When independently producing music, the bulk of the effort has to be on that final 1%. That’s where that “major label sound” is. You want it? Well, here’s how you get it. It comes down to producing yourself correctly.
You don’t “have to” do it the way it’s spelled out below. But just remember this: your most successful competition does it pretty much exactly like that!
“Production” is a very broad and frequently misunderstood term. Some people think it’s the “mix.” But that is only a small part of production. Others think it’s the “arrangement” – again, that’s only a part.
A production aims to get ALL the elements of a song right:
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- Song structure, including lyrics, melodies, chord structures
- Vocal performances, dynamics
- Instrumental performances, dynamics
- Sound selections, quirky vs reliable/predictable
- Song arrangement, flow
- Special effects, if any
- General mix
- Market direction, verification, feedback
- Corrections, alterations
- The final mix and mastering
Every one of these areas is a book. As a producer of your own music you must accord maximum attention to each of these. It can be extremely helpful to have a few reference tracks. This is NOT in order to “copy” them or “rip them off” – but only to help you stay on track.
(What is a reference track? It’s a successful, well-produced song which sounds a bit like what you’d want your song to sound like. Some reference tracks may only have a single sound you’d like to emulate, others may contain a whole arrangement that you’d like to get inspired by, etc).
Check back frequently as you build your mix! Now, it’s best for you-the-producer to start by asking yourself some basic questions:
- Song Structure
Is the song meaningful? It helps to keep in mind what your audience is “generally” looking for. Pop audiences love great anthem song themes – overcoming hardship, oppression, you’re not alone, forget your problems, survival. Rock audiences might like rebellion more and perhaps more “macho” themes, not giving up, freedom. Teenagers love stuff they can dance to, hooks they can sing, lyrics they can understand.- Does it tell a story or convey a mood?
- Does it do so optimally?
- Do I love it?
- Who would relate to this song?
- Is this the audience I want to reach? Is the language consistent with that audience?
- Can the lyric be tweaked and improved?
- Can I do this in under 20 rewrites? (But, hey, it’s not a bakery! Take your time.)
- Is the lyric “strong”?
- Are the melodies strong?
- Do the chords support the melodies in a “natural” way?
- Is the song too predictable?
- Can I find alternative ways to do this?
- Does the song structure contain HOOKS?
- A hook is NOT “chorus” although a chorus SHOULD be hooky.
- Does this song even need to have a chorus? If so, how often?
- Are there memorable riffs or phrases here?
- Instrumental? Vocal? Lyrical?
- Can I play the song on my guitar and will it EXCITE a casual listener?
- Will it EXCITE me?
- Do I think this is a “pretty good” song? Or do I think this is a song that HAS TO be heard by others? In other words – do I believe this is a great song?
- What to do to make sure it’s a “great” song?
- Is it credible?
- Revise.
- Know when to stop
- Vocal Performance
- Diction: Is the vocal delivery clear? Will they understand what the hell I’m singing – without making it sound too school-book either…!
- Is the vocal rhythm & phrasing optimal? Does the phrasing go against the syllabic structure of the lyrics? Or does it support it?
- Is a rewrite necessary at this point?
- Does the vocal build throughout the song/performance? Or does it drone from start to finish?
- Are there high/low points in the vocal performance? Will the song benefit from pianissimos and crescendos?
- What’s the best and most appropriate dynamic range for this song?
- Will harmonies help? Will they unnecessarily sweeten the sound? Will they help build the power of the song?
- How many different emotional sounds can I create that will work within the context of the melody and lyrics?
- Does it sound cool? Am I PROUD of this?
- Is it credible?
- Am I ready to record this?
- Revise.
- Know when to stop.
- Instrumental Performances
- Are the selected instruments in keeping with the intended genre of the song?
- Are they played optimally well?
- Do they SOUND exciting?
- Are the sounds clean, strong – credible?
- Do the instruments clash in places?
- Which instruments should play while others wait?
- Do I have a signature way of playing my instrument? Should I use it here?
- Do I have strong, catchy riffs or “hooks” planned?
- How to use the instruments & layers of instruments to create maximum dynamics?
- Revise.
- Know when to stop.
- Sound Selections
Do we need to worry about coming up with weird-ass sounds?- Does each sound come across like there’s “money behind it”?
- Can I play a given instrument in an innovative way – make it sound exceptionally interesting?
