Cheap Sound Bytes

I learned in High School that I could turn headphones into microphones by sticking them in the Mic In slot on a tape player. I also learned I could record some singing, play it back on one side of a dual cassette player and record harmony over the top of the first part on the record side of the cassette player. I did my first solo four-part harmony recording with my College Roommate's dual cassette player and some cheap headphones. It sounded like someone singing through a set of tin can and string 'telephones,' but for me it was still a ground-breaking technique for creating cheap music.

Later down the road for a wedding gift, we got a dual cassette stereo with a Karaoke feature which allowed me to use cheap microphones (that were actually built as microphones) to record four-part harmonies by myself. This time it sounded like talking through a wrapping paper tube instead of a tin can telephone. But nonetheless, it was still a fun experiment for me.

Not quite 10 years later, I came across Audacity, which is a free, powerful sound recorder/editor which allowed me to transfer the tape to the computer, remove the noise and enhance the sound (as well as possible given the poor quality of the raw material.) Below you can hear a sampler of my experiments (I will apologize in advance...believe it or not, this actually contains the "best" snippets I had):

Pure Harmony From A Church Youth Trip

First of all I need to apologize to all the people who read my blog. The three of you probably looked at the site disappointed to see no new material over the last few days. We went to an annual family picnic over the weekend, but I am back now.

In high school, I was recruited as the last member of a four-guy a capella vocal group. One of my best friends was the bass for the group and he heard me sing to the radio on a church youth trip. We became Pure Harmony.

As Pure Harmony, we would harmonize on the bus as we travelled to Vocal Jazz contests. We sang for receptions and parties. We sang the national anthem for basketball games. We even sang for our High School graduation.

This same friend of mine introduced me to a new music-making life. He also introduced me to Vocal Jazz and Concert Choir all of which shaped my musical tastes tremendously. Our Vocal Jazz Choir often placed or came close to placing at Vocal Jazz contests.

Once at Especially For Youth (a Church Youth Conference), my friend, one of our mutual friends, a friend we met at the conference, and I sang at a talent show in front of a few hundred youth. We started out in unison, then as soon as we split into harmony, the crowd went wild. Hence my claim that I was able to sing in front of a crowd of screaming fans.

Those were the 'Glory Days!'

In all technical and musical terms, we were a step below amateurs, but it was still fun, provided a lot of good memories, and influenced me in many ways. In fact I considered becoming a music major in college.

All this because I went on a church youth trip and a friend motivated me to develop a seed of talent.