CHAPTER C-2
Pre-Production
“The work for me really needs to go into pre-production. If the songs and the artist are ready, and we have a clear idea of what we need to do in the studio (including time scale), then the process of recording becomes less daunting and more relaxed, resulting (I hope) in better performances. Studios are stressful because they cost so much; the important thing in a way is for the artist never to feel that they are losing or wasting time in there!
“Once you’re in and recording with my bands, things are almost out of the producer’s hands, save just guiding the process, making certain decisions to keep things on track and within time and budget and keeping out of the way of the creative stuff. After that, ideas about mixing and mastering bottom out of many pre-production decisions and the recording sessions. I’m quite hands off.”
Mat Martin, Hobopop Productions.
INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS PRE-PRODUCTION?
Pre-production, if you identify with the name, simply describes what should happen before a production starts, whether that is before shooting a film, or preparing for a West End or Broadway play. Following on from this comes production, which in music terms is considered to be the recording and mixing sessions clubbed together, despite often being discrete processes in their own right. Once the mix is achieved, it is moved onto postproduction, which in music terms this time means editing and mastering.
As a term, pre-production also can be an often misunderstood part of the process of making music and is often certainly underutilized. It’s misunderstood because many of its facets, like music production itself, are not always easily described. For example, pre-production can represent the preparation for a recording session, including thorough rehearsals that could include some pretty advanced recording that may or may not appear on the final mix. Alternatively, for electronic artists pre-production and production can, to some extent, merge into each other as we’ll discuss later. Producer and engineer Mick Glossop (Van Morrison, Frank Zappa) notes that “every band and project is different, but the principles [of pre-production] can be the same.”
Arguably the process is defined from the moment a project is devised and comes into existence. Danny Cope, songwriting expert at Leeds College of Music, often refers in his work to the inter-relationship that exists between song composition and music production. Cope discusses a blend of the studio and the song, which has become a modus operandi for so many when beginning to produce records. Many artists record and produce as they go along in session, and for reasons we’ll later explore, the divisions between pre-production and recording do not always remain clear-cut. In the example we explore, we are considering pre-production as a separate entity which can lead to incredible benefits, certainly in band recordings.
Decisions made at pre-production, or eventualities, may have immediately led to certain pre-production elements being applied that may need to carry on through to the final record, whether it be a specific sound of a unique synthesizer plug-in, loop, or the heavier use of rhythmical delay than normal on the vocals or guitar on which the whole track is now sonically hinged. In some cases it is the pre-production stage that will inform the performer or production team whether a composition, or an idea within it, will or will not work and hint at the developments that still need consideration.
Throughout this chapter we refer to the traditional production process, which signifies a model and nothing more of how we sometimes perceived the stages to be: clean cut and definitive. Once upon a time, these stages were devised partly through necessity and were partly defined by the composition process itself.
Compositions in the pop genre were perhaps typically based on a piano or guitar and subsequently etched into memory or were translated on to manuscript paper to be realized at a later date. The composition would then have been rehearsed with a band, or the manuscript passed on to hired musicians at the start of the recording session. By the simple virtue of this arrangement, the divisions between the stages were much clearer. The recording session was expensive, because of the sheer cost of the equipment housed, or even developed and commissioned by the studio in question (such as EMI in early days); and the range of personnel required for the session from hired musicians, engineers, and tape operators through to arrangers and the producer.
Recording sessions in the early days were often restricted to three hours as set out by the unions and it was assumed that the ideal performance could be captured within this time. Given this, the importance attributed to the preparation and rehearsals that make up what we can refer to as pre-production was paramount. An example of this was one of the Beatles’ first sessions on September 4, 1962 between 7:00 and 10:00 pm in which 15 or more takes were recorded of “Love Me Do” and a number of takes of “How Do You Do It.” Within these three hours mono mixes were made of each of the pieces (Lewisohn, M., 1989). This length of session could have been a demonstration session for management, or could quite easily be the recording session for release.
The process of production. The traditional model of the production process shows defined stages with no blurring. The latter model demonstrates the fluidity of the early processes in production. In this latter example, pre-production can blur backwards into the composition stage, and equally draws back some of the traditional roles from the recording stage.
