![]() | |
![]() | |
![]() |
Music Information |
|
![]() |
Getting the Best Performance From Your Artist
So now you've decided to record your songs. Good for you, except that you will need people to play the instruments for which your music calls for. If you can play all the instruments on your own, then all the better. You will have less people to argue with! Other wise, you will have to hire (read: bribe with beer/food/hockey tickets) session musicians and vocalists to play and sing for you, putting you in the producer's chair. Your songs are only as emotional as the performers who play them. It goes without saying that you should hire the best performers your budget will allow. But if $100/hour for a professional vocalist is a little steep, here are a few ways to help encourage the best from your session players. 1.) Always praise, never criticize. The is THE most important rule in my book. The only way any session musician could ever get comfortable at your studio is if YOU put them at ease. That's one of your jobs as a producer. When trying different versions of a take, tell them how you would like it to sound, instead of what they did wrong ie: "That was great, but let's try to hit the high note a little stronger" instead of "you know, you were a little off on the high note, it didn't sound that good". Always start with praise, then with a correction. Keep your vocabulary positive. The best producers make the artist feel as if they can do nothing wrong. 2) They Can Do Nothing Wrong Remember this rule while you are writing or recording. There is no "wrong way", there is only "a different way". Don't tell people that their way is wrong. Remember that music is an art, and there are no rules in art. When a performer is playing something you don't like, correct them by saying "let's try it this way too". Don't start off my saying "nope, you were wrong, do it the right way". 3) Let Them See The Light Ambiance, atmosphere, vibe: whatever you call it, they need it. I guarantee that you will get a much better performance if you have water on the table, comfortable chairs, maybe a few candles, a towel, mints, and candy. Have you ever tried recording in an office with harsh florescent lights and hard wood chairs? 4) Take Your Time If you're recording at your own studio, you have all the time in the world (which is an evil thing in my opinion). Let the artist relax, "get into the groove", talk a little and get comfortable with the other people in the control room. A tense artist's performance will always sound 'artificial' in the final song. Don't be worried if it takes another 10 minutes to finish the take. Each performer works at their own pace, and the best thing you can do as the producer is to respect that and adjust your pace to theirs. Unless you have a record company breathing down your neck. Then everyone has to work at THEIR pace! 5) Ask For Help Artists love to be listened to. It's always good to ask them for their opinion. Whether you actually listen is up to you. But once in a while, a simple question like "What do you think? Do you want to keep that take?" can do wonders for their performance. It helps keep them involved in the project and make them feel less like a "hired hand". Obviously, if it was the worse singing you've ever heard and they want to keep it, just mention that you will do "one more take as a safety". And then, when they're not looking, use the better take instead and auto-tune it to no end. This is a little producer's secret, but don't let the artists know! 6) Know The Words Make sure that you, the engineer, the assistant engineer and everyone else in the control room has lyrics to all the songs. The best way for your studio team to find their way around the songs is with the lyric sheets. Another good idea is to USE THE WHITEBOARD! That's why it's there. If you don't have one, get one. Write down the chord progressions, lyric ideas, timing marks, track listings, McDonald's lunch orders, everything. 7) It's MOSTLY About The Music I've heard people say "it's ALL about the music". Well, in my books, that's not the truth. I'd rather say "it's mostly about the music". Because you have to remember, it's also about having fun, having a good time, writing and performing the best you can and above all, sharing your talent and gift with others. Try to make it less of a job, and more of a passion and you'll find yourself doing it for the rest of your life! ©2005 Richard Dolmat (Digital Sound Magic) Richard Dolmat is owner, engineer and producer for the Vancouver based recording studio Digital Sound Magic. Visit his site at: http://www.digitalsoundmagic.com
