Editing for audio production is like the post-production of filmmaking – it’s the phase where all the raw material starts to come together. It’s the process of cleaning up the recorded tracks, comping vocals, aligning beats, fine-tuning performance, and correcting imperfections so that you can unlock your music’s potential. The raw musical ingredients you’ve recorded in the tracking and overdubbing stages are polished and tightened during editing.
Track Editing Editing Start-to-Finish
Your recorded tracks might contain unwanted noises, uneven levels, and off-beat sections. Editing helps you clean up these elements. You can adjust the volume of different tracks, cut out unwanted noise, and ensure every beat aligns perfectly. You can also tweak performances, auto-tune where necessary, and even time-stretch tracks without changing their pitch. It’s all about enhancing the quality and balance of your sound.
One thing I like to keep in mind with Editing, and what sets editing apart from mixing, is that editing focuses on individual takes. Each take should sound reasonable on its own while being in solo mode. During editing, you’re not mixing.
Unlock Your Music’s Potential with This Framework
- Load Your Tracks: First, load all the recorded tracks into your preferred Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). This is where the magic begins.
- Arrange Tracks: Position your tracks in order. Usually, rhythm sections like drums and bass go first. Then come guitars, keys, and finally, vocals on top.
- Listen Attentively: Conduct a deep listening session into your tracks before you start editing. Listen for imperfections and problems that stand out. Keep a notepad and mark the time, track, and issue as you listen. Repeat this process while isolating (soloing) each track. It’s common for this step to take an hour or more for each song.
- Make Initial Cuts: If some parts are clearly not working, cut them, replace them, or mute them. Be brave. Sometimes less is more.
- Time Alignment: Ensure each track is on time with others. Use tools like ‘Quantize’ to align instruments to the grid. But do not overdo this and remove the life from your recording. I generally do not make time alignment changes unless there are clear mishaps.
- Pitch Correction: If needed, adjust the pitch of vocals or other melodic elements. Tools like Auto-Tune can help. As with time alignment, it’s easy to overdo this. Unless you’re going for an auto-tune style, then less is definitely more. The best weapon against pitch issues is to ensure your instruments and vocals are in tune.
- Edit Dynamics: Use automation to adjust the volume of individual track segments. Compression and mix techniques come in later. For now, you’re looking for good, consistent takes. Sometimes a bass note might be too quiet, or that crash wasn’t hit with full force. You can play around with volume to make some corrections during the editing phase.
- Remove Noise: Clean up tracks by removing unwanted sounds or background noise. Sometimes gates can be used; sometimes, you just need to cut out unwanted sections. Be sure to fade in and fade out on all tracks so there are no inadvertent pops or clicks.
- Final Listen: Finally, take a step back. Listen to your track in full. Make any last-minute adjustments.
Tools of the Trade – Software and Equipment for Editing
There’s a multitude of audio software and equipment to make editing easier. Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) like Pro Tools, Ableton Live, and Logic Pro X come with a range of editing tools. You can use these tools to manipulate your tracks and improve their sound. Additionally, audio plugins can provide specific functions to help with noise, clicks, and dynamics.
Here are some common tools:
- Waveform Viewer: Sound becomes visual. See the ups and downs of your audio. Perfect for spotting peaks, troughs, and silent areas where unwanted noises lurk.
- Cut Tool: Think of it as your audio scissors. Use it to snip away parts of the track you don’t want. Chop chop! Always remember to add a fade in and fade out around your cuts to help prevent pops and clicks later on. The exact length of each fade will depend on the context and style of the instrument, but typically very short fade measured in milliseconds can be enough.
- Time Stretch: Bend the rules of time. Make your audio longer or shorter without changing the pitch. Elastic sound, quite literally.
- Quantize: Timing magician. Aligns your notes to the nearest beat. Keeps things in time and tight. But remember that “with great power comes great responsibility.”
- Pitch Correction: The vocal lifesaver. A tool that tweaks the pitch of your vocals. Keep it subtle or go full robot; it’s your call.
- Mixer: Last but not least, the control room. Adjust the volume of each track with automation.
My Personal Approach to Track Editing
The above framework is the one I use for editing. It can take me a good 3-4 hours to edit each song.
When I edit my tracks, I strive for a balance between maintaining the natural feel of the performance and ensuring that the tracks don’t have any distracting issues that lower their overall quality.
I start with broad strokes, correcting any significant timing and tuning issues. Then, I delve into the details, reducing background noise and fine-tuning levels. I’m always cautious not to over-edit, as it can lead to a loss of the original’s character and energy.
Challenges in the Editing Process
The editing process isn’t without its hurdles.
It’s easy to get lost in the details and over-edit, which can rob the music of its authenticity. In the intro, I said that each track should be edited so it can stand on its own. But it can be very easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Ultimately, your tracks have to sound good together as a whole. They don’t need to stand alone. That’s why we don’t apply any effects or other processing during editing. We’re just fixing up each track to remove problems and inconsistencies. We’re picking the better takes. We’re making some tuning corrections. We’re not making mixing decisions or addressing EQ, compression, or reverb challenges. That all comes later.
Learning to use editing software and tools can be daunting. It can take many hundred hours to get familiar with these software platforms. Unfamiliarity means more time looking for functionality and learning how things work and less time editing. The more you do, the better you’ll get.
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Editing is a critical stage in music production. It’s a creative process of polishing and tightening your tracks. With the right balance and the right tools, you can transform your raw recordings into a polished piece of music.
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