Song Prep For Recording

[musicthom]

Recording a new song is always a exiting if not scary process at times, I may have an idea of how my track should sound but many factors can change the whole project.

This is my experiences in recording and all the prep work that goes before hand

　

The song writing

More than often I will have some sort of riff that I have been working on for a while or in some cases, I may have a riff that I have just came across

Working on the structure is really important to me once I think I have it right I start to write the " all important " first line, for me this hooks me into the song,

although the melody is there that first feeling when a lyric appears will shape the direction of the song

Stage 2

I generally put it up on the lyric board; this is one of the most valuable tools I have come to use

Looking at all the feedback gives me a good indication of how the song is

Sometimes if something is just a little off will be pointed out

Some of the time my desire to finish a song can cloud my judgment on some parts of the song

Obtaining some feedback from other musicians/ lyricists really can make you look honestly at your work

Assuming I am happy with the song I now set about making a basic demo to let the others in the band hear the song

Stage 3

By now I should know the song well and we begin a journey, the rest of the band will put their own mark on it ken has many years of drumming experience and has some little gems to add

Neil with his mix of blues and rock style adds a bit of bite to the track .This is where we start playing the song in a practice room till we have it as best we can

Stage 4

Introduction to the set! this I feel is where the song will evolve as we get better at playing it, more and more we seem to add some of our personality to the song

By this time the band should know the track well

And our last prep for us, we go into the practice room and check it out for anything that may need to be altered but more than often the track is good to go

And that is how we prepare a song in readiness to record

[connelly73]

I have wrirren most of my songs at work. I tend to clear my head and not listen to any music for a few days. Then I usually sit during my lunch in my van thinking about what I have read in the papers or what has been happening to me or my family over the last few days/weeks. I tend to get some sort of tune idea or lyrics and I will record them on my phone.

Next I take what I have put on my phone and sit with my guitar at home and usually ideas come from there. I tend not to have a complete set of lyrics for my song but I record the vocals and guitar in a raw form on my computer with a basic drum track. Next I record each instrument in turn Drums (using a drum machine), Guitars, Bass and then finally vocals.

I have done about 9 songs now and simply just love music.

PS Had a look at your myspace page and love your songs especially Just not There. If I still had a Bass Amp I might have been tempted to audition. Keep up the good work.

[musicthom]

PS Had a look at your myspace page and love your songs especially Just not There. If I still had a Bass Amp I might have been tempted to audition. Keep up the good work.

Thank you dont let a simple thing like not having a bass amp put you off my friend

sounds like you have a method of working that works for you

[lyricman321]

My approach to prepping is:

1) Be certain the lyric is the best it can be.

2) Ditto the music

3) After checking 1 & 2 on your own it can pay to have a producer, session player, etc- someone with experience- look it over to verify you don't have some glaring error you're too close to the project to see.

4) Write up any charts the musicians need.

5) Verify the song will be sung by the right singer. now maybe that's you, maybe not. ( see Should You Sing on Your Own Song Demo Recording? http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Bill_E_Watson ). Choosing the singer is maybe the most important step.

6. Can the song be shortened at all without losing anything that substantially adds? Sometimes a 16 bar solo sounds fine but when you shorten it to 8 the song seems much more interesting and full of energy.

That's it, basically tighten it up and it should be the best it can be. If it's not cancel the session until it is.