Mutt" was saying he hates
how on most records
the vocals are the last thing to happen,
and you have not heard the vocal
coming through the speakers until...
00:11:33 ...everything is done.
00:11:35 And back in the day when it was all tape
and you would bring the drums
and the bass in
and they would cut
their tracks for a week,
then you'd bring in the guitar player
and they'd go for a week,
and then you'd bring in
whatever overdubs for a week,
and then the vocal is always
like an afterthought, you know?
But that drove him crazy
and he was saying, "This is all
accompaniment to the vocal,
we have to know
what we're accompanying,
what we're there to support."
So he would cut the lead vocals first
over some sort of simple track,
and then build up from there.
00:12:06 Actually, I think drums might have been
the last thing that he cuts.
00:12:09 That's true. Vocals were the first,
the keeper drums were the last,
they were the end of everything
because he said, "I don't know
what the drums are going to need to do
once we build the track."
It's hard to predict that stuff,
so I try and get a scratch vocal
as early as possible.
00:12:26 It's not the final vocal, but I try
and get a great scratch vocal.
00:12:28 I might even tune it a little bit
like I did with this, very subtly,
just so I can tell what's going on
so that anything I play on one of these,
you know, wacky Mellotron overdubs...
00:12:39 There are so many things that I could
have done had I not heard the vocal
that would've sounded good
without the vocal,
and then you put the vocal in
and it's not...
00:12:47 it's sort of a waste of time.
00:12:49 So I'm just advising that you always keep
a vocal in while you're working,
even if it's not the finished one.
00:12:56 It helps a lot. It helps you make
better choices, I think,
and we're all there in service of...
the lead vocal.
00:14:03 Do you hear what I'm doing there
on chords three and four?
I'm playing the fifth of the chord
as the bass note.
00:14:09 I'm not playing the root note.
00:14:13 And in a sound like this
you don't always have to play
the bass note, you know?
Sometimes it's nice to throw in...
00:14:19 like the fifth, or sometimes
even the third
to thicken it.
It gives it this sort of texture
that no other thing will do.
00:14:27 But just listening to it soloed...
00:14:34 Here.
00:14:37 This is really the bass note,
this is really the bass note.
00:14:47 Jazz.
00:14:49 McCoy Tyner, fourths.
00:14:55 And I love it with a B3 or a sound
like this or some sort of synth pad,
I love getting a little more clustery
with the harmonies, you know?
Sometimes really... like, just...
00:15:04 you can do a lot of stuff,
put all the notes of the scale.
00:15:07 Or not all of them but some
of them, five of them,
just create this real sort of... sound,
it creates tension.
00:15:45 Okay, I like all of that.
Let's hear the flutes.
00:15:48 Let's hear it in the track.
00:16:18 I think this harp track is probably
useless, but let's check it out.
00:16:44 Save it for your solo record, harpist!
Maybe, like, one of them.
00:17:06 Kind of fun.
00:17:48 Maybe.
00:17:51 And... maybe not, but maybe.
00:17:53 Okay, I'm ready for our final vocal stuff.
00:17:57 And then, M is for Mix.
00:18:01 Let's try and get Bryce on the mic.
00:18:05 So, these are going to be
background vocals, right? Yes.
00:18:09 - Okay.
00:18:11 What am I doing?
- Do you want to try a bridge part?
Do you want to start with that?
Because it's kind of in your head now.
00:18:18 - Maybe, yeah.
00:18:20 - Let's go there.
00:18:22 Zack, we're going to want to hear
whatever's happening now,
everything could stay open.
00:18:27 - Okay.
00:18:28 - And these will be additional...
00:18:30 I think you could open up, like,
four background vocal tracks.
00:18:34 Do you want to give it a go?
- Maybe the "I've got something
to count on" repeats.
00:18:42 - Okay.
- "I've got..." Maybe.
00:18:48 Or something like...
00:18:50 - Let's just roll it and see what happens.
- Okay.
00:18:53 - All right. Two bars before the bridge.
00:18:55 Here it comes.
