Recording - January 2014 - 72

It's Not Easy...

But You Can Make It Look Like It Is
Guest editorial by Eleanor Goldfield
At 3 AM with a cold cup of coffee in one
hand and the Pro Tools multi-tool in the
other, I decided to take a break. Feeling irritable, I wrote a blog post rebutting a common but ill-placed comment about musicians, and artists in general: "It must be so
easy and great to do what you love."
Well, this is just wrong on so many levels. For those who are lucky enough to
only live off of their passion and craft, it
still isn't always peaches. And for those of
us who split time, hahaha, I can't even
think of a response to the "easy" part.
Sure, going on stage is a blast, writing
lyrics, shaping and playing with sounds
as a producer/engineer is oodles of fun,
but there's a lot of work, some of it mundane, in the interim.

There are certain things all studios (even
home studios) should have, like water,
pencils, a couch, electricity; you know,
basics. But your performance is all about
mindset. So, if there's something you need
to make you go there, find that and use it.
If that means wearing a snuggie, so be it!
It's a cozy means to an awesome end.
Now that you're comfortable, on to the
technical. Every band member (yes,
singers, you too) should be comfortable
performing to a click. I say "singers too"
because there will inevitably come a time
when there's an off-time groove and your
lyric splits between two beats but only one
syllable on an upbeat while the guitar
is...and then, your brain hurts. Singing to
a click and hearing the borders of the

know that guitar lick. I know when I hear
the double bass, I have two measures
before I come in again.
It should go without saying, then, that
you need to rehearse the same parts
every time you do the song, unless of
course you've reworked or written something. Repetition is what makes these
songs tighter than spandex after
Thanksgiving. And when the red light
goes on, that's what you want. You may
not be paying for studio time in your living room, but time is money. It's better to
work out the kinks at rehearsal than boost
bandmate anger and Pro Tools playlists
through missed cues and forgotten parts.
Timing and rehearsal are behemoths of
well prepared artists in the studio.

If there's something you need to help you get into the right
mindset for a killer performance, find it and use it.
This work, whether it be reading forums
on guitar picks and Pro Tools bugs, or trying the most ridiculous sounding vocal
exercises, or splicing drum transients, is the
hard work that makes us professional musicians, separating the garage style music
dream from a career path. And no, it's not
always fun and it's not always easy.
As an artist who decides to make your
craft a professional pursuit, the work is
thickly piled in front of you, both creatively and technically. This cross section
of creativity and technical knowledge is a
tremendous subject, one that could easily
fill a book, and I'm sure it has. These,
however, are basic notes on how to be a
better studio musician, regardless of
where that "studio" is.
First off, speaking of getting into a studio, relax. Many musicians get nervous
before the engineer hits Record, but
instead of tearing your hair out, find a
mental space that allows you to just let go
and perform. If you need a certain tea,
bring it. If you need a certain temperature,
wear layers. Like candles? Bring some.
72

RECORDING January 2014

pocket that your bandmates are carving
out is never a bad thing.
Of course, this click practice is perhaps
most important for drummers as they are
the timekeepers and backbones of the
band. (See my article "Click Here" elsewhere in this issue.) And no, it doesn't
matter if you think you can keep time perfectly. That goes for all band members.
Let the click guide you, not direct how you
play. With this in mind, the entire band
can push and pull together, knowing
where each other person sits in the pocket while being able to notice immediately
when someone falls out.
This touches upon the next point: Please
rehearse. I know that you know your
parts, but does everyone else know
theirs? Or how and why their parts play
off of yours? This isn't string theory, but
everything in the band is connected. You
don't need to know as a singer what
chord your guitarist plays, but you need
to know the sound it makes before the big
break. As a singer, I cue off of every
instrument. I know that drum fill and I

The final note is perhaps the most
important when it comes to fashioning this
final product, this professional iteration of
your craft... your instrument. Know it, take
care of it and know how to communicate
your sound to the engineer or producer.
For example, as a singer, I know what mic
I want to use because I took the time to
learn the characteristics of my voice and
which mic it paralleled best with.
Similarly, my guitarist knows which speaker on his cab sounds best; he's spent
countless hours hunched over an amp
head, moving dials back and forth, comparing and contrasting. And so on.
Recording is an art form, just like the
music you create. Whoever that artist is,
is charged with capturing your art in the
best way possible. Meeting him/her
halfway with as much knowledge about
your instrument and how you want it
recorded will only make the end product
that much more amazing, and you, as a
musician and artist, that much more professional and experienced. Happy
recording!

Recording - January 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - January 2014