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How To Prepare For Your Recording Session
Recording is a time-intensive experience, and problems that arise often seem magnified. No one wants to wait for an hour while the guitar player runs to Guitar Center for new strings. So, to keep things going smoothly and efficiently, here are some things to do in preparation:
1. Practice! YouÂ’d be surprised how many bands come into the studio obviously unprepared. If you canÂ’t play through the song without making mistakes, then youÂ’re not ready to record yet. Take the time to practice the songs you want to track thoroughly. This isnÂ’t to say that you canÂ’t be creative in the studio, but itÂ’s a lot cheaper to be creative on your own time.
2. Make sure your songs are finished. Going into the studio hoping to finish lyrics or parts on the spot is a recipe for dissatisfaction. You may be inspired by the pressure, but youÂ’ll inevitably listen back to it later on and think that you could have sang it better, or that you donÂ’t especially like this line or that phrase.
3. Record yourselves. ItÂ’s very useful to record your practice using a simple tape recorder. The finished product wonÂ’t sound very good, but youÂ’ll be able to hear if youÂ’re off time, or off key. It may also make you aware that some parts of your song are dragging, or that other parts could be extended or more developed.
4. Get your gear in shape. DonÂ’t show up for a session that youÂ’re paying for with gear that doesnÂ’t work, cables that cut out, batteries that are going dead, or blown speakers. If youÂ’re afraid that your gear is less than perfect, make some calls. You engineer can point you to some people in town that rent gear on a day-by-day basis, or to other musicians who might be willing to loan an amp or cabinet for a day or two. It makes a difference!
5. Tune your instrument. Drummers should put on new heads about 1 week before the session. The snare head should be replaced immediately before the session, and if youÂ’re doing more than one or two songs, consider bringing extra snare heads. Nothing sounds as good on tape as a fresh snare head. Guitarists should put a new set of strings on a few days before the session. Bring extra strings, as you probably will break one or two. Bass players can replace their strings, although new bass strings can be a bit overly metallic. I recommend changing bass strings a week or two before the session.
6. Let people know youÂ’re busy! You donÂ’t want to be called in to work half-way through your session. Everyone involved needs to clear their schedules. Nothing creates more tension in a session than someone wanting to blow out early so they can hit some party. Also, if youÂ’re recording at your home, make sure your family knows about it. Take phones off the hook, recording will require some degree of quiet. If youÂ’re working at your practice space, make sure the neighbors know that youÂ’ll need some quiet, if there are other bands at your facility, ask them for their schedules, and work out a time when they wonÂ’t be playing in the next room.
7. Have a plan. ItÂ’s always better to have fewer songs to finish, and to know precisely which songs youÂ’re trying to get done. Often, once a session gets rolling, itÂ’s easy to just go ahead and track some of the other songs you have. While this isnÂ’t terrible, in my experience these tracks are usually discarded, as they havenÂ’t been thoroughly practiced, and may not even be complete.
9. Develop a vision. I like to come see a band before I record them, just to get a feel for their sound, and develop my vision for the session. If you envision your record sounding like the latest MTV hit, you may be frustrated and disappointed. Your band is unique, and my goal as an engineer is to find whatÂ’s best about your band and accent that. Your record may not sound like anything thatÂ’s come before, and trying to cram it into a pre-existing notion of a "good recording" doesnÂ’t do it justice. The Pixies didnÂ’t sound like anything that came before them, nor does Modest Mouse, or the Beatles, for that matter.
8. Relax! Recording is fun, and thereÂ’s really no pressure. Just be prepared, and youÂ’ll have a smooth, enjoyable session with a great product at the end!
BONUS : How To Produce A Christmas Number One Hit
The worst thing about Christmas has to be listening to Top Of The Pops and the Christmas Number 1 – Girls Aloud, Robbie Williams, Westlife and Mr Blobby for goodness sake! Surely anyone can produce a better Christmas Hit than those. After all, a computer does all the work, doesn't it - all you do is press a few buttons and jiggle a few drum and bass lines around.
