Helpful Hints For Having a Successful Recording Session
1996 - Oct 2021
1. IF YOU ARE GOING TO RECORD YOUR VOICE, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE FIRST THINGS TO KNOW?
There are many details involved in making a successful recording of your voice. We are going to focus first on how a Singer can prepare for a recording session before you even begin to think of recording your voice. I am not going to cover many of the technological things involved as they would better be explained by a recording engineer or a producer. I am going to focus on the singer and on where to begin.
The most important thing is to really know the song or songs that you have planned to record. You want to sing songs that you are completely comfortable with. You will want to have worked through any problems that you might have had with any of the melodies in the song. Songs need to be taken apart like a mechanic takes apart a car. Examine all the details of the song and then, when you are ready, put the song back together again and begin working on the interpretation.
So what I mean by “know the song”, I mean, know the lyrics, The melody, the twists and turns of the lyrics and the rhythm patterns. Know the important words and the connecting words of a phrase. Know the meanings that the song has for you and how you plan on turning a phrase to convey that meaning. This requires a great deal of preparation and there are many things to prepare.
2. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO DO PREPARATION FOR RECORDING?
I believe that a singer has to do their own pre-production work. When musicians know they are going into a recording session, they often do what is called “Pre-Production”. They will get together with all the other musicians for rehearsals and make sure that they know the songs before the session. The singer will also join the rehearsals so everyone knows what is going to be expected in a given song. That is also a time when the musicians get a feel for the songs and start to become inspired to play some of the solos that will appear when the singer is silent in a song. It is during this time that the musicians will become familiar with the arrangements of the music for the songs. Professional session players usually need a fraction of this time to be ready, but most musicians need more preparation time. I believe that a singer has to prepare with the musicians but also has to do their own pre-production on their own before singing along with anyone else in a formal setting. So, before you even call up the musicians, you begin your pre-production sessions.
3. WOULD YOU EXPLAIN WHAT YOU MEAN BY PRE-PRODUCTION?
First, as I said, you have to know the songs. Then you have to decide what key you are going to sing in. Without going into a long discussion of what a key is, I’ll just say that you have to know that you can sing all the notes in the melody of that song.
For example, The Star Spangled Banner. It is one of the most difficult songs to sing because if you start too high, you cannot sing the notes at the later part of the song. If you begin too low, no one will be able to hear you and you will not be able to uplift to the excitement the end of the song is supposed to create for the audience. You have to plan what note you will begin with and you have to make sure that your voice sounds good for the climax of the song and that you will have the vocal power needed to convey the impact of that song’s climax. This has to be considered for all the songs you sing and especially for songs that you record.
There is no mercy in those recording machines. They just simply mirror back what you do. The key of the song and the sound color of the song have to match and have to complement each other along with complementing your own vocal sound. You may be able to sing a given song by starting on many different notes, but one key, on a particular starting note, will feel and sound just right. There is a perfect coming together of song, lyric, starting note or key, and sentiment that you can just hear and feel when you find it. It is a kind of sweet spot that you will know when you hear it.
Perhaps you begin rehearsing with a musician like a guitarist or a keyboard player or with your band and you begin to work out all the kinks and get the song running smoothly. Now you are establishing the right tempos and the right rhythms to express the trueness of the song and you are starting to really get the feel of the song. As you start to collaborate with the other players, this is when you are beginning to be ready to commit the song to performance. As you start to really understand the emotional and rhythmic world of your song and how you feel to sing the song, that is when you are ready to record it. You will continue to grow through the recording process, but that is a good place to begin.
4. THEN WHAT COMES NEXT?
Now that you are feeling ready to record your songs, it is important to arrange to record the songs with the right people. This is a very important stage of the process. The search for the correct producer is daunting but it is crucial. You need someone who fits a list of criteria. It has to be someone who charges something that is reasonable and whom you can afford. The producer has to really get your music and you have to have a feeling that they like your music and that you will be able to get along and that you will have a good working relationship. Everything in the recording room can be felt on the recording and a good vibration during the sessions is most important. There has to be a good creative atmosphere and the communication style of the producer has to be something that you can easily work with. You need a great atmosphere so go and interview the producer and see where the recording will take place before you commit to work together. Check that the microphones are good and that the studio has a clean and welcoming feel.If you are a beginner, there is a wealth of information about recording equipment and microphone selection that you can do before even looking for a team to record. Do your research first and you will not be sorry later. Get all the business details worked out beforehand and make sure you are always able to get the masters and recordings of your work. You are paying the bills and are entitled to your work. Try to work with people who come to you from referrals so you have a good sense of what you are getting into. This is a better way to ensure that your dealings are correct and that you will have smooth sailing for your sessions and have a good outcome from your sessions.
5. WHAT DO YOU DO THE DAY OF THE SESSION TO PREPARE?
On the day of the session, you will have to allow yourself enough time to fully be ready to sing for several hours. This is another reason for not going to record prematurely. Practicing at home by recording on your own equipment or on your phone often is a great way to prepare. However, the morning of the session, all that has to be already taken care of. Picking the time of the session start is also important. Early sessions are usually quite hard so I wouldn’t recommend that. Afternoon sessions are the ideal. Some artists sing at night for performance and prefer to record at night because that fits better. Choose a session time that fits you so you will have the optimum energy available.
