Getting on the traditional studio structure was an apprenticeship style route where a budding engineer might begin as a tape operator if lucky, or just as a member of administration staff such as receptionist. When an opening to oper- ate the tape machine came, the young engineer would step up to the role. Many stories emanate from the studio of assistant engineers or engineers either not showing up to work or being ill, leading to a hierarchy shift where the assistant engineer would step up to the engineer mantle, while the tape operator would step up to assistant.
This folklore, while very true, is less the case these days given the aforemen- tioned changes in technology and the personnel structures that surround it, but also due to the reduction of studio space these days. Assistant engineers are still very much part and parcel of the larger studio spaces.
The times are changing and records are made in new interesting ways these days. However, in the major recording studios in the U.K., this is still a typical career structure for some. Those who embark on this route into the career are inducted and are trained thoroughly in their activities and are able to network throughout the industry from the very first spell on reception.
Others perhaps come into the career at differing points of the hierarchy. Robert Orton came to prominence via a different route. He started work- ing at London’s Phoenix Studios, then in the former CTS studio building in The traditional hierarchy
in the production team within the studio. Additional roles can be appended as required, or indeed removed.
Wembley, as someone who would be around the studio to help and assist on the larger sessions. He made sure he learned as much as he could about Pro Tools, looking over the operator’s shoulder and picking up all the tricks he could!
Regrettably as Phoenix was given its orders to move out to make way for the new Wembley Stadium development, Orton looked for new work and landed on his feet, becoming part of producer Trevor Horn’s team at Sarm Studios. Early days would see him managing Horn’s Pro Tools rigs, backing up files, and manag- ing the systems. This led very quickly into Orton running some sessions on the computer and having a go at a mix which Horn liked. In partnership sometimes with other engineers at Sarm, he shared mixing duties on albums for artists such as Seal, Pet Shop Boys, Robbie Williams, Captain, Tatu, and Enrique, among many others. Since leaving Sarm he has paired up with producer RedOne and has mixed for many current artists such as their Grammy award-winning work with Lady GaGa.
Orton has a unique experience where, still relatively young, he has achieved his perfect role as a freelance mix engineer. Orton is lucky, as many still work in assisting roles in the main studios for many years before gaining the opportunity to move up the ladder.
Some of course transcend the ladder and enter the role of the producer at very different places. Some become producers from the mainly musical route, such as Brian Eno, Trevor Horn, Rupert Hine, and Bernard Butler, to name just a few. However, we must point out their personal fascination with what technology could offer them!
Their route is often a less secure transition somehow. There have been many successful artists who have tried to move over to the role of producer and have not quite managed to do so in the mainstream. Other people, through self- producing, are then given the opportunity to produce artists based on their own personal success and this has become a more common route as time goes on.
However, the true development for the future will be the producer’s abil- ity not only to manage the production process and the music, but also their ability to find, develop, and write with the artist in a longer term arrange- ment. Many producers are understanding that this arrangement is a more certain way of receiving an income from the work placed in, as both advances from labels and record sales are actually meaning a reduction in real terms in income.
This arrangement will allow, more than ever perhaps, the opportunity for budding producers and engineers to make a go of it themselves in the absence of a supportive and powerful culture of record company support and devel- opment. The do-it-yourself (DIY) opportunities now afforded to producers
through the Internet are rife and will perhaps become the industry of the future. We discuss this later in Section C.
day to day
For former Abbey Road Studios engineer Haydn Bendall, music production is a fabulous job in which there’s something new every day. “It’s not as though I’m pulling myself into a job I do not want to do for eight hours a day”.
For many professionals, work is simply work. It’s something that happens at work and does not come home with them or to the pub or bar, for that mat- ter. However, music is constantly all around us and there are times when one’s sound engineer or music producer ear kicks in involuntarily. The ear unwittingly digests or analyzes what is being heard, which is not something you always want when you’d rather simply appreciate, admire, and envelop yourself in some favorite music.
Life as a music professional can be different and, to friends and family, a little odd sometimes, especially when you take exception to something you hear. Here is a warning that can be disseminated to music production students: you’re always listening!
The role of the producer is sometimes framed as being the cigar-smoking wise sage sitting on the sofa at the back of the control room. However, this is a mis- leading image. Producers are very often grafters, or at least their teams graft with them and on their behalf, and are a truly dedicated breed committed to good, innovative music. How each producer operates will differ between individuals, but the dedication to great-sounding music is key.
