Archiving is for winners

Much like a well-sampled instrument or a bank of classic breakbeats, a library of your own field recordings and found sounds can be returned to again and again to spice up a musical project or create new sound bed layers for post production. The potential uses and combinations of the raw elements are only limited by your own creativity and imagination. This point is moot if you don’t purposefully curate an archive, however small that may be. Best practice with regard to file and folder naming, as well as keeping raw and edited versions of your recordings, will aid efficiency and utility, as well as the all-important creative focus. Situating the archive is also important. Dedicate a folder, partition or drive on your main computer to your archive, or even an external drive. No matter where it is, ensure it’s backed in one or more locations, as with all your audio data. What takes moments to archive properly can provide priceless raw materials for years.