PUMp uP Da VolUMe. Review on General Tips on Sound Mixing

I am back to doing what I think I am best at. giving a lot of bt.

But this time around it is about what SOUNDS are all about and what they tell you most to do. Music as you are all aware of, rocks your world. ok, but what kind of music and moreover what'WORLD' of yours does it ROCK.

For starters lets look at various typpes of so called music available for us today;

1. Hip HOP - BOP.

   
   




2. BLUES - SO TRUE

   
   




3. TECHNO - DA FUNK

   
   




4. BLAH BLAH BLAH. HAHAHA

   
   

Honestly I do not understand this lingo as for me Music is a form of sound that, as mood permits, allows you the luxury of soothing your mind n soul, and at times allows you to tap your feet and let your hair down. hmmm. that sums it just about right.

Various SOUNDS that permeate your soul;

1. WIND - This is one sound that can give you the creeps, that can give you the goose pimples and yet it also soothes the ruffled soul. e.g. Listen to a FLUTE played by a Flautist called PT. Hari Prasad Chaurasia. Now, that is one sound which you will delicioulsy allow to permeate your soul, soothe the mind and then take you floating endlessly through the dreams of the mystical green valleys, magic of the rainbow and of course the vastness of the blue sky that you gape at with awe.

The typical sounds that emanate from this WIND instrument are so true that they practically lull you into their notes and take you through the experience of a'BUTTERFLY' effect. Have any of you sat back and given a thought to that time when you had a butterfly in front of your eyes, taking in the beauty of its colors, the delicate flutter of its wings and then that sudden magical caress that it gives you when it passes near you or the wings that just brush you and you go'aahhh'. The wind instruments do just that to you. Listen to the magic melody of late Ustaad Bismillah Khan and be sure to transported to the world of the ENTRANCING.

Typical instruments recommended for such effects would be the Indian Flute or Baansuri, Shehanaai, Trumpet, and Saxophone. **There is a huge sound difference between  the western wind instruments and the Indian wind instruments but thats only because we believe in the wooden variety and they in metal. But the effect -'ENTRANCING'

2. STRINGS - The strum of a spanish guitar has to take you galloping through a vast countryside, pastures as green and the thatched or grass rooftops bellowing light smoke through the chimneys peeping through them. A jungle of serene and calm beauty that when mixed with the pleasure of cool'WINDS'. well I call it MESMERISING. That is what listening to the sound of strings does to you. Now you will notice here that strings in no way lull you but they have the ability to touch the chords of your HEART.Thats where the strings strikes first. The sound of strings stirs the pain, stirs memories, stirs your emotions. It really takes you on a very emotional journey of sheer NOSTALGIA. Be it the memories of your past girlfriend/s, be it the memories of your nearest and dearest ones, be it the most happiest moment of striking gold in your life. STRINGS STIR your heart. JIMI HENDRIX, PRINCE, LED ZEPPLIN are my all time favorites in GUITAR. India has its fair share of maestros who have mastered the art of stirring your heart, Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma - SANTOOR, Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan - SAROD, Pt Ravi Shankar - SITAR.

Now, mix the above two and imagine what you have got. a** pure mix of the ENTRANCING with the MESMERISING.isnt that completely irresistible. yes according to me it is completely rich and valuable for my soul n heart.

1. PERCUSSION -** These are the most interesting instruments that give you the boost to keep listening to the entrancing and the mesmerising together. It is necesarily leather stretched across rims of wooden hollows that emanate the thump and the beats that engulf your MIND and take control of your cerebellum, yes they do just that. take over your body. Imagine with the WIND blowing, STRINGS strumming and add the THUMP .. what have you got here is a foot tapping, body swaying, melody that takes you beyond the realm of the circumsatnce or surrounding that you are in. Believe me when I say this as this is the CORRECT mix of SOUNDS that I recommend you to hear always. Have you noticed how the thump of a drum beat coincides with that of your heart beat. if you have then you are in TOUCH with the PULSE of the music that you are listening to. Bongos are the two wooden hollows with stretched leather variety, where the metal rims with the tightening bolts attached can give you the sound which can be almost metallic or leathery and the roll of your fingers on this stretched leatherwill always remind you of the ever popular song THE HOUSE OF BAMBOOS. NO. 54. Hey I got you there, right.

Well this is what the thump does to you. The most popular instruments that add thump are;

*TUMBA, CONGO'S, DRUMS, OCTOPADS. These are all the thump that offer you the PUMP and pulse your way through the night.

*Greatest percussionists of all times;

*Charlie Watts of Rolling Stones, Mitch Mitchell of Jimi Hendrix Experience. There are a lot more but I like their SOUNDS

Ustaad Ahmedjan Thrikwa, Ustaad Allarakha Khan,  Ustaad Zakir Hussain, Pt Anindo Chaterjee are the best names that have made the indian THUMP TABLA so popular.

Mix the above sounds and you are sure that it breaks your reverie and takes you along the magical and mystical path of what SOUNDS does to you. It is truly a memorable journey where SOUNDS can really make your soul stir, heart sing aloud, and body sway to the lilting melodies that these sounds create.

*M= Magical, Mystical

U= Unique

S= Surreal

I= Irresistible

C= Calming

That my friends is MUSIC for me and hope to you too. I think I have struck the right chords and believe me I wanted to create MUSIC with this review. Tell me if I did or did not.

hari OM