How to prep for a recording session

When you are looking to hire someone to record for you, the best thing you can do is be prepared.

What does that mean though? Make sure you have the instruments with you on the day of the session. Bringing more things never hurt, not having things does! Remember, it is better to have it and not need it than need it an not have it.

Next would be make sure you know the material you want to record. The better you know the song as a whole, the better you know your part in the song, the better everyone who is playing knows their part, and the song overall, the smoother the session will go. There will ALWAYS be hiccups, but if we can limit those to technical issues, it helps keep the flow of the song steady, and everyone in the pocket!

What about times of random inspiration!? Those are always amazing!! And as someone who loves music, and loves to help people capture their music, it is always good to stay open to those times. However, you need to weigh your options depending on time constraints. Is it more important to you to capture this one moment of inspiration, or is it more important to capture a pre-planned song? In my opinion, the best thing to do is to maybe take 2-5 minutes with the recording engineer to capture the basic feel. and move on to what needs to be recorded. Once the session is over, if there is time to spare. Dive back into that moment, listen to what was recorded. And just start adding to it. It is amazing when things like this happen, but it becomes hard when they are in-between takes of a song. So be verbal about wanting to switch gears.

In conclusion the main thing is to have plan, know the song and what parts you specifically will be playing and are responsible for, communicate expectations to the engineer, and play from the heart!!

God bless and I pray this helps keep everyone on track and focused!