A session in a recording studio is expensive, very expensive.
Every minute you are in the studio must be optimized.
That is why you should ensure that before every recording session you know every single aspect of your work by heart.
This means that you have not just memorized the words.
You have memorized the harmonies, the rhythms, the tempo and every single nuance of the piece.
A recording session is not a rehearsal.
You can afford to go over a phrase, measure, verse or entire song practicing at home, or in your room, or at a friend's home, or in a friend's garage or in their barn, etc.
You cannot do this in a recording session.
Far too many artists have gone into a recording session before they have reached a level of perfection that is required to make it through the session cleanly.
If it is too difficult to go through the entire piece once without stopping, it is harder to really use the skills of the sound engineer to help you really work on the fine point of recording the piece as opposed to getting the piece ready to record.
When you are on your own, behind a microphone, in the recording studio, it is not the time to fake your way through a song.
This often happens when an artist boasts that they are better that artist X, or artist Y.
Unfortunately in most cases that doesn't bear out in the studio.
When that happens it leads to a very long, tense and sometimes demoralizing recording session.
I am sure that every sound engineer, who has had the opportunity to conduct recording sessions, can relate to the following situations.
During their career, every recording engineer has had to deal with an artist who could not remember the lyrics to their song.
Often it is because the artist is tired.
You recognize this fact and try to convince the artist to take a break, or to come back another time.
However the artist insists that everything will get better.
Then an hour into a three hour session the artist becomes totally blocked.
Now it isn't just the lyrics they can't remember.
The timing is off, the rhythms are not quite right and everything falls apart.
It is obvious that the artist is physical exhausted and the difficulty of the session is effecting the artist mentally.
After a long discussion you convince them that this is not the time to complete the recording session.
The artist agrees.
You also firmly, but gently, suggest that before rebooking the next session that the artist should really prepare everything so that the next session is a piece of cake.
This means that every single aspect of the of the song is really committed to memory.
These are 10 helpful things to keep in mind when considering booking studio time for a recording session.
01) Practice, practice, practice!!! Practice as often as you need to in order to feel really comfortable and ready to lay down the piece, without stopping the very first time.
This may appear to be very basic advice but it is the best advice you could ever get.
02) Every member of member or any group irrespective of the style of music being played, must be really honest with themselves and the other members of the group.
If things are not going well, everyone must be willing to first hear what the other members of the group have to say and then have enough courage to try and make everything better.
Whether it is the phrasing that is not feeling quite right or you appear to be a bit off key, you need to be able to hear that in yourself or in some other member of the group and be honest about fixing the problem.
03) Have a positive state of mind so that you will avoid feeling that you have failed.
At the end of a session that did not go well, it is really tough to keep a good attitude about your work and the level of you talent.
So if things do not go as well as you had hoped, do not assume it is the end of your career.
Assume that it was a bad day and that the next session will be much better.
04) Make sure that you consult with and listen to other groups that have been in the industry longer than you.
There is a wealth of knowledge that can be gleaned from talking, listening, and even mimicing the style of artists who have attained the status of legends.
05) Do not let you music or your style become stale.
Take advantage of opportunities to go outside of your genre and listen to other groups.
Many local artists have the pulse of the cities in which they live and perform.
Do not be afraid to enhance your style in order to broaden your appeal.
06) Try not to second guess yourself.
Your first inclination is generally the right one.
Do not be afraid to run with your gut feelings.
Amazingly, your wallet will thank you for this.
You will end up spending far less time re-recording to lay down the track you originally had in your head if you simply go with that the first time.
Be a 'band on a budget'.
Recording time is expensive.
You can pay the sound engineer or you can pay yourself.
07) Avoid behaviors that generate tension and anger.
Leave your ego at the recording studio door and bring a good dose of humility.
08) Put all pretenses aside, be frank with yourself and with the others.
If you can do that, everything will turn out in the best possible way.
09) If you did not understand what your colleague said or tried to convey to you, do no pretend that you did.
Ask them to repeat what they said and clarify comments if necessary.
If you do not get clarification, it could result in a bad recording session with disastrous results.
10) All of this information is of value and you could find that if you follow even some of these suggestions, the quality of your recording sessions will improve.
Just remember that this is an industry that is full of people who already know the ropes.
Talk to them, learn from them.