00:19:27 - I love the first half of that.
00:19:29 I think we need three lines
on the second half.
00:19:32 - Where do you hear it ending?
- I don't know, I just know that musically
you probably don't want to have it
on the fourth one, you know?
- Yeah, I know, it feels weird.
But I'm trying to figure out if...
00:19:43 - Lyrically?
- Yeah.
00:19:46 - What's the lyric again?
- "Maybe I'm a little lost,
but I've got something I can count on."
I was thinking about it
either going to "to remind me,"
or, like, "surprise me."
Going into that, maybe.
00:20:06 Somehow tying it back to, like,
you can count on it to remind you
that you're where you're supposed to be.
00:20:12 - Maybe repeating the lyric paints us
into a corner that doesn't work.
00:20:15 - Yeah, I don't like the repeated...
00:20:19 the same line that...
00:20:21 Wait, which repeated line
are you talking about?
The one that I was just
trying to fill space with?
- No, I think it was my dumb suggestion.
00:20:29 I said, "Just repeat the first half."
- Yeah, I know,
I think it needs to continue.
00:20:34 The story needs to continue... Huh?
- Like new words, you mean?
- Yeah.
00:20:39 - Yeah, I think you're right.
- But how...
00:20:42 But I don't think that it should overlap
with the last "Where I'm
supposed to be." Do you?
- No, I think it's a total of seven lines
instead of eight, if that makes sense.
00:20:53 - Should we do the backing vocals and then
I'll figure out those three lines quick?
- No, let's figure them out right now
because it sounds awesome.
00:21:01 - Okay.
- You were in it.
00:21:03 It's going to feel all different
if we think about other parts
- and then come back to this.
- Okay.
00:21:08 Okay.
00:21:10 - Let me listen to what's there.
00:21:12 And Zack, you can lose
the last three lines of that take.
00:21:16 - Okay.
- Like the second half of it.
00:21:19 - Gotcha.
- Yeah, exactly that.
00:21:48 What if the second half is like...
00:21:56 - Or "Be..."
- Yeah.
00:21:58 - And on the same word.
00:22:00 - On the same word? Okay.
- Same word as the lead vocal,
but it's a lower harmony.
00:22:05 - But it ends on "Be"?
- I think so. Yeah, they meet.
00:22:08 - Okay.
00:22:10 - Let's just walk backwards into it
and see what happens.
00:22:13 - Yeah.
00:22:14 - Do you want me to punch her in?
- Yeah, let's punch in
after that fourth line.
00:22:46 This is going to work.
00:22:55 - There, right?
- No.
00:23:01 That sounded...
00:23:04 That's the note.And just stay there
all the way to the end.- Okay. Do you like the
"When I'm not looking"?
- Yes!
- Okay.
00:23:17 - Yeah, I like it a lot.
- Okay.
00:23:18 - Sing loud.
00:23:20 - Okay!
- Here it comes.
00:23:48 - I want to keep that "When I'm not
looking," and then punch the last line.
00:23:55 Yeah, not "front of me."
It's "Right in front of me."
- Okay.
00:24:02 - The last line.
00:24:04 - Okay.
00:24:22 - I love that "Right in front of me,"
it's really good.
00:24:25 - But sing it out.
- Yeah, I know. I felt that. Okay.
00:24:27 - Here it comes.
00:24:47 - Okay.
00:24:48 - Do you want it bigger,
or was it right?
- It's fine. I'm going to get three more
tracks of the whole part now.
00:24:54 - The whole part all together?
- The whole part.
00:24:56 Four Bryces.
00:24:59 - Bryce times four.
- Bryce times four.
00:25:01 - Zack, let's go to
a second track, please.
00:25:04 Do you want to shut the lead vocal off
just for this part?
What do you think, Bryce?
- Maybe, because I'm going to
sing quieter if I hear it.
00:25:13 - Yeah, let's turn
the lead vocal off for you.
00:25:15 If we can hear it in here,
that would be great.
00:25:17 - Sure.
- Here it comes.
