Studio Time: Knowing When it's Time to Take a Break

Lock and load, it's off to the studio we to go. Yes, it's a project and depending on how big your band is and how much the band is planning to record, it could be a whole day event, a week-long event, or even longer.

Since in most cases you will be paying for your studio time, you want to utilize it in the most efficient way possible - but the key words there is MOST EFFICIENT. A huge mistake that is often made in the studio is not knowing when to take a break or call quits for the day altogether. 

It's common to want to keep going and get as much music recorded as possible no matter how tired and worn out you or your band is getting. But if you force yourself to keep recording when you are exhausted then the only thing you might be doing is recording it now, just to have to go back and record it again. 

Not only does your body, vocals and the ability to hit notes start to suffer, but your ears and the way you hear things suffer too. Your ears won't translate the same sound the same way to the brain when you are exhausted opposed to when you are refreshed and feeling good. 

That's right, pushing yourself when exhausted can result in the performance as a whole suffering, and after a good nights rest, you might listen to it the next day and be very displeased with what you hear. Like with every part of our body, our ears get tired, and no matter how long you keep playing they won't repair back to normal until they have had some rest.

It's just like sports and the reason why coaches have a second and third spring of athletes to switch in and out. When the main players get tired they are unable to play at an optimal level until they had some time to relax and rejuvenate. You need to treat your ears, vocals, fingers, arms and the rest of your body the same way, you need time to rejuvenate if you want to hear something spectacular on playback.

It may suck taking a break or quitting until the next day, but what is the point of recording if you are just going to have to record it again. Sure, technology these days can mask a lot of mistakes, miscues and half-hearted playing, but nothing beats a performance that is killer from the get go. 

Putting Together a Demo for Your Break Into The Music Industry

As a band or as a solo artist, eventually you have to start thinking about making a demo CD for A&R reps, producers, production companies, and record labels to help market, fund, and traffic your music. 

Getting someone in the music industry to take the time to listen to your demo is not an easy task. Most demos are tossed in the garbage before they are even opened and if they are listened to, even if you only put three songs on the CD, most people in the music industry won't even bother listening to the whole thing. Don't take it personally; it's the music industry.

But if you do have something special and you are ready to put together a demo CD in the attempt to get the attention of the music industry, there are some things you need to know to be successful in this venture.

Put Together a Couple of Great Tracks 

First, you have to take some time and decide which songs are your best songs that will grab the attention of someone who might want to invest some time in you. Three to five songs are all you really need. 

Special Track Structure for a Demo

To improve your chances of having more than one song listened to you should set your demo CD up like this: take 30 seconds of each song and put those clips as your first three to five tracks. Next, create another three to five tracks of the same songs at their original lengths and put them at the end of the CD. This will help when someone important listens to the CD, they will hear just a little preview of each song and they can quickly move on to the next one. When and if they do hear something they like they can go forward to the track that contains the whole length of the song for more.

Important: Make sure that you label the CD cases with the information that tells the person who will be listening to the CD that the track structure is set up in this special way to avoid confusions. 

Also, make sure that all artist names or the band's name is on the CD insert or cover along with each member of the band and their responsibilities.

Press Kit

The ideal of a press kit is to essentially tell whoever picks up your CD to listen to it, who you and or your band are, what your accomplishments are, where you have performed, and any proof of a local, Internet, national and international fan base that you have acquired throughout time under the bands or artist name.

You may also want to have some live performances recorded at a venue you frequent or in the studio where you record. Yes, it would make more of an impact to have a live performance at a venue, but you can still do some really cool stuff in a studio with a camera.

In this press kit you also want to include a bio - make sure to include what ambitions and intent you yourself or your band has along with any other info that can help you or your band standout.

Make Contact

Take some time and network with people who are involved in the music industry - ask questions and make connections. The ideal here is to find places you can send your demo CD to that are worth your while. My first demo CD I sent out, I made the mistake of sending it out to every place that was or maybe wasn't excepting demos, and to this day I wonder just how many demos I sent out that never made it out of the package before finding its way to the trash can. I'm going to assume out of probably 150 demos I sent out, only about 2 percent of them made it into a CD player, that's a lot of wasted time.

The best way to avoid wasting your time sending out demos to places or to people who won't listen to it is to make you're music solicited. Sounds tough right? It's not, a lot of bigger record companies do not accept non-solicited music, but all you have to do is talk to someone and get them to agree to listen to your music, and then you can send it to the address of which they give you and label it "Attention: corresponding name" and now you're solicited. This will help you and the company or person you send it to. A three-minute phone call will give you an exact address to send your demo to so it won't end up in the wrong hands and then tossed in the garbage. 

