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.

This 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!

Written by Richard Dolmat

Richard Dolmat is owner, engineer and producer for the Vancouver based recording studio Digital Sound Magic. Visit his site at: http://www.digitalsoundmagic.com

For more education on careers in the music industry, check out: www.Music-Career-Guide.com

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Many people consider taking their singing hobby and turning it into a career. Most people just don’t know how. In this article I will be explaining the three core elements you need to make it as a singer.

Professional singers can broadly be divided into two categories – Popular or classical. Whilst many of the principals I will outline below apply to both worlds, there is much more emphasis on vocal training in the classical world. The rest of this article is therefore written with popular music singers in mind.

Pro singers in the popular music world can be divided once again into those who perform original material and those who perform cover versions of already popular songs. These singers maybe solo vocalists, or perform as part of a band. Successful singers in both groups usually have the following three core elements in common.

1. Voice
2. Performance
3. Music

These may seem obvious, but please read on as I develop these ideas

Voice

You don’t need to have an amazing voice to become a professional singer, but it sure helps. Neither do you need to have any formal vocal training, although having a few lessons with a vocal coach can certainly help you learn the basic key principles that can help you improve much faster. The most important thing to do as a budding professional singer is practice. Only through practice will you develop the vocal strength, stamina and lung capacity you need to be a performer.

It will pay to be honest to yourself about your singing abilities at this early stage. Get some friends opinions, ask them to be honest, and be prepared for the worst. At least if you find out that you only sound good in your own head now, you won’t waste years of your life.

Performance

The first thing must have for a professional singer is confidence. Don’t worry if you haven’t got this yet, singing is a great way of developing your self confidence. You need to get out to some karaoke nights, open mic nights and talent competitions to overcome your fear before you can start getting paid to sing.

You must also work to develop your own style as a musician. Once you’ve mastered your tracks, play around with the phrasing and melodies and take time to try new things. You need to stand out from the crowd.

Your on stage image is very important. Even if you’re in a band that just wears jeans and tee shirts on stage, make sure they are clean and fit well. A poor image makes a bad first (and lasting) impression on your audience.

Music

The final element is the music. You can have a great voice and excellent presentation, but if your music is awful you won’t get very far.
There are three ways to get music to sing:-

• Cover Versions – download backing tracks off the internet
• Original material – write your own music
• Original material (2) – find someone else to write music for you

The most important thing that you need to remember, until you’re famous is that you must keep the music you perform appropriate for the audience.

In conclusion, you must master three core elements can you start to think about getting paid for your work as a singer. Why not try and offer your singing services to a charity night for free, so you can test out your skills in front of a live audience, and get some experience of what it’s like to be a professional singer.

Best of luck!

Gemma King is a professional singer, songwriter and vocal coach. You can find out more about becoming a professional singer at her website becomeasinger.net.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com

For more education on careers in the music industry, check out: www.Music-Career-Guide.com

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