00:25:43 - Something is throwing you.
What do you think it is?
- I just forgot the lyric.
00:25:47 - But something is throwing
your groove as well.
00:25:48 What's your mix doing right now?
- Have you got lots of drums?
- Yeah.
00:25:53 - Do you have too much vocal, maybe?
- No.
00:25:57 - Okay.
00:25:59 - Do you think it's just because the lead
vocal is gone? Like, "What's going on?"
- No, I think I'm just thinking
about the lyric too much.
00:26:07 - Take your brain out of your head...
00:26:09 - And throw it at you.
00:26:11 - ...and put it in a jar.
Put it in the kick drum behind you.
00:26:13 - So you can smash it?
- I didn't have that in mind.
That's very dark and
upsetting.
00:26:21 - All right, let's try this again.
- I don't want to smash your brain!
Well, now I kind of do, but...
00:27:32 - I love it. I love the scene change
of the whole call-and-response
Greek tragedy.
00:27:38 - Wow!- The narrator and the chorus behind him,
the actor is on stage
at the amphitheater!
Here we go, third track.
00:28:18 Yeah.
00:28:20 Número cuatro!That was great.
Can we look at the chorus?
I'd be curious to try a double
and a triple on the chorus of the melody.
00:29:05 - Okay.
00:29:06 - And just start there.
00:29:07 And I still sort of hear, like,
a third above.
00:29:10 - Okay.
00:29:11 - Let's go to the first chorus
and let's just do some unisons.
00:29:49 - That sounds so good!
Let's keep that,
and let's try and beat it.
00:29:54 - Okay.
- Playlist that one, please.
00:29:57 Here we go.
00:30:32 - How well can you hear
the thing you're doubling?
- Zero.
00:30:37 - You got to hear it.
00:30:39 - Where is it?
- [Zack] I got it.
00:30:42 - We're going to do it in here.
- Okay.
00:30:45 - Let's try it again.
00:31:17 - That's one of the best doubles
I've ever heard, that was so good.
00:31:21 Let's triple it.
00:31:28 - Okay.
00:32:01 - You're killin' it, kid!Let's do the same thing now
to the second chorus
because I don't want to fly these,
I want these to be bespoke.
00:32:10 - Bespoke.
00:32:12 - So let's double the melody in the 2nd
chorus, and then we'll do the 3rd chorus.
00:32:15 - Okie dokie.
00:32:47 - Let's just punch in
"supposed to be" at the end.
00:32:50 Make sure the "be"
is right in that pocket, pitch-wise.
00:33:10 Yeah, drag that guy over to
the last couple of syllables.
00:33:13 That was great.
00:33:15 - Okay.
00:33:18 - Now let's mute that double
in your headphones,
and then you'll hear
just the lead vocal
and do your live triple
on the whole second chorus.
00:33:26 - Okay, yeah.
00:33:27 - And let's give her
a little more Pre-roll.
00:33:29 - You want to mute the last one
and keep the original?
- Yes.
- Cool. All right.
00:34:08 - Deadly.
00:34:09 Okay, now let's do this
to the third big chorus.
00:34:12 - Okay.
00:34:13 - We are in a higher key.
00:34:16 Just for continuity, let's start from
the top of the chorus three breakdown.
00:34:21 We'll go to the double.
00:34:23 We're doubling the lead vocal.
00:34:25 - So you want to start right here?
- Yeah, it's great.
- Cool. Okay.
00:35:26 - Thank you.
00:35:27 Let's get the triple,
let's mute the double for her,
let her sip some tea,
which she's doing.
00:35:34 - Let's start at the same spot.
- Cool.
00:35:37 - We're ready.
- Here we go.
00:36:31 - That's really beautiful.
00:36:34 - Okay, give me a second.
- Okay.
00:36:37 - So,
Zack, can you please turn down
the double and triple -5 dB?
- Sure.
00:36:48 - I want to try this sort of funny
harmony thing I'm hearing in my head,
in the second half of every chorus.
00:36:55 - A funny harmony, or a third?
