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Welcome to the Recording Forums archive of audio recording posts from the old Recording Website Message Board

Home recording and general music post from the archived Yabb Recording Website Message Board. Some of the info here may be outdated but many of the audio recording and home studio tips are still good. Note: The only tags I made and attempt to convert are italics, bold, center and underline. So if you see some gibberish surrounded by brackets, just ignore it.

Recording Website Archived Yabb board Post

Febuary 2001 Yabb Message Board Archive

Subject: Bit wars ! 16 vs. 24 question.
by Bonafide | 06/13/01 at 21:15:20

I won't open the discussion of whether 16 bit is better than 24 bit because iv'e already concluded my own perceptions. However my question is about processing.

I have heard that when you process alot, adding effects, EQ etc. to your tracks, your qualiy can suffer a little (Lose artifacts) if you are recording in 16 bit. Now I Always record in 16 bit and my recordings are pristine regardless of the effects. I do use 24 bit and 56 bit effects. Is that why I can't hear any degredation while processing so much.

Perhaps if you use 16 and 18 bit processors you will start to suffer some quality, but right now I just can't hear it.

Any body with some insight, I would be very appreciative.

Thanks and Cheers.

Subject: Re: Bit wars ! 16 vs. 24 question.
by DanS | 06/14/01 at 10:45:22

Here's a couple of terrific articles about what's going on inside your machine when you're screwing around with 16/24bit files & processing them. ;)

http://www.digitalprosound.com/Htm/Articles/April/Trunc_vs_Dither.htm

http://www.digido.com/ditheressay.html

Subject: Re: Bit wars ! 16 vs. 24 question.
by ds | 06/14/01 at 11:26:06

Thanks for posting those articles. Very interesting!

I'm dreading the day when I can no longer buy a reel of tape for my recorder... :-/

Subject: Re: Bit wars ! 16 vs. 24 question.
by jlp | 06/15/01 at 08:02:38

Stock up while you can DS!!! ( I am)

Song Structure

by Dan E. Monk

Songs at the most basic level are structured by verse. Most modern songs add a chorus. A bridge, although not as popular can also be added. In addition songs can also contain: an intro, a pre chorus (also called a build), a refrain and an extro (also called an outro or tag).

A brief explanation of the different song sections:

Verse :
Verses are structured lines that while differ in content follow the same musical pattern.

Chorus :
A chorus differs both musically and lyrically from the verse and is repeated at least once in the song.

Bridge :
A bridge differs both musically and lyrically from the verse and the chorus, usually only used once in the song.

Refrain :
A refrain is one or two lines at the end of each verse which while different lyrically from the verse remain consistent to themselves.

Intro :
The into is a different musical form that comes at the beginning of the song. It differs from the verses but can and often does share music and or lyrics with the chorus.

Pre Chorus (also called a build):
A pre chorus precedes the chorus. While keeping the same music form the pre chorus can lyrically change throughout the song. It is usually repeated as often as the chorus.

Extro (also called Outro or Tag):
Stylistically the same as the intro, except it occurs at the end of the song.

The different forms
The Traditional AAA form.
The AAA song form consists only of verses. Sounds simple but it is one of the harder forms to write. Both words and melody must be fresh and compelling, there is not chorus or bridge to break things up. The ABA form.

(A = verse, B = chorus)
The ABA form adds a chorus. More often you will see it as ABABA or AABABA. This fits in well with modern pop music. Adding a chorus allows the songwriter to move the song in a different direction musically. Lyrically, the chorus is the meat of the song, usually repeating the title while summing up what the song is about. The ABCA form.

(A = verse, B = chorus, C = bridge)
Also quite popular the ABCA form adds a bridge. The verse and chorus have the same function as the ABA form. The bridge can be used lyrically to clear up parts of the song that may otherwise be obscure, or to tie the song together, hence the name bridge. Musically a bridge is used to break up a pattern that may be getting a little too monotonous or predictable.

There are other forms of course. These are the most common. What form you use depends a lot on what musical genre you are writing your song in.