Well, Let's try something a LOT HARDER to learn to play and to mix . . . . (drums are all me, alone).
[Been working on this one for months - it just came together tonight after about 20 failed starts and this 9th take I got all the way to the end with].
When writing "Seven Days", Sting sought to build a song around a reggae-inspired beat in quintuple meter with chord changes akin to music from a Broadway show.[2] Sting stated that "Seven Days" was the first song he wrote in quintuple meter and that it "begged to be played with in a frivolous way."[3] He also reckoned that the song's time signature would challenge his backing band "by asking them to do things that aren't natural."[2]
The song was recorded in (5
8) time at a tempo of 184 beats per minute.[4] For the purpose of making the odd time signature more digestible for the listener, the song utilizes rhythmic displacement in the drums by implying a duple rhythmic organization.[5] The drum pattern spans two measures with drummer Vinnie Colaiuta playing a two bar repeating eighth note figure on the hi-hat where the accents fall on the odd numbered beats for the first measure and even numbered beats on the second measure.[4] Colaiuta commented in a 1993 interview that he "phrased it by playing over the bar line, so the hi-hat pattern resolves every two bars".[6] During both measures, the kick drum and snare drum land on beats one and four respectively.[4] He also overdubbed some brush work during the middle of one of the verses so that the song would "chug a little more and differently "
The trick is in achieving a proper balance between close and ambient mic mix for each drum and cymbal for each song.
Additionally getting the decay /sustain of each [drum/cymbal] mic just right is needed and I am really starting to get my ears attuned to all of this detail but it has to be mixed and remixed over several sessions and days apart so the ears are fresh along with the mind.
Swapping earphones or speakers while mixing is a big NO-NO - gott'a stick with the reference phones and stop second guessing the mix/work.
The kick mix is just my take at it after testing the mix on several playback devices and it sounds really good/balanced/detailed on the Yamaha NS10M and JBL Coaxial Monitor speakers; Sony MDR-V6, Sony MDR-7506, SSA-VSX headphones and in my car so I let it ride. Didn't want to walk on or smear Sting's crazy Bass work . . .
Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot Take 3, Mix 1 . . . Another one I am borrowing to learn how to mix and play in a more disciplined fashion at my age . . . [and play it MY way].
That ^ mix is what happens when you have mastering headphones on your head and the speaker monitors playing/bleeding through the headphones - Bass is weak as a result of trying to compensate for the extra bass in the perceived mix. (Sigh).
OK, tonight I pretended I was a pro studio session drummer, recording engineer, mixing/mastering house then pushed this one out in 3 takes, one mix . . .
Comments
Well, Let's try something a LOT HARDER to learn to play and to mix . . . . (drums are all me, alone).
[Been working on this one for months - it just came together tonight after about 20 failed starts and this 9th take I got all the way to the end with].
Seven Days - Sting - SJL Drums 3-25-2025.T9.M1 . . .
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/cbtk4bwm74lvbo8sa14bs/Seven-Days-Sting-SJL-Drums-3-25-2025.T9.M1.flac?rlkey=os5sspwih38mc346x1skst6gz&dl=0
Seven Days - Sting - SJL Drums 3-25-2025.T9.M2 . . . New Mix
Arguably a better mix - cleaner, more detailed/refined.
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Days_(Sting_song)
When writing "Seven Days", Sting sought to build a song around a reggae-inspired beat in quintuple meter with chord changes akin to music from a Broadway show.[2] Sting stated that "Seven Days" was the first song he wrote in quintuple meter and that it "begged to be played with in a frivolous way."[3] He also reckoned that the song's time signature would challenge his backing band "by asking them to do things that aren't natural."[2]
The song was recorded in (5
8) time at a tempo of 184 beats per minute.[4] For the purpose of making the odd time signature more digestible for the listener, the song utilizes rhythmic displacement in the drums by implying a duple rhythmic organization.[5] The drum pattern spans two measures with drummer Vinnie Colaiuta playing a two bar repeating eighth note figure on the hi-hat where the accents fall on the odd numbered beats for the first measure and even numbered beats on the second measure.[4] Colaiuta commented in a 1993 interview that he "phrased it by playing over the bar line, so the hi-hat pattern resolves every two bars".[6] During both measures, the kick drum and snare drum land on beats one and four respectively.[4] He also overdubbed some brush work during the middle of one of the verses so that the song would "chug a little more and differently "
Hope you enjoy.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/a0tjmtsvrjcjojage7mo1/Seven-Days-Sting-SJL-Drums-3-25-2025.T9.M2.flac?rlkey=pa32eonf8jz23iigwon7197ee&dl=0
Edited to add link/snippet to Wiki article explaining complexity of the song.
That's the best one yet! Good mix, my nit pick, kick is a little dry, but not bad by any means. Cymbals sound good and level. Nice work🤘🏼
Thank you Eric - You made my day, Man!
The trick is in achieving a proper balance between close and ambient mic mix for each drum and cymbal for each song.
Additionally getting the decay /sustain of each [drum/cymbal] mic just right is needed and I am really starting to get my ears attuned to all of this detail but it has to be mixed and remixed over several sessions and days apart so the ears are fresh along with the mind.
Swapping earphones or speakers while mixing is a big NO-NO - gott'a stick with the reference phones and stop second guessing the mix/work.
The kick mix is just my take at it after testing the mix on several playback devices and it sounds really good/balanced/detailed on the Yamaha NS10M and JBL Coaxial Monitor speakers; Sony MDR-V6, Sony MDR-7506, SSA-VSX headphones and in my car so I let it ride. Didn't want to walk on or smear Sting's crazy Bass work . . .
Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot Take 3, Mix 1 . . . Another one I am borrowing to learn how to mix and play in a more disciplined fashion at my age . . . [and play it MY way].
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/cx2ntjkcaxpw9ex6vcgw5/Edmund-Fitzgerald-Gordon-Lightfoot-SJL-Drums-4-11-2025.T3.M1.flac?rlkey=2arncs3dokibaod0eqehvtjci&dl=0
Let me know your thoughts on the mix - I spent more time mixing than playing it tonight.
Probably need to remix it with fresh ears . . .
Fresh ears = ON.
That ^ mix is what happens when you have mastering headphones on your head and the speaker monitors playing/bleeding through the headphones - Bass is weak as a result of trying to compensate for the extra bass in the perceived mix. (Sigh).
I'll try redoing the recording and mix soon . . .
OK, I rested my ears for a while and remixed everything about this last tune as a continued education in music production.
This version should sound much cleaner and possess better detail everywhere within it.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/36huy7hfefmaxdbvn0f4j/Edmund-Fitzgerald-Gordon-Lightfoot-SJL-Drums-4-11-2025.T3.M2.flac?rlkey=gdhyqeaa4hlc0lg1ozpfy5bq9&dl=0
OK, tonight I pretended I was a pro studio session drummer, recording engineer, mixing/mastering house then pushed this one out in 3 takes, one mix . . .
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/nlwrtgbby815yj9cok13b/Test-of-Time-Patti-Austin-SJL-Drums-4-16-2025.T3.M1.flac?rlkey=bafybm00reqpkzdjg4ikk5d2c&dl=0
(This ones' for the girls, men . . .)