- Not intentionally funny.
- Oh.
00:37:01 - Inadvertently funny.
No, hopefully not funny at all, just...
00:37:05 Let's go to the first chorus,
just play it.
00:37:38 It's just kind of weird,
it might be hard to do.
00:37:42 Here's the part.
00:37:46 Sorry.
00:37:52 - Okay.
00:37:58 - Maybe nothing on "be," but...
00:38:04 Just those two notes.
00:38:10 - Probably not "to be."
- Oh, okay.
00:38:17 - Just "supposed"?
- "Supposed to be."
And the second time maybe no "to be."
Or go ahead and sing "to be" and maybe
I'll keep it or maybe I'll chop it off.
00:38:25 - Okay.
00:38:26 - So let's get her on bar three
of the chorus,
that's where you start playing from.
00:38:32 And we're still coming up with a part
on bar five of the chorus.
00:38:55 And we can modify it just a little bit...
00:38:59 - Okay.
00:39:01 - And sing nice and loud and full.
00:39:03 - Yes.
00:39:04 - "I'm where...!"- Yes.
00:39:23 - So, just...
00:39:25 I like how you're scooping up
to the note on...
00:39:30 That's nice, but don't scoop
on the top of it.
00:39:32 Just...
00:39:33 I can't sing, but...
00:39:41 And then...
00:39:43 - Do you know what I mean?
- Yes, yes.
00:39:44 - Here it comes.
00:39:52 Try it again. Get your note before,
you can sing the note
before you come in with the part.
00:39:56 - Yeah.
00:40:14 - Now, don't be frightened.
00:40:15 - Yeah.
- Sing it up.
00:40:37 Just give me the first half
of that, please.
00:40:44 Go.
00:40:54 That's awesome,
let's double that.
00:40:58 - Yeah!
- Sorry.
00:41:23 I like it a lot, it's really cool.
00:41:25 Zack, let's fly that
to the second chorus, please.
00:41:28 - Okay.
00:41:29 - And I want to see if we can be
all sneaky and clever and add...
00:41:33 ...another harmony on top of that part,
in the second chorus.
00:41:36 - Okie dokie.
00:41:40 - Okay.
00:41:46 - Actually, before we add another part
let's make sure it's in the right spot
in the second chorus.
00:41:51 And then I'd like to go
to the third chorus,
the key change, and do the same part.
00:41:55 - Okay.
00:41:59 Yeah.
00:42:17 - That felt out, right?
- It's insanely loud. It won't be out.
00:42:22 - Okay.
- I'll make it not be out.
00:42:25 - Okay.
00:42:57 - Yeah, it's beautiful. Let's double it.
- Okay.
00:43:29 - Yes!
Yes!
So good!
- Okay, let's go to the second chorus.
00:43:38 And Zack, let's open up
two more vocal tracks
and let's look at a potential,
additional harmony.
00:43:51 Can you indulge me and just try singing
a third above the lead
from the very top of the chorus?
- My idea is terrible.
- Yeah, I don't like it.
00:44:17 - But I love how you're singing it.
- Yeah.
00:44:19 - Just try something else.
00:44:20 And I love...
00:44:24 I don't even know what I'm singing
at this point,
but just keep the third in,
keep a high thing going the whole time.
00:44:29 - Even in the second half.
- Okay.
00:44:34 - Yeah.
- Let's try it.
00:45:09 - Yeah, it's great.
00:45:11 It's too loud, but this
should be very subtle, I think.
00:45:13 - Yeah, I think so too.
00:45:14 Almost to where you don't notice it,
but I think we need it.
00:45:17 And it's weird when it goes away
on the weird note,
so maybe it should just be
the weird harmony.
00:45:23 - Yeah, that feels weird.
00:45:30 - Okay.
- Try it.
00:46:05 - Let's double that.
00:46:07 - Do you think it should be on the...
00:46:10 Maybe that should just be the lead.
00:46:12 - Did you do a little harmony?
- Yeah.
