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these situations, the preproduction and recording process are one and the same. The music is often recorded at the same moment it is written, and a traditional studio is not required. Regardless of music style, preproduction usually includes a fair amount of business and technical legwork. On commercial projects, a producer, an engineer, a studio, and a variety of musicians might need to be acquired. If financial backers are involved, a budget might need to be constructed to keep costs under control. Equipment typically needs to be purchased and/or maintained. Drummers need new heads, guitarists new strings, and producer/engineers might want to install software upgrades or acquire a few new sample libraries. Completing these menial tasks in advance frees the recording process from the shadow of non-creative busy work. Music is much easier to focus on when distractions are kept to a minimum. Tracking On a traditional project, the first significant recording sessions are the tracking or basics dates. In band-based music, these are the big sessions, the days in which the entire ensemble plays together in a studio and focuses collectively on the rhythm tracks. For other projects, such as a singer-songwriter records, tracking dates might not be so large, perhaps just the recording of vocals and piano or guitar. Modern electronic-based production also rarely sees large tracking sessions. Programming and sequencing of the basic elements, or “making beats” as it is often referred to in the hip-hop world, often comes long before the recording of live musicians. Regardless of genre and approach, decisions made during the initial tracking of a song have a huge impact on the final product. Since subsequent overdubs usually must stay locked to the basics, choices in tracking regarding song key, tempo, and feel must be made carefully. By Eric Ferguson

Yes, it’s a cliché, but the Internet killed the video star. When my parents were young, radio ruled the music world, and through it the record industry steered popular music style and culture. When I was a teenager, MTV was king, and together with radio the major record labels maintained their hold on popular music consumption. This all changed around the millennium, when technologies such as the Internet, Napster, and the iPod tore up the conventions of the music business. Today’s music world is vastly different. Essentially postmodern, popular music no longer orbits a central core of mega-selling chart toppers. Thousands of substyles now thrive and cater to the diversified tastes of individual listeners. Platforms such as iTunes and Spotify dominate the new reality, marketing music of all genres to and from all corners of the world. It now seems possible that anyone can make and record music and see it propelled to international success.

Chapter 7: The Music Production Process—An Overview from A-Z
Of course, digital technology has also affected how music is recorded. Computerized workstations, home-based studios, and new music styles have brought about entirely new production methods and aesthetics. Where once the recording process was relatively consistent across styles, today there are no norms. Understanding the steps of the music recording process is a key fundamental for all engineers and musicians. Preproduction Preproduction is the first step in the recording process. In a traditional project, preproduction includes all of the work required before an artist or band commences recording. On the musical side, this might include songwriting, composition, arranging, rehearsing, and even touring. In the pre-digital days, preproduction also included the recording of demos. Record labels, wishing to save the expense of a full-sized studio, would hire smaller, lesser-equipped demo studios to work out performance and arrangement issues. In this manner, the preproduction process allowed scrutiny before significant financial investment was required. Expensive studio time is much less of an issue in the modern paradigm. For one thing, songs in many newer styles, such as those found under the hip-hop, electronica, and R&B genre headings, are often made from scratch in small, personal and project studios. Whereas preproduction might have once begun with a songwriter strumming a guitar, much of today’s music begins with a drum loop on a digital workstation. In
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The setting and requirements of a tracking session also vary. Whereas a large studio is required to record a traditional rhythm section, today’s pop music can be constructed anywhere. Take your typical rap or dance track. Basic beats can be built on a variety of portable technologies including laptops, iPads, and hardware workstations. All that is required is a computer, basic software, and some headphones. Add accessories such as a pair of speakers, a small keyboard controller, a single mic and basic audio interface, and a producer has all that is needed to make modern music. Of course the expense of recording traditional musics remains greater. Opposite of the dance/hip-hop world, conventional styles such as rock, country, and jazz still require substantially more equipment. Microphones, stands, cables, preamps, headphones, and a recording space are required for tracking. Sure, all of these technologies have gotten cheaper, and home-based

Recording - July 2012

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