Recording - November 2013 - 56

By John McVey
It doesn’t matter whether you’re taking a song you’ve prepared in demo form to a
professional studio for a “proper” recording, or if you’re a recording musician with a
home studio who’s hoping to create a finished track on your own—much of the work
of any successful recording project should get done before you get to the session.
As a producer/engineer at a commercial studio, I see many people come in to do recordings. The preparedness of each artist/band varies widely, and I see a direct relationship,
barring pure dumb luck (which can happen), between good preparation and good results.
If you’re recording in a commercial studio for the first time, there’s a lot of stuff you
simply may not know about the process! You can always ask questions; producers and
engineers love questions about what to expect; the more we help you to prepare and
the better you do the work required, the better things will sound and the better we look
when they come out great!

Let the song and its message be the
guide for how it is recorded and produced. Decide what the song is trying to
say and get to the heart of it, saying
enough to communicate the message and
no more. Saying too much might hurt the
message—think of all of the simple songs
you know; they don’t try to say too much,
and they are brilliant because of it. But if
you find yourself having to explain what
the song means every time you play it,
then you’re either not saying enough or
not saying it clearly enough.
Sketch it out! Make a demo. Then listen to it and be both open and hard on
yourself about it. Does the music help the
message come across? Should you raise
or lower the key to improve the vocals or
better fit the instrumentation? Should you
change the tempo and therefore affect
the song’s mood? Does the song call for
a lush background or a simple stark
approach to bring out its message most
effectively?
I believe that each song tells you what it
needs. It asks for a certain production just
by its message, its tempo, its basic vibe.
And it’s often obvious what production elements will enhance it. Sometimes the very
lick or line that inspired the song no longer
fits—that can be an uncomfortable, but
valuable, choice for the songwriter.
Listen to songs you love in the same
genre, and compare them to yours. If
rewrites are necessary, do them now
rather than when you’re on the clock at
the studio. At each stage, ask yourself, as
an eye doctor does when checking your
prescription: “Better, or worse?”
2. Excellence is the goal, not perfection
Perfectionism is common among all artistic types, but it can actually hurt a project.
Sure, you’ll be nervous in the studio,
even if it’s your own studio, with the idea
of “This is it!” rattling around in your
head. Nerves can actually yield some

I believe that budgets and other session constraints are a good thing.
A budget can help put needed limits in place, and save you from your evil perfectionist self.
But what if you haven’t had a chance to talk to the producer yet, or more to the point,
what if you’re getting ready to try this on your own and you don’t have anyone to ask?
No sweat!
I’ve noticed that many of the same issues come up, no matter what the genre or vibe
or number of songs, instruments, or people in the group. Here are eight things to think
through that can help you prepare for your next recording project, whether in your
own studio or in someone else’s.
1. Writing and rewriting—“Form Follows Function”
This guideline from the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright applies to songwriting
and recording as well. A good song is like a good building—it stands strong,
does/says what it needs to in a beautiful and efficient way, fits into its surroundings
well, is easily accessible for simpler tastes but holds the interest of more complicated
thinkers, is not too costly, and is just plain good to surround yourself with.
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RECORDING November 2013

pretty cool results, too. But you also have
to be open to the fact that things aren’t
going to go as planned, and if you
expect that and define “perfection” that
way, you’re going to be disappointed.
As you move further into any recording
project, your vision will change. Don’t be
surprised, especially if it’s your first time,
to find the studio process itself suggesting
changes to the song in order to keep the
message strong. This can lead to new
ideas and new sounds that you may not
have previously imagined, which can be
magical, and a good producer can help

Recording - November 2013

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