00:46:14 - Yeah, do it. It's fun.
00:46:15 - Okay.
00:46:17 - You're not very loud in here,
but I like it.
00:46:19 I mean, it should just be super-subtle.
00:46:21 - Okay.
00:46:57 - Yeah.
- Okay.
00:46:58 - That's it.
00:46:59 Now let's go to the last chorus
and do this in the new key.
00:47:02 - Okay.
00:47:54 - Did you hear I went "Got it!"?
- Yeah!
- That felt really great.
00:47:59 - Yeah?- Yeah.- Let's double that.
00:48:05 - Okay.
00:48:51 Got it!- All right. Okay.
00:48:58 That sounds so good!
Especially the duck at the end.
00:49:01 There's a Canadian goose that showed up...
00:49:04 Quack! ...in the back.
00:49:06 The piano room. Quack! Quack!
I think
we are done with the vocals.
00:49:13 What do you think, vocalist?
- Can we listen to it?
- We're going to listen to it
for the next eight hours.
00:49:20 - Can I hear it before I leave the room?
- Yeah. What do you want to hear, my dear?
- The chorus.
- The last one?
- The second...
Or maybe the last one is fine.
00:50:12 - I feel like every time I hear it
I always want to go...
00:50:20 - Where? On the lead?
- On the second. Just on that
lower harmony, just on that part.
00:50:31 - Let's put it in.
00:50:34 You're not saying, "Let's punch in
on a track we've already done,"
you're saying, "I want to add
a new part to what's already there."?
- Yes!
- Like a new track?
A new track in addition
to what we've already got, right?
- Yes, I just want to hear it.
00:50:46 - Yeah, let's put it in.
- Okay.
00:50:48 - And where is that? Which line?
- "I know where I'm supposed to be,"
but the first two, like,
"always shows up," just that second half.
00:50:57 - Okay, so we'll roll from the top
of the chorus,
here comes the brand-new,
fresh harmony track.
00:51:37 - It's such a great part.
Oh, my goodness.
00:51:39 Let's double that.
00:51:40 - Okay. It's just the first half.
I think the rest of it...
00:51:43 that other lower harmony carries it.
00:51:45 - Yeah.
- Yeah.
00:51:46 - It's so good!
It's so good! Also, only showing
from the third chorus.
00:51:51 It's really... wonderful,
a little like "Wow!"
- It feels grounded a little. Yeah.
00:51:55 Okay.
00:52:20 - Yep!
So good!
Any other quiet little voices
whispering in your ear
and saying, "Here's how
you make it better."?
- Not right now.
00:52:31 - Yeah, that's deadly.
00:52:32 - That feels good.
00:52:34 - So good!
- I think so, yeah.
00:52:39 - I hate it when people say this stuff,
but I really love this song.
00:52:42 I love it, I'm so not sick of hearing it.
00:52:44 I just love it
and I love everything
we're throwing at it.
00:52:47 - It seems to just sort of...
- Me too.
00:52:50 - It feels really good.
- Kind of recording itself, you know?
Nothing has really been
problematic, it's just...
00:52:55 - No. It feels great,
it feels really good.
00:52:59 - Well, it helps when you're working
with a very talented artist.
00:53:02 - And a very talented producer.
00:53:03 - Because you never get this feeling when
you're working with a not-talented artist.
00:53:06 - Let's just compliment each other
forever, it's going great.
00:53:07 - No, it's true. I mean, I'm making
a point for everyone watching this too.
00:53:11 You can't get this feeling working with
not-talent.
00:53:18 You just can't.
00:53:19 And it's such a pleasure to work with
talent
like
you!
- Ditto.
00:53:27 - Come on in.
- Bye!
- That was so much fun,
I love this stage of it,
and I love how Bryce sings
and I love this mic that we found for her
in the vocal chain. It sounds crazy.
00:53:41 Sometimes I like to...
00:53:44 with the lead vocal, which we had,
I like to hear a double and a triple
with that if it sounds right.
00:53:50 Sometimes we don't need
that kind of help,
but I like the lead vocal up the middle
and then a double and a triple.