Suffice it to say, the role is not all a bed of roses. There will be times when despair and frustration are normal. Difficult artists can become hard to man- age in the studio and the sensitive flux that holds the productive environment together can be shattered in one less considered comment.
Producers never cease to amaze us in that they learn to transcend many of these issues. Some producers we have interviewed for this book are some of the most humble people we know, yet are also at the same time quite opinionated about musical direction. Their easy manner and honest dedication to the music gains them appreciation from the artists they work with and can often ensure the session continues smoothly.
This delicate balance between the flux of the session is something the producer becomes a master of on a daily basis. Ensuring this remains a productive and creative balancing act will result in a free-flowing recording session. We’ll cover how to develop these ideas and skills a little later in the book.
The day-to-day role of the producer is in no way prescribed and can be very var- ied from a meeting with a label, to meeting a new artist at a gig, or sitting with a colleague in a studio editing some vocal takes. Each day can be different and rewarding. However, at the same time editing dull and boring vocal takes can
become a thankless task too. As with any role in life, there are the good bits in addition to the bad bits. The producer has some really exciting parts, and a lot of more mundane parts that are hidden from the public eye. It is these we wish to unearth in the remainder of this book.
“We’re not that important in the big scheme of things” says Haydn Bendall of the music producer’s role.
The balance of opinion, or what we call flux, is key to success and expands upon the triangle of influence—something the producer becomes a master at managing on a daily basis.
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What is Music Production. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-240-81126-0.00002-0
© 2011 Russell Hepworth-Sawyer and Craig Golding. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
FormIng an opInIon
As with many art forms, critical analysis is a way of life. To form a view of another artist’s work is not only necessary for personal professional development (learn- ing, listening, developing a personal ‘watermark’), but also for producing future artists and positioning them in their particular place in the market.
To be appreciative yet critical of colleagues’ work is a necessary evil of becoming a practitioner. When we say “critical,” we do not mean a type of horrid negative critical disapproval, but an academic and professional critical approach. This could be conceived as a method by which you benchmark the music or audio in front of you, or in which you can break down the construction for future use in your own work. Some critical analysis will be not simply of the music and its construction, but also social and cultural aspects too: how the music fits in the genre, how the music represents the times, and so on.
It can be difficult to form a proper opinion of a recorded piece of music. You’ll note the addition of the word “proper” in the sentence before. This is where the difficulty lies. It is very easy, in fact natural, to either be attracted to something or be slightly repelled by something, whether that is a fellow human being, a piece of art,or a music production, for many unknown reasons.
These opinions are partly what form us as individuals and allow us to have engrossing discussions on our chosen subject matters. However, what is a proper opinion? Why do we feel attracted to one person, or another; one piece of music or another? Some things just press the right buttons, irrationally or rationally, consciously or subconsciously.
It is important that emotions should not dominate us, but guide us. Objectivity is a powerful and desirable attribute for people of all positions and fields. Understanding the point of view of others and their artistic philosophies is a necessary, some might say crucial, skill.
Balancing a subjective opinion with an objective one can be extremely helpful and something we all must learn to manage. For example, many producers will speak of creating a vibe in the music, or extracting this aspect of a recording to
enhance its immediate attraction. This feeling might be based on the subjective and personal emotional response of the producer. It is natural for musicians to go with this feeling, run away with it if you like, and allow this to guide the ses- sion. However, it is the objective view that might prevail to place a reality check on proceedings, placing the material back into current trends and the marketplace. In some ways, the subjective and objective views can cross in that you may objec- tively allow yourself the opportunity to subjectively be moved by the music (as though a member of the buying public) by means of a test. Does this dance track make me dance? Does this metal track make me want to rock my head? Does this chill-out track make me chill?
These are all fairly subjective and sometimes irrational responses to music, but these things move us. They make us tap our feet, turn up the stereo, drive a little too fast, nod our head, and so on. Music simply moves us. These are the senti- ments and the triggers, often unexplained, which make us become musicians, producers, or simply music lovers.
This fascination raises all kinds of questions which we’ll not attempt to address here now, only that to be able to switch this on and off can assist you as a producer. An emotional listening switch if you like.
Being able to control these emotions for your advantage as a producer may become something that is of great value as a skill or commodity. To be able to listen as though you were a member of the buying public (music-lover), while having knowledge that what you hear in that state can feed directly back to you as a producer, in some ways provides instant market research.
