Making the most of a studio recording session
Many independent musicians and performers nowadays may not consider going to a pro recording studio. What with the budget home recording systems and equipment available now, you can do a lot at home if you have to time and ears to develop your skills as a music producer/sound engineer. And of course a lot of music is produced that requires no instruments at all – music can be made with only software instruments and samples. This article, however, is aimed at those who use their voice and/or music instruments to make their music and want some demo tracks, get their music online or get that dream gig.
And if you want a convincing demo or some pro sounding recordings in order to get a gig, get airplay and get your music heard you may have to consider investing in some time in a pro recording studio. Basically if you want to a professionally sounding product then call in the professionals ie. record in a studio.
Investing in studio time does not have to be exceedingly expensive. There are a few basic ways to save studio time and therefore come out with more polished tracks. These may seem obvious but as a studio engineer, I see these mistakes being made and advise clients prior to a recording to be aware of these stumbling blocks.
Firstly, my fundamental advice would be know your material really well. Many studio hours can be wasted with bands or artists not really knowing what they should be doing or even what they want. Avoid bringing lyric sheets into the studio - looking and reading lyrics can mean you may not deliver your best performance. If are in a band, make sure all members are decided on what key and chord changes will occur in a song. And make your sure you all know the structure and can play to a click track/metronome if appropriate to the music you are recording.
Now bands, a click track can make the difference between a solid professional sounding track and a sloppy mess. What sounds good live will not necessarily translate into an impressive recording. A studio a mix will sound more professional, transparent and full if you can record or multi-track each instrument or pairs of instruments such as drums and basslines. Recording the whole band playing live can be more suitable at times but this more often not the case. The click track is especially crucial for drummers. If you have a drummer, make sure they can play along to a click track. I have met a surprising number of clients who have not developed this skill. And when we usually record the drums first, this can result in the base of the song lacks the solid foundation for the rest of the track to be built upon.
For singers or solo artists I usually advise to record your songs and/or voice before going into the recording studio onto whatever medium you can. This may be your computer, an MP3 recorder or even your phone. Sound quality is not important here – what matters is to listen back to what you really sound like and potentially improve your performance. What you hear and feel when you are performing your favourite song may not sound like this to others. I have found this very useful for myself as a vocalist and independent solo female musician. I can then hear where I am not in tune or where I am not expressing the intention or feeling of my lyrics. Hearing yourself sing or speak before going into recording can also really help to get over the awkwardness of hearing your own voice when in a pro recording studio. And more confidence, less nerves means a better recording.
So, what we are talking about here is being better prepared, more decisive and confident as possible with your material. You will then produce more tracks with valuable your studio time. And you only need one or two amazing sounding tracks to attract listeners, get a gig and get some airplay. You do not even need a website nowadays – set up a simple blog or a profile on sites such as Soundcloud, Reverbnation and Myspace.
And if you want a convincing demo or some pro sounding recordings in order to get a gig, get airplay and get your music heard you may have to consider investing in some time in a pro recording studio. Basically if you want to a professionally sounding product then call in the professionals ie. record in a studio.
Investing in studio time does not have to be exceedingly expensive. There are a few basic ways to save studio time and therefore come out with more polished tracks. These may seem obvious but as a studio engineer, I see these mistakes being made and advise clients prior to a recording to be aware of these stumbling blocks.
Firstly, my fundamental advice would be know your material really well. Many studio hours can be wasted with bands or artists not really knowing what they should be doing or even what they want. Avoid bringing lyric sheets into the studio - looking and reading lyrics can mean you may not deliver your best performance. If are in a band, make sure all members are decided on what key and chord changes will occur in a song. And make your sure you all know the structure and can play to a click track/metronome if appropriate to the music you are recording.
Now bands, a click track can make the difference between a solid professional sounding track and a sloppy mess. What sounds good live will not necessarily translate into an impressive recording. A studio a mix will sound more professional, transparent and full if you can record or multi-track each instrument or pairs of instruments such as drums and basslines. Recording the whole band playing live can be more suitable at times but this more often not the case. The click track is especially crucial for drummers. If you have a drummer, make sure they can play along to a click track. I have met a surprising number of clients who have not developed this skill. And when we usually record the drums first, this can result in the base of the song lacks the solid foundation for the rest of the track to be built upon.
For singers or solo artists I usually advise to record your songs and/or voice before going into the recording studio onto whatever medium you can. This may be your computer, an MP3 recorder or even your phone. Sound quality is not important here – what matters is to listen back to what you really sound like and potentially improve your performance. What you hear and feel when you are performing your favourite song may not sound like this to others. I have found this very useful for myself as a vocalist and independent solo female musician. I can then hear where I am not in tune or where I am not expressing the intention or feeling of my lyrics. Hearing yourself sing or speak before going into recording can also really help to get over the awkwardness of hearing your own voice when in a pro recording studio. And more confidence, less nerves means a better recording.
So, what we are talking about here is being better prepared, more decisive and confident as possible with your material. You will then produce more tracks with valuable your studio time. And you only need one or two amazing sounding tracks to attract listeners, get a gig and get some airplay. You do not even need a website nowadays – set up a simple blog or a profile on sites such as Soundcloud, Reverbnation and Myspace.