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How to Record Your Music for the Best Results
By Jim Moore, Phoenix Studios
Copyright ©2008 by Phoenix Studios. All rights reserved.

I'm not going to try to tell you how to write a song, how to get a band together or any of that. I have to assume you already know how to do that and that you've practiced and rehearsed until you're blue in the face and that you are ready to actually lay down tracks and produce music.

UPDATE: A lot of songwriters have asked that we do include help for songwriting and band management, so that has been added as an additional Section 10 near the end.

If you already use a professional recording studio, you may find this of minimal relevance, but do be sure to read those lessons on how to prepare your music for online distribution and sales, because that is probably not included in your studio sessions.

This is more for the growing number of musicians who record in their own home studio.

They say we use the "left brain" and the "right brain" - one side for creativity and one side for the technical stuff. Most artists are strong in creativity but weak in technicalities. In fact, very few people are able to achieve a workable balance between the two. Creative people get frustrated when confronted with technical details, and the technical people can't comprehend what goes on in the creative mind.

Part of your preparation is to gain at least a working knowledge of both without sacrificing either. This is more of a personal, mental/emotional training than mere book learning.

People have different ways of learning things. Our schools are dismal failures because they use a "one size fits all" approach that simply doesn't work. It's like expecting everyone to wear the same size shoes.

  • Some people learn visually - they need to see it being done.

  • Others learn audibly - they need to hear it explained.

  • Still others learn better by reading it - so they can go back and look at the words over and over until they have processed the printed instructions. They may like to make lists or charts or calendars and timelines.

  • And still others learn by hands-on doing - they have to do it with their hands so as to coordinate the mental and physical approaches to a task.

  • And some learn by a combination of one or more of above.

Very few people these days learn by reading (which happens to be the approach most schools impose). For example, when you get a new gadget, do you really read the instructions? Or do you just plow in and try to make it work?

You need to identify what type of learning procedure works best for you!

Personally, I do read the instructions, but I like to actually see how to do something (like in a video) and follow that up with hands-on practice. So I use three of the above five approaches.

If you belong to a band, you may be able to pool your approaches and your abilities so as to complement each other. One will be stronger where another may be weaker. Get together, talk it over, decide which approaches work best for which persons and then work together!

Be a team!

  1. Breathing Techniques

  2. Good Gear

  3. Great Drum Sounds From Your Home Studio

  4. Home Demo Recording

  5. More Tips from Studio Buddy

  6. Recording the Acoustic Guitar

  7. Studio Buddy Is Coming To A Computer Near You

  8. You May Already Be Recording

    TECHNICAL HELP

  9. Analog (non-USB) headset microphones

  10. Choosing a Sound Recorder and Audio Editor

  11. Deciding which USB headset to buy

  12. Finding a great USB Mic Preamp for under $300

  13. Four Tips for Choosing Pro Microphones for Voice Recording

  14. Free Audio Editor Programs for the PC

  15. Free Audio Maker software at File Flash

  16. How a Royalty Free Music Library Can Help Your Web Audio

  17. How to choose between computer microphones

  18. Professional Audio Editor Programs for Windows

  19. Reviews of Plantronics Headsets

  20. Use a Voice Lesson to Improve Your Speaking Style

  21. Which Web Audio Converter is The Best?

  22. The Guide To Audio And Video Formats (PDF file)

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