Being forewarned is being forearmed.
Every minute you are in the studio must be optimized.
That is why you should ensure that before every recording session you know every single aspect of your work by heart.
This means that you have not just memorized the words.
You have memorized the harmonies, the rhythms, the tempo and every single nuance of the piece.
A recording session is not a rehearsal.
You can afford to go over a phrase, measure, verse or entire song practicing at home, or in your room, or at a friend's home, or in a friend's garage or in their barn, etc.
You cannot do this in a recording session.
Far too many artists have gone into a recording session before they have reached a level of perfection that is required to make it through the session cleanly.
If it is too difficult to go through the entire piece once without stopping, it is harder to really use the skills of the sound engineer to help you really work on the fine point of recording the piece as opposed to getting the piece ready to record.
When you are on your own, behind a microphone, in the recording studio, it is not the time to fake your way through a song.
This often happens when an artist boasts that they are better that artist X, or artist Y.
Unfortunately in most cases that doesn't bear out in the studio.
When that happens it leads to a very long, tense and sometimes demoralizing recording session.
I am sure that every sound engineer, who has had the opportunity to conduct recording sessions, can relate to the following situations.
During their career, every recording engineer has had to deal with an artist who could not remember the lyrics to their song.
Often it is because the artist is tired.
You recognize this fact and try to convince the artist to take a break, or to come back another time.
However the artist insists that everything will get better.
Then an hour into a three hour session the artist becomes totally blocked.
Now it isn't just the lyrics they can't remember.
The timing is off, the rhythms are not quite right and everything falls apart.
It is obvious that the artist is physical exhausted and the difficulty of the session is effecting the artist mentally.
After a long discussion you convince them that this is not the time to complete the recording session.
The artist agrees.
You also firmly, but gently, suggest that before rebooking the next session that the artist should really prepare everything so that the next session is a piece of cake.
This means that every single aspect of the of the song is really committed to memory.
These are 10 helpful things to keep in mind when considering booking studio time for a recording session.
01) Practice, practice, practice!!! Practice as often as you need to in order to feel really comfortable and ready to lay down the piece, without stopping the very first time.
This may appear to be very basic advice but it is the best advice you could ever get.
02) Every member of member or any group irrespective of the style of music being played, must be really honest with themselves and the other members of the group.
If things are not going well, everyone must be willing to first hear what the other members of the group have to say and then have enough courage to try and make everything better.
Whether it is the phrasing that is not feeling quite right or you appear to be a bit off key, you need to be able to hear that in yourself or in some other member of the group and be honest about fixing the problem.
03) Have a positive state of mind so that you will avoid feeling that you have failed.
At the end of a session that did not go well, it is really tough to keep a good attitude about your work and the level of you talent.
So if things do not go as well as you had hoped, do not assume it is the end of your career.
Assume that it was a bad day and that the next session will be much better.
04) Make sure that you consult with and listen to other groups that have been in the industry longer than you.
There is a wealth of knowledge that can be gleaned from talking, listening, and even mimicing the style of artists who have attained the status of legends.
05) Do not let you music or your style become stale.
Take advantage of opportunities to go outside of your genre and listen to other groups.
Many local artists have the pulse of the cities in which they live and perform.
Do not be afraid to enhance your style in order to broaden your appeal.
06) Try not to second guess yourself.
Your first inclination is generally the right one.
Do not be afraid to run with your gut feelings.
Amazingly, your wallet will thank you for this.
You will end up spending far less time re-recording to lay down the track you originally had in your head if you simply go with that the first time.
Be a 'band on a budget'.
Recording time is expensive.
You can pay the sound engineer or you can pay yourself.
07) Avoid behaviors that generate tension and anger.
Leave your ego at the recording studio door and bring a good dose of humility.
08) Put all pretenses aside, be frank with yourself and with the others.
If you can do that, everything will turn out in the best possible way.
09) If you did not understand what your colleague said or tried to convey to you, do no pretend that you did.
Ask them to repeat what they said and clarify comments if necessary.
If you do not get clarification, it could result in a bad recording session with disastrous results.
10) All of this information is of value and you could find that if you follow even some of these suggestions, the quality of your recording sessions will improve.
Just remember that this is an industry that is full of people who already know the ropes.
Talk to them, learn from them.
Being forewarned is being forearmed.