Editing: not clinical, but musical

​Editing is an important aspect to post-production. Editing refers to the intricate process of connecting the best parts of a session recording seamlessly, without any audible overlap. Editing is done on almost every recording you have ever listened to - and there is no shame in editing!

I am currently in the follow-up round of editing on a recording project with a client, and I wanted to share a quick insight into what goes on behind the scenes. After listening to my first version of the piece, the musicians have collected their thoughts and sent me their feedback. My next task is to adjust the piece to the best of their wishes, but also listen to their feedback with an objective ear and read between the lines. This sounds rather difficult, and it is. Besides the technical aspects of editing, you also have the responsibility of keeping the music 'alive'. It is not always the most flawless version that excites the most emotion in the listener.
Of course a recording isn't the same as a concert, where little mistakes are more likely to be heard by the listener, but wouldn't it be perfect, if listening to a recording would give the listener the same feeling of being there in the concert hall itself? This is accomplished, not only due to the quality of the sound (microphone placement, mixing, etc) that provides the listener the acoustics of the recording location, but by editing the piece in such a way that it feels so natural that you don't even think about the possibility of it being edited.

Surely the technical skills required to edit the piece are important, but what truly sets a good recording apart from a great one is the editor's sense of what makes music come alive - what it is to be a musician.