Get Some Representation

Let's say you have exhausted all of your connections and the Internet is a well ran dry of possibilities. You can always look to hire professionals to help you get your music in the hands of the right people. Yes, it can be expensive, yes it can seem like they're doing nothing more than what you can do, but the difference is that they probably have connections that you would never be able to get your hands on, that's their job. The question you have to ask yourself or your band is "will it be worth the money?" 

There will be a risk, let's face it, no one wants to think that they aren't good enough and no one should have to. But in this case, if you or your band still needs more practice and more experience, you should wait on spending the money on professional help until you and or your band can utilize it in the most efficient way.

You have to look at like this, if you are paying someone to help you and they know that you're not ready for this type of move yet, that person you are paying will not tell you because they want your money. Even worse, they will not give you or your band the time and the effort you are paying for, basically, because it won't be in their best interest for their career to promote your music to other professionals when they know it's not ready to be promoted.

But if you feel you are ready and you have an awesome press kit, bio and demo, and you're ready for the big boys but your connection just aren't powerful enough to get your music noticed, this could be money well spent.

Keep in Touch

Let's say you have made some contacts and you have some people who are willing to give your music a listen. There is nothing wrong with a follow-up phone call. Let's say you sent your music and the person or company has received it but has not taken the time to listen to it yet. This phone call could light the fire under someone to open the CD and give it some time, especially if you come off as someone who might just call ever week until someone does listen to it. You may also help yourself by calling if someone has listened to the CD and is on the fence about it. A phone call could show them the ambition that they want to see from an artist, and that might sway them in the right direction about what they want to do about the situation in general.

A Couple Last Things You Can Do

This is not a must, but it will help you look more professional: Get your music copyrighted. This won't only make you look more professional but will also protect your music when you're sending it out to different places. 

You can also help yourself and your band by using art work in the form of a label or a symbol that can be associated with the band or you as an artist. Again, this is not a must, but anything that can help market your name is just one more thing to add to your press kit and can help your chances of success.

One last thing that should be noted is that this is a process, making it big overnight will be like hitting the lotto. So unless you're feeling that lucky, get ready for the long hall.

Recording a Great Album: The Golden Rules 31 - 37 of 37

Ready Mix

31. Listen in the studio to CD's you're used to hearing on your home stereo to get an ideal of how the studio's system sounds.

32. If mixing somewhere other than the recording studio you recording in, try and make sure you use the same type of speakers and set-up. If you don't, the mix will sound completely different.

33. Once you have selected an engineer (or a producer) to mix your recording, have them do the first mix. Their ears are better trained than yours. Try to keep an open mind and try to learn from the person you're paying.

34. Think about the songs as a whole and don't signal out instruments, otherwise everyone will want their instrument louder in the mix.

35. Determine a band spokesperson ahead of time. An engineer getting five different opinions on how to mix will grow tired and might cause him/her to rush through the job.

36. Decide which format you want the finished mixes to be on: high resolution .wav or .aiff files on CD-R, DVD-R, or flash drive are the preffered formast, however an audio CD or DAT are viable options as well.

37. Budget and account for unforeseen delays.

Recording a Great Album: The Golden Rules 27-30 of 37

Monitoring the Mix

27.  Listen to your music at moderate levels in your car or on a boom box. This is how most of your fans will listen to it, and mixing at loud levels will fatigue your ears and distort the "true" sound.

28. Sometime it's good to take a day off and come back to listen. The same applies for mix-down. Ears don't last very long in the studio.

29. As you review each mix, make sure you can comfortably hear all of the instruments. Tweak the mix on a small pair of speakers at an extremely low volume. Headphones are also very valuable at this stage. You should be able to pick up each instrument even at this level.

30. Learn to recognize ear fatigue. You're better off quitting a session early when you're tired than wasting time making a bad mix that will have be redone anyway. 

Recording A Great Album: The Golden Rules 20-26 of 37

The Recording Process 

20. Don't necessarily double track everything. Doubling a lead vocal can hide all the subtleties that make a song personal and likable. (Although it can work well for a chorus).

21. Know when to quit for the day, if your tired if will show.

22. Keep guest out! It's your recording. Guest will distract you can menu sway your opinion of how the music should sound.