You will want to prepare your voice by doing a warm up session early and leaving at least two hours between the time you finish vocalizing and the time that you will begin to sing at the session. Make sure that you loosen your voice and your body by doing lots of stretching and vocal and physical exercise that is not too taxing. Remember, you will be singing for several hours and you need your stamina. Give yourself time to rest your voice after that and leave yourself time to eat something light. Avoid Dairy, Nut Butters and anything that will cause phlegm or mucous like cream sauces or dressings that can coat your voice and cause obstacles.
Again, water, water, water…light protein, fruits and vegetables. Avoid things that make you feel dry such as too much coffee or highly caffeinated tea or ginger. Drink teas that are helpful such as “Throat Coat Tea” and avoid cold beverages altogether.
During the days leading up to the recording session, make sure you get plenty of sleep, moderate exercise, good nutrition and plenty of water. Recording studios are kept extremely dry because of the equipment and for singers that becomes a problem. It is usually a bit cold in studios also for the equipment so be prepared for that as well. Another really good trick is to bring some really good organic grapes with you because grapes moisturize your voice and leave no residue or mucus to interfere with your singing. This will really help on the day of the session. Perhaps, bring your own teas and food if necessary so that you are not disturbed and you are able to manage your time and keep your concentration. Lots of time is wasted in sessions with things like that.
6. WHAT ARE SOME GUIDELINES FOR WHEN YOU ARE ACTUALLY RECORDING?
Given that you have already worked to select the correct microphone for your voice either on your own or with the producer, the first thing to do is to check out the height of the microphone. In all the sessions that I have worked on throughout all these years, I have had to ask for the microphone to be adjusted every single time. The microphone has to be even with your mouth so that you do not have to lift your head up when you are recording. Your neck has to have more length in the back than in the front so that your larynx gets to be level and you are not straining. It is certainly necessary to work with the microphone at slightly different angles to create certain effects but, the head needs to be level so that your voice can sing at its best capacity. Lifting up your head lifts up your voice and causes straining and that gets recorded. Like I said earlier, the recording equipment is merciless and will only give you back what you have actually done. So, you want to give it your best shot.
Another guideline is to stand with good alignment and correct posture. Create a nice environment around you so that you are comfortable and feel relaxed. Make sure the lighting is also comfortable and creative. Some artists like to record in a darker room and bring their favorite crystals. Some artists like it to be totally dark…others like all the lights on. Be aware of your needs and give yourself the best creative environment you can.
7. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Be willing to record several takes of everything. Every producer that I have worked with records multiple tracks for editing and there is a tremendous amount of repetition. Some producers have you repeat 2 to 4 lines over and over to get multiple takes in the hope that there will be some really good ones that they can combine later. Some producers have you sing entire sections of the verse and or the chorus and then have you repeat those sections over and over until they think they have good enough takes to make a compilation. These are called comps and they will combine parts of sentences together to make a really good sounding part that you did not actually sing in one try. Then you have to make sure that you really can sing it like that.
There is another approach that has the singer just sing the entire song through to get what is called a "scratch vocal” so everyone knows from the start where they are and from there they figure out where they would like the song to develop into. Then after you have recorded the Scratch, you can break the song into sections, keeping what you like and re-recording the sections that need improvement. The scratch vocal is also very important for the musicians on the session so they can get a feel for what you are trying to do and plan what they will try to contribute based on what the producer asks for or what they improvise.
8. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF ALL THIS REPETITION?
It is fascinating to learn that what you hear in the recordings that you listen to every day have been crafted bit by bit sometimes word by word in sessions everywhere. It is most rare to hear an actual recording by someone that is just perfect right away. I have never seen that happen. There is always something or many things that have to be repeated. As I mentioned earlier, many singers begin this process prematurely and the repetition that is necessary to get an actual performance can, at times, seem endless. But even with the very best of singers, there is a perfection that is attempted for recordings that just has to be done through multiple attempts at the same phrase, lyric or musical sentence. As an artist warms to the space and sings the part over and over, a very magical thing starts to happen. The depth of the lyric of the depth of feeling of the artist suddenly reveals itself and the song takes on a new life of its own. There is, of course, the need for preparation, but then it is time to perform.
Through repetition, there are multiple opportunities to get an even better take. No one is perfect and sometimes what you meant to sing, just comes out of you in a funny way. Then you repeat it a few times and you get to hear what you really had in mind to give. Sometimes the lyrics are strange or there are alot of words in a song and it is hard to make them understood. In that case, the repetitions are a crucial part of the success of the song. And sometimes, no matter how many times you try to sing a song, it just doesn’t work and you have to call the session and try another day. So the repetitions help everyone to get the song recorded and get the best possible outcome.
9. DO YOU HAVE ANYMORE TIPS FOR RECORDING YOUR VOICE?
There are really two things…
The most obvious thing is to make sure that you are ready to begin recording. Many thousands of dollars are spent and completely wasted by singers who are not prepared in the multiple ways that are really necessary. Following these guidelines is the most useful way to prepare.
The other is to avoid ever recording anything that you cannot reproduce live in your show. That high note may sound great but can you always nail it or are you setting yourself up for struggle!!