MORE RESOURCES: *NSYNC, Ed Sheeran, Jung Kook & More: What’s Your Favorite Music Release of the Week? Vote! Billboard Nancy Van de Vate, Composer and Advocate for Women in Music, Dies at 92 The New York Times Kalamazoo comes alive with Sounds of the Zoo: A multicultural music festival uniting artists & fans WWMT-TV U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken Launches Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, Music Icon and Former U.S. Jazz ... Department of State 10 Female Rock Stars Who Changed '80s Pop Music American Songwriter Don't miss your chance to remember the 'Paramount Music Palace' WRTV Indianapolis New edition of 'The Sound of Music' soundtrack to be released with all the music from the film ABC News New Music Friday: The best releases out Sept. 29 Radio Milwaukee 5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now The New York Times Texas Music Office Announces Weatherford Designated Music ... Office of the Texas Governor Floriani: Musical Missionaries for Sacred Music National Catholic Register Discovering Arabic music, harnessing Jewish piyutim - Israel Culture The Jerusalem Post Fall Concert Series Showcases Country Music Artist Gary Allan Texas A&M University Today The Resonant Beauty of Cold Blue Music bandcamp.com Do We Need Better Music Education? The New York Times Singer-songwriter Fisher makes a difference through his music Lewistown Sentinel Music of the Americas! Eight, Arizona PBS Michigan Music: Local Spins on WYCE, Sounds of the Zoo localspins.com Bay Chamber's Midday Music Series features musical theater ... PenBayPilot.com Enough About Gram Parsons's Death. It's Time to Celebrate His Music. The New York Times Zinn: I Love That Music | News Heber Springs Sun-Times Midday Music - 9/29/23 WYSO Public Radio October playlist: Music provides a fall experience that Bakersfield lacks The Bakersfield Californian Scandinavian duo to present Danish folk music concert Sunday at ... Grand Forks Herald Sugar Pine Music Fest ‘debut’ highlights October live music around Sacramento region Sacramento Bee What it's like working in the Tejano music industry NewsWest9.com Christopher Plummer’s singing voice included in rerelease of Sound of Music soundtrack The Guardian 'Melissa Etheridge: My Window' Review: Musings on Life and Music The New York Times Music Series at Akin returns for 13th season MSU Texas News Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle Win Big at 2023 IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards: Complete List of Winners Billboard DIY music venue Black Lodge reopens in Seattle's South Lake Union The Seattle Times How Atlanta United's DJ EU got his start Los Angeles Times WITHIN TEMPTATION's SHARON DEN ADEL Discusses ... BLABBERMOUTH.NET Detroit's Tejano music legacy honored on emotional, festive day Detroit Free Press Chicago Classical Review » » Historic interest stronger than ... Chicago Classical Review Black Catholics have made their mark in the history of American music National Catholic Reporter Supreme Court to Clarify Copyright Infringement Limits in Case Against Warner Music Hollywood Reporter RED Shares Music Video For 'Surrogates' From 'Rated R' Album BLABBERMOUTH.NET 7 Music Icons Who Left Us Too Soon American Songwriter Country Music Legends Diamond Rio to Rock the Stage at Jasper ... Dubois County Free Press How Bono's daughter Eve Hewson tapped into her music instincts ... Entertainment Weekly News Review | Laurel Halo's ambient music deserves your undivided ... The Washington Post Music program at Evergreen High School cut back due to low ... Westside Seattle Top 5 Contemporary Pop Stars Shaping the Music Industry American Songwriter Composer Carol Meier of Eagle Lake Lutheran in Willmar ... West Central Tribune City of Austin gives tips as ACL Music Festival preps begin KEYE TV CBS Austin Want to Enjoy Music More? Stop Streaming It. The New York Times ‘His work seems endless’: music stars pay tribute to the incredible life of Moondog The Guardian Asheville-based Moog Music confirms firings in statement Citizen Times Bravo to JPS Music Boosters for $48K donation Jamestown Sun Taj Farrant and his electric blues brings together generations of ... BG Independent Media Behind “Words, Music, Memory: (Re) Presenting Voices of the ... The Oberlin Review Scientists translate brain activity into music National Institutes of Health (.gov) Music Tonight: Saturday, Sept. 30 | A+E North Coast Journal |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
RELATED ARTICLES
SOUNDS GOOD TO ME - Eliminate Throat Tension As a vocal coach, I hear it all the time. I love to sing but when I do, I get hoarse and need to shout to be heard after only a few hours. Music Industry Secrets Revealed - How To Become Succesful The Music Industry Without A Record Deal Before the internet, unsigned music artists couldnt make a living, off the thing they love and enjoy the most: Their music! They would have to send in demos to major record companys, hoping that the CEO's would love their music and actually call them up on the phone offering them a recorddeal! But what they dont know is that the CEO's dont give a f*#% about music!! They ONLY offer recordeals to artists who they know will become succesfull!To say it in another way: They NEVER risk millions of dollars on bands that they dont see any future with!Today there's thousands, maybe millions of music artists looking for a way to make a living off their music. Those artists may now have a chance!Former A&R Agent - Interscope Records, Fisnik Imeraj has written an eBook explaining just what the unsigned music artists should do! Publish their own music! Thats right! Since the internet is already invented, then why not take advantage of it?In his new book Fisnik Imeraj explains to the ambitious artists how they can publish their own music on the internet, and keep 100% of their profits themselfs! He explains every part of music publishing on the internet! From creating a website to marketing their music! And the best part is that any artist can start with virtually NO money!!If you ever dreamed of becoming a successful music artist, you should definately purchase this book! It might change your life! The book can be downloaded instantly after payment on http://www. The Art of Music Music is the art of arranging sounds in periodic time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre.It is also the vocal or instrumental sounds possessing a degree of melody, harmony, or rhythm. Music for Corporate Entertainment For many years I have supplied music for and played in bands that provide music for corporate entertainment. Clients have included Audi, The Evening Standard, Sainsburys, P. A Guitar Lesson To Help You Test Your Note Knowledge In this guitar lesson we look at a great way to test your note knowledge of the guitar fretboard. But before we look at that, why even bother learning the notes?Knowing the notes on your guitar fretboard is an essential skill. What Works Best in New Age Piano Improvisation Many students want to know how to improvise. What they really want to know is how to be able to keep an improvisation going. 12 Reasons You Should Learn to Play the Piano All right, folks, here you go: My 12 reasons why you should start learning how to play the piano. Immediately. Open Position Piano Chords - Perfect for the New Age Style The Open Position Chord (OPC) allows you to create a vented sound. A sound that is open, literally, as opposed to the closed triads taught in most course books. Thomas Jefferson and the Chinese Gong While Richard Nixon's diplomatic visit to China may have created a minor thaw in Sino-US relations, he was not the first President to try to get in sync with the Chinese. Thomas Jefferson preceded him by close to two centuries. If Seals Can Sing, Why Cant You? It sounds like a side show, doesn't it? It does to me. But it's true; researchers have discovered that some varieties of seals really do sing. Repetition is the Key to Learning Something Deeply Repetition is the key to learning something deeply. It works most effectively when you are isolating a small amount of material, because the object of your focus will be more specific. Piano Playing For Adults: More Fun Than Sex And Not Nearly As Dangerous! OK, so I lied about the fun part.Maybe piano playing is the just 2nd most fun thing adults can do. Guitar Practice (Part 2) - Does Practice Make Perfect? You've probably heard the saying "practice makes perfect" and it sounds true enough, but is t really? We all know the importance of practicing a new skill in order to become proficient at it. This is especially true when it comes to playing the guitar, or any other musical instrument for that matter. JOHN LENNON - The Man and His Times John Lennon wasn't always my favorite Beatle; at first it was Paul. But gradually, over a period of time, it was John Lennon who won my heart. Chords or Melody First... Which is Best? There are basically two ways you can compose a piece of music. The first and most traditional way is to write out the melody and then harmonize it. Is Rhapsody Music Downloads Service Getting A Good Rhap? Rhapsody music, from RealNetworks is one of several reputable legal digital services for legal music downloads. In order to download online music or hear songs from them you have to pay for them first. How to Create Hip, Mature, and Lush Harmonies [correction] Rarely is a chord played with its tones contained in a single octave, the root on the bottom, the third in the middle, and the fifth on the top.Usually chords are "voiced!"This basically means that the positions of a chord's tones are scattered over the keyboard. How to Play What you Feel Many students think that being able to play what you feel is difficult. They believe you must have years and years of training in improvisation and theory. Be An Organized Church Pianist Playing in front of a congregation each Sunday is no easy feat. Make sure you are well prepared before giving your best for God and before others. A Brief History of Gongs The gong is one of the oldest musical instruments in the world. Archaeologists have unearthed gongs built almost four thousand years ago. ![]() |
home | site map |
© 2006 |