Wouldn’t it be useful if we could tap into some instant objectivity, or instant market research, by employing a personal emotional listening switch? No longer would we listen as a default industry professional, but perhaps as a music-loving member of the buying public.
Many might say that forming an opinion based on what you like, or what moves you, is very subjective and could be misguided. It could be argued that successful business can take place only with a cool, calm, shrewd look at the marketplace and with good management. This appears unemotional, as in many businesses, art is not at the core of day-to-day trading.
Music is rather strange in this regard, certainly the world of music production. By its very name, it is making music a product, therefore a saleable item. It auto- matically combines art form with marketplace: something produced by love, later sold for commercial benefit.
The picture painted above almost suggests that art sold for financial gain goes against the grain. However, this marriage of art for commercial success has become the trademark for many producers.
Stock, Aitken, and Waterman spent successful years seemingly producing hit after hit for any new artist who came along. It almost did not matter whether the artist could sing, but only whether they could sell records appropriately. That misconception is what many cynically believed. However, this era launched many long-lasting and highly successful careers, most notably Kylie Minogue, already a successful actress in the Australian soap Neighbours. There is no doubt from the interviews we’ve held, that she can sing!
Other producers have been highly successful in marrying the art form of music production to commercial success with assembly-line precision. Trevor Horn could be listed here for succeeding with a wide range of artists over a lengthy career. More recently Mark Ronson has developed a producer’s watermark which has been successfully applied to many artists’ work ranging from Amy Winehouse to Duran Duran. Many producers have been successful in this regard and across many genres, Robert John “Mutt” Lange being another.
By no means does this apply universally to all their work. There will be the albums you’ve never heard of or had the pleasure of hearing. Haydn Bendall, engineer and producer who has worked for many leading lights such as Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, George Martin and countless others underlines the often forgotten (in the industry) absolute importance of the artist. He quotes for example, the fact that on one record the producer can do no wrong and produce an amazing album for one artist. With the next artist, using the same mics, studio, desk, and so on the story is completely different. Bendall makes the point that the artist still can and must have a huge sway on the success of a project obviously from the songwriting perspective as well as the performance. The producer can only do so much. The producer’s arsenal of abilities will be more popular in some years than others and because of this one will go in and out of fashion. Keeping abreast of current prac- tice is an ongoing pursuit not restricted to simply the music industry.
One skill a producer has, or should have, is the ability to be decisive and form solid, articulated, opinions—some might even say opinionated! Analyzing this rather negative word with all the connotations we expect from everyday life sug- gests that we should attempt not to be too opinionated and not to impose our
thoughts and wishes on others. This obviously is transferable to the world of the music producer, but some etiquette remains. Haydn Bendall asserts “...we’re an opinionated bunch. Well, we’re paid to be so. To make decisive decisions is our business. If we’ve got it wrong we’d be the first to admit something is not work- ing, but we like to try it out first.”
Therefore, the producer’s opinion is of increased value to the production of music. Some artists will require that firm artistic hand to interpret their work. Peter Gabriel writes in the sleeve notes for his 2010 album Scratch My Back that he set out some criteria for his arranger to work with. He indicates that to offer an artist a blank sheet can sometimes be the worst kind of freedom. Placing some restrictions can be the way in which we develop to overcome the rules. Gabriel is right and we speak later about serendipity and that restrictions can mean outcomes!
Forming an opinion is an important attribute. How else will you know what to repair, modify, scrap and so on? How we manage our conviction is another mat- ter. We believe it is important, as you will tell from many sections in this book, for a producer to be an exceptional listener while also sympathetic and intuitive to clients’ needs.
Form an opinion. It is absolutely necessary, but should be drawn from both sub- jective and objective frameworks dependent on the task at hand. But be open, objective, and able to admit you’re wrong all at the same time. Managing this is something that takes time to master and understand. The following sections relate the ways in which we can listen to music in so many different ways and on so many different levels to give us the edge and an open, objective, and modest viewpoint.
DetaChment
So how should you be guided through an opinion? By your gut feeling or by some rational objective view? Well, this might be up to you. There is a detached way of listening that is good to try to develop. When listening to music, it can be difficult to detach yourself from the subjective, enjoyable aspect of the song you’re listen- ing to (the head nodding, the foot tapping). After all, this is the reason we’re all in this, because we love music. So what are we talking about? It can be difficult to form a professional detached opinion of a piece of music you grew up with, or feel is somewhat second nature to you as a member of the music buying public. Your reason for enjoying this piece is because it was something special to you at