So I just got back from a brief recording session up in Richmond, VA over the weekend. There’s an amazing church there with a stellar worship band. These guys wanted to record an EP of some of their original music and had been kicking the idea around for a while. When they called me in for the job, I was immediately excited because I knew it would be a great project from the beginning.
But here was the catch…they wanted to record 6 songs full band (including keys and viola!) in just 2 days. Additionally we were recording in the lead guitarists house, not a “studio”, so there would inevitably be acoustic challenges. In the end it was a fast paced weekend that proved to be highly successful and a ton of fun. Here a few lessons that solidified in my mind from this project about how to get a lot of productivity in a short amount of time…in addition to keeping the coffee brewing!
Know Your Music
The guys (and gals) in the band knew their music. Many of the songs were freshly written and sparsely played at that point, but each member had their parts down and were aware of the entire arrangement and desired vibe for each track. This is the number one reason we were able to get so much done in 48 hours.
If you want to have a great recording session, make sure you come to play. If you have your parts down then you can focus more on tone and performance. This will help tremendously when you go to push “Record”. Plus the final product just sounds that much more intentional.
Know Your Band Mates
If you are recording with a band or with other studio musicians, things will roll a lot faster and smoother if you have a solid rapport with everyone. These guys loved and appreciated everyone in the band to the point that they were constantly encouraging each other and pushing one another to deliver their absolute best when the red light went on. This made my job as a producer much easier as there was built in motivation for every person in the room.
Know Your Limits
The recording process is unique, as every element of your playing and singing ability is put on display and like a microscope you are analyzed from top to bottom, with perfection as the usual goal. It tends to make people at best nervous, and at worst petrified to the point of being rendered useless. One huge hurdle to overcome is humility about your ability. Know the limits of what you can and can’t do.
If you are a rhythm guitar player who can’t really play lead, don’t try to be a lead guitarist. If you can’t rock a double kick drum pedal, then forget about it. I’m not saying you shouldn’t ever stretch yourself. What I am saying however, is that having some realistic awareness of what you bring to the recording will save everyone a lot of time and frustration. Just get in there and do what you do best. That’s all that is required of you.
Know What You Want
At the end of the day, the only way to be productive in the studio is to have a vision in your head for what you want as a musician (or band) and then to work diligently to that end. I asked the singer (and leader) of the band this weekend to prioritize the songs in order of importance should we run out of time to record all six songs. He knew exactly what order to go in and what elements to focus on. This helped us stay on task and just keep moving.
If we were just winging it and trying things for the sake of being creative in the studio, we probably would have only completed 2 or 3 songs. Not a horrible thing, but not the best case scenario either. In the end, these guys came in ready to make a six song EP a reality, despite the odds not looking in our favor. Things panned out quite nicely!
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How blessed we are as readers for your kindness as you share such invaluable information with the world.
The information shared above is certainly the kind of stuff that many artists/bands don’t think about until the ‘tape is rolling’. I have seen situations where even professional musicians find themselves facing frustration simply because they can’t figure out their parts, or are unable to get the right sound while studio time is running.
Production planning is a must if you are hiring professional services!!! It will definitely maximize the efficiency of all parts involved (engineer, producer, performers, etc.)
Graham, I’m personally very thankful for your efforts in helping and encouraging a whole community of music-makers. I know God is using you in a very powerful way as you go through this journey. Keep the awesome work!
Luis – Thank you for your kind remarks. I’m just encouraged that my site is helping people. Thanks again for being a reader!
Graham – thanks for consistently keeping your site updated. You must be wiped out after that session. But you found the nugget in the experience that we could benefit from. Thanks man!
Steve
I try to stay on it every week Steve. Glad it was helpful to you!
Let me know when I can get a copy – if you helped them record it, it should be excellent!
I was getting ready to record some tunes and reading over your site to get some good ideas before I did and I came across this post. I had the amazing opportunity to be apart of this session and I’m glad you posted about it, Graham.
Maria, if you’d like to hear some of the songs that Graham did for us, you can check them out here: http://myspace.com/keilanmusic. It was an awesome weekend and I learned a ton from it.