THE DEMO
The demonstration session, or the creation of a “demo,” has been an important part of the production process over the years and has offered a tangible calling card for getting gigs as well as wooing prospective producers and engineers to work with. The demo should therefore be part of many a pre-production process as it also gives a recording for the band to listen to and reflect on in order to redevelop their songs, more of which we’ll discuss later.
However, the demo is very much still alive and kicking for those bands not yet established or newly formed, as these will be the business cards for the musicians. The recording of demos is now so much easier to achieve using affordable, professional standard equipment. This availability of equipment has spawned a whole generation of home recordists who can provide that demo service.
Many producers are said to consider the traditional demo dead for many applications. For example, established artists may feel demos are perhaps no longer necessary as they’re working in their professional standard home studios. To some the audio may be considered part of the early sessions. It is presumed these original ideas may contribute to the final mix.
Smaller studios and suites are providing a good backbone for so much professionally released music with less reliance on the larger format recording studios. Modern producers and engineers are working within this new framework.
How these completed demos are used is variable. Most material is now data compressed to MP3 and posted on sites such as MySpace, which has proved very successful in sharing artists’ music to the world. The demo itself has arguably expanded from a physical entity to that of a multimedia space including video links and audio. This is all part of the media toolkit that the presigned artist can consider before engaging with a label.
On a more practical and developmental level, the demo is, and can still be, a valuable tool to reflect on material as it is developing. There are downsides, in that when something is committed to “tape,” it solidifies. Consider early demo recordings of songs you’ve tracked. Have they remained the same? Have newer versions ever lived up to the demo? Were the early versions not tracked so well, hence were unusable, but subsequent professional recordings have not made the grade and are missing some vital unbeknown quality you cannot quite put your finger on?
This is common. Many demos can solidify your thoughts and expectations on how a track should be shutting opportunity off for song development and this is where the producer will be able to see though this for the artist and steer the song in a different direction, which might provide it a new, or certainly, different lease on life. However, it is common also for these tracks to have something that is unique and special. Whether this is because the music was recorded when the excitement of the music was newly born, and was tracked quickly without too much thought to whether it would be released, is debatable. Suffice it to say that so often these demo recordings can provide elements of vocals, guitars and so on that have a unique, unrepeatable quality which we see transferred to the new version of the track. This is very often a great challenge, as the tracking is captured with less care and accuracy as it would be in the studio.
IS PRE-PRODUCTION NECESSARY?
Up and until 30 years ago or so, in the 1970s, the attitude toward making records had developed and changed to such an extent that an artist might have had the privileged opportunity to write, rehearse, record, and mix all in the same expensive studio. The financial advance from the label and potential sales for many artists were adequate to cover this, in addition to all the fabled lifestyle excesses we’re used to hearing about. Attention to details such as planning, rehearsing, and arrangements for session musicians seems a far cry from this hedonistic example. Of course most sessions in this period were not all sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, we hasten to add!
Today, the studio availability has almost come full circle. The financial pressures are not so much that the equipment and quantity of personnel are the expensive commodity they once were, or that session availability is limited, but one of sheer business demand. For example, financial advances are far less than they once were, if they exist at all in some extreme instances. For this reason, managers and their artists are beginning to think much more frugally and business-like about how records can be made. As a result pre-production has renewed importance and value in that the production process can and should be carried out to maximum effect.
Tony Platt, engineer, producer and Music Producer’s Guild director, says “[preproduction] has become more important for a lot of artists because it saves money on studio time. I still hear stories however about younger producers going to the studio unprepared and wasting studio time”.
The lavish and expensive surroundings of a booked studio are usually ditched for a band member’s home or a booked rehearsal facility, where concise planning and preparations can take place to maximize the outcome of the more expensive studio time.
As the times are changing, pre-production is one of the most fluid, hidden stages to the outside, nonmusical world. It is a process that can and should fit any artist and situation based on the desired vision of the product. Dependent on the type of song, album, and artist, pre-production can take many different forms that we’ll look at in the next section. Pre-production is the bridge between the composition of the music and the recording session, borrowing skills and tasks usually reserved in other stages traditionally in the process.
