Jan-Peter Herbst

Heaviness in Metal Music Production, Volume II: Learn from the Masters details how the fundamental musical quality of metal, “heaviness”, is created during record production, offering unprecedented learning opportunities provided by eight world-leading producers mixing the same multi-track of the song ‘In Solitude’ and sharing insights into their creative visions and technical realizations.The book contains unabridged interviews with the producers about their conceptual understandings of heaviness and approaches to engineering ‘In Solitude’, enriched by nearly 300 illustrations of their sound engineering techniques. Beginning with a summary of the researchers’ main findings on how heaviness is defined, the study then moves on to a comparative analysis of the producers’ mixes, providing structured guidelines for critical listening. These interviews and mix documentations are complemented by contextual information about heaviness in metal music production, covering non-musical, associative factors that influence what is possibly the most valued feature of metal music – heaviness.Heaviness in Metal Music Production will appeal to students of metal music, music technology and production, ethnomusicology, cultural studies, media, and communication. It will also serve as a practical primer for professional musicians, recording engineers, and producers to improve their own production values, or to allow for experimentation with new approaches.This two-volume set offers a well-rounded insight into the production of heaviness in theory and practice.The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 International license.

This 2-volume set, comprised of Heaviness in Metal Music Production, Volume I: How and Why it Works and Heaviness in Metal Music Production, Volume II: Learn from the Masters, offers a well-rounded insight into the production of heaviness in theory and practice. Using primarily ethnographic research which draws on interviews and engineering documentation from various producers across different generations, the distinguishing feature of the study is the song 'In Solitude', which was written, recorded, and produced by the researchers themselves.Written by practising musicians, producers, and experts in music technology and musicology, these volumes offer a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between structural, performative and technological components of a metal recording, the perceptual and discursive factors determining heaviness, and the relationship between creative freedom and technical demands in contemporary metal music production. Containing unabridged interviews with the producers about their conceptual understandings of heaviness and approaches to engineering ‘In Solitude’ - and enriched by nearly 300 illustrations of their sound engineering techniques - the material in the set is also complemented by contextual information about heaviness in metal music production, covering non-musical, associative factors that influence what is possibly the most valued feature of metal music – heaviness.Heaviness in Metal Music Production is a rigorous academic study that advances the field of metal music production research through an innovative and methodologically robust approach, and serves as a practical primer for professional musicians, recording engineers, and producers to improve their own production values, or to allow for experimentation with new approaches. It is also a vital resource for students of metal music, music technology and production, ethnomusicology, cultural studies, media, and communication, making it essential supplementary reading for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and academics engaged in these fields.

Heaviness in Metal Music Production, Volume I: How and Why it Works provides an in-depth analysis of the art and craft of producing heaviness, the fundamental musical quality in metal music. Using primarily ethnographic research which draws on interviews and engineering documentation from various producers across different generations, the distinguishing feature of the study is the song 'In Solitude', which was written, recorded, and produced by the researchers themselves.Written by practising musicians, producers, and experts in music technology and musicology, this book offers a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between structural, performative and technological components of a metal recording, the perceptual and discursive factors determining heaviness, and the relationship between creative freedom and technical demands in contemporary metal music production.Heaviness in Metal Music Production is a rigorous academic study that advances the field of metal music production research through an innovative and methodologically robust approach. At its core is an unprecedented experiment in which eight leading producers each mixed the same song, with their processes meticulously documented and analysed through in-depth interviews. This study not only provides unique insights into the conceptualisations and craft of heaviness in metal music production but also sets a new standard for empirical research in the discipline. As a result, it serves as a vital resource for scholars, researchers, and students in audio engineering and metal music studies, making it essential supplementary reading for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and academics engaged in these fields.This two-volume set offers a well-rounded insight into the production of heaviness in theory and practice.The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 International license.

This 2-volume set, comprised of Heaviness in Metal Music Production, Volume I: How and Why it Works and Heaviness in Metal Music Production, Volume II: Learn from the Masters, offers a well-rounded insight into the production of heaviness in theory and practice. Using primarily ethnographic research which draws on interviews and engineering documentation from various producers across different generations, the distinguishing feature of the study is the song 'In Solitude', which was written, recorded, and produced by the researchers themselves.Written by practising musicians, producers, and experts in music technology and musicology, these volumes offer a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between structural, performative and technological components of a metal recording, the perceptual and discursive factors determining heaviness, and the relationship between creative freedom and technical demands in contemporary metal music production. Containing unabridged interviews with the producers about their conceptual understandings of heaviness and approaches to engineering ‘In Solitude’ - and enriched by nearly 300 illustrations of their sound engineering techniques - the material in the set is also complemented by contextual information about heaviness in metal music production, covering non-musical, associative factors that influence what is possibly the most valued feature of metal music – heaviness.Heaviness in Metal Music Production is a rigorous academic study that advances the field of metal music production research through an innovative and methodologically robust approach, and serves as a practical primer for professional musicians, recording engineers, and producers to improve their own production values, or to allow for experimentation with new approaches. It is also a vital resource for students of metal music, music technology and production, ethnomusicology, cultural studies, media, and communication, making it essential supplementary reading for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and academics engaged in these fields.

