Pre-Production Rationale
July 16, 2008 Filed in: Recording
Today, I spent a few
hours listening to demos, home recordings, and studio
out-takes of a band that I'll be producing at the end
of August. The band has been called
Fleeing
Suburbia--check out the link for some of
their MySpace stuff.
A few years ago, I went to Florida to write a few songs with Jenna, the group's singer. We came up with a great tune called "Isn't That Beautiful?," which we recorded completely at my studio. Off and on, with a few trips to OH and a few trips to NC, we've written a few other songs together.
My rationale for pre production is fairly simple. My job as a producer is to bring out the best in the material that's presented. That can mean lots of things, like suggesting instrumentation, rhythm parts, guitar tones, etc... Before getting into tonal considerations, I prefer to work out a solid song map.
The first element of a song map is establishing the tempo. This is perhaps the most important role of the producer. One false move to the right or to the left of the slider and all you do could be for naught. I remember during the recording of "Superhero" for Dirty Wake, the Collapsis record, we ended up completely re-tracking the song...all because it was too slow. That, and there was a hat pedal squeak that I couldn't live with.
The second thing I like to do is have the band lay down some scratch tracks. Unless the band has been out playing lots of shows (a minimum of a month of straight playing and coming in to track right after that), having everyone play at the same time isn't usually the best use of time. The lead vocal and main accompanying instrument is sufficient.
Next, I set up markers in the session, to notate where specific events happen. These are labeled as "intro," "verse 1," "pre 1," "chorus," etc... These are great for later on. There's never a better time to take the time to get organized than at the beginning.
Fourth, I look at the session events and the intervals between them. Depending on the goals of the band, at this point, we collectively decide if anything needs to be cut or added. If a band is going for a commercial sound, there are certain considerations I know that HAVE to happen to make it more commercial. Those things include how long it takes for the lead vocal to appear, how long it takes for the chorus to appear, how long the song is in general. If a band doesn't care about commercial ends, that's fine, too. It's always better to make these edits before the music is recorded. Personally, I like how the Cure's "Fascination Street" goes on for a few minutes before the vocal appears, but that might not be what the band wants.
If I'm brought in as a co-writer, next, I would look at chord structures and lyrics. For some artists, commenting on these things is a big no-no. For some, this is welcome. With chords, I look for variance within the parts of the song. With lyrics, I look for accuracy and purpose. With both considerations, I always ask if what's present is the best musical or lyrical choice. If there's a tweak that seems obvious, I'll address it. When in doubt, I always defer to the artist, though.
Finally, I plan an instrument list. If I need to hire musicians (which is very common with singer/songwriter sessions), I'll line them up ASAP. If I need to track down loops, I track them down. If I need to rent gear, I get it on the books.
The goal of pre-production is to get organized so that the studio can be a place of execution and completion. There's nothing worse than paying $30 to $100 per hour to figure out what needs to happen in the studio. This should be done ahead of time. Armed with a clear tempo map, event structure, and instrument list, a studio session is sure to go much more smoothly than it would if they weren't present.
Please let me know about your pre-production successes on the message board.
A few years ago, I went to Florida to write a few songs with Jenna, the group's singer. We came up with a great tune called "Isn't That Beautiful?," which we recorded completely at my studio. Off and on, with a few trips to OH and a few trips to NC, we've written a few other songs together.
My rationale for pre production is fairly simple. My job as a producer is to bring out the best in the material that's presented. That can mean lots of things, like suggesting instrumentation, rhythm parts, guitar tones, etc... Before getting into tonal considerations, I prefer to work out a solid song map.
The first element of a song map is establishing the tempo. This is perhaps the most important role of the producer. One false move to the right or to the left of the slider and all you do could be for naught. I remember during the recording of "Superhero" for Dirty Wake, the Collapsis record, we ended up completely re-tracking the song...all because it was too slow. That, and there was a hat pedal squeak that I couldn't live with.
The second thing I like to do is have the band lay down some scratch tracks. Unless the band has been out playing lots of shows (a minimum of a month of straight playing and coming in to track right after that), having everyone play at the same time isn't usually the best use of time. The lead vocal and main accompanying instrument is sufficient.
Next, I set up markers in the session, to notate where specific events happen. These are labeled as "intro," "verse 1," "pre 1," "chorus," etc... These are great for later on. There's never a better time to take the time to get organized than at the beginning.
Fourth, I look at the session events and the intervals between them. Depending on the goals of the band, at this point, we collectively decide if anything needs to be cut or added. If a band is going for a commercial sound, there are certain considerations I know that HAVE to happen to make it more commercial. Those things include how long it takes for the lead vocal to appear, how long it takes for the chorus to appear, how long the song is in general. If a band doesn't care about commercial ends, that's fine, too. It's always better to make these edits before the music is recorded. Personally, I like how the Cure's "Fascination Street" goes on for a few minutes before the vocal appears, but that might not be what the band wants.
If I'm brought in as a co-writer, next, I would look at chord structures and lyrics. For some artists, commenting on these things is a big no-no. For some, this is welcome. With chords, I look for variance within the parts of the song. With lyrics, I look for accuracy and purpose. With both considerations, I always ask if what's present is the best musical or lyrical choice. If there's a tweak that seems obvious, I'll address it. When in doubt, I always defer to the artist, though.
Finally, I plan an instrument list. If I need to hire musicians (which is very common with singer/songwriter sessions), I'll line them up ASAP. If I need to track down loops, I track them down. If I need to rent gear, I get it on the books.
The goal of pre-production is to get organized so that the studio can be a place of execution and completion. There's nothing worse than paying $30 to $100 per hour to figure out what needs to happen in the studio. This should be done ahead of time. Armed with a clear tempo map, event structure, and instrument list, a studio session is sure to go much more smoothly than it would if they weren't present.
Please let me know about your pre-production successes on the message board.