| Music is consistently becoming a more popular form of | | | | to overdub (recording a part on top of another part) |
| entertainment, both for professionals and hobbyists. | | | | certain parts of the song, e.g doubling acoustic guitar or |
| With the current advances in music technology, the | | | | vocal harmony for the lead. |
| gap between the music enthusiast and the studio | | | | 3. Editing & Mixing. After the parts are recorded |
| producer is becoming smaller. Using the right gear and | | | | and you are satisfied with the raw sound, editing and |
| practicing the right skills, a home based musician can | | | | mixing aims to enhance and bring out the qualities you |
| make a modest recording of his songs and sell them | | | | want in the song. Rock music for example, tends to |
| (or give them for free) online. For those of you just | | | | sound edgy and raw, while pop ballads tends to be |
| starting out, or for those who want to rewind the | | | | decorated with lush reverbs. |
| basics, here is the key to music production in 3 simple | | | | 3. Post production |
| steps: | | | | After the recording and mixing is done, the final step of |
| 1. Pre-production | | | | music production to do is: |
| Pre-production is the preparation part before the actual | | | | 1. Mastering. Usually you want to use a professional |
| production process. The checklist consists of: | | | | mastering engineer for this part. Although some indie |
| 1. Songwriting. This includes composing and arranging | | | | producers would claim that they master their own |
| the songs (e.g choosing the key, tempo, time signature, | | | | materials (especially home studio owners), professional |
| and genre of the song. Also choosing the | | | | opinions say that there is no such thing as |
| instrumentation or orchestration to be used in the final | | | | self-mastering. Professional mastering aims to balance |
| song form) | | | | between songs in your album, or further enhance your |
| 2. Choosing and auditioning players. If you're in a band, | | | | recorded single. Most self-mastering only manages to |
| then usually you already have all the musicians you | | | | raise the volume to a commercial-sounding level, but |
| need to perform the song you wrote. But if you're a | | | | not preserving or enhancing the dynamics of the song. |
| solo artist or singer-songwriter, usually you want to hire | | | | 2. Duplication. This is necessary if you want to sell |
| session players or ask a favor from your music | | | | physical CD's. The mastering process produces what |
| friends who play for a hobby or side job. | | | | is called a Master, which is then used to create the |
| 3. Setting a deadline and a budget. Having a deadline is | | | | CD's for distribution in record stores. If you want to |
| important because it pushes you to make a deal with | | | | market in digital only, then you don't need to make a |
| yourself. An artist can spend literally years on a single | | | | physical master, but a "digital master" - the best quality |
| song, trying to perfect it. A deadline helps put the song | | | | digital audio you can afford to make. This digital master |
| into context and into release. Planning a budget is also | | | | is usually compressed into streaming or download |
| important. An example of consideration of costs is | | | | friendly MP3's. |
| whether to use a real string ensemble or settle for | | | | 3. Marketing. The music industry is currently undergoing |
| sampled strings for your song. Planning studio sessions | | | | a transformation. The major record labels don't hold as |
| ahead of time helps to avoid lengthy and costly studio | | | | much control over artists as they used to. More and |
| sessions. | | | | more artists are using the internet and social media for |
| 2. Production | | | | direct to fan marketing. Your choice in this area |
| Production is the actual production process of the | | | | reflects your branding as an artist too. Being an indie |
| song that includes these following tasks: | | | | blues singer-songwriter who sells your own CD's during |
| 1. Recording. The recording session can be done live | | | | concerts will give you a different image than a foxy |
| (all instruments and vocals at once) or tracking | | | | R&B songbird under a major label umbrella. There |
| (recording the song per part or per instrument). The | | | | are many online and offline resources to learn from if |
| choice is determined by your genre and the feel you | | | | you want to brand and market yourself. |
| want to get, e.g if you play jazz, playing together and | | | | By applying these 3 simple steps, you can get from a |
| keeping eye contact is important to preserve the | | | | rough song to a finished recording product that you |
| energy. | | | | can upload to a music distribution network (such as |
| 2. Overdub. This is done after the initial recording, | | | | iTunes or MySpace) within the convenience of your |
| usually after tracking. Some musicians sound great live | | | | own room and budget. |
| and during the first takes, but most musicians will need | | | | |