Music recording studio time is precious. Here is my recommended process to work efficiently. Record the rhythm section first, based on the pre-recorded scratch track you prepared. Let your bassist, drummer and guitarist play along with the scratch track.
Then, when they are ready, record vocals. Try for your best performance, even though you may need to do it again later. Sometimes, taking your first sessions home and listening over and over again will give you great ideas about how to redo it later. And sometimes, you'll find that these first versions have a freshness that you can re-create. Some people are just " one take wonders."
Another crucial advantage of doing the vocals early is that you can catch any arrangement problems. Since most music is to support a vocal line, you will immediately hear if subsequent parts need to be adjusted. Don't try to do too much in one day unless you're vocalist is really in great shape. Needless to say they should warm up before coming to the studio.
Next, record the background vocals. Some people do their own background vocals, while others prefer to mix voices. The same question about whether to record each separately or together as a choir depends upon individual taste.
Finally, record any other live instruments you may have.
At the end of each session, listen to your work and evaluate if you need to make any changes. One of the tricky things is to know when something really needs to be fixed, and when you're just being over critical. Just give it some time, and let other people listen to it without telling them what you think is wrong with it. If they point out what you were worried about, then by all means fix it.
18.Action: Take pictures and videos right there in the music recording studio.
You will need promotional photos for you or the band. Pictures-videos tell the story as you record your own album. Use them on all your social media places.
During one of your less stressful sessions, invite a photographer or a friend with a good camera to take pictures of you in action. Also take some posed photos, and hopefully you will get the photo that you want in the papers. You can also keep an online progress page with updated photos from the recording studio sessions.
Ingredients: All the recorded tracks, time, patience.
Mixing is really hard work. It requires a very trained ear. It is generally the best idea to simply let the music recording studio technician do what he knows best. As much as you loved that background vocal, making it too loud could ruin your whole song. Trust your creative team. And take breaks to avoid ear fatigue.
I suggest planning your album recording schedule in such a way that you will be able to mix every three songs or so. That way, before you've recorded all your material, you will have a good idea as to how effective your process is. Additionally, you will have some finished material to start moving your music promotion. Thirdly, having some things in your pocket already will motivate you to record the whole thing.
Now that your album project is almost finished, you are ready to start the public relations campaign. Your press release is basically a news article about your about to be released disc. Very often, a local newspaper will simply print your press release as if one of their staff had written it. This is good for you, because you will usually say your marketing message more efficiently. You can write a press release here on our site.
It's good to do it at this point so you can include any interesting anealbumotes about your music recording studio experiences. You can share why you wanted to record your own album, what songs were especially meaningful, and so forth. Make it a good read, with humor and drama, and your chances of getting free publicity are increased.
When you find a good printer, still make sure that you see a sample before they run off a thousand copies.
This is the final phase where you create the master disk from which all of your records will be duplicated. Most music recording studios will do the mastering for you in house. Or you can hire a special music recording studio called a mastering house.
Mastering is applying the final touches to your mixes, such as compression, adjusting the overall balance, fading in and out and anything else that needs to be tweaked. Beyond that, they can apply optimizers and all kinds of wizzardry to give your music that extra shine.
Remember that duplication houses will charge you an arm and a leg to do any editing to your music. Make sure it is completely ready to go.
What ever will get your message across, such as posters, post cards, advertising copy and graphics and whatever else. Have it ready to go.
Sometimes, the music recording studio you worked at will have a package deal to duplicate your finished albums. Otherwise you'll use one of many such services out there.
Usually the company that does the duplication will also package your disk and shrink-wrap it. That why you printed before, so that everything gets done at around the same time. Reproduction is not rocket science, and should not cost too much. Beware, though, always check the master CAREFULLY before copying, and get a SAMPLE album to check before you give the go ahead. I once had a large number of albums with the last second of each song cut because the mastering house fiddled with the time between tracks.
NEXT: Distribute, promote, sell your music!