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Nicole Thorp
Last week was really exciting because my copy of Pro Tools came in the mail and i bought my first MacBook for Pro Tools to ensure that the program would function properly and that i would get the most out of it as well by having an up to date computer to put it on. The installation process went pretty fast, considering that my student advisor Gerald helped talk me through the entire setup. Once it was uploaded i had the chance to browse around the program and explore the functions, it was pretty daunting because i had never used Pro Tools before.
When i went to the studio for my lesson, i could tell Pierre was a little surprised that i had actually managed to get the whole thing set up without his help because from what i had heard, Pro Tools wasn't the easiest of programs to install. It definitely wasn't and i don't know if i could of done it without Gerald's help either. Pierre talked with me about the importance of saving sessions in the proper place and how files can be easily lost if they aren't saved in the right spot. From there we fired up Pro Tools HD and Pierre talked me through importing audio, saving files, and I/O settings. He then explained to me how Pro Tools communicates with the analog console: how to playback music through the speakers and console, volume controls, routing of the I/O's and busses, etc. I then fired up Pro Tools on my computer and basically just spent some time exploring the program on my own, every time i hit a road block i would ask Pierre what the issue was and he would talk me through it. I played around with importing different tracks, routing Aux tracks and busses, editing tools, and plug ins. I totally felt like a Pro Tools newbie but i didn't get discouraged because i am one and i know that it will take some time to know this program inside and out, I'm just taking one step at a time.
Later that week Pierre had me assist on another session which i was really excited about; an R&B group named Clientele. A really talented group of people that really knew their stuff when it came to the music. This time i really focused a great deal on what Pierre was doing on Pro Tools and the type of moves he was making as the tracks were being recorded. This group was doing a ton of vocal stacking, doing triplet and quad takes of the chorus and it was really interesting to see how that was done on the program. We also miced up a guitar rig with a mid-side miking technique using a Shure SM57 and a Royer 121 ribbon off center of the cone of the speaker and a Blue Woodpecker ribbon used as an ambient mic. It was a great experience and i noticed that i was really starting to get a hang of the flow of the studio and microphone uses. Right now I'm just focused on getting to know Pro Tools and i couldn't be more happy with the progress I'm making, I'm just moving forward.
