Overdubbing

Overdubbing(also known aslayering)^[1]is a technique used in audio recording in which audiotracksthat have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more available tracks of adigital audio workstation(DAW) ortape recorder.^[2]The overdub process can be repeated multiple times. This technique is often used with singers, as well as with instruments, or ensembles/orchestras. Overdubbing is typically done for the purpose of adding richness and complexity to the original recording. For example, if there are only one or two artists involved in the recording process, overdubbing can give the effect of sounding like many performers.^[3]

In vocal performances, the performer usually listens to an existing recorded performance (usually throughheadphonesin arecording studio) and simultaneously plays a new performance along with it, which is also recorded. The intention is that the finalmixwill contain a combination of these "dubs".^[4]

Another kind of overdubbing is the so called "tracking"(or" laying the basic tracks "), where tracks containing therhythm section(usually including drums) are recorded first, then following up with overdubs (solo instruments, such askeyboardsorguitar,then finally vocals). This method has been the standard technique for recordingpopular musicsince the early 1960s. Today, overdubbing can be accomplished even on basic recording equipment, or a typicalPCequipped with asound card,^[4]usingdigital audio workstationsoftware.

Because the process of overdubbing involves working with pre-recorded material, the performers involved do not have to ever have physically met each other, nor even still be alive. In 1991, decades after her fatherNat King Colehad died,Natalie Colereleased a "virtual duet"recording of"Unforgettable"where she overdubbed her vocals onto her father's original recording from the 1960s. As there is no limit in timespan with overdubbing, there is likewise no limit in distance, nor in the number of overdubbed layers. Perhaps the most wide-reaching collaborative overdub recording was accomplished byEric Whitacrein 2013, where he edited together a "Virtual Choir"of 8,409 audio tracks from 5,905 people from 101 countries.^[5]

History

Perhaps the earliest commercial issue of recordings with overdubs was byRCA Victorin the late 1920s, not long after the introduction of electricmicrophonesinto the recording studio. Recordings by the lateEnrico Carusostill sold well, so RCA took some of his early records made with only piano accompaniment, added a studio orchestra, and reissued the recordings.^{[citation needed]}

A foreshadow of overdubbing can be seen withSidney Bechet,an American jazz musician who made a pair of famous overdubbed sides in 1941 entitled "The Sheik of Araby"and" Blues of Bechet ". The multi-instrumentalist recorded the clarinet, soprano, tenor saxophone, piano and the bass and drum parts for both songs, and then he recorded each track separately on top of one another to create two single tracks. The recordings were then issued as" Sidney Bechet's One Man Band ".^[6]

The 1946Disneyanimated filmMake Mine Musicincludes overdubbed duo and trio performances byNelson Eddyas an opera singing whale.^[7]The 1950 Disney filmCinderellaused multiple tracks for vocals for the song "Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale".

In 1948, experiments mi xing sound effects and musical instruments made byPierre Schaefferat the Radio Télédiffusion Française experimental studio in Paris led toÉtude aux Tourniquets,the first avant-garde composition using recording as a composition technique, recorded, and mixed directly onacetate recordsas tape recorders were not yet available. Similarsound collageexperiments had been made byEdgard Varèsein the 1920s, but Varèse, also a French composer, wrote scores later played live by musicians. As from 1949, Schaeffer composed and recorded on acetates withPierre Henry(Symphonie pour un homme seul,1950), who also recorded with Varèse in 1954. Together, they used some of the earliest tape recorders available in the early 1950s.

The invention ofmagnetic tapeopened up new possibilities for overdubbing, particularly with the development ofmultitrack recordingwithsel-sync.One of the first known commercially released overdubbed recordings was "Confess" forMercury RecordsbyPatti Pagein 1948, although this overdubbing was done with acetate. With the popularity of this recording, Page recorded "With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming" using the same overdubbing technique.^[8]The vocals were listed as "Voices by: Patti Page, Patti Page, Patti Page, Patti Page".^{[citation needed]}

