Music at EKC Ashford College is full of unique experiences, from chances to perform in the local area to working on projects in our industry-standard recording studio.
Kyal is currently studying a Level 3 Music Production and Performance course and we joined him in the studio as he undertakes a project.
“In the recording studio here at College we have two main sections where I can unleash my musical talents, which are the Live Room and the Production Studio.
The Live Room features a large collection of musical instruments ready to be played and recorded whenever Music students want. We have drums, keyboards, and a wide range of bass and electric guitars available.
My current project is focused on how to set up microphones in the studio using specific industry techniques. The method that I am following is favoured by bands set as The Beatles and Led Zeppelin and is called the ‘Glyn Johns’ method. This is where three or four microphones are set up to surround a drum kit so that you can capture different parts of the instruments, before bringing them together to create a unique sound.
The first microphone is placed around four feet above the kit, pointing to the centre of the snare drum. The second mic I have placed adjacent to the floor, whilst the third and fourth mics are focused on the actual drums themselves to pick up as much noise and reverb as possible.
The microphones that I am using today are called AKG C414’s which are quite expensive pieces of kit. They allow me to accurately capture certain sounds and control just what will be picked up by the recording room.
After I’ve had a go on the drums, played some music and got the microphones to pick up the sounds that I need, it’s my turn to head into the Production Studio.
The Production Studio is where I will mix the sounds as well as add effects and plug-ins. I will also be level balancing, refining, and editing to help turn the instrument sounds into full tracks, ready for submission in my final project.
The software that we use here is called Logic Pro, full of powerful editing tools that enable me to input the sound and play around with it as much as I need to.
Our specialist control deck lets me adjust faders and volume controls of the sounds in Logic Pro. The knobs at the top are for panning in audio. This is where in certain songs, the artists have separated the track out by instruments, so that for example all the drums can be only on the left channel, with everything else on the right. This means that if you listen with headphones you can only hear the drums in the left ear.
Although I’ve only played the drum a few times in the Live Room, I can turn it into a full track if I wish by duplicating and looping the sound, as well as slow it down.
The facilities here have really helped me achieve my goals of becoming an experienced musician and given me a lot of opportunities. At home, I wouldn’t be able to record four instruments at once or mix and level balance so having this opportunity has been fantastic.
I’ve loved studying at EKC Ashford College and I can’t wait to see what opportunities await me afterwards, now that I’ve used real industry tools and software.
Thank you to Kyal for letting us get a sneak peek at what he is up to on our Music courses, and we can’t wait to hear his final tracks.
If you’re interested in exploring our music facilities in-depth, you can sign up to our next Open Day.
You can also explore our music courses on our website and see what you can achieve.
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