Recording A Cappella with Danny Ozment

Latest Episodes:

7 Keys to Planning an Effective and Productive Recording Schedule Aug 14, 2017

Show notes

After 10 years of doing this recording thing full time, I can tell you that the answer to the question "What should our recording schedule look like?" is ALL OF THE ABOVE. Different things work for different groups. We're all in different situations. You've got classes, work, location issues, relationships, children, etc. Some groups are really focused on the group. Others are more casual. I can confidently say that different schedules work well for different groups. In this episode, I share 7 keys or recommendations that I've noticed seemed to work well for most of the people I've worked with over the years.

Interested in a coaching session? - http://recordingacappella.com/coaching

25% OFF Video Courses Pre-Order Sale - http://recordingacappella.com/courses/

Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card by filling out my survey - http://recordingacappella.com/survey

10 Ways to Improve your Acappella Recording - http://recordingacappella.com/podcast

FloVoice and More with Amanda Cornaglia Aug 07, 2017

Show notes

Amanda is one of those people where you just can’t figure out how she has the time to do all the stuff she does. She is Sr. Manager of Rights Acquisition & Subscription at FloVoice, she’s a founder and managing partner for Clear Harmonies Productions, she’s president of the Contemporary A Cappella League (CAL), and she sings in 2 very active pro groups, Euphonism and Snow Day. Oh, and she’s a mom. See what I mean.

I’ve known Amanda for a long time and seen how impressive she can be and I wanted to sit down and catch up on all of the exciting things she’s got going on right now in her aca business life.

In this episode, we speed through how she got her start in a cappella and how her two extremely active groups got started. We cover the multitude of things she does with Clear Harmonies including live sound. We also discuss the ins and outs of FloVoice and how awesome this is for the a cappella community!

Amanda is the real deal and I hope you find this episode informative and helpful!

FloVoice → http://www.flovoice.com/

Clear Harmonies → https://www.clearharmonies.com/

CAL → http://acappellaleague.org/

Euphonism → https://www.euphonism.com/

Snow Day → https://www.iwantasnowday.com/

10 Ways to Improve your A Cappella Recording - http://recordingacappella.com

LIVE COACHING with Kayla Pichichero and Evan Linsey of Birdland Avenue Aug 03, 2017

Show notes

Kayla and Evan are members of the Boston-based group Birdland Avenue. Their group enjoys putting a jazzy spin on old and new classics. They are also hosts of the a cappella podcast Head/Voice. They both have lots of experience performing in larger college groups but the small group dynamic of Birdland Avenue is new to them.

So, how do they approach recording a small group and creating “their” sound on their first EP/album? That’s what we’re discussing on today’s LIVE COACHING call. I’m able to help Kayla and Evan get clarity around two key concepts that will increase their awesomeness in the studio and we then get to work brainstorming on ways to accentuate and GROW each of those!

In this episode, we rattle through a ton of great ways to create different sounds and bring out the gems in their arrangements. We cover time-tested methods for getting the sounds they want during tracking instead of having to wait for the mixing engineer to create the sounds for them. We also discuss why and when it’s good and bad to invest in more gear and how to do it on a budget! We even go into strategies for writing original songs, how to get a more “live” sound from their recordings and deal with the weirdness of trying to perform in the studio!

Kayla and Evan are awesome and I know you’re going to LOVE this episode, so enjoy!

Find out more about Birdland Avenue here → https://www.facebook.com/birdlandavenue

Find out more about Head/Voice here → https://soundcloud.com/headvoicepodcast

These LIVE COACHING SESSIONS are here so you can get deep insight into a cappella recording issues, ideas and challenges that we all face as we create strategies, solutions and action plans that you can benefit from! It's also a great way to see just how transformative it can be to allow another qualified person into your “group” or “studio” so you can save time, money and energy that you would normally take figuring it out on your own! We're in this together!

If you are interested a strategy session for YOU and/or YOUR group, check out the different options you have (http://recordingacappella.com/coaching) or simply email me at danny@emeraldcitypro.com to let me know how I can best serve you!

