Hello, I see on youtube some videos where the flute/whistle player obviously added some form of artificial reverb or echo. Sometimes it sounds odd, but when done in a reasonable amount it can make the tune nicer to the ear because it “smooths” the notes (like each note has a “fade-out” effect applied instead of ending abruptly).
Is there an easy way to record tunes with reverb? I know one could use some full-blown sound editor like audacity or the like to add such effect in post-processing, but maybe is there an easier approach, like some android app that could do that in real time?
If you want the right type and amount of reverb added for each track and tune, I’d suggest being able to customize that, which probably means applying the reverb as Process #2, after recording the dry signal first. For instance, you might have a song with 5 instruments, and want different levels and types of reverb for different instruments, and none for others. Same for EQ, compression, loudness, panning, effects, etc. Plan ahead. The simple DAW programs like Audacity, or more involved like Wavelab or a few dozen other audio programs out there, will deal with reverb. Costs vary.
If having more than one track, certainly it’s good to get the first dry signal captured as ideally as possible at the start, so you’ve got tone, dynamics, volume and performance as desired. Minimize the number of issues that follow and can accumulate and make things rapidly more difficult. Then your reverb is applied to a track with the right volume throughout, AFTER EQ and volume throughout have been checked and adjusted if necessary. Adding reverb is like throwing a flat stone into a lake for the skips. You can’t reverse the ripples later, or change the surface conditions, lake size or water depth later, and reverb is like the lake and the ripples, NOT the stone; it’s an all-inclusive panoramic field widener with big effect (fine-tuning options in more advanced reverb apps like Wavelab, ProTools and much pro-level reverb software). So I think proper sequencing of all this is an important consideration. If you have a dry signal recorded, you can also try reverb options. If you have reverb mixed in to the first signal recorded, you’re stuck with that starting point.
Check out the free or least expensive options with Steinberg, ProTools and other highly rated DAWs and mixing/mastering software. Watch YouTube videos about the topic of reverb at various stages of the process.
Alternately, like me, you forget all that and go find a tall concrete stairwell in a big building, play harmonica and it sounds like it’s filling the cosmos.
I am very much impressed by your answer, but wow - dry signal, DAW, EQ… I honestly understand little of all that. I should have mentioned that I am a talentless, amateurish noob when it comes to music, my “productions” are really simple, stupid stuff: me playing (badly) a simple melody on a single whistle. Nothing ambitious, really. I occasionally record things to provide audio cues for the tabs I publish on my tin whistle website (example), because having an audio playback example provides a good feeling about what the rhythm and melody is supposed to be.
Shortly said: I am not doing anything ambitious. So really, what I’d be looking for is some android app where I can click “reverb: on” (possibly with some value, preset or what not) and then “record”. I understand that reverb is a one way function and that once it is applied to a material, there is no going back. That’s perfectly fine for me: when I don’t like the result, I simply record it again.
Now I wonder that maybe my primitive need is a niche, and hence no such tool exists. Well, I will continue to struggle with postprocessing on Audacity then.
Alternately, like me, you forget all that and go find a tall concrete stairwell in a big building, play harmonica and it sounds like it’s filling the cosmos.
Audacity is actually really easy to use if you just want to do simple things. That includes the effects. But the easiest way to work with Audacity is to add the effects after recording. That way if you misjudge, e.g., how much reverb to put on, it’s easy to back up applying the effect and do it again.
There are a number of mixer/recorders, aimed at podcasters or bands who want to do quick and easy demos. They are of varying complexity and price ($100-$600, say), and many of them have built-in effects. But this may be overkill for what you wan to do.
But without spending any money at all, I still think Audacity would do everything you need. Here’s how it works.
Record your track.
Clip off the unnecessary stuff at the beginning and the end.
Select the track, go to effects and pick reverb. Then choose Factory Presets. Pick an option like Medium Room, Cathedral, etc. (Bathroom is there too.)
Listen to it. If you don’t like it, Undo and pick another option, and try again.
Once you get it how you like it, write down the setting and do that forever after.
The simplest, easiest solution is to play in a bathroom, kitchen, concrete stairwell, etc… basically any room with all hard surfaces like ceramic floors, tiled walls, and flat ceiling (no popcorn or ceiling tile). The hard surfaces reflect all the sound, creating reverb while preserving volume across all frequencies. It is the “singing in the shower” effect for your flute. And it’s free.
I go from “average whistler” to “slightly above average whistler” simply by playing in the kitchen. Seriously, it sounds great.
