Appendix

A note on Analog Vs. Digital

In the recording world today there are two roads that artists follow when it comes to the kind of hardware they choose to record their sounds. These routes are analog tape and digital software and occasionally a mixture of the two. We chose to record Sundog digitally because Paul is very familiar with Pro-tools (digital audio-recording software that we, as well as most professional studios use today). The digital hardware set up is super compact, which saves space, as opposed to a ‘reel to reel’ tape station and large mixing board. Recording with Pro-Tools provided us with the luxury of sound layering as much as we wanted instead of using tape is quite expensive and recording with it largely depends on ones patience, consistency, and confidence in their performance ability. I.e. if you mess up a line in a song while recording with tape you cannot begin where you left off (a benefit of digital) but must re-record the song from the beginning. However I believe that both styles carry in them the potential to enhance musicianship. Which method is ‘better’ in relation to sound quality has been up for debate since digital hit the scene. There is a virtually unanimous belief in the music engineering community that the sound from recorded analog tape will always provide a deeper, richer, and fuller tone to the overall sound quality of a record (http://www.diffen.com/difference/Analog_vs_Digital). This is in large part because the sound is physically encoded onto the magnetic tape, rather than retranslated through a computer processor from zeros and ones to a close approximation of the actual sound being recorded. Though the pure sound that magnetic tape recording provides can never be ‘truly’ reproduced through a digital processor, I will say this A) It is possible to feedback digitally recorded material into an analog processing board to blend the tone of the tape with that of the digital and B) There are many software programs available and continuing to be made for digital recording which almost totally mimic the feel and sound of recorded tape.

Though one day I would love to experience recording with magnetic tape, this output focuses on the recording process in relation to working with digital software. So to be clear, as I describe the essentials of the recording gear we used, I am speaking from the perspective of what is necessary for hi-quality digital home recording as opposed to analog.

What is integral sonic stewardship? Integral Sonic Stewardship is like musical permaculture. It is a way of creating, recording, and producing music that equally serves humanity and the earth itself. It is a way of relating to sound and music as an integral aspect of life as well as tool that can be utilized to cultivate and move energy in the service of life. Music can be used to enhance life or deplete it depending upon how it is being transmitted by it’s medium i.e. the musician playing the music. A true sonic steward is one who understands the power of sound, music, and its intimate relationship to the body, mind, emotions, culture and consciousness.

Through biefley noted above, I intend for this subject to be a key feature of ongoing projects and OPs...

...Thursday July 10th, 2014 ...

I still haven't completed this Output Packet as I didn't add any section about 'Guild Participation' and this is a journal entry which was another missing requirment. I feel frustrated at times because I feel like a don't have a kind of 'bare essentials' task list for completing OPs. I have found in the past that I have asked for a checklist of the things needed to complete for any OP but then find later that there are more detailed sections which are required. I felt as though I was done with my upcoming OP5 as well but am now aware that I must add a section which deals with Guild participation as well as add sections with journal entries. I am not sure how to post additional links to notes yet but have a few options for where I could utlilize tools I already have (like my blog) as well as ask for help from fellow associates whom I have seen with nice looking journal entry sections on their OPs...

My girlfriend Hannah and I performed songs from SunDog for a community street music event tonight and will be playing two sets at a local summer festival here in northern Michigan over the coming weekend. We are having fun and people are reeally loving the music.