You have to be interesting... with Alex Green Jul 31, 2017

Show notes

Hey everybody! Welcome to this episode of the Recording A Cappella podcast, my name is Danny and I’m your host for the podcast dedicated to helping you create better recordings and better performances. I’m so excited to be with you today! Welcome to Episode 17. Today we’ll be talking to Alex Green, producer, engineer, and half of the incredible Plaid Productions.

Alex Green possesses golden ears. He’s very intelligent, immensely knowledgeable on technical subjects when it comes to recording, and is a phenomenally emotional and honest musician. In our interview Alex shares his philosophy on creating something that people will enjoy listening to. He tells us how Plaid builds such amazing relationships with clients and how that impacts their search for new clients. We also chat about some of the projects Alex and his partner Koutz (Alex Koutzoukis) do for fun and their involvement in the Boston Sings festival.

Plaid A Cappella - http://plaidacappella.com/

10 Ways to Improve your Acappella Recording - http://recordingacappella.com/podcast

The Benefits of Recording Yourself Jul 24, 2017

Show notes

My goal with recordingacappella.com and this podcast is to help you get GREAT SOUND from your recordings and in episode 010 of the podcast I talked about the steps in the recording process.

I talked about what happens during pre-production tracking, editing, mixing, and mastering. We also talked about what can’t be done in post-production that needs to needs to be done right during tracking. If you haven’t listened to my earlier solo episodes, I encourage you to go back to Episode 4 and start there. I do a solo episode every few weeks and there’s definitely a progression to what I am talking about here.

Today we’re going to continue that mission towards getting GREAT SOUND by discussing the THREE MAJOR BENEFITS of recording yourself. I end with a VERY IMPORTANT WARNING to those do it yourselfers out there.

10 Ways to Improve your Acappella Recording - http://recordingacappella.com/podcast

There is Only One James Cannon Jul 17, 2017

Show notes

James Cannon… such an awesome dude. It was so hard to edit this conversation down from 90 minutes to what it is now. He’s hilarious, profound, entertaining, wise, and just a really interesting guy to listen to. He’s an immensely talented musician, producer, composer, engineer, and more and you’ll get to hear all about it in this episode. His philosophies on getting the right performance during tracking are so important for anyone in a cappella to hear. And if you are a drummer in a group, our discussion about vocal percussion is full of amazing insights on the drummer’s role in the a cappella group. I wish I could say more but James definitely says it better.

James Cannon - morethanfaders@gmail.com

10 Ways to Improve your Acappella Recording - http://recordingacappella.com

Diversity and Inclusion in A Cappella with Bryan Guffey Jul 10, 2017

Show notes

Hello! And welcome to this episode of the Recording A Cappella podcast, my name is Danny and I’m your host for the podcast dedicated to helping you create better recordings and better performances. I’m so excited to be with you today! Welcome to Episode 14. Today we’ll be talking to Bryan Guffey, Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator for the Women’s A Cappella Association.

Bryan Guffey is one of the most interesting people in the a cappella landscape. He’s currently Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator for the Women’s A Cappella Association but he’s also involved with pretty much every organization out there. In a way, he knows all and sees all.

Bryan tells us why it’s so important for professional singers to get involved in a cappella and why learning business skills is so important for the aspiring musician. Bryan is a great bass and actually replaced Tim Foust in a Crystal Cruise line a cappella group and tells us lots of fun stories from that experience.

A while back, Bryan noticed that there were definite factions in the a cappella world and he made it his mission to get involved with all of them in an effort to bring people together. This discussion lead us into a great chat about diversity and how it’s being addressed in a cappella. Bryan and I agree that understanding diversity and the stories of different cultures are essential to informed performance and we share how to improve this element of your performance.

Bryan Guffey - https://www.facebook.com/musicjunkieg

Groups mention:

Forte femme - https://www.facebook.com/fortefemmemusic/

Birdland Avenue - https://www.facebook.com/birdlandavenue/

The Danny Ozment Story Jul 03, 2017

Show notes

Everybody has a story. So far on the podcast, I’ve shared a bunch of other stories of how some of the biggest names in a cappella got to where they are. And I hope those stories have been inspiring for you. That’s why I started recordingacappella.com and this podcast. To help and inspire you. To let you know that you aren’t alone. Most of the people on this show started out in a cappella the exact same way you have. Had the same triumphs and frustrations. Made the same mistakes.