FORMS OF PRE-PRODUCTION
Originally pre-production took on the form of planning and preparations on the part of the producer and assistants. This would involve the booking of the studio, engineers, musicians, perhaps even the catering, in addition to anything else that might be required. Attention to detail during rehearsals would be expected, due to the recording sessions often being short, with little or no time for experimentation. Any development of musical arrangement or structure would ideally need to take place in advance, in rehearsal. Perhaps the music might have been ready to record straight away.
Today, pre-production has evolved to a more valuable process. Producers take differing views on the importance of pre-production, some preferring to record whole hard drives full of takes from the rehearsal studio, to those who simply might arrive at one rehearsal for a quick listen to the band’s material before beginning work in the studio. Tony Platt adds “Sometimes [I record rehearsals] but only very roughly. Spending time making top-quality recordings of rehearsals is a bit pointless. Although sometimes to capture that moment!”
Traditionally speaking the pre-production phase is often considered a vitally important part of the process. This is where so much new songwriting and song development can take place in the comfortable surroundings of the rehearsal studio, coming in at a fraction of the cost of a decent sized studio with an engineer. These are beneficial factors to consider in the current climate where budgets are more restricted. More on this later as we discuss planning a session.
More importantly, as Mick Glossop says, “pre-production is a very social process, as is the business as a whole. This pre-production time is where I get to know the musicians, the politics between them, and the way they work.”
For those artists who do not rely on this traditional structure, pre-production opens up a great deal of opportunity. Many artists complete much of their work themselves at this stage of the process, leaving very little to be achieved in the so-called recording sessions. The stages of composition, pre-production, and recording blur together and adapt to the project at hand.
Andy Barlow, of the U.K. band Lamb, reveals that he creates music in such a way. For his music “the pre-production stage is not really separate from the creative task of song-writing, more it’s the oil to the engine of creativity… [now] the only real time there is a big difference is if I am working in Ableton Live. I find this great for writing ideas and getting grooves down. Once this writing stage is finished I will then go ahead and [transfer it and] work on it further… in Pro Tools.”
Despite Andy’s command of the production process, he still prefers to involve specialists at certain stages. Andy’s productions often include lavish sonic arrangements that require careful balancing between the occasional orchestral arrangement, real drums, acoustic instruments, and electronic samples and synthesizers. These elements all need careful mixing and, as a result, Andy prefers to pass on this responsibility to a mix engineer. “I choose to use a mix engineer for a few reasons: I don’t like hearing the song hundreds of times [when mixing] as it clouds my vision of it. I get attached to certain sounds because of how long they took me to make, rather than whether they serve the song. I like SSL and Neve Desks (which I don’t own). [However] I still like to be very hands-on with mixing, and make comments until I am completely happy.”
As can be seen in Andy Barlow’s example, the creative writing process of the song through to the point at which the material is mixed becomes one big preproduction session incorporating the writing of the material, and the development and intricate programming and production.
AN INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE PRE-PRODUCTION
An introduction to song development
Developing a song to its full potential can take time and require specific ingredients. To compose a song and walk directly into the studio can extend the length of time it takes for the song to develop to its full potential, needless to say the cost to the project. In extreme cases it can simply reduce the overall quality of the end product. It depends on whether the song is reliant on the recording process and the studio or not. If studio equipment was required to aid the composition, the development and production of a song begins early in the writing process.
In our traditional rock band model, the writing process will perhaps begin by a member of the band at home or on the tour bus and be developed further when brought to the band in rehearsal. Let’s dwell on the rehearsal a little.
It is in the rehearsal studio where much of this development and joint ownership of the material can be assumed. Band members are introduced to the new material and will develop new ideas including riffs, syncopations, harmonies, and so on, and even new sections. This is where a song can begin to breathe as part of the band ownership and not the sole composer. Perhaps this is the reason why there are so many dubious court cases about potential lost earnings from band member’s contributions to the songwriting process.
Understandably, sole composers within a band often can be somewhat closed off and resistant to ideas that come from others. To exclude ideas from members of the band and outside can potentially close off exciting areas for the song to expand that should be embraced, if not simply given an opportunity to be heard. This will depend on the creative structure and internal politics of the band and how they develop their material best. The finer details of band interpersonal dynamics and their management are touched on in across this book and in Chapter C-4, The Desired Outcomes.