00:53:56 I just need one there, and one there.
00:53:59 If we were going for something
super-hyper-produced,
super-slick, a different kind of song
and different kind of artist,
I would probably do
six doubles and triples.
00:54:10 I mean, like three... so there's a total
of six unison parts on the lead vocal,
and pan them like that. Or you can go
even crazier and do ten.
00:54:18 For this kind of thing
which is more open and...
00:54:22 I'm not trying to be patronizing
but we're working with real talent,
so we don't need a lot of help.
00:54:26 I don't even need to really hear much
of the double and the triple
in the final mix.
I'll be surprised if we hear much of it.
00:54:32 It's just an extra sort of
chorus-y kind of, like,
"Oh! Something is lifting,
something sounds a bit cooler."
And then in the bridge
I asked her to do four tracks
of the same part,
but the reason I wanted to do four
is because that's not the lead vocal.
00:54:49 The lead vocal is singing another thing,
and then this part
that she wrote for the bridge
comes as an answer.
00:54:54 So, in a sense,
it's sort of like a choral answer
to the lead vocal part.
00:55:00 We could have done six,
we could have done four.
00:55:03 Four sounded great.
00:55:04 You know, she has a big, beautiful voice,
it doesn't need a lot of, like,
thickening or anything,
so four kind of sounds like eight on most
people, I think, when she is doing it.
00:55:13 That's it, and I just sort of
do it to taste.
00:55:16 I know that the smaller
and the thinner the source,
the better it sounds with more tracks.
00:55:21 Bryce's voice is full and it's very round,
and there's lots of high end
and there's lots of... everything,
so
I think it would sound silly if there were
six tracks of her doing something.
00:55:33 But anyway, that's why I picked just
a double and a triple in the choruses.
00:55:38 And for me, again, because of
the quality of her voice,
for the harmonies that we
were doing in the chorus
I just thought two tracks was plenty.
00:55:46 I want this to feel
sort of live and kind of...
00:55:49 you know,
like I'm watching a live performance.
00:55:51 Especially a song like this
and the way we've approached it
where pretty much everything
is organic, live instruments.
00:55:59 That felt like enough to me.
00:56:01 The reason I chose not to fly the double
and the triple unison of the lead vocal?
The first two choruses
are in the key of F,
the last chorus is in the key of G,
the modulation.
00:56:13 The reason I didn't is because
I know that it wouldn't take
a long time for her to resing it.
00:56:19 We can do it, you know?
I could've flown it,
but it would've been
tightly doubling a lead vocal
that is not the lead vocal
we're hearing in the second chorus.
00:56:31 And also, I think there's something
psychologically important
where the singer
feels tethered and connected and proud
of every brick they place
on the wall, you know?
This is very important for people
involved in the recording process,
whether it's a duo or it's ten people
and a giant posse,
whatever it is, if it's a rock band,
where everyone feels like...
00:56:57 ...they have contributed to it,
and they're hearing that
come through the speakers.
00:57:01 Because they are the people
that are going to go on the road
and are going to live in a van
and whatever it is, you know?
And...
00:57:10 ...try and do this.
00:57:11 I will be stuck in the studio
doing whatever I'm doing at that point,
so it's very important.
00:57:17 I didn't get that lesson
when I was a younger producer,
I didn't understand how important it was
for the creative team
to feel very invested and proud of
and dying to share
what they did collectively,
and that also applies
to one person too, you know?
I could've gone through Bryce's
alternate vocal takes of the lead vocal
and found doubles and triples that way.
00:57:37 Sometimes I do that
if I've lost the singer.
00:57:39 If they're traveling or whatever
and I need a double and a triple,
I'll go find it and tighten it up
and create it,
but I wanted her to craft it,
so she was hearing
the new lead vocal in chorus two.
00:57:50 It's just different.
00:57:51 Now,
with the lower harmony
that I suggested she sang,
I was comfortable flying that.
00:57:58 And as soon as I played it for her,
she said, "This sounds a little bit off,"
because it is a little bit off.
