Propensión de uso del SCS

Developing a song to its full potential can take time and require specific ingredi- ents. 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 owner- ship 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 rea- son 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 mate- rial 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 pro- ducer. 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 say- ings 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 fel- low 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-experimen- tal 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 com- plete 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 per- fection 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 vocal- ist. 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 emo- tional architecture within the arrangement, using dynamics, and harmonic con- tent 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, sim- ply 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 ser- endipity should be captured. It used to be so often lost to a substandard record- ing 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 pro- ducer, 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 expe- rience 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, instru- mentation (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.

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

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.

material or not. Objective listening can take time to develop. Audio profession- als 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 detach- ment as required. This detachment means the listener analyses sound on occa- sion 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