Equipment

    

 Psalm 96:1

Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

It is quite clear from the beginning of this psalm that we were given an ability to sing, not just for the great feeling it can give you when you sing with others or when you sing alone!  The blessing of singing doesn't only happen when we sing 'a happy tune'.  It is much more than that, singing has always been and will always be part of our worship offering to God and we in return receive His blessing.  So in these difficult times, I was interested to read on the BBC news website that the government were about to do some research in the risks of singing together, and it was to be done initially in a synagogue.  When I read the report I have to admit to have rather been taken aback, but now being reminded of the psalms I see the synagogue as a reminder of the temple and the heritage of singing praises to the Lord going back thousands of years.  That heritage is important, but so says the psalm is the new songs as well! Our worship is to be in the present, in the now.  Worship that is fresh and that comes out of faith that exists now.  

This relatively new activity (some say ministry) of mine, composing and recording music is a real new learning experience.  The number of skills needed can be a real challenge.  I list them not to pat myself on the back, but to  help me get into perspective, the task I have taken on.

Composing the music

Writing the lyrics

Playing rhythm guitar

Arrangement of piece (style)

Attempting to play lead guitar

Attempting bass guitar

Learning how to use the recording equipment

Placement of microphones

Use of graphic equaliser

Creating a title slide for video playback on You tube

Creating lyric slides.

Uploading finished piece.

Wow, what a list and it really is more than all that, as some of the items above will contain sub skills to learn.  No wonder the process has been time consuming and rewarding.  The skills are all different, musical, graphic and computer skills are all needed.  In a way it is an ideal activity because there is this range of different activities, I am always moving onto another step in the process.  The only boring bit is the gap between uploading a song and getting the inspiration for another.

You are no-doubt asking the question why bother?  Well I suppose a mountaineer would say I climb mountains because they are there and in a way my answer is similar, if the Lord is inspiring me with songs to help me draw close to Him then maybe they will enable others to grow in their faith also. The song's existence demands a response. So if the songs exist they need to be shared with others.  For some they are simply to listen to, but hopefully for others it maybe for them to sing along to or even use them in church, when it is allowed!  For me the start of recording was to do the latter, I needed to share a song with my church's music group leader before practicing it and using it in worship. The easiest way was to use my camera to video my attempt to play and sing it and upload it.  That was a really nerve wracking experience!  This I did a number of times for different songs and then I decided, video was not the answer as I needed sound quality, so audio was what I went for.

I have used two different types of digital recording equipment. the first was a simple hand / tripod held Tascam recorder and the second type of which I am now on my second was a small multi channel digital recorder.  The first one of the multi-channel type was a much more advanced Tascam, but unfortunately it wasn't man enough for the job and I replaced it with a much better and more physically robust machine the Zoom 8.  Ultimately if I am brave enough (or foolish enough) I may move to a computer software method, who knows!  It depends if you really can teach an old dog new tricks....

One other essential item is of course is the microphone. After starting with fairly basic dynamic microphone set up, I moved up to condenser microphones. Initially the integral mikes in the digital recorders and then after a very generous gift from a friend. using a really good condenser mike on which I can record vocals and acoustic guitar.

The Zoom 8 (far left) is my current bit of tech and it is doing a great job.