At some point in the rehearsal, it is worth bringing together the band and producer. The producer will be able to give a new perspective to the material and offer new ideas to develop the material yet further. Mick Glossop notes the important “arrangement changes, and choices of sounds” that producers can provide at this stage.
Similarly this can often be considered a threat to the composer’s ideals and should not be seen as such necessarily. A producer’s role is to ensure that the vision of the artist is successfully transferred to “tape” (sorry, hard disk, old sayings die hard) at whatever cost, within reason. As such it is important to embrace and welcome the producer’s input at this stage; whether you ultimately agree with the ideas is up for discussion and rejection as need be.
Some projects will not warrant the cost of a producer. If costs do allow for one, perhaps there will not be enough funds to involve the producer in the rehearsal stage. Such input will naturally take place within the recording studio. However, for some unbiased commentary on the material, some artists call upon the ears of fellow musicians or trusted friends. This can give the band a new perspective or praise for the material as it stands, or some harsh, but true, criticism where necessary.
In addition, it is advisable to capture the rehearsals on anything from a Dictaphone through to a fully fledged Pro Tools rig, to take away the songs and listen in the cold. Mat Martin adds, “It’s also imperative for me to know that the artist knows their songs inside out (I only really have experience recording singer-songwriters, and limited at that; I guess you’d approach a prog-experimental improvisation record differently). I do that by meeting with them months before going into the studio, demoing the songs, then pulling them apart and rebuilding them, tightening chords, lyrics, and structures so that they are more solid than before. I generally find that most songwriters think they know their work, but can’t answer some really fundamental questions on it when pushed. Pre-production is about solving that for me.”
WRITING TOGETHER
Often artists will choose to write and develop material with their producer. This has spawned many great albums and appears to be a fantastic way of driving music production in new areas of development. Marrying the producer, with the benchmarks of modern music making, with the new, fresh, and undeterred artist, can bring great new output.
Current indications are that more and more producers will become induced into the songwriting of the acts they work with. The main reason is financial, as we’ve mentioned earlier, insomuch as being a songwriter offers another income stream, often independent of the producer’s fee, or points. In the world of digital downloads, and a fast-paced music industry, it is understandable that earnings from recorded music continue to dwindle in light of more widespread legal and illegal music downloads. Producers, such as Tommy D have chosen to embrace a modern way of working which he relates to “a return to the ‘60s” where it was common for the producer to be directly involved in the development of the artist and, to some extent, their income streams. One such example would be George Martin and the Beatles.
Many fantastic collaborations exist between the artist and producer, who knows the musical scene and fashion and can draw out the best from the artist and their composition. British producer Tommy D notes that sometimes songs do not complete easily. Sometimes there may be one idea which is very strong and can seem like a hit, but it may be lacking a strong chorus or middle eight. In this instance, it is worth shelving the part and waiting for inspiration to come together at a later date that will make the song whole. “It’s the producer’s job to come forth and say it’s not good enough,” he says. “The way to sell it is ‘look, you’ve got a great idea here, but it’s only half an idea. Why don’t you complete it?’.”
THE REINVIGORATED IMPORTANCE OF THE REHEARSAL ROOM AND HOME STUDIO
Now it’s time to consider the way in which the songs will be performed and recorded. This is where we enter into arguably the proper phase of pre-production activity.
Again, this is the time for precise planning and rehearsal. Many bands still believe the recording studio is the point at which all manner of things can be fixed and made perfect: fix it in the mix, as the expression goes. This possibility of perfection to some extent is true with the onset of advanced tools such as Anteres Autotune, Melodyne, and countless others to tame even the most wayward vocalist. Add to this common tools such as Sound Replacer, BFD, etc. for making every kit sound as good as it possibly could do without moving a mic. Wrap this up within the awesome editing capabilities of all digital audio workstations (DAW) today, the performance can be shaped and crafted in whatever way you might wish. Taking this ability to “correct” a step further, the manufacturers of Melodyne and Celemony Software have created direct note access! (We thought it was an April fools joke at first, but this feature claims to be able to separate each note in an audio performance for editing in both time and pitch.) This allows incredible advantages to the producer and engineer, but this cannot always make a bad performance good, and in the cases where it can improve a performance, it will not necessarily make the track as a whole better. Nothing can beat a solid performance as we’ll talk more about in Chapter C-4, The Desired Outcomes.