So what do you need? You need a PC with a reasonable amount of processing power under the hood - a Pentium III at least, preferably a P4 - in order to run the music software.
Audio files are quite large - forget MP3s, we're talking the real thing here - and for each track of audio you record you'll need around 10.6Mb of hard disk space per minute. Every track won't be filled with audio so you won't need quite that much in a multi-track recording but for a four-minute 16-track song it would be wise to allocate around 500Mb of hard disk space.
Playing cards
You need a soundcard. All modern PCs have one of these but if you don't want your song to sound like it was recorded in a back bedroom - even it if was - get a decent card.
At Christmas-stocking prices are a range of SoundBlaster cards such as the Audigy 2 ZS (for under ÂŁ70/$100) with a good set of built-in sounds. But more than that, they support SoundFonts. These are samples the card uses to produce realistic instrument sounds and better beefy bass lines than yer average sound card.
If you've a rich Mummy and Daddy theyÂ’ll be pleased to buy you a more expensive card such as E-MuÂ’s Emulator X (around ÂŁ220/$380), a desktop sampling system that also supports SoundFonts. If you own a nightclub you'll be able to afford one of CreamWare's high-end systems with on-board synthesisers that can do everything but sober up the drummer - not that you need a drummer 'cause the cards have all the drum sounds you need.
Key move
You'll also need a MIDI keyboard to record your masterpiece. ThereÂ’s a vast choice here from E-MuÂ’s XBoard 25, XBoard 49, and SwissonicÂ’s CK490 (all running around ÂŁ100/$150 give or take) to the Fatar range running from the TMK61 (ÂŁ130/$225) up to the VMK 188 Plus (ÂŁ599/$1000) with several models inbeween.
These keyboards don't have any on-board sounds like synthesisers but they're much cheaper than synths and there are sounds in the soundcard anyway. If you've seen an Elton John concert and can't face the thought of touching a keyboard, don't worry - you can use pre-recorded loops and samples and cleverly arrange them in stunning combinations without a keyboard.
Listen 'ere
A decent pair of speakers is essential. The ten quid jobbies that were bundled with your PC may be fine for playing MP3s but they simply won't do for mixing music.
The Big Boys use dedicated monitor speakers which can cost as much as a holiday in Barbados but if you leave the other half at home you could easily afford BehringerÂ’s MS16s (ÂŁ46/$79), or EdirolÂ’s MA7A (ÂŁ80/$135) or MA150 (ÂŁ120/$200).
If your PC is near your hi fi you can run the audio through that but switch off any bass boost or EQ settings. The idea is to get a flat, uncoloured response so if it sounds good on those speakers it should sounds good on any speakers. So the theory goes.
Good arrangement
The Big Boys can fiddle with high-end music sequencers but the new and incredibly modestly-priced Cubase SE 3 (less than a ton/$170) lets you record and assemble audio and MIDI parts with almost as much aplomb. It shows both types of recording on the same arrange page making it easy to see how they fit together.
And finally, you need a CD recorder so you can burn your finished hit to CD and send it to lucky record companies. If youÂ’ve a modern PC youÂ’ll have one already. But do use a labeller and create a CD inlay, too, to give the CD a pro finish. In the music biz, looks, fashion and style are far more important than content so spend at least as much time on the outside as on the music. Put your contact details on the CD label as well as the inlay.
Hook and line
Now let's make a song. You need a hook. This is the bit everyone sings so it has to be catchy. It's usually the chorus but you can have a catchy bass line, drum line or even a vocal hook such as shout or a catch phrase like "Eh Oh". Well it worked for the Teletubbies – are you old enough to remember them with embarrassment?
Let's say you've come up with a stonking chorus. Build a verse around it. It doesn't have to be memorable; few verses are. You can meander around in a relatively tuneless way until it's time to unleash the chorus on the world.
