I did it. I did it. I edited. I did it.
October 04 2009
Do you care?
If Miles Davis' legendary Sketches of Spain recording was born only through extensive surgcal editing- do you care?
If Glenn Gould's make-life-worth-living albums live only as Frankenstein chop-chops of multiple takes- do you care?
If the Pianobabbler needs a few passes at a tune to get one good take- do you care?
The Pianobabbler just finished post-production on his new recording. That included some editing. So?
The morality of editing, what a hoary old debate.
For many, the question resolved itself long ago: Perfection in one take almost never happens. Recording is not performing. Edit. Live with it. Everyone does it. The music only benefits.
For over 50 years, editing has flung flubs magically into the ether of silence. It has wed the Cracker from one take to the Jack in another, creating a illusory single piece.
Many recordings we hear as classic unities were never made. They were cobbled. They began as pieces, until stitched into one piece of music.
And that's OK. Isn't it?
Yet the Pianobabbler hangs on to lingering doubts. Guilt, maybe. Why? In recordings from the pre-editing era, you hear rough patches, dropped notes, goofs. They matter not a tittle.
Conversely, we have become used to artificial perfection in playing. It's bred sterility in much music. A mediocracy of no mistakes. Many listeners and musicians have traded in character for errorlessness. ( And don't press my Autotune button...)
We're too far gone to go back now. Editing is here to stay. The one take recordings I know using modern gear sound weirdly dull, safe or both.
Still, musicians and audiences should listen with this awareness. It can, maybe should, inform the listening experience. The fact that your lover may possess silicone parts doesn't mean you won't or can't fondle them. But you should know.
And look: in the Pianobabbler's case, edits don't abound. You'll find a snip here, a clip there. Touch ups, not reconstructive surgery. When you hear me, you hear me.
And when all is said and done, we listen to recorded music. We like it, we don't. Whether or not editing midwifed it. Do you care?
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