As we’ve already mentioned, the rehearsal should still remain an important opportunity to improve the structure and arrangement of any song. The emotional architecture within the arrangement, using dynamics, and harmonic content should be scrutinized and adapted to suit the performing musicians and their foibles. The performances of those musicians playing on the track bringing their own ingredients or killer bass lines to the melting pot should be assessed and developed. As such, the rehearsal, with a producer, becomes an important point at which the song can breathe and take shape.
The rehearsal stage should also offer the band the opportunity to tighten up the performance of the material to ensure that the recording session is smooth, ordered, and efficient. Some bands might wish to play the album material live as a whole set, just to try out the material and to play it solidly in front of an eagerly listening audience.
REHEARSAL RECORDINGS
Recording the rehearsals can allow the band to hear how they actually sound. It is so often the case that the musicians themselves get a different perception of their performance near their amplifiers on stage. So often the band can lose the perspective necessary when constructing and producing a song.
Producers can vary in their approaches if involved in the rehearsals. Some will bring down a small studio set-up to capture the musical events. Often, material in the rehearsal studio can have a quality that, for some reason or another, simply cannot be recreated later in the studio. Whether it is an angst-ridden vocal take or a particular sound to the guitars augmented by the room, the amp lying around the rehearsal room and player’s grubby strings at that time. All this serendipity should be captured. It used to be so often lost to a substandard recording format such as a cassette based 4- or 8-track machine, the quality of which was normally less than adequate for a final release. As the cost of equipment has reduced, obtaining high-quality digital recordings of rehearsals has become readily available.
Producers often develop this recorded material and edit it to demonstrate how a different arrangement or parts could improve the music. Development of the material can take many different forms: whether that be messing about with the structure while sitting alone with an acoustic guitar, to moving parts in a digital audio workstation. This can then be replayed to the band to rule out indecisions that individuals are discussing. The proof is in the listening.
Either way, the song will have the opportunity to be structured, to be developed, eventually to breathe.
PARAMETERS FOR CHANGE
The alteration and recomposition of elements such as melody, harmony, and so on are the parameters by which the song development will take its form. The methods and order by which these developments happen cannot be prescribed, and the producer, or other objective listeners, will possibly base their opinions on a gut feeling. They may hear a different sound or arrangement and suggest changes accordingly. Song development is hinged on a number of criteria from a personal list of things that people look for. Typically the key overarching aspects a producer, or reflective artist, would wish to alter on an objective listen back to their material might be:
- Arrangement
- Instrumentation
- Tempo/time signature/groove
- Performance quality
These four overarching parameters can offer a great deal of scope when altered. Listening objectivity (discussed in Chapter A-2) to music can present a list of things to repair or could spur new ideas as required.
Rehearsing with the band in a loud rehearsal room can be an exhilarating experience and can make material seem solid and workable. However, an objective listen at a lower volume while using a framework can produce a list of elements that will require attention.
Depending on this list, experiments and alterations to the arrangement, instrumentation (acoustic or electric), groove, and so on can be tried and might be recorded to listen to later. Having a decent recording system within rehearsal allows you to jam around ideas freely and on listening later, elements can be edited together for experimentation.
RECOGNIZING PHASES OF PRE-PRODUCTION
Pre-production has its own internal phases. Phases can be recognized and worked with to monitor progress in a production. Understanding these phases can provide unique points from which to consider the more mundane aspects of preparing for a session.
Musical progress
Phase 1 begins with the songwriting itself, which we assume is a hive of successful creation. The next stage within Phase 1 is the point at which the individual’s material is presented to the rest of the band. The progress may feel as though it is hampered to the composing member, as the band are learning parts and arrangement and beginning to enter into the next stage. This is the initial development of the individual’s music by the band as a whole (band-based song development). Parts will be forged, riffs and arrangements created, and songs developed as a whole.
