Virtual instruments are great. There’s no arguing the merits of having a virtual cornucopia of drum samples and orchestral libraries at hand when creating a demo or arranging music. Very few of us are fortunate enough to have access to professional players, top notch gear, a quality soundproofed space to record, or the budget to record every instrument live, though there are ways to set up a home recording studio on a budget.
Using virtual instruments is certainly nothing new — smaller project studios and self-contained artists are everywhere and the access to a great collection of digital instruments and libraries is now affordable. And they’re also more realistic sounding than ever.
But song arrangements that depend on them exclusively may often have a small problem: a stiff, or soul-less quality, a static feel, a lack of humanity that’s present in a live performance. Can you hear the difference in your favorite songs between the sections of music created by virtual instrumentation versus live ones? Possibly not. This also depends on many factors such as a trained ear or the familiarity of particular instruments involved. You may not hear the differences in tone immediately but our ears are subconsciously drawn to the subtle nuances of the real thing, the performance aspect, the tiny details, air, and gestures. This is why a strategic use of both virtual and live instruments is a winning formula for arranging.
Drums were one of the first instruments to go virtual. Even an unseasoned ear can identify a solid 80’s drum machine in a song. Today, a well-crafted virtual drum track is often indistinguishable from a live recording, especially if its played by sticks and pads on an electric drum kit. This allows room for tonal variation and natural dynamics. And if the playing isn’t exact, you have the option to quantize it to perfection if desired, a staple sound in many genres.
But what if you use a meticulously quantized sampled drum loop, perfected to a grid, using the virtual kit of your dreams, and something still feels cold? Why not pump some life into it. Try overdubbing a few live cymbal flourishes. This can be an effective move, especially when coming in and out of sections, which adds some virtual wrist looseness and natural feel to the overall beat. A drummer’s personal style often depends on their subtle and careful use of their cymbals — sometimes they’re hard hitters, or maybe a song encourages them to use tonal manipulations and dynamics, or they create tension when they hold back. How crafted their sticking is makes a huge difference to a recording. There’s so much more to just keeping time.
Virtual hi-hat sounds are often considered a weaker area in the advancement of digital drums. Often the quality of the cymbal’s fine detail is lacking, therefore having a live drummer replace the virtual hi-hats for a more nuanced feel could make your song sound more alive. The drummer’s left foot also holds expression in her use of the hi-hat. The incremental opening and closing the cymbals adds a push and pull feeling to the song, causing either a driving or laid-back feel, respectively.
Auxiliary percussion is another area for improvement virtually. Luckily this is not too difficult to record live. Try choosing real tambourines, maracas, shakers, or found percussive instruments to add a unique and natural element to your piece.
Or get everyone in the studio to add hand claps. Less is often more in these types of situations, so you don’t always need to spend days of your studio time rummaging through the percussion box. And remember these instruments don’t always have to be used intrusively, something they often are in danger of. They can be used economically, buried way back in the mix, or alongside the main rhythm parts to add dynamic contours. Or go ahead put them loudly in your mix and make a bold statement.
Finally, what one element can be counted on to be performed by a human? Vocals of course, even though many of the oohs and ahhs we hear from backing choir voices are most certainly hijacked from the virtual domain every day. We subconsciously like the imperfections of the human voice, so be careful of the desire to overly mechanize them, especially if it is the only live part in your otherwise virtual arrangement. This might be the important section that induces shivers, adds drama or real emotion to the song. Even the most programmed tracks will benefit from the personalization of a vocalist and their vocal gestures, sometimes blending magnificently (think karaoke).
Of course there are many more virtual and live instruments we did not discuss — guitars, basses, brass or string instruments, large orchestral patches. Remember that each aspect of the arrangement is a small part of the overall feel, so give particular attention to the details and focus on how they work together as a whole. Maybe the elusive factor is hidden in distinctions, or maybe it’s the bold stand out riff.
Whatever it is, you want people to remember your song. The definition of what is quality instrumentation is ever-changing and subjective, so hopefully you’ll aim for what moves you. As far as your job mixing, the good news is that average listeners don’t differentiate between every individual part that make up our recorded piece of music. Instead they hear everything as a whole , or a “vibe.” This is the magic of mixing.
