Recording Studio Pre-Production

Pre-production is the art of writing, assembling, and critiquing a song or music composition before entering into a recording studio to lay down tracks. Don’t get me wrong; if you have a home studio or a budget to go to a commercial studio for the pre-production stage of recording a hit song, you definitely will get more out of your pre-production duties. There is nothing better than being able to listen, without having to play or sing, to a song when trying to pre-produce it.

Pre-production includes music selection, choosing a song format such as; verse – chorus – verse 2 – bridge – chorus – etc., lyric flow and wording, instrument sound and effect choices, vocal arranging/background vocal producing, and basically the over all sound and structure of a song or piece of music. All these choices must be made before going to a studio if you are on a budget and want to save a lot of money. It has been my experience, after owning recording studios for over 20 years now, that the artists that come to the studio after doing extensive pre-production save more than 50% on average. Furthermore, the artists that come to my studios after pre-producing their songs end up with a much higher quality recording and performance than those that try to write in the studio. This is because when you get to the studio and know exactly what it is you are trying to achieve, your only job is the perfect performance of what you know you have to do. If on the other hand you are trying to write and arrange in the studio, you have to concentrate on writing, arranging, and on the performance aspect of what you are trying to achieve.

Your pre-production duties should start at home or in your practice space with only those musicians or artists that will own the song. If you are a solo artist then you need to work out the details alone. If you are in a band or group than you need to meet with everyone involved. Start by talking, not playing or singing. What you want to do is try to lay out the basics of the song. Here are a few examples to get you started:

-       What is the tempo of the song?

-       What is the key of the song?

-       What instruments are needed to complete the entire song?

-       Is there an intro to the song? If so, how long will it be? (bars/beats)

-       After the intro does the song go to chorus/hook or does it go straight to verse?

-       What is the exact sequence of the song; Verse-chorus-verse-etc-etc?

-       Is there a music break or solo? If so, who in the group takes the solo?

-       Who will sing or rap on the song?

-       Will there be background vocals?

-       How does the song end?

You get the point. Before you even pick up your instrument or grab a mic, you need to figure out the exact details of your song. Attention bands; even if you have been practicing your songs for months/years, you still need to do this step. Remember, when you are playing and thinking about what YOU are playing, you cannot totally know what everyone else is playing. You might find that not everyone in the band is on the same page or playing the same thing even though you have been practicing for a while.

Attention Rappers and R&B singers! Don’t think because you are buying your beats or songs from a producer you can skip this step either. If you don’t know the tempo or key of the produced music you need to find out. You will need this information before you go to the studio and record your songs. Plus, just because a producer created the song in an order he/she likes does not mean you have to keep that sequence of the song. The engineer at the studio can help you move parts of the song around to get a sequence you may like better. You must listen to the music, decide if you like what you hear, and make notes of what you would like.

Peace,

Jai
“Love the Music in Yourself, Not Yourself in the Music!”
©2009 Jai Hutcherson. All Rights Reserved.    

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