During phase 2 many artists might begin recording and use the studio time to develop their music along a similar path. Phase 2 assumes that the band objectively listen to
The perceived progress of a band’s material can be mapped as in this fictional example above. Knowledge of the band’s musical progress can perhaps also act as a trigger for management activities within pre-production, such as booking musicians, studios, mastering, etc.
their material, either through some kind of recording of the advanced rehearsals or through traditional demo recording sessions. It is at this stage that comments and constructive criticism will be revealed and might provide an action list. This list, it is assumed, will cause the artist(s) to step back and perceive that their progress has been hampered, or set back slightly. Either way, this is an important reality check for the artists as they return to the drawing board a little and potentially carve out a new direction, or alteration to bring the material into line, whether that be a change in tempo, key, or indeed time signature. This will not necessarily take a considerable amount of time, but will ensure that the material is simply ready when the red light goes on. Ensuring that each player knows their parts and can perform in “second nature” mode, not necessarily having to think about every note, will result in a faster, more productive session.
The band will develop and practice the music until it reaches a plateau of regulated performance quality. In other words, the musicians will repeatedly deliver a consistent and engaging performance of the music they’re planning to record either in the rehearsal studio or live performance. It is at this point that the band is ready to record and enter into Phase 3.
Management progress
If a band’s progress can be tracked, then it is possible to predict when the material is in its second phase. It is at this point that the music becomes galvanized into something new using the information provided on the list, or reverts back to the better original format in Phase 1. At the start of Phase 2 the material is brimming with new ideas and may be forged into its final state. It is during this time that studios, session musicians, and other bookings could be made with some form of certainty as the format begins to settle down.
This certainty provides an opportunity for the artist, producer, and production team the opportunity to plan Phase 3, the recording session, properly. It is at this point that musicians will be confident of the elements they will wish to include in the songs, and therefore the equipment, personnel and space needed to produce the music in question.
THE ABILITY TO LISTEN OBJECTIVELY
To make an accurate assessment of music, it is important to develop certain skills in listening. To be able to do so in an objective manner is imperative before developing songs or choosing to throw them out.
We all listen to music for enjoyment, but it is extremely difficult to do so in an unbiased and detached fashion. As Danny Cope outlined (Hepworth-Sawyer, Ed., 2009), a song should have influence and naturally draw the listener in. Thus to measure this influence, the art of listening objectively should be developed, as it is difficult to remain focused on how the music will appear to the listener when taking part in its development over time.
As we discussed in Chapter A-2, Analyzing It, it is useful to have the ability to switch between detached (passive) and attracted (active) listening. This is a skill that is useful to be in a position to shape music accordingly. This should be something we should be able to do for a particular audience whether we like the material or not. Objective listening can take time to develop. Audio professionals such as producers and engineers spend a professional lifetime listening with an objective ear.
In a similar fashion to that of a classical composer who can imagine or emulate the sound of the orchestra in their head, many audio professionals can also hear music altered and edited, engineered and polished before any equipment has been operated. This ability can be developed and is something that first begins with concerted analytical listening and then can be switched off into detachment as required. This detachment means the listener analyses sound on occasion as opposed to music.
Working in music and audio brings along an allied objective ability. Strange, but useful, is the ability to listen to the same song, verse, or guitar part over and over again without tiring of it, whether we like the piece or not. Being able to detach yourself from this may seem a little like masochism to the casual listener, but is imperative to work as we do, while attempting to remain objective.
Later a model for planning is outlined for a production, and listening skills such as these enable us to identify whether or not the material is on the same road as we had planned. The framework discussed in the next chapter may not be detailed enough to guide the listener to immediate objective qualities to make or break a track. Nevertheless, an improved listening ability should ensure that problems in a composition or its arrangement could be identified and rectified.
WHITTLING DOWN THE MATERIAL
Choosing which tracks are to be recorded can happen at various points. At the end of Phase 1 to the start of Phase 2, the band may listen on reflection to some of their material that might be a joy to perform, but as a standalone song will not engage with the fan base. More recordings can be made of the songs throughout Phase 2 to assess the worth of pursuing the material. In most cases these songs will move forward in the kitty to the session as if/when they are recorded they will be of great use as b-sides.