When building a song, start with the rhythm section. Grab some groovy drum loops, string them together then add the bass line. You can play this on your new MIDI keyboard or drop in bass samples - jolly useful things, samples.
Next you'll want to add some keyboard parts which can be clever rhythmic figures or you can play pads by holding down some chords using a broad-texture sound such as strings.
Very vocal
Then add the vocals. If you can't sing - but remember that never stopped anyone making a record - you might like to nip down the pub and ask the winner of this week's karaoke contest to do the chanting for you. Play your cards right and they may even pay you for the privilege.
If you've too much musical nous to be in the same room as a karaoke singer, you can always fall back on your old friend, the sample.
The final step is the mixing. This is where you balance all the parts you recorded, add a dash of reverb and generally tart the thing up.
Then save the entire song as an audio file ready for burning to CD. This means recording the MIDI parts as audio tracks. You need to mix all the tracks into one stereo track so the final file will be 10.6Mb x the length in minutes.
Looks good
Now you have to interest the A&R men in your CD. It's all about image so if you're dull and ugly - name three ugly pop stars, apart from Madonna and Mick Hucknall - you may have to get one of your beautiful friends to pose for the publicity photos.
Write a one-page biog - they don't want to know that you have a GCSE in music, they want to know what gigs you've done and any Big Name bands youÂ’ve supported. Drop a few names such as Bruce, Robbie and Tina. You don't have to mention surnames...
If you do catch the ear of an A&R person, be prepared to throw your ego out the window - you can't afford one at the moment and when you're rich and famous you can buy a much better one anyway.
You'll see the months of blood, sweat and Pils which you poured into your song pouring straight down the drain as the record company drafts in a 14-year-old DJ to remix your song using the latest Dance breakbeats and crap - sorry, rap - vocals.
But don't worry - you can laugh all the way to the bank when it reaches Number One!
The worst thing about Christmas has to be listening to Top Of The Pops and the Christmas Number 1 – Girls Aloud, Robbie Williams, Westlife and Mr Blobby for goodness sake! Surely anyone can produce a better Christmas Hit than those. After all, a computer does all the work, doesn't it - all you do is press a few buttons and jiggle a few drum and bass lines around.
So what do you need? You need a PC with a reasonable amount of processing power under the hood - a Pentium III at least, preferably a P4 - in order to run the music software.
Audio files are quite large - forget MP3s, we're talking the real thing here - and for each track of audio you record you'll need around 10.6Mb of hard disk space per minute. Every track won't be filled with audio so you won't need quite that much in a multi-track recording but for a four-minute 16-track song it would be wise to allocate around 500Mb of hard disk space.
Playing cards
You need a soundcard. All modern PCs have one of these but if you don't want your song to sound like it was recorded in a back bedroom - even it if was - get a decent card.
At Christmas-stocking prices are a range of SoundBlaster cards such as the Audigy 2 ZS (for under ÂŁ70/$100) with a good set of built-in sounds. But more than that, they support SoundFonts. These are samples the card uses to produce realistic instrument sounds and better beefy bass lines than yer average sound card.
If you've a rich Mummy and Daddy theyÂ’ll be pleased to buy you a more expensive card such as E-MuÂ’s Emulator X (around ÂŁ220/$380), a desktop sampling system that also supports SoundFonts. If you own a nightclub you'll be able to afford one of CreamWare's high-end systems with on-board synthesisers that can do everything but sober up the drummer - not that you need a drummer 'cause the cards have all the drum sounds you need.
Key move
You'll also need a MIDI keyboard to record your masterpiece. ThereÂ’s a vast choice here from E-MuÂ’s XBoard 25, XBoard 49, and SwissonicÂ’s CK490 (all running around ÂŁ100/$150 give or take) to the Fatar range running from the TMK61 (ÂŁ130/$225) up to the VMK 188 Plus (ÂŁ599/$1000) with several models inbeween.
