At My Most Beautiful
Up | 1998
Listen Original Listen Final Mix

Right in Tune?

Yes, the piano is exactly -40c. That’s almost right in between A and Ab. Problem.

I already had the bass and guitar parts recorded. Meaning that I’d either have to re-record them, wait to find a better piano, play the piano parts on… ugh… midi, or do some pitch shiftin’. Pitch shiftin’ it is then.

To shift the piano itself or the other instruments was the big decision. It did not take long as its obviously easier to pitch shift one instrument than several. So piano pitch shiftin it is. I measured the difference between the piano’s pitch and the acutual tuning at several octaves. Always -40c off. Turns out this is pretty easy to do in Garageband. Couldn’t use the lock to key as that F# is defiant to the key of F major. Defiant, I say.

Plus, this way I can simply re-record the piano part when I can aceess a better one. We have some friends with a piano, perhaps they will allow me to re-record there. In the meantime, the pitch adjustment seemed to work fine for a first draft.

New vocal record

I managed to break the number of vocal tracks here. 17 seprate vocal takes stacked and dripping with reverb were used to create the beach boys backing. It was much easier than expected. I listened for a different vocal line each time, singing along to one of the parts. Once I had something that meshed ith the track, I recorded two parts and panned them hard each way. Then one more low part on its own.

It’s gonna be a rough mixing session, but I should get something listenable here. As always, the lead vocal s are the weak point, but the backing vocals soar.

It seems like an odd way to phrase it, but recording/mixing these “Up” songs is like making a souffle. They are delicate and need a light touch. One part with a poor EQ or volume choice could destroy the entire thing. As opposed to “Living Well”, which is like blacksmithing. Temper your voice in fire and release it as hard as you can with that one. Not so much here.