So many bands work on many more compositions than make the final track-listing on a CD. In many cases it is not uncommon to rehearse and record many more songs for a CD than the typical 12–15 tracks. Working with a producer, or taking on the duty as a band, the material will begin to get sieved and perhaps at the same time, the singles will begin to present themselves, perhaps alongside a track order, as the material gains a persona of its own.
This whittling down of material is an iterative process and takes time. Thus adequate planning should be given to returning to the drawing board after the first phase of the pre-production process. When this point is will be dependent on the band and the composition team within the project.
The V.I.S.I.O.N
A structured starting point should be employed. For this purpose, V.I.S.I.O.N. has been produced. This can prompt the team into considering a number of aspects about the project to ultimately agree on the vision for the product. This trigger list is the halfway house between the creation of the project and the project management to come.
Going straight into a studio can be an excellent way of getting started and developing music. It is fair to say that most would all love the opportunity, but as we’ve outlined, this is not always possible depending on the size of the project. As such, some direction is useful to ensure that an end goal is achieved. Succumbing to your business mind will ensure you plan accordingly.
Any such plan must follow a path that has been agreed and mutually understood by all concerned, otherwise how would we know we had got there or which road to travel on? To plan toward an end product, a vision needs to be considered, or at least the anticipated outcome needs to be visualized.
To assist this, we’ve developed a simple checklist called the V.I.S.I.O.N. that addresses many of the aspects that could be conceptualized before beginning a project. Securing the vision of a project will empower everyone to talk from the same hymn sheet. It is important that this vision is easily disseminated to others and understood with as little misinterpretation as possible. Below we look at each area individually.
VISUALIZE
Visualizing the end product is not necessarily just a dream of how the material may sound, but should also be a target position in its relative marketplace. An understanding of the current music scene and how this will slot in will be of use when considering the material and what direction it should take. Consider that of any genre that is constantly evolving such as hip hop or dance music. These change very frequently and visualizing the music’s position within that marketplace will give pointers to where it should or could fit, as well as the suitable inspiration to differ and innovate.
INNOVATE
With each record that is released, innovation is often at the core and musical genres develop almost as fast as computer processing power growth as stated by Moore’s Law. While innovation might not be the sole aim of the game for the artist, it will, by its sheer virtue, be something new. Whether this is a radical departure for the band and thus alienating its audience a little, or whether it plays it too safe to keep hold of the fan base, it will still be new material. The million-dollar question is how a band can generate enough interest album after album. New music needs to inspire and draw listeners in as described by Danny Cope’s triangle of influence (Hepworth-Sawyer, Ed., 2009). Creating this interest can be drawn from inspiration, but can be delivered when working with a specific producer. Thus, the producer can have a profound influence on the music.
The V.I.S.I.O.N. is an acronym we use to remind us of the many elements that might need to be planned pre-production.
Being in touch and having an ear to the ground musically will influence a different and fresh perspective to the material. An awareness of the genre and scene will also provide a much valued success gauge. Thus, knowing if this tune was to do well in the charts and clubs or not, or whether more work would be needed to get it to the same standard or exceed it, would be valuable. As such, it is not simply how it sounds but its value within its genre or marketplace. This is connected with the style and sound of the work, which we cover a little later.
That said, it is important to consider the origin of the material and treat it with integrity and not follow a personal route. The fellow band members or producer should take into account the wishes of the composer and try to bring the material to life without altering it away too far from its origins without agreement. Sensitive musicians will present some of the hardest challenges within the studio and integrity to the music and the cause is an important pursuit for all.
STRATEGY
Based on the value judgments and assessment of the genre and scene that have been made, it is important to produce a strategy for the style and sound of the recording. This strategy will be an outline of the kind of sound you’re wishing to achieve and will point you in the right direction in the organization and planning of your project.
Style in this example is meant not only to be about the sound, but could be the way in which the band looks and acts. The charts are usually full of what is known as “manufactured” artists that have been styled already. This is an important facet and clear selling point, and in some cases it will begin new trends in society for dress sense. This style may not simply be about the clothes that are worn, but the way in which the artists carry themselves. For the average producer working for a label-found artist, this will not be too much of a concern. However, in the current times, more and more producers are starting to act as A&R, promotion, and artist development in addition to their traditional role.
