The importance of rehearsing before making a professional studio recording cannot be understated. So what should you think about?
Preparation
You want to make the most of your time in the practice room before your session in a recording studio. Since there is no audience, the energy of the song must be self-generated in a way more obvious in a recording.
Hiring a practice room won't cost as much as a recording studio so rehearsing together until your songs are tight and as good as you can get them, will give you the confidence to play well when the record button lights up.
Before tracking commences, you should establish a clear vision of how a project’s songs, sounds and performances should best be represented in recorded form. Your ‘blueprint’ must also factor in the opinions of the band and, if relevant, the record label, and it will inform the vast majority of your production decisions and your communication with the band. Mark Mynett, producer (Making Modern Metal, Sound on Sound, January 2018).
Before you book a practice room, think about who needs to be present for the session. Considering and adopting some of the following points could make your time more productive.
Preparing for your recording
The difference between a professional recording versus an amateur one, is mostly in the preparation. If a song is not properly rehearsed, minor annoyances can create confusion and frustration. Any advantage to be had before entering the recording studio will pay dividends no matter the level of recording facility.
Well before recording commences, a producer should identify potential problems with the individual performances... A musician who’s unable to perform their parts accurately and comfortably in the comparatively relaxed setting of a rehearsal room is even less likely to play well in the studio, Mark Mynett, producer (Making Modern Metal, Sound on Sound, January 2018).
Vocals
The process of rehearsing can be an effective way of preparing a vocalist who is singing on a programmed or produced recording. A vocalist should be taken to task on the technical aspects of a performance such as pitch, timing, phrasing and annunciation.
If there are difficult parts that are tongue twisters or stretch the range of the artist, they can be worked on and strengthened before entering the studio.
Drums
For any serious recording project, new drumheads are a must. If a drum kit’s batter heads are significantly ‘pitted’, or have simply become unresponsive and lost their ‘bounce’ due to the amount they have been used, the drum will sound dull and flat, and be very difficult to tune.
The cost of new drumheads is incidental in comparison with the additional time spent tuning the drums and processing the resulting signals in an attempt to compensate for the sub-standard recording. A simple suggestion like making sure the drummer changes the heads could easily save hours. Allowing adequate time for them to fully stretch will make the drum sounds more consistent making the engineer's job much easier.
If you get what you want from the rhythm section (bass & drums) during the band rehearsals, record them so you can play back the recording when you rehearse the vocalist or other musicians. This way you will not burn out your rhythm section by making them play the piece repeatedly. You can bring everyone in together for a final rehearsal before the recording if necessary.
Guitars
Accurate tuning can make the difference between an acceptable demo and a good, professional production, and from a bass and guitar perspective, one of the most important considerations is for these instruments to be accurately tuned.
Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse
The performance process is different in the recording studio to any other place. Rehearse until your songs are second nature. No part or passage should come as an overwhelming challenge when you press record. Get the songs to the point where it is muscle memory thinking less, and feeling more. The studio is not the place to finish writing that bridge or working out a face melting solo.
The maze of microphones and cables can make any musician feel confined or restricted. The use of isolation booths to separate musicians, headphones and lack of clear sight lines between musicians can diminish visual cues to usher in transitions between sections of a song.
The strange studio environment, the listening setup, and the sound engineer sat behind the console all play a part in adding stress to the situation, so you don’t want to mess up when more preparation could have helped.
Communication
Setting up a short video conference or phone call ahead of the recording can prepare the musician for what to expect in the studio.
They can prepare ideas and rehearse in their own time. Since so many musicians have recording setups, have them record and send ideas back to you. This will help you sort out the best of what they have to offer and fashion it into a part before the recording.
Recording live
If you’ve prepared well, tracking separately may not be necessary. All the musicians may record altogether, live, at the same time, with the feel a live band recording makes possible. Or maybe the drummer nailed the take and everyone else will layer their parts.
Some songs benefit by recording to a click track. Some songs don't. You may not know which approach works best until you get into the studio and record a couple of takes. For this reason, as a band, rehearse each song both ways.
Click track
If you have the time and resources, it's worth thinking about mapping and recording guide tracks to a click track in advance of the studio recording sessions.
Producer Mark Mynett in a Sound on Sound magazine article described using a click track approach in an album's pre-production. He captured a live recording of a band in a practice room, then tempo-mapped the recording. The band practiced to the resulting clicks for three rehearsals and, following a few minor tweaks, the album's guide tracks were tempo-mapped to perfection.
With the guide rhythm recordings complete, the drummer was given the final templates to practise:
By rehearsing and tracking to a click, the drummer’s grooves and beats [can] be ‘tightened’ and made more consistent, whilst any required performance edits would be easier... Click use would obviously enable the band to lock to the optimum tempo. Mark Mynett, producer (Making Modern Metal, Sound on Sound, January 2018).
Throughout the process, the various rehearsal and guide track recordings allowed the producer and band-members to comment on the parts, arrangements and resulting amendments.
Involve your sound recording engineer
Once you have sorted through all the performance and parts in the band rehearsals, it is usually a good idea to bring in the engineer who will be recording the band. By seeing the setup, meeting the musicians and hearing the music, they will be able to better prepare the studio. A good engineer will make suggestions regarding sounds, resources available at the studio and what to expect on the day of the session.
Attitude and feeling
Most people never bought a record because the artists pitch, timing and tone were perfect. They buy tracks because the attitude, feeling or emotion struck a chord.
If well rehearsed, your engineer or producer can focus on the more important aspects of the vocal performance like the expression and the continuity of the song from section to section. The listener will relate to such things and influence them to buy your song. It is at this stage when you will need to decide where you want to record. If you have a producer they will help you to select a recording studio.
Selecting a recording studio
Factors to think about include previous notable clients that represent your sound, the equipment, size of its live room and what backline is included. Perhaps it has a live room famed for its drum sound. Perhaps you want to record drums at one studio and guitars at another.
Pre-production for professional recordings often focus on details such as testing out microphones that best suit the vocalist. Sourcing reference tracks by other artists can help everyone involved agree and understand the sound you are trying to achieve.
For those acts still starting out, budget will also be a factor. If your budget is tight, it’s always best to do less songs of a higher quality than try to do more songs and leave them unfinished. Most studios will offer advice when trying to work out how to get the most value for your money.
Above all be ready for all eyes to be on you while you’re recording.
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