DAW means the software that records and organizes tracks, like Cubase, ProTools, Audacity and 38 zillion others. EQ is the bass/midrange/treble frequency manipulation. DRY means recording a track without adding any effects added, just instrument through microphone or Line In, and all software settings at neutral and effects OFF. Amateurish means many different things: if Keith Richards or Mary Bergin or Orlaith McCauliffe are playing tunes and decide to record some tracks that aren’t sold, they aren’t paid for it, no financial activity regarding that track, you could say they’re total amateurs in that musical moment, regardless of their other activity, musical status or tour schedule. So don’t feel like “Pro” means someone has any more of a musical Mona Lisa going on than you, such as some pro musician in Nashville, London, Paris or Rome where hundreds of musicians are basically pawns played by record company audio engineers, they’re officially “pro”, but their music is manipulated to a high degree by studio talents, and it’s all mostly a mirage. What counts is the quality of the music generated, not the category of the musician’s bank deposit accounts. So when you say “noob”, you overestimate many others. You should form a band called “The Dire Noob Sensations”, and flip the script. Oh, and panning means the left/right channel balance. In the 1960’s, in the early days of stereo recording and high tech home stereos and popular music fascinations, even before Frank Zappa made wild, busy and funny a pathway to creativity, people had great fun listening to tracks being moved around between left and right channels, yet the left/right channel usage is also a major topic for all recording, in its ability to help keep individual tracks as clear and vital as possible.
I’d just recommend what you’re already doing; find out about the various types of reverb effects, keep trying out different types of whistle tones and effects (at the “dry” stage) and what types and amounts of reverb are a good match for those whistle sounds. Eg: long notes vs fast runs of many notes, loud notes vs quiet, phrase lengths, etc. Playing around with the software is the best option to discover it all. You might find that two different pieces of software have a reverb type called the same name, but they ARE different in how they sound or how much control over them you’re given. With any reverb type, for SURE, you’ll want control over how much of the effect is applied, not just OFF or 100% ON. And don’t forget about “layers”. You can make two or more copies of a single dry track, and apply different types of effects/compression/EQ to each copy, then play them all back at the same time, as “layers” of one track, to get more than one effect applied while keeping the original clarity of the dry signal quite intact at peak detail. You could combine two types of reverb that way, on one track. You can also apply different reverb types as as a series of processes using just one track. You could apply one type of reverb to the lower EQ frequencies of a track, then apply a different type of reverb to that track as process #2, a different type of reverb, maybe more of an auditorium reverb, to fill out the sound. It’s when you have more than one track in a song, that you really need to consider this, so you don’t muddy things up, and reverb doesn’t become a swamp of effects going on in excess. Reverb makes you carefully listen to the music, to see what suits it. If you have just ONE track, simple enough. For each additional track added, you have to be that much more careful in working out how to apply effects without having tracks harm other tracks, or the whole thing getting into a mess. The simplest reverb types are commonly available. Reverbs that can be more fine-tuned in how they take effect, will naturally tend to be more costly to buy. Shop around though, as there are so many types of recording software out there!
My favorite practice space is a 6-story high stairwell at a university nearby. I sit where the 4th floor landing is, and there’s a clear open column about 2 feet wide up the middle of the whole stairwell. The floor is concrete and so are the walls. Full height glass windows. The sound just fills out so well, yet it decays fast enough and doesn’t echo, so I can play and it all keeps clear no matter what I play. The volume of the reverb effect is quite high, so I take a little digital voice recorder and sit it on a step to pick it all up. That environment helps me be creative, I just play and play and the recorder captures the ideas that might show up. It’s all spontaneous. All instruments sound better there, but the harmonica especially, becomes such a magnificent sound.
Thank you RoberTunes for your captivating insight, it’s truly very inspiring! (and also a lot to digest)
The panning fascination seems to be making a come back btw, I noticed a trend on youtube some time ago where people posted music with some psycho-acoustic effect that creates the illusion of having the music’s source “move around” the listener’s head. I don’t like this as it makes me dizzy and confused, but apparently lots of people are into it these days.
AW - I love the kitchen-based skills upgrade I will definitely experiment myself with different places to compare the acoustic difference. It’s something I never thought about until now.
fintano - thanks for the walk through with Audacity, I might indeed invest some more time to get better acquainted with it. Maybe it’s not that scary after all.
Wow, RoberTunes, it’s very tempting to try your “stairway to heaven” procedure! I happen to have a university nearby (I retired from working there) and may just inflict one of its stairwells with my non-dulcet tones, come break.
I should have mentioned that I am a talentless, amateurish noob when it comes to music, my “productions” are really simple, stupid stuff: me playing (badly) a simple melody on a single whistle. Nothing ambitious, really. I occasionally record things to provide audio cues for the tabs I publish on my tin whistle website (