23. Make backup copies after every recording session.

24. Turn-up often!

25. Singers: always bring water but don't use ice! Ice constricts your vocal chords. Hot tea with lemon and honey works well to relax your vocal chords.

26. Always get a track listing and accurate time log from the studio.

Recording A Great Album: The Golden Rules 7-13 of 37

Preparing to Record

7. Be early! At some studios, the clock starts running whether you're their or not. Find out about their cancellation policy.

8. Make the studio a comfortable relaxed place. If it's not, it will show in your finished product. Most studios will have your basic essentials, but if you need something special or special accommodation, it's up to you to make those arrangements.

9. Make sure you and your engineer have the same vision - go over your songs with him/her before recording. Before booking your studio time, ask to hear other material the engineer recorded. If artist/band and engineer are on different pages, it can be costly for who ever is paying for the studio.

10. Depending on whether the/you studio has 8, 16, 24, or 48 track capability, plan out how you will leave room for all of the essential parts. This should simplify the mix and eliminate the need for bouncing tracks later.

11. Use new strings, chords, drums sticks and heads - and bring spares.

12. Find out the hours of the local music store just in case. Most studios might be able to hook you up with some spare equipment, but you will want to use your style and brand for the perfect outcome.

13. Don't use new gear or different equipment that you haven't used before, "even if it's better than what you have." Surprises can cause problems and just because it's better does not me it will make you play better.

Rule of thumb - if you wait till the studio clock is running to tie up loose-ends it's like throwing money in the garbage. And one more misconception: hangovers and efficiency do not mix.

Recording A Great Album: The Golden Rules 1-6 of 37

Pre-Production

Try some of these tips to Record a great Album

1. Record your songs during live gigs and pre-production rehearsals. Even a simple single track recording may reveal weak parts of songs.
2. Have all the musical and vocal parts worked out. Know who going to do what and when there going to do it e.i. SOLOS , BREAKS, BRIDGES. No reason to go to the studio and then start wasting time on figuring things out, remember (Time is Money). Even if your not paying for studio time, it's still hard to find the time to get everyone together and frustrating when bands mates and engineers are not on the same level.
3. Using a computer or Sequencer? Prepare all sequence material before the session. knowing the programs and using templates are a great way to do this.
4. Rehearse more songs than you plan to record. You never know which songs will sound strong on the final product. (If you plan to have a four-song EP, prepare six songs just in case. 
5. If you plan to use a click track, make sure your drummer is comfortable playing to it. (To get tight, practice to a click track at a very slow tempo.)
6. Take care of your body before and during your recordings sessions. Eat well, get engouh sleep, and keep your ears rested and clear.

Launching a Recording Engineer Career

Rocky Starts

 
Becoming a recording engineer in the music industry is not as easy as some people may hope. There are very few salary based jobs out there for a recording engineer. The only real way to break into the industry of recording music is to become a freelance audio engineer. The hardest part about being a freelance audio engineer is getting your first couple of clients and getting them to come back. It's not uncommon for someone to spend 1 to 5 years in search of a steady clientele that can bring in some source of steady income that can put food on the table, pay the bills, pay for health insurance and pay for any equipment you need to keep your business up and running.



Finding Clients
 
The reason why the first couple of steady clients are so hard to find is because it is hard to get someone to shell out some hard-earned cash for your recording services when they have no idea what kind of work you will do for them. Even with an education in the recording arts field, you will find that it does not mean very much. It may relieve some worries of potential clients but not enough to make a big difference. In fact, most of the real successful recording engineers never even attended school. Of course this does not mean that someone should skip out on getting educated before trying to jump-start a career in the recording arts field. If you need the education and even if you don't, if you can afford it, it can't hurt.

Another reason why it is hard to find those first couple of good clients to start-up a steady clientele is that even a somewhat part-time established band or an artist probably already has a recording engineer and a studio that they use on a regular basis. Even if they are not completely satisfied with their current recording situation, it would still be hard to convince someone, who as a beginner, you could do a better job. If a potential client knows you're just starting out as a beginner, they would be taking a huge risk that your recording services could still be extremely amateur. If your recording services were not up to quality standards then (in theory) a band or an artist would still have to pay you, but they would also have to go back to their old recording services and then pay them to either fix what you've done or even have the whole project rerecorded, which is a waste of time, money and also a huge hassle.