00:58:03 But I want to try to finish
what we're doing here today
on our third and final day
here at Sunset,
and I thought it would save a little bit
of time just to fly that part.
00:58:12 That's more insignificant,
that's not doubling
the lead vocal melody.
00:58:16 It's a harmony thing, I can
nudge it a bit and make it tight.
Once logged in, you will be able to read all the transcripts jump around in the video.
Grammy award-winning, Canadian musician, songwriter, and record producer, Greg Wells, has been dubbed “A Swiss Army Knife” in the recording studio by the legendary Stewart Copeland for good reason.
As a multi-instrumentalist, he has the ability to artfully mold his productions with incredible precision, craftsmanship, and most importantly, taste. Combining his musicianship with his uncanny abilities as a producer, engineer, and mixer, he has seen album sales top 120 million, with streaming numbers in the billions. With a B.
His diverse list of credits includes superstars such as Adele, Dua Lipa, Twenty One Pilots, Katy Perry, Keith Urban, Celine Dion, Deftones, Kid Cudi, Weezer, OneRepublic, Ariana Grande, Pharrell Williams, Aerosmith and so many more that we would need a really long scroll bar to list them all.
Greg has seen monumental success recently with the release of the motion picture soundtrack for “The Greatest Showman”, which he not only produced but played on as well.
Simply amazing this start to finish series with Greg Wells. So many important information and wisdom . I'm learning a lot. It's extraordinary to see a producer like Greg teach us his approach. Thanks, Puremix.
murray.g
2021 Mar 26
This is amazing. What a great opportunity to just watch and learn.
rmoreno
2020 Dec 29
Bryce have a beautiful Voice.
alexmw14
2020 Aug 07
Brice is so consistent on those vocal doubles.
marijeanjoron
2020 Mar 22
j adore super serie lesson de qualiter il manque juste des sous titre vostfr great video
Elbeto75
2020 Feb 25
MUY BUEN APORTAMIENTO GRACIAS SALUDOS
L Pass
2020 Feb 05
Bravo, Brice.
DaveNJ
2020 Jan 25
Love the harps! It was like a thousand little flashbacks were starting and stopping!
marijeanjoron
2020 Jan 22
peut on avoir des sous titre fr svp
manuelborges89
2020 Jan 22
only thing I miss now are adlips...they would fit so perfectly.
hummarstra
2020 Jan 21
Greg's dead pan style of speaking reminds me of Bill Murray. I feel he's about to lay a hilarious quip on you at any second. But, back on topic, these series are SO MUCH FUN. I love to get lost in them like I'm sitting down to watch a great movie. And, there are things we. the members, are learning here that you can not learn ANY WHERE else. Thanks, Fab. I'll never end my subscription as long as Puremix keeps bringing these amazing series!
krinzo
2020 Jan 21
Bryce ur impressive talent! Bravissima!
Nice doubling tripling and so on....thnx Greg!
DannyOwl
2020 Jan 20
Yes...so good!
Comacho
2020 Jan 20
I've watched every single video Puremix has released, some of them multiple times and they're all excellent. However the detail, scope and overall quality of this "Start to Finish" with Greg Wells series is really quite amazing. Bravo Puremix and please keep them coming!
mark714
2020 Jan 19
Greg, you are a treasure. Bryce, this song and your voice, just... wow. Thank you for adding the low harmonies, they have been in my head for weeks. Any chance these files will be available at the conclusion of the series?
mataran
2020 Jan 18
Holy lollipops sweet sugar and candy!! That series is a treat. Is it niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice! Greg is so thoughtful.
Pearlpassionstudio
2020 Jan 18
Excellent series tutorial.. She's a fantastic artist. Your talent as a engineer along with all your instrument parts are great. Very impressive. The assistant with controlling the mix as you speak was dead on to your needs, Well done..Cheers
Steffen
2020 Jan 17
Mellotron M4000 – about 3 Grand. Greg Wells face at 16:25 - priceless!