Les Paulwas an early innovator of overdubbing, and began to experiment with it around 1930.^[9]^: 213He originally created multi-track recordings by using a modifieddisk latheto record several generations of sound on a single disk,^[10]before later using tape technology, having been given one of the firstAmpex300 series tape recorders as a gift fromBing Crosby.^[11]His 1950 #1 hit, "How High The Moon",performed with his then-wifeMary Ford,featured a then-significant amount of overdubbing, along with other studio techniques such asflanging,delay,phasingandvari-speed.^[9]^{: xxii–xxiii}^[12]

Les Paul's advancements in recording were seen in the adoption of his techniques by artists likeBuddy Holly.In 1958, Holly released "Words of Love"and" Listen to Me ", which were composed with overdubbing for added instrumentation and harmonies.^[13]

Peter Ustinovperformed multiple voices on "MockMozart",in a recording produced byGeorge Martin.Abbey Road Studioshad no multitrack recorders at the time, so a pair of mono machines were used. Martin used the same process later for aPeter Sellerscomedy record, this time using stereo machines andpanning.^{[citation needed]}

Ross Bagdasarian,also known as David Seville, combined overdubbing with tape speed manipulation to create "The Chipmunk Song,"performing the voices of all three Chipmunks, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, recorded to a half-normal-speed playback of the instrumental backup; and conversing with the singing rodents in his own voice, recorded at full speed.

Examples

Overdubs can be made for a variety of reasons. One of the most obvious is for convenience; for example, if abass guitaristwere temporarily unavailable, the recording can be made and the bass track added later. Similarly, if only one or two guitarists are available, but a song calls for multiple guitar parts, a guitarist can play both lead and rhythmguitar.Overdubbing is also used to solidify a weak singer;double trackingallows a singer with poor intonation to sound more in tune. (The opposite of this is often used withsampled instruments;detuning the sample slightly can make the sound more lifelike.) The effect is used to give one singer a fuller sound. They would effectivelyharmonizewith their own vocals, like achoirbut with just one voice.

Overdubbing has sometimes been viewed negatively, when it is seen as being used to artificially enhance the musical skills of an artist or group, such as with studio-recorded inserts to live recordings, or backing tracks created bysession musiciansinstead of the credited performers. The early records ofthe Monkeeswere made by groups of studio musicians pre-recording songs (often in a different studio, and some before the band was even formed), which were later overdubbed with the Monkees' vocals. While the songs became hits, this practice drew criticism.Michael Nesmithin particular disliked what overdubbing did to the integrity of the band's music.^[14]Additionally, in working with producerButch Vig,Kurt Cobainhad expressed a disdain for double-track recording. Vig had to reportedly convince Cobain to use the recording technique by saying, "The Beatles did it on everything. John Lennon loved the sound of his voice double-tracked."^[15]

In December 2023Paul McCartneyput the concept of overdubbing in the spotlight by re-releasing anunderdubbedversion of thePaul McCartney and WingsalbumBand on the Run.The underdubbed tracks highlight the bare-bones nature of the album's original recordings made in theEMI Recordsstudio in Lagos, Nigeria before additional instruments were added in London.^[16]

Paulinho da Costa's song "Ritmo Number One" from his 1977 album "Agora"uses a base track withsurdo(big bass drum) and percussion, overdubbed with 8 percussion tracks (repique,pandeiro,congas,tamborims,a-go-go,cuíca,bell tree,reco-reco).

References

^"Recording Process".Audio House.RetrievedAugust 19,2020.
^Huber, David (2010).Modern Recording Techniques(7th ed.). Elsevier Inc. p. 31.ISBN 978-0-240-81069-0.
^The Carpenters - Richard explains overdubbing(YouTube, published Feb 11, 2011)
During a live concert byThe Carpenters,Richard Carpenterexplains how his and his sister's voices are made to sound like many more voices by the technique of overdubbing. The band then gives a demonstration of layering voices.
^^a ^bBruce Bartlett (20 May 2013).Practical Recording Techniques: The Step- by- Step Approach to Professional Audio Recording.CRC Press. p.209.ISBN 978-1-136-12533-1.
^"Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 4: Fly to Paradise".YouTube.
^Palmer, R (February 3, 1982)."The Pop Life".The New York Times.
^Rich, Sharon (2014). Sweethearts: The Timeless Love Story - On-Screen and Off - Between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.
^Sylvester, B (May 30, 2003). "10 questions for patti page".Goldmine.29:26.
^^a ^bMichael Zager (2011).Music Production: For Producers, Composers, Arrangers, and Students.Scarecrow Press.ISBN 978-0-8108-8202-7.
^Mary Alice Shaughnessy (1993).Les Paul: an American original.W. Morrow. p. 140.ISBN 978-0-688-08467-7.
^Cleveland, B (December 2009). "Les paul 1915–2009: Les paul's new sound".Guitar Player(43): 86–87.
^Johnston, R (April 1997). "Gearheads: Les paul".Guitar Player.31:31–32.
^Dahl, B (February 1, 2008). "The crickets are chirping".Goldmine.34:20–21.
^Andrew Sandoval (2005).The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation.Thunder Bay Press. p.80.ISBN 1-59223-372-4.
^Fricke, D (September 13, 2001). "The tenth anniversary of nirvana's" nevermind ": A guide to nirvana's bootlegs - vital episodes in kurt cobain's life". Rolling Stone Magazine.
^Postelwait, Cameron."Band On The Run – Underdubbed Mix Review".SleepyJack.