So did I and today I share my story.

I was in your position.

I understand the challenges you face and I’m here to help.

Join a few other focused and hungry aca peeps!

Don’t forget to register for

Catalyst Recording and Arranging Workshop 2017

http://recordingacappella.com/catalyst-2017

Get your FREE guide!!!

10 Ways to Improve Your A Cappella Recording

http://recordingacappella.com/podcast

A Cappella Tour of Asia with Christine Liu Jun 26, 2017

Show notes

Registration for Catalyst 2017 is OPEN!

Thanks to everyone who has asked questions about the event so far! Tom and I are psyched about this opportunity. I think the thing that excites us most is that we have crafted this workshop so that each arranger gets the chance to have their arrangement recorded and all the recording students get to work on up to 5 different songs. There's no way for me to tell you just how valuable that is. You get to leave the workshop with 5 edited tracks that you worked on rather than just one fully mixed track. You'll get to have the stems too so that you can take those songs and try mixing them on your own as well after the event. Want to know more? Head to http://recordingacappella.com/catalyst-2017

Would you like to do a live coaching?

In the next month or so, I'd like to have an episode of the podcast where I bring on one of you guys or gals and do a live coaching with you. If you've got the courage to come on the show and have your questions and my answers and advice recorded and then broadcast (podcast?) then you'll get a FREE coaching. That's a $77 value for FREE!!!

If you’ve ever wanted to know about Asian a cappella then today is a great show for you, we talk to Christine Liu of Vocal Asia about all things Asian a cappella. Christine’s love of a cappella started while in the states for high school and college where she started a group at northwestern.

She takes us on a brief trip through how the Asian a cappella scene started and where it’s at now. Christine is the head of Vocal Asia and she tells us a good bit about what the organization is doing all throughout that part of the world. Their festivals which change location each year not only feature a cappella but try to feature the music and culture of the area the festival is located in that year.

We talk about their education programs and how the awareness of a cappella is growing among the general population of the area. What sort of reception did the recent mainstream success of a cappella movies and TV shows receive in Asia? Christine lets us know.

Christine Liu - http://www.voconovo.tw/

Vocal Asia - http://vocalasia.org/index.php?lang=en

Asian A Cappella for you to check out:

Vocal Asia compilations - A for A Cappella, House for Life, 2013 Asia A Cappella Compilation

Groups Christine mentioned :

O-Kai Singers (Taiwan)

Zenith (Korea)

Exit (Korea)

Takarabune (Japan)

MICappella (Singapore)

Hamojin (Japan)

Voco Novo (Taiwan)

Gili (Taiwan)

Acapellago (Philippines)

The Wanted (Taiwan)

Gay Singers (Hong Kong)

MayTree (Korea)

Catalyst Acappella Arranging and Recording Workshop 2017 - http://recordingacappella.com/catalyst-2017

10 Ways to Improve your Acappella Recording - http://recordingacappella.com/podcast

Keys to Being an Awesome Live Sound Engineer with Tony Huerta Jun 19, 2017

Show notes

Tony Huerta is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. He’s best known as the live mixing engineer for Take 6, was an original member of the group that went on to become M-Pact, and founded and performed with Urban Method on The Sing Off.

I hope you love this interview and I’m very excited to share it. Tony talks about live sound, customer service, business building, and more. He shares the surreal “fake it til you make it” story of how he became Take 6’s mix engineer and how you can give yourself the best chance to succeed in the world of live sound. Hint, it involves taking regular showers…

We discuss Tony’s keys to making a great recording in today’s world of being able to fix tuning and timing and he gives you a few keys to getting great live sound including regularly working with the same engineer and using little to no compression. During our conversation about his recent Live Sound Workshop called It Sounds Muddy, Tony tells us about the concept of sonic elements in music and how knowing them can drastically improve the sound of your live mix.

Whether you are a singer or engineer, if you are interested in a cappella live sound this interview is for you.

Tony Huerta and Sonic Audio - http://www.sonicaudiopro.com/

Tony’s Workshop - http://acappellamix.com/

Catalyst Acappella Arranging and Recording Workshop 2017 - http://recordingacappella.com/catalyst-2017

10 Ways to Improve your Acappella Recording - http://recordingacappella.com/podcast