Heaviness in Metal Music Production, Volume I: How and Why it Works provides an in-depth analysis of the art and craft of producing heaviness, the fundamental musical quality in metal music. Using primarily ethnographic research which draws on interviews and engineering documentation from various producers across different generations, the distinguishing feature of the study is the song 'In Solitude', which was written, recorded, and produced by the researchers themselves.Written by practising musicians, producers, and experts in music technology and musicology, this book offers a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between structural, performative and technological components of a metal recording, the perceptual and discursive factors determining heaviness, and the relationship between creative freedom and technical demands in contemporary metal music production.Heaviness in Metal Music Production is a rigorous academic study that advances the field of metal music production research through an innovative and methodologically robust approach. At its core is an unprecedented experiment in which eight leading producers each mixed the same song, with their processes meticulously documented and analysed through in-depth interviews. This study not only provides unique insights into the conceptualisations and craft of heaviness in metal music production but also sets a new standard for empirical research in the discipline. As a result, it serves as a vital resource for scholars, researchers, and students in audio engineering and metal music studies, making it essential supplementary reading for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, and academics engaged in these fields.This two-volume set offers a well-rounded insight into the production of heaviness in theory and practice.The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 International license.

Heaviness in Metal Music Production, Volume II: Learn from the Masters details how the fundamental musical quality of metal, “heaviness”, is created during record production, offering unprecedented learning opportunities provided by eight world-leading producers mixing the same multi-track of the song ‘In Solitude’ and sharing insights into their creative visions and technical realizations.The book contains unabridged interviews with the producers about their conceptual understandings of heaviness and approaches to engineering ‘In Solitude’, enriched by nearly 300 illustrations of their sound engineering techniques. Beginning with a summary of the researchers’ main findings on how heaviness is defined, the study then moves on to a comparative analysis of the producers’ mixes, providing structured guidelines for critical listening. These interviews and mix documentations are complemented by contextual information about heaviness in metal music production, covering non-musical, associative factors that influence what is possibly the most valued feature of metal music – heaviness.Heaviness in Metal Music Production will appeal to students of metal music, music technology and production, ethnomusicology, cultural studies, media, and communication. It will also serve as a practical primer for professional musicians, recording engineers, and producers to improve their own production values, or to allow for experimentation with new approaches.This two-volume set offers a well-rounded insight into the production of heaviness in theory and practice.The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 International license.

The guitar has been an integral part of popular music and mainstream culture for many decades and in many places of the world. This Element examines the development and current state of virtuosic rock guitar in terms of playing, technology, and culture. Supported by technological advances such as extended-range guitars, virtuosos in the twenty-first century are exploring ways to expand standard playing techniques in a climate where ever-higher levels of perfection are expected. As musician-entrepreneurs, contemporary rock guitar virtuosos record, produce, and market their music themselves; operate equipment companies; and sell merchandise, tablature, and lessons online. For their social media channels, they regularly create videos and interact with their followers while having to balance building their tribe and finding the time to develop their craft to stay competitive. For a virtuoso, working situations have changed considerably since the last century; the aloof rock star has been replaced by the approachable virtuoso-guitarist-composerinnovator-producer-promoter-YouTuber-teacher-entrepreneur.

Rammstein provozieren. In ihren Songs und Musikvideos spielt die Band mit Doppeldeutigkeiten rund um die deutsche Geschichte und testet die Grenzen des Sag- und Singbaren. Besonders deutlich wird das in ihrer Single „Deutschland“, einer (Anti?)Hymne auf die Nation. Im cineastisch-bombastischen Musikvideo präsentieren sich die Bandmitglieder unter anderem als KZ-Insassen und SS-Offiziere. Alles nur Spektakel? Oder doch politisch? Das Verhältnis von Politik und Pop zeigt sich bei Rammstein in seinen verschiedenen Dimensionen.