IMAGINE
Imagining the end product is one thing, but noting the instrumentation that goes up to make the vision is crucial in the planning. Much of the instrumentation may be dictated by the songwriting itself and be somewhat dependent on the parts, such as a riff-based song. To picture the blend of the instrumentation together can lead to new sounds and ideas, which can lead to new production flavors.
At this point it is also worth considering arrangements of music pieces and their position in the track listing as songs. During production this will invariably change, but it will assist the planning and the list of things the band need to achieve before recording and beyond. For example, a concept album will require to work in a certain order, such as The Wall by Pink Floyd.
ORGANIZATION
Pre-production will involve a healthy amount of this, as we’ll discuss later in more detail in Chapter C-3, Project Management. It is during this stage of the production process that the vision is determined or crafted, rehearsals are about to start or are in swing, and the planning needs to happen in earnest based on the vision for the music. To begin to consider the production project as a whole and how it will come to market is important at this point. Choosing the production team, the studio, and so on, is all part of the planning process.
NOTATE
Many bands and indeed studio professionals fail to notate as much as they should. Bands may forget older songs that have fallen by the wayside. Without records, these compositions could be lost. The same works for the logging of settings, agreements, conversations, ideas, and notes. Disciplined logging is rather useful in planning large projects. It’s your business, after all. Many of us fail to keep up with note-taking because we do not have a system. We discuss this more in Chapter B-3, Being a Business. Note-taking can come into its own when you need to recall agreements made between people within the studio or elsewhere. You may need to refer back to this from time to time.
Engineers and producers should also take notes about all important effects, processor and compressor settings for a big mix session they’re trying to recall. Notation such as this is far easier these days with recall on pretty much all modern equipment, but still, there will be the odd coveted Urei 1176 or Pultec EQ that will need to be marked off on a template somewhere. Alternatively use a digital camera or your iPhone, unless of course you use something like Teaboy (www.teaboyaudio.com) for notating all your outboard settings.
Notating the event through video or photographs is also something that can be used for the band’s or production team’s website, or career materials for the future. If they never make it into the public domain, they will be something to view with interest in the years afterwards.
V.I.S.I.O.N. PROMPTS
By using the prompts provided by the V.I.S.I.O.N., answers to prominent questions such as these below should be forthcoming. Alternatively, these questions should at least prompt the team to consider these areas further until a solution is reached.
Visualize
- Is there an agreed visualization, or feel for the end product?
- If not, how can this be reached?
- Is there a concept behind the album; story or just a collection of songs?
- How will this product fit within the genre now; in six month’s time?
Innovate
- Are there any benefits to adding some new innovations to this record?
- What could these innovations be?
- Will they alienate current fans or will they act as an influence for new listeners?
Strategy
- What strategy can be put in place to create the visualized sound that is wished for?
- What reference points can be drawn to achieve this end product; sentimental music with comedic lyrics about Mickey Mouse?
Imagine…
- …the instrumentation and consider this as part of the overall visualization. Mainly a drum’n’bass beat with operatic vocals? Perhaps heavy metal guitars, bass and vocals and a tambourine instead of a kit?
- …the arrangement, or again style of arrangement.
- …the sequencing (the order of the material on the album).
- Can you begin to consider the planning of the project?
- Who are the production team to be?
- What rooms and studios can you use or do you want to use?
- Will you need external musicians and equipment?
- What planning can you make at this stage about the initial release?
- Is there a specific date you’d want to release this, such as Christmas? FA Cup?
- World Cup? Olympics? April Fools Day?
- How do you want the product to be presented based on the answers to the concept and visualization above?
- Artwork ideas?
- Packaging?
- Management of the digital downloads?
Notate
- Can you confidently remember everything? If not, create a notation scheme you trust so that planning and thoughts can be captured.
- Prepare notes on all aspects of the production that pertain to you.
- Can you prepare notes about the material for the production team?
- What else can you notate and provide for the rest of the project team about the music and the project as a whole?