From, Yumi: The Ravings Of A Former Japanese Idol by Hildred Billings

Author:Hildred Billings [Billings, Hildred]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barachou Press
Published: 2017-01-09T00:00:00+00:00

25

Recording the single has finished, at least on my end! It was grueling, though. I spent five hours in the recording booth with Osabu trying to hit the right pitch, the right speed, and even the right enunciation. Usually it takes only two hours at most for me to record a song, but this guy doesn’t cut any corners.

It’s not unusual for someone even of my expertise to make a few mistakes when recording. Sometimes I can’t nail the right pitch or, more likely, I sing too fast for the music. Most of the producers I work with simply correct this in post-production. Chiharu knows a lot more about what those knobs and buttons do than me, but one thing is for sure: they can make me sound absolutely flawless, and I’m already pretty damn awesome for the current musical atmosphere.

Like I said, though, Osabu does not cut any corners. He refuses to use any of those knobs that would make me sound like I’m singing slower or at a slightly higher pitch. Nope. He made me sit there in the booth, singing the same lines over and over again. At first I was really annoyed. What right did this guy have to make my life a living hell? Didn’t he know who I was? Then I thought about it – he’s probably this harsh with all the musicians he works with. I’m not some novice girl-group member who is still wet behind her pretty little ears. I am Yumi fucking Nishikawa, and I’ll be damned if Osabu walked away from our recording session thinking I’m one of the most difficult artists he’s ever worked with.

So I played his game. I saw it as a challenge! He wanted me to sing slower? I damn well sang slower, or at least slow enough to make him happy. There was one note toward the end, during the final chorus, he wanted me to hit really hard and at a really awkward pitch. I’m not so good with those pitches sometimes. They are the weakest parts of my lives, no matter how many times I rehearse. Naturally, I saw this challenge as a way to improve my craft in the span of a day.

In a way, it became fun after a while. Yeah, it was really hard. Yeah, I was pretty irritable when, by hour four, I was parched for more water and my vocal chords were starting to wear out. They are super strong at this point in my career, but even I have my mortal limits. Damnit, when I put my mind to something, though, I will not stop until it becomes a reality. Today’s reality was laying down the most professional vocals I have ever recorded in my life. Or at least real close to the top up there.

When it was finished, he thanked me for my hard work, and I thanked him for teaching me a thing or two about my own profession that I’ve been at for ten years now.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.