Posted by Michael on March 15, 2010 under Articles | 
Many bands face this question when recording… Record an album that accurately reflects the band’s live show, or do a bunch of stuff that can’t be replicated on stage?
One plus in your column as a solo artist… you don’t really need to worry about this one. Why? Because if you announce your performances as “solo performances”, no one is going to expect the performance to sound like the recording! In fact, they are probably looking for that intimate, stripped down feeling.
So as a solo artist, your only concern should be if you can play the songs live so that the song still comes across as something special. Making sure your songs are great goes a long way towards this!
For the studio, you should be thinking about other things. Namely, what are your goals with the recording? Maybe a simple, acoustic album is the right thing for you. Maybe you want to keep that overall vibe, but go for adding more dimension with more instruments and arrangement depth. Maybe you are looking for something more slick and polished…
My suggestion is, where budget allows, make a recording for the artist you *want to be*! Read more of this article »
Posted by Michael on August 2, 2009 under Articles |
What do I most look for in producing an artist? Talent? Voice? Songwriting? Musicianship?
No.
Do I like them as a person, and will I enjoy my time (many many hours) working closely with this person.
Why?
Life is too short to deal with unpleasant situations. And, you just never know… I’m not going to say the name of my following client, but here’s a story…
I recently started work with a new singer songwriter. His initial email sounded scattered, like he didn’t know what he wanted to do, a lot of song fragments he couldn’t finish, etc… It didn’t sound promising, but I set up the consultation. Turns out he was a very nice guy. I didn’t think he was a *fantastic* musician, and I was very unsure about his vocal abilities (although I was sure I could help him get to a passable level for his genre…)
Flash forward… Read more of this article »
Posted by Michael on April 13, 2009 under Articles |
I know that everyone works in a slightly different manner. So for those of you new to the recording process, or for those of you who want an idea of how I work, I thought I would walk through the whole process, step-by-step, of recording a song.
I wrote an article on recording pop/R&B songs… i.e. songs with predominantly programmed material. However, there are many of you who like to use predominantly live musicians, of course. And, of course, I can accommodate you as well! This article is geared toward artists who like to use a lot of live musicians, but aren’t recording as a band. i.e. most of the musicians will probably be coming in seperately, and probably haven’t been rehearsing the song with you a whole lot, if ever. I will do another walk through for rehearsed bands, as that process is a little bit different.
I also work quickly. Depending on the Client and musician availability, I can usually move through all the steps to completion in 10 days or less. Things move even faster (per song) when working on more than one as I can work in parallel on the songs, and the musicians can lay down on more than one song a session. (This is a whole lot more cost-effective!)
1. Scratch the Song
I listen to the client sing “or play” the song… Then I find the tempo, put in a temporary, unchanging drum beat, and start figuring out the song. We will lay a temporary piano or guitar line that is meant for just figuring out the chord structure of the song. Once this is laid down, the client will lay down a “scratch” vocal for me to use as reference. I don’t spend much time at all on the scratch vocal. (The only people who will ever hear it are myself and the client!) The scratch vocal serves three purposes… Hearing it over and over I can get to know the song better. I will get to know the singers idiosyncrasies and get some ideas of how to coach out an amazing vocal performance later. Most importantly, I can see how the voice fits in the track so I can choose instrumentation that will sound good with and support the most important element of the song. Then I am ready to move on. Read more of this article »
Posted by Michael on March 11, 2009 under Misc |
What is this website all about?
I’m a music producer, engineer and songwriter with a recording studio in Times Square, the heart of New York City.. I specialize in working with solo recording artists in many genres.
Here, at different times, I will shed light on the recording and creative process as well as write some personal articles, reviews, etc… The relationship between an artist and their producer is an extremely personal one, so perhaps here you may get to know me a little better and decide if I might be a good match for you as an artist.
Read more of this article »
Posted by Michael on February 16, 2009 under Articles, Recording Tips |
I find it amazing that the first question most people ask when talking to me about recording is, “What Are Your Rates?”
I understand this is important to most people, but the correct question should be “What is This Going to COST Me?”
1. People who work on hourly rates work at different speeds and capabilities. Someone whose hourly rates are half of someone else’s could still easily end up COSTING you a lot more for the finished end project.
2. Producers like me, who work on a package price for the whole project, need much more information before we can truly answer that question. (Which is why I offer a free consultation to prospective clients.) Read more of this article »
Posted by Michael on December 9, 2008 under Misc |
Whether you are looking to record a vocal demo for audition use or auditioning live, many of the same selection tips apply. Here are some good tips to keep in mind.
Audition Song Selection Tips
Don’t use a song currently on the Radio or on Broadway.- Don’t use a song that is solely/primarily identified with a singer who made it famous.
- Don’t pick an overly obscure song.
- Don’t pick a song that doesn’t make sense out of context.
- Don’t pick a song where you “showboat” through the entire song.
- DO pick a song meant for another sex.
- DO select lesser known material from popular composers.
- DO reinterpret a well known song. (Slow to fast, straight feel to swing, etc…)
- DO pick a song that shows your strongest vocal range in the first 20 seconds.
What Should You Record?
It’s helpful to have a few different styles recorded, depending on your vocal/character type and abilities. You generally don’t need more that one song in any style to show what you can do, so I recommend recording different styles to show off your strengths and have the *right* song to submit for any job. That said, here are some common styles that, if you are strong with them, you should have in your arsenal.