Don't Forget the Contract
 
Here's a little hint! Make sure a contract is signed before work begins. If you were wondering, this is how you will guarantee that you get paid. Like with anything, even if your skills are not yet professional and you're still in the learning process, if you did your best and put the time into it, you will still want to get paid. And with a contract you will. It's up to the client to ask and understand about your credentials and up to you to do the same with your client. If both parties tell the truth, both parties will go into the project with the right expectation.Determination, Networking and Motivation
 
If you feel like you have the skills and determination to take on this career and make it work for you, then by all means you should follow what you know is best for yourself. Determination, networking and staying motivated when work is not coming in so steadily are the three tools you really need to get a career lunched and keep it going. The most important tool a person needs to utilize is networking. Network with people who have the same ambitions of making it in the music industry as you do. You can have a thousand friends, but if the only thing they know about the music industry is how to pop a in CD of their favorite band or artist and hit play, they will not help you very much when trying to achieve your goal. Anyone you can get to know who plays, records, produces or promotes music are good people to become friends with and stay friends with. You never know when an opportunity not directed to you or for you might come along and one of your friends is in the right place at the right time but can't do the job but can vouch for you and say, "Hey, I have a good friend that may be able to help you out," and sometimes that's all it takes.

Another option of networking you can utilize is advertising. I personally finished school at the Recording Institute of Detroit, and I bought some advertising to see what kind of potential clientele would come my way. Unfortunately, I don't have much good to say about this process. I advertised with networking websites, fliers and business cards, the little response I did get were usually from somewhat corky individuals with completely unrealistic expectations. In fact, I never picked up one of my clients from advertising. I'm not saying that someone else might not find success in this process, but this is just my personal experience. Depending on your location and how much effort you put into advertising, someone else might find different success than I did.


Internships
 
When I finished school for recording engineering in Michigan, I went on a search for an internship. I contacted over 100 studios about an internship and only received a couple of responses back. The responses I received all pretty much had the same answer. The answers were, they do not use interns at all or some responses were they did not use unsolicited interns. Solicited internships would mean you would have to know someone or pay someone or a company to get you one. Now, there is a possibility that other states have better intern opportunities. But for me I never even checked out-of-state because I did not have the money to relocate to another state for an unpaid internship. I was, however, given advice from two different studio owners/engineers that graciously took some time out of their day to talk to me. Both of their advice was pretty much the same and pretty simple, "In a state like this where almost all musical recording engineers are freelancers, forget the internships and just get out there and get started. An internship would just be wasting a lot of time."


Last Words of Wisdom
 
I should note that if you are looking for those salary jobs, you will increase your chances dramatically if you were willing to move to places where music is extremely huge, such as New York, California, Nashville Las Vegas etc.


 

Getting Some Hands-on Time in A Studio with a Studio Engineer

In this day and age there may be enough technology out there to have just about all of the same technology that a high profile studio has right in the comfort of your own home. But one thing you can't buy is you can't buy the knowledge and experience that a high profile studio has.

How do you get this type of knowledge and experience? The obvious answer to the question is to read the manual, research the internet, watch videos and get as much hands on experience as you can.


But, there is another way you can get free training.

I found that engineers are usually pretty nice and reasonable people. They like to help other people chase there dreams just as they probably had mentors and help throughout their career. You can try to find studio owners or well respected engineers and ask them if you can sit in on some of their recording time. Let them know that you are using some of the same hardware and software they use and spending some time in the studio with them will be beneficial to you.





If you can get someone to agree to let you come in and sit in on a session; know your place. Watch and ask questions but don't get in the way, don't over step or be pain. Unless asked directly, don't try to help, just pay attention take notes and learn.

Now, you probably won't get anyone to pay attention to you as some smuck off the streets. What you want to do is do your homework on the person and the studio you want to approach. Look and sound professional, even if you're not yet professional, showing up with a professional attitude will help who ever you approach believe that they are not just wasting their time. And if possible always approach with a phone call and or in person. An e-mail or a Facebook message in most accounts will not be taken seriously.

The best way to break this plain between you and a professional engineer is to come off as someone who is eager to learn. Know you stuff, be persistent, know who you are approaching, the music they specialize in and be prepared to let them know what your goals are in the future, but make sure they are realistic. But, most important thing you need to do is listen and remember whatever they have to say.


In the end, if you can get a chance to sit in on a session, the best thing that can happen is you get some in-studio time, possibly some time to pick the brain of a good engineer, maybe even some hands-on experience and if all goes well, you have now made a connection that down the line can become very useful.