Pre Production - What is it and why is it important in recording? - The Recording Process Start to Finish - Part 1
People often talk about “Pre-production” for a record, but very rarely do they explain what it entails.
Imagine walking into an unfamiliar space to record your music with an unfamiliar team, without knowing the purpose of your recording, your budget for the recording, your creative direction for the project or how to perform on the record. How would that make you feel? Pretty under prepared, to say the least! Nobody ever warned you that there is a process to recording before you even step foot in the room.
We are here to help guide you through some key points to help prepare yourself for the studio to make sure you tackle your recording projects like a pro.
1. Establish your goals
We’ve briefly touched on this topic in our previous blog that you can find here about how to create a great song. It is very important to focus on this point again, allow us to tell you why!
If you are spending your hard earned money on multiple hours or days in the studio, isn’t it worth it to explore why?
Why are you releasing this music? Is it for yourself? Is it to be featured on television or major films? Do you think your music project should be added to a certain major playlist? Have you researched and found that playlist that you think it would fit best on? Are you looking to be at the top of the charts? Which chart?
Giving your project a purpose will give yourself and your team a vision that will help define the production. It will also help for you to sit down a research your end goal.
Let us give you an example. If you decide that you’d like to be on a major Spotify playlist, that’s wonderful! Do you know which playlist and why? Do you know what other songs have been selected for this playlist and how you can create a song that might resonate with the rest of the playlist?
These are all important questions to answer in the pre-production process.
2. Song selection and arrangements
Next up! Lots of songwriters have written numerous songs. Which ones do you believe have the best potential to reach your goals?
Live shows and recordings are two very different things. For example, in a live show you might have an extended solo to really show off your guitar player. However, if you’re looking to have the same song on radio, you might consider making a “radio edit” to cut the solo down.
Having a clear direction on your song arrangement before you head into the studio can help your producer in the long run. Hey, while you’re at it, make sure you choose the right key, and the correct BPM (beats per minute) before you head into the studio. This saves time for your engineer and producer as well.
You might want to take a look at our previous blog to dive more into “What Makes a Strong Song.”
3. Take care of your physical health
This is one that us musicians tend to forget about. You need to take care of yourself before you head into the studio! If possible, we suggest to book some days off beforehand to take care of your voice and be rested up.
get 7-8 hours of sleep the night before
do a full vocal warm-up before singing your vocal take
drink plenty of water
avoid alcohol, fast food and dairy the day before and the day of recording
make sure to do some stretching before playing your instrument
avoid smoking/vaping
use a humidifier in your room overnight. Better yet, a vocal mister like this one here is a great tool to keep your voice in top shape.
Avoid performing the night before your studio time
4. Define your budget for the project and find a studio that has rates within that budget.
The music industry can be very financially demanding. You want to be sure that you are able to accomplish everything you’re setting out to do. Research, research, research! We can’t say it enough.
Find a Studio that is within your budget, that you feel creatively comfortable with. Do you need to hire musicians? How many? What is the cost of each musician? What is the mixing and mastering cost per song? How much does studio time cost? These are all very important questions to ask yourself before you start your project.
We suggest to contact multiple studios that you find and ask them their budgets, processes, and how much time they think your project will roughly take. An experienced producer will have an idea of how long it takes to achieve a certain sound - listen to their advice!
That’s it for today. Check back next week for the next part of our series - how to find the perfect studio for your recording project.
If you would like to set up a free consult call with our producer to discuss your upcoming project, click here!