Do you have a process that you go through when you work on a song? Do you have fairly well-defined steps that you take to go from a great song idea to a finished, polished recording?
Here’s the thing. I’ve told you before how important it is to have goals and set deadlines. But maybe you think that’s too philosophical, too constraining for your “free spirit.” Okay, that’s cool. Let’s look at it another way.
You may not be the type of person who comments on blogs. That’s cool. Use the comment area below to just quickly type out your process for recording a song. Just make a numbered list of everything you need to do to be able to say, “It’s finished.”
If you want to share your list, I’d love to see it. Go ahead and submit your comment once you type it out.
Big Stuff Happening Soon…
Things have been a little quiet here at HSC this week. I’ve been working on a few things behind the scenes.
Next week I’m going to be bringing you a bunch of awesome new stuff. I’ll share with you MY steps for recording a song, and I’ll be making a big ol’ announcement, too.
Okay, start typing below. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Are you a VIP member yet? If you like HSC, you’d love being a VIP member.
Each month we have a live “VIP Session,” where I cover all sorts of fun topics. This month we’re covering the topic of collaborating online with other musicians I’ve wrangled in the super-talented Travis Whitmore (make sure you check out his blog) to play drums on a track for me.
Travis doesn’t even live in the same state as me…but he’s playing drums on this song, and we’ll share with you how we go about making it work REALLY well. Plus, you’ll get to hear some pretty killer drum tracks, and even get a few drum mixing tips while we’re at it.
It’s all happening on Tuesday afternoon, and the recording will be available for all members.
Sound like fun? $5 gets you in. You’ll have access to all the previous VIP Session recordings AND the private members-only forum.
Yesterday’s post on charging for your work sparked some really interesting discussions. If you haven’t yet, be sure to join in the conversation over there (or on Facebook or Twitter).
The general premise of yesterday’s post was to think about charging by the project rather than by the hour. One question came up about what to do with clients who are unreasonable. If you’re charging by the project, how do you protect yourself against clients who want revision after revision after revision, with no regard for your time whatsoever?
You could say I’m a bit naive sometimes. I know people take advantage of people all the time, but I tend to think that if someone takes advantage of my time, it’s because I let them do it.
Here’s the replay from yesterday’s live webinar I did with Graham Cochrane. We covered a lot of great stuff over the course of the hour, PLUS we talked about the Simply Recording Academy. After you’ve watched the video, click this link to check it out:
I watched a video interview with Eddie Kramer a few weeks ago. He was talking with the folks at Waves about some of their plugin emulations of analog gear.
He was recounting the way they recorded back in Jimi Hendrix days. They would record everything to one 4-track machine, then mix those down in stereo to two tracks on another 4-track machine, leaving two tracks for additional overdubs.
They would repeat this process over and over, adding new parts as they went.
The really interesting thing is that they were not only adding new parts, they were mixing as they added them.
Everyone always asks how to get that big huge guitar sound. Unfortunately, there’s no single answer to that.
There are a million factors at play, and lots of things I couldn’t possibly cover in a single article, but I’ll give you three tips today to help you move closer to that goal of getting that huge guitar sound.
1. Don’t start recording too quickly.
This is an easy trap to fall into, especially when you’re really excited about recording the next big hit rock record, but slow down, take a few minutes, even 15 minutes, to really dial in the right tone for the session.
They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery.
As a home studio owner, you’re constantly trying to make your recordings sound “professional,” or at least on par with professional recordings.
Well, if you want your recordings to sound like pro recordings, have you ever actually tried toemulate a professional recording??
The Challenge
Here’s my challenge to you. Take a listen to some of your favorite songs, pick one, and try to re-create that song…from scratch…in your studio.
Listen to the song critically, pull out a piece of paper and write down all the elements you’ll need to capture, then get to work recording sounds that sound as close to that recording as you possibly can.
Will you perfectly emulate it? Nah. Probably not.
Will you learn a lot in the process? Absolutely.
A few things you will learn:
A great recording always begins with a great song.
The “sound” of a recording comes from the source.
A great mix comes from great recording/production, not the other way around.
Beginning with the end in mind is HUGE. Knowing the sound you want, before you record a single note, makes all the difference in the world. Suddenly you have a goal.
What do you say? Try it this weekend? Leave a comment and let us know. I’ll hold you to it…
I’ve been listening to Paper Airplane* a lot lately. It’s the latest release from Alison Krauss and Union Station.
Man, it’s good. Go grab it if you haven’t yet.
I’m not a diehard bluegrass fan. I listen to it fairly regularly, but not all the time. But I highly recommend adding it to your regular listening rotation. There’s a lot to glean from bluegrass that you can apply to your own recordings, whether you’re working on an acoustic EP or a full-on heavy metal rock album.
Do you have a process that you go through when you work on a song? Do you have fairly well-defined steps that you take to go from a great song idea to a finished, polished recording?
