"What Did You Learn In School Today" by Pete Seeger(cover)

[jdambrosemusic]

Above is my studio cover of "What Did You Learn In School Today" by Pete Seeger. I believe it to be absolutely perfect in its simplicity and I looked to use it here as a solid foundation to discover and correct my studio technique. For my version I transposed this classic folk tune to the key of C and doubled over the vocal melody with a single harmony. In the backline I flushed out the arrangement with a subtle approach using a paper shaker, tambourine, and hand snaps on each quarter note.

I recently started reading a copy of "The Recording Engineer's Handbook" by Bobby Owsinski

A few hours of my time was spent in preproduction just figuring out how to get the best sound out of my Shure SM58 with mic/room placement (140sq ft of untreated bedroom) This recording features two acoustic guitar takes and I chose to show off two slight variations on the classic neck joint (12th fret) mic placement. One take features a slightly different vertical tilt one at the fretboard and the other is directed more towards the floor both about 10 inch away from the guitar.

One of the limits I set for myself was to use less than 10 plugins and I found that I only really needed about 4 in total to monitor -> track -> edit -> and master out to soundcloud in one evening.

Waves SSL Channel
Waves PAZ-Meter
Altiverb 7
Ozone 7

As for the most important part (this being an acoustic guitar forum and all)
My guitar is a really wonderful 1978 or 1979 Ibanez AW-40 it has a really unique look to it and is a pleasure to play even if its not a sought after make/model.

Thanks for listening and I cant wait to respond to any thoughts, questions, or comments you may have!

Well done!

[reeve21]

Very nice job. Recording sounds great.

I really like my old Artwood, too!

[DrGoldsmack]

Very nice! I think your voice really fits this song. Your audio came out great! Keep up the good work.
Cheers,
Jasper

[FrankHudson]

"Perfect in it's simplicity" is what I'd say too. Sounds fine, you served the song very well, and you learned some stuff while doing it. Pretty hard to beat that trifecta.

[Glennwillow]

Nice job on this! It sounds good!

The overall sound you achieved reminds me of how some of the early songs of the folk era sounded that were recorded by the early folk singing groups of the 1960s. It's a very pleasant sound!

- Glenn

[ctgagnon]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Nice job on this! It sounds good!

The overall sound you achieved reminds me of how some of the early songs of the folk era sounded that were recorded by the early folk singing groups of the 1960s. It's a very pleasant sound!

- Glenn

Like Tom Paxton who wrote the song. Just done simply.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by ctgagnon

Like Tom Paxton who wrote the song. Just done simply.

Yes, exactly!

- Glenn

[marty bradbury]

Love the song and you sounded great!

[TBman]

Another good example of KIS.

Great job.

[GTRGUY005]

Sounds good. I've never heard that song before.

That's one of the great things about Show and Tell....being exposed to different songs and music that you may not otherwise hear.

[jdambrosemusic]

J-Doug - Thanks for being the first person to dive in and respond, what do you think I could do better next time I decide to share a song?

reeve21 - I see you're another old Ibanez user?! Do you have any audio clips of your guitar around? I'd really love to hear how others turned out after they aged. As with everyone I've gotta thank you for listening and ask what I could do better next time

FrankHudson - I'm really in love with the beginnings of the "pop song" format and the classic music that inspired it. What do you think I could do better? I'm always looking to improve.

Glennwillow - Thanks for listening and sharing your thoughts. I really think that right now outside of maybe 3 singers everyone you hear is non-baritone. With folk and the singer-songwriter approach of the early 70s that range was clearly the preferred and it happens to be what I'm bringing to the table. This was also recorded in the "outdated" way of laying down everytrack without a click and in start to finish takes. Then when it came to production I refused to bring in melodyne on the vocals or anything out of the modern "cheesebox" that we are so used to hearing these days on recordings. When you hear that subtle 2nd harmony instead of a computer trying to create music its just me trying to create a performance through natural dynamics and pure singing. Really glad you enjoyed this! What can I do better on? I look forward to hearing back from you.

ctgagnon - Nice to know someone else out there is a fan of great songwriters! What can I do better next time?

marty bradbury - You're too kind! Thank you for listening and commenting. How can I do better in your opinion?

TBman - A good friend of mine who is a record producer had me over to work on projects as a studio musician recently. So I'm there tracking acoustic on a vintage J-45 and a full range of nuemann mics etc. Just whatever legendary gear I wanted he could cart out and I just couldnt believe how good it sounded and how jealous I was of him and how much I wanted to take stuff home. The thing is though, that when I asked him about owning this piece or that piece that he expressed having these amazing things is really just an endless quest that can ALWAYS get better. So when I'm back with my really humble setup at home I work very hard to understand the craft and my instrument to really overcome the idea of not having my own "dream" locker of gear to come out with my best performance. What do feel I can do better moving forward?

GTRGUY005 - Wow I didnt think I would be exposing people to new tunes! Hopefully you add this one to your spotify playlist. What do you normally listen to and enjoy? I'm trying to really give back as much as I take away from this forum so I'm pretty stoked that I exposed someone to music I love. What do you think I can improve upon when I share my next song?