Hey folks.  I'm not using Xanga anymore.  Here's my new site:

http://www.notoriousong.com

Something that never surprises me is how often I am mistaken for a guy. For real, for reals. I am just that suave. When people find out I'm a female, they get scurred and run away coz an independent woman is always labeled a bitch, no matter how you look at it. It's true. It sucks when I'm treated differently because I'm a woman.

Anyway, I remind myself that I'm a rare flower every day. It keeps me from caving in to the demands of my family. They're annoying in the sense that they rather put me down than ask for help. I'm always willing, but being taunted at isn't the way to go. Seriously. Somebody send my folks a communications expert.

It is not everyday that someone like me comes along and they should at least appreciate that. That's my little pick-me-upper to make it through the day. My history teacher always told each and every student in class that we are all special. It's a good feeling to know that you're important and what you do has meaning and purpose. Anyway, I like the numbers to back me up when words aren't enough, so I did a little research on statistics. (We also do this when our parents restrict our dating options, which will be another blog. lol.) Here it is:

I am female, which makes about 49% of the world's population.
I am American, which makes about 5% of the world's population.
I am Hmong, which makes about .01% of the American population.
Less than 5% of all music producers and sound engineers are female.

So I am practically one in a million. I think. Any math majors out there? lol.

It's been forever since I've blogged in general. But over the past months, I've been busy making use of Google and YouTube that I'm beginning to feel like I deserve a graduate degree. Joking aside, I've been educating myself in EQing, how to market myself, and how to build and foster relationships. My current focus is improving my EQ skills because after listening to most of my old material, I've realized how muddy and poorly represented they were.

I can easily say that I've gotten better, but most importantedly, I've learned how to listen to my music objectively. I think all this learning and trying has definitely trained my ears to hear what I wouldn't have heard a year ago. But now, it's a test of "how do I achieve that?" I think I've spent a good amount of time experimenting with EQing and setting my own work flow. It's a slow process and I have to block out all the pressures around me so I can focus. Distraction is deadly.

One of the most hardest EQing techniques is making the vocal stand out, without overpowering the music. I've learned how to cut frequencies to make room for the vocal, but I'm still struggling with sounds clashing with each other, which ultimately makes the track smaller. I want my music to sound like an open field with rainbows and flowers, not a muddy ball. I've been using the mute button more often than I normally would, and in most cases, it has helped. But it is still in the experimenting process. Most of the joy is selecting (or creating) the right sound -- or what I would like to say, "do it right the first time."

The other thing that I'm trying to learn, is how to liven up the vocals. I probably know the answer to my own question: recording room, microphone, pre-amp selections, and a stellar performance. But I think recording a dry vocal track will sound dead no matter what. Sometimes, I'm putting too high of a ratio or too low of a threshold on the compressor. That is never constant -- always tweaking until it sounds about right, but then, it's not loud enough. It's a test of patience and by that, I mean, my mom's patience with me.

So my next quest is: what techniques can I use to liven up the vocals without drowning it out and what I can do to liven up a very dry recording space?