Song Editing
Creativity At The Mastering Stage

Yes – with some simple song editing techniques, a good song can be turned into a great one.

I've always been a fan of Elton John's early '70's stuff. But there were a few times when his songs went on a bit too long! This was at the outro's where he simply repeated the choruses over and over.

And over. And....

A little editing of a few choruses would have created a lot more impact.

Of course, every situation is different.

I would never suggest to cut out choruses of the Beatles' classic Hey Jude. But they provided a lot of variety along the way. That's got nothing to do with editing, though.

But it did repeat a number of times. Maybe they felt it was a bit repetitive. Maybe it was a problem. Maybe they had a solution.

But it wasn't a cut and paste edit. It was a long slow fade out edit.

Bingo! Instant classic! (Again).

And it shows there can be a variety of ways to get creative in the post production stage.

One idea to keep in mind with song editing is that it's not necessary to do so at the most obvious points. That is – the point where an old chorus ends and a new one begins.

I learned this very quickly, while starting out, when I was editing a client's Jazz concert.

The best – most invisible – edits happened at similar points within the chorus.

Naturally, to do this well, would require a strong musical background (which I have!)

I once received a project where one of the songs had this form:

• Short Instrumental Intro
• Verse
• Chorus

And this was repeated three times.

Since the intro was based on a repeating chord pattern, I suggested shortening the intro section at the second pass. This tightened up the arrangement a bit, and eliminated redundancy.

This also had the effect of making the third appearance of the intro section appear as an instrumental bridge while sort of recalling the song's origin.

Another idea – one that has only been simply and effectively possible with music editing software is to create a very, very long – and careful - cross-fade between similar sections. This won't work with all types of music all the time.

It does work often, though, with songs that are basically one-chord jams, especially if it has (too!) long instrumental breaks. (Remember, we're only doing or suggesting this when things are toooo long or boring!)

Songs that are loop based can benefit from some creative 'post' editing. I'm talking about songs that follow, say, a four-chord sequence all the way through. As a way to highlight the start of the final 'chorus' section and climax of the song, create silence after the first beat of the fourth chord before the final chorus.

This simple song editing technique can really heighten the drama in what may otherwise be a tedious presentation.

What's the point of all this post production 'partying'?!

We try things like this to keep our listeners interested and coming back again and again to listen to our songs.

And as I've said elsewhere, no two situations are ever the same. What works like a charm on one project can fall into nowhere-land on another.

The digital software universe has opened up a whole new world of creative possibilities that were only imaginable before.

Have I given you any ideas?!

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