Recording songs is one of my favorite things to do. And it’s also something I’ve done almost every day for the last 20 years - so I can offer a few tips on how to get brand new artists ready for their first day of recording.

Recording and producing music is skill that takes time to develop as an artist, so don’t expect to understand all of it at once. But here are my few tips to keep in mind before showing up for your first session:

1. Know your song well

The first step is making sure you know your song well enough that we can capture a rough recording to use as a reference. Usually that means singing and playing it through so the energy and vibe come across clearly. That rough take gives us the perfect starting point to understand where the song wants to go and what we might add. So take some time to practice your song!

2. Learn to play to a click

Most of the sessions that I work on are done to a click. Having a song recorded to a click has lots of benefits:

It makes editing the song much easier.
It makes a song sound more “perfect” rhythmically, which can often make a song groove harder.
Its also allows you to lock-up with the band and makes the whole song more cohesive.
Playing to a metronome is part of being a good musician!

3. Create a list of references

Make a Spotify playlist of songs that you think are kind of similar to the one you’d like to make. Think about why you like them, and how they relate to your song.

4. Familiarize yourself with the equipment

There are lots of tools used in a modern recording studio and it’s good to know a bit about them and how they work. You don’t have to know everything about them, just enough to be able to follow along.

5. Proper mic technique

Proper mic technique is an important skill to have and will improve the quality of your vocal recordings - just listen to the engineer about how close to the mic you should be and consider taking a half step back if your going to suddenly sing loud.

6. Come Well Rested

Sessions can be long days sometimes, so its important to get a good nights sleep the night before and try to be well hydrated (good for your voice) Contrary to common belief late night partying and recording music dont go well together.

Things to remember

A recording is just a single moment in time.
No single take in music ever needs to be PERFECT - its about how everything fits together.
Have fun! It doesn’t have to be hard work
Sometimes your voice changes at different times in the day - so don’t expect your voice to sound the same in the morning vs the evening. So just sing and have fun and know that we will always find the best vocals for the take in the end.

How To Prepare For Your First Studio Session