External links

[1] "Recording Process".Audio House.RetrievedAugust 19,2020.

[2] Huber, David (2010).Modern Recording Techniques(7th ed.). Elsevier Inc. p. 31.ISBN 978-0-240-81069-0.

[3] The Carpenters - Richard explains overdubbing(YouTube, published Feb 11, 2011)
During a live concert byThe Carpenters,Richard Carpenterexplains how his and his sister's voices are made to sound like many more voices by the technique of overdubbing. The band then gives a demonstration of layering voices.

[bartlett-4] Bruce Bartlett (20 May 2013).Practical Recording Techniques: The Step- by- Step Approach to Professional Audio Recording.CRC Press. p.209.ISBN 978-1-136-12533-1.

[5] "Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 4: Fly to Paradise".YouTube.

[6] Palmer, R (February 3, 1982)."The Pop Life".The New York Times.

[7] Rich, Sharon (2014). Sweethearts: The Timeless Love Story - On-Screen and Off - Between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.

[8] Sylvester, B (May 30, 2003). "10 questions for patti page".Goldmine.29:26.

[zager-9] Michael Zager (2011).Music Production: For Producers, Composers, Arrangers, and Students.Scarecrow Press.ISBN 978-0-8108-8202-7.

[10] Mary Alice Shaughnessy (1993).Les Paul: an American original.W. Morrow. p. 140.ISBN 978-0-688-08467-7.

[11] Cleveland, B (December 2009). "Les paul 1915–2009: Les paul's new sound".Guitar Player(43): 86–87.

[12] Johnston, R (April 1997). "Gearheads: Les paul".Guitar Player.31:31–32.

[13] Dahl, B (February 1, 2008). "The crickets are chirping".Goldmine.34:20–21.

[14] Andrew Sandoval (2005).The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story of the 60s TV Pop Sensation.Thunder Bay Press. p.80.ISBN 1-59223-372-4.

[15] Fricke, D (September 13, 2001). "The tenth anniversary of nirvana's" nevermind ": A guide to nirvana's bootlegs - vital episodes in kurt cobain's life". Rolling Stone Magazine.

[16] Postelwait, Cameron."Band On The Run – Underdubbed Mix Review".SleepyJack.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

v t e Music production
Engineering	Audio filter Audio mastering Audio mi xing Critical distance Effects loop Effects unit Talk box Wah-wah pedal Diffusion Microphone Overdubbing Ping-ponging Punch in/out Sound recording Tape loop
Signal processing	Pitch shift Auto-Tune Chorus effect Compression Delay effect(STEED) Distortion Double tracking(ADT) Ducking Equalization Exciter effect Flanging Octave effect Noise gate Phaser Pumping Reverb Reverse echo
Practices aesthetics	Hip hop production Lo-fi Overproduction Recording studio as an instrument Sampling Turntablism Wall of Sound Xenochrony
Roles professions	Arranger Audio engineer Backup band Bandleader DJ Ghostwriters in music Horn section Orchestrator Record producer Rhythm section Session musician Backup singer Ghost singer Vocal coach
Other	Click track Interpolation Loudness war Mashup Medley Music technology (electric) Music technology (electronic and digital) Remix
Record production portal

Overdubbing

History

Examples

See also

References

Further reading

External links