Classic Musical Theatre (ala Cole Porter, Rogers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Lowe, etc…) Uptempo & Ballad- Contemporary Pop/Rock Songs (Uptempo and Ballad Useful)
- Contemporary Musical Theatre (Tom Kitt, David Zippel, David Yazbeck, etc…)
- Contemporary Intelligent/Wordy Musical Theatre (Sondheim, LaChiusa, etc…)
- Jazzy/Big Band Sound
- Songs that show off your character/acting ability
- Gospel Song
- Comedy/Humorous Song
Some smart song choices can cover multiple “styles”!
Surprise Them!
Consider recording a song people are familiar with in an entirely different style or “character” than they are used to and really grab their attention!
MOST OF ALL
Make sure your selections show off your unique talents, not just the song!
I hope these tips help. Feel free to call me at 646-345-3433 when you are getting ready to record!
Information and Rates on Piano/Vocal Demos HERE
Information and Rates on recording Vocals to tracks HERE
Posted by Michael on September 29, 2008 under Articles, Recording Tips |
Many artists and musicians think they don’t need a producer. They have the artistic vision, why should they hire someone else?
There are many jobs a true music producer does, many of which have little to do with the actual creative output of the music. So why should you use a Real Producer?
What is a Real Producer Good For?
1. Do you know which studio to book? Do you know if they will really have what you need to accomplish your goals? Real Producers know this. Many have their own studios as well, so the price isn’t much more, and if their studio isn’t up to the job, they’ll be able to take the portion of the project that needs another space and coordinate everything.
2. Do you know how long it will take to record all the pieces? Not guessing… really know? Producers know how long everything will take, and can schedule everything with you to make sure you are getting the most efficient use of your time. Read more of this article »
Posted by Michael on April 4, 2008 under Recording Tips |
There are a lot of things involved in recording great Background vocals, but the biggest secret is… They take a lot of time, so be patient.
If you want a really tight BG vocal arrangement with several parts it can take anywhere from 2 1/2-6 hours depending on the experience of the singers and the skill of the vocal arranger.
First off, if you haven’t worked with BG vox before, get a vocal arranger. It may be one of the singers you are using, it might not, but you need someone who hears and understands not only harmonies, but how bacground vocal arrangements usually fit in with the type of song you are recording. I was a vocal arranger for years before I became an engineer, and I assure you, different styles require different treatments.
Also… you don’t need the world’s best singers to get a great BG arrangement! Depending on the style, they should be pretty much on pitch… but often a great tone isn’t needed. Obviously this is different if you’re talking about one harmony line (think Indigo girls).. but for full, multi-part arrangements… not a neccessity. (Though the session WILL go faster with better singers.)
These next comments work whether your working with one singer doing all the backgrounds (Maybe the lead singer) or a small group of 2-4 people.
Layer and double! Do at LEAST 2 tracks of each vocal part (each person). If your group is all good on pitch, you can have them all record at once on the mic for some great energy! For R&B and pop, doing 4-8 tracks of each part is NOT overkill and gives that of so smooth sound.
The more tracks you are doing, the more rhythmically precise each line should be. Remember, this isn’t the lead vocal, you aren’t looking for each line to sound good on it’s own. The more tracks, the more staccatto the vocals should be sung… if not, after all your layers are together, it will sound like mush. Trust me, even with very staccatto vocals, after they are all layered, they will start to sound smooth AND crisp.
When mixing, roll out the bottom end with EQ. You don’t want them muddying up the track. Boost the highs as well. Try panning each line hard left and right to get them out of the way of the lead vocals and other instruments. If you did each part in pairs, it will still be balanced and sound nice and big.
Finally, compress the hell out of them. BG vocals really need to sit in a constant place in the mix. You can (and should) save processing power by running the compressor on a bus you have all the vocal lines going to.
This really just touches the surface on getting great background vocals, but I hope it gives you someplace to start! For some genres, the song really can live or die depending on how the BG vocals sound!
Posted by Michael on April 2, 2008 under Recording Tips |
Advanced Tip
This is going to be just for other geekey engineers like me, but every once and a while I’m going to post some of best recording tips.
Want vocals that soar through the mix, but don’t want to lose the punchiness of the drums?
Many software suites (I use Sonar 7.0) and plug-ins now allow side-chaining. Side-chaining allows one track to control an effect setting on another track.
Tip: Send all your instrumental tracks (Not the drums) to a bus (sub-mix). Now put a compressor on it that allows side-chaining. (I use Vintage Channel in Sonar, but there are others that allow this.)
Set a low Threshhold (-40db) with a low ratio (1.09:1) fast attack and medium release. Your goal is 2 to 3 db of reduction when it is working.
Now, sidechain the compressor to trigger off the vocal line. You do this by setting up a send from the vocal line into the compressor, and then setting the compressor to recognize the “key” or “sidechain input”.
Voila! Now the music is compressed only when there are vocals, allowing them to pop through the mix a little better, and the music expands back out when the vocals are not there to fill out the mix. Be careful with this, the result should be subtle. If you hear the compressor working too much every time the vocal stops and starts, you’ve gone too far. Bonus, the drums will feel much crisper as well.
You can take this a step further and do a little EQ reduction in the 1-2Khz range on the music bus as well… this also gives the vocals a little more room in the mix.
This is a fantastic tool, and my mixes got much cleaner and punchier as a result!
