Sound Recording

Adeline Williams '26  ~  January 2025

Nardin Academy’s sound recording wINTERMISSION was an insightful and amusing experience. 

On Monday, we chose which songs we were going to record throughout the week. After a long debate, we ended up splitting into two genres: R&B and Folk. In those categories, we settled on two tracks each, with artists ranging from Michael Jackson to Hozier. The first afternoon, we learned how to use an app called Bandlab. On Bandlab, you can record multiple audios, and both edit and mesh the sounds, making sure each song is perfectly mapped out so nothing is off tempo. 

Tuesday was percussion day. It was interesting to see the differences of where you record the sound: if we recorded a snare in a small, stuffy room, the sound will be more crisp, whereas if you record in a larger space, there will be an echo. Each day we debated on which rooms to use to record each sound and selected microphones based on similar reasons. 

On Wednesday, we recorded string instruments. We had a wide variety of instruments to implement into our covers. These instruments included violin, guitar, bass, and even mandolin. 

Thursday was many students’ favorite day of the week, as it was vocal day. Students sang in solos, duets, and large groups. For the song “Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey, we had a part where the entire wINTERMISSION group sang together! 

Friday was jam packed with lots of last minute editing and finishing touches of the four songs. One example of this was the ad libs we added to Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean” in order to properly execute the song. We celebrated the successful week with pizza and listening to the finished recordings. We invited the whole school to hear the tracks, playing them on a speaker. Overall, the week was informative about the behind the scenes of our favorite songs and we had lots of fun throughout the process!