These keyboards don't have any on-board sounds like synthesisers but they're much cheaper than synths and there are sounds in the soundcard anyway. If you've seen an Elton John concert and can't face the thought of touching a keyboard, don't worry - you can use pre-recorded loops and samples and cleverly arrange them in stunning combinations without a keyboard.
Listen 'ere
A decent pair of speakers is essential. The ten quid jobbies that were bundled with your PC may be fine for playing MP3s but they simply won't do for mixing music.
The Big Boys use dedicated monitor speakers which can cost as much as a holiday in Barbados but if you leave the other half at home you could easily afford BehringerÂ’s MS16s (ÂŁ46/$79), or EdirolÂ’s MA7A (ÂŁ80/$135) or MA150 (ÂŁ120/$200).
If your PC is near your hi fi you can run the audio through that but switch off any bass boost or EQ settings. The idea is to get a flat, uncoloured response so if it sounds good on those speakers it should sounds good on any speakers. So the theory goes.
Good arrangement
The Big Boys can fiddle with high-end music sequencers but the new and incredibly modestly-priced Cubase SE 3 (less than a ton/$170) lets you record and assemble audio and MIDI parts with almost as much aplomb. It shows both types of recording on the same arrange page making it easy to see how they fit together.
And finally, you need a CD recorder so you can burn your finished hit to CD and send it to lucky record companies. If youÂ’ve a modern PC youÂ’ll have one already. But do use a labeller and create a CD inlay, too, to give the CD a pro finish. In the music biz, looks, fashion and style are far more important than content so spend at least as much time on the outside as on the music. Put your contact details on the CD label as well as the inlay.
Hook and line
Now let's make a song. You need a hook. This is the bit everyone sings so it has to be catchy. It's usually the chorus but you can have a catchy bass line, drum line or even a vocal hook such as shout or a catch phrase like "Eh Oh". Well it worked for the Teletubbies – are you old enough to remember them with embarrassment?
Let's say you've come up with a stonking chorus. Build a verse around it. It doesn't have to be memorable; few verses are. You can meander around in a relatively tuneless way until it's time to unleash the chorus on the world.
When building a song, start with the rhythm section. Grab some groovy drum loops, string them together then add the bass line. You can play this on your new MIDI keyboard or drop in bass samples - jolly useful things, samples.
Next you'll want to add some keyboard parts which can be clever rhythmic figures or you can play pads by holding down some chords using a broad-texture sound such as strings.
Very vocal
Then add the vocals. If you can't sing - but remember that never stopped anyone making a record - you might like to nip down the pub and ask the winner of this week's karaoke contest to do the chanting for you. Play your cards right and they may even pay you for the privilege.
If you've too much musical nous to be in the same room as a karaoke singer, you can always fall back on your old friend, the sample.
The final step is the mixing. This is where you balance all the parts you recorded, add a dash of reverb and generally tart the thing up.
Then save the entire song as an audio file ready for burning to CD. This means recording the MIDI parts as audio tracks. You need to mix all the tracks into one stereo track so the final file will be 10.6Mb x the length in minutes.
Looks good
Now you have to interest the A&R men in your CD. It's all about image so if you're dull and ugly - name three ugly pop stars, apart from Madonna and Mick Hucknall - you may have to get one of your beautiful friends to pose for the publicity photos.
Write a one-page biog - they don't want to know that you have a GCSE in music, they want to know what gigs you've done and any Big Name bands youÂ’ve supported. Drop a few names such as Bruce, Robbie and Tina. You don't have to mention surnames...
If you do catch the ear of an A&R person, be prepared to throw your ego out the window - you can't afford one at the moment and when you're rich and famous you can buy a much better one anyway.
You'll see the months of blood, sweat and Pils which you poured into your song pouring straight down the drain as the record company drafts in a 14-year-old DJ to remix your song using the latest Dance breakbeats and crap - sorry, rap - vocals.
But don't worry - you can laugh all the way to the bank when it reaches Number One!