- Will it matter if I use sounds in my recordings that I may have a problem reproducing live? (the answer is almost always NO)
- Revise.
- Know when to stop.
- Song Arrangement
- Does it flow?
- Does that chorus belong there? Or sooner? Or later?
- Should there be a bridge or a pre-chorus here?
- Should there be an instrumental break?
- Should the time signature remain the same?
- How do I make the song interesting at ANY point during the recording, without making it confusing?
- Should the intro be repeated further within the song?
- What are the HOOKS and are they appropriately and logically integrated into the arrangement?
- Revise.
- Know when to stop.
- Special Effects
- Will the song’s dynamics be helped by special effects?
- What kind of special effects will be appropriate for a song like this?
- Keep this to a minimum, but don’t be afraid to be bold, once you decide on using something – If you decide that.
- Revise.
- Know when to stop.
- Recording and The Mix
- Are all the parts recorded at an optimal singal level?
- Is every instrument appropriately EQ’ed?
- Every performance has to be recorded TO DEATH – until it’s RIGHT.
- Certain instruments have their natural EQ pockets which can be exaggerated somewhat through the EQ process, panning, and special effects processors.
- The key is always the vocal – does it have its own EQ “pocket”?
- Ensure that the EQ placement of the vocals does not fight for aural space with other instruments.
- If you have a guitar sound that plays a riff running across the lead vocal line, you’ll confuse the listener.
- Arrange the instrumental parts and vocals in such a way so as to ALWAYS give the vocals room to “breathe”
- Compare the mix to a commercially successful song in a similar style. Does your song sound the same? Better? Worse?
- Relative levels of drums, bass, guitars, pianos, synths, effect – and vocals – are as important as EQing.
- And so is panning.
- What effects processors would benefit the mix?
- Some parts could be chorused, others could be tracked/ghosted/doubled.
- Is there ANY unplanned noise on the track?
- Revise.
- Know when to stop.
- Market Feedback
- How do people react to this song, at parties, social gatherings?
- What do your friends and family say? (Predictably, they’ll love it)
- What do strangers say? Don’t tell them it’s YOU.
- Will they stop to listen? Or will they keep right on talking over it?
- NEVER get offended by critiques and disses. Learn from them.
- Did they ask you to play it again?
- Revise.
- Know when to stop (you can’t win ‘em all!).
- Corrections
- All the feedback you got has to go back to the studio and anything that’s not exactly the way it should be MUST be fixed.
- Repeat feedback process until you get desired result each time.
- Revise.
- Know when to stop.
10. The Final Mix
Mix and play back in different environments.- You need to be able to hear EVERYTHING clearly.
- Are there messy, dark spots there? FIX them. Unless they’re SUPPOSED to be that way.
- Is this something people will want to pay you money for? They worked HARD for it… Why would they give it to you? Is the song THAT good?
- Revise.
- Know when to stop.
- And then master it.
All of this doesn’t even begin to explore the fact that during the recording stage you can spend endless hours fine-tuning each performance, until it totally rules.
It doesn’t mean you wanna get oh-so-fancy with your special effects or whatever – just that it has to be super tight and “vibey.” One final role of the producer is knowing “what your market wants,” and what this also implies is knowing “what the labels are looking for” (even if you’re not actually looking for a label deal!). Having the A&R contacts to go with that knowledge is the final key.
But the role of the truly masterful producer is knowing what the market WILL want and knowing which established rules to trample!
What are the Strengths and Weaknesses of your song? Make a list! Hear it in your head clearly. Print this checklist out! And then, make a list of what fixes you would apply – and just do it.
The above method will ensure that you might spend up to a month on a single song, as opposed to cranking out 3 songs per day. But it will be your ultimate shortcut to respectability and artistic success!
NOTE:
When showcasing music to labels or other artists who you want to cover your music, it is also a good idea to consider showcasing “raw” music – seemingly “not produced”.
What this actually means is that you have indeed “produced” it, but in a manner which appears unrehearsed and natural, with minimal means only. It’s open for the recipient to project her/his own imagination onto it. These kinds of showcases can sometimes have a much bigger impact than half-baked productions. This is a particularly good technique when showcasing soloists (vocals, guitars, keys, etc).
Okay. So at this point let’s assume that your music is really cool and while not everyone might kill for it, you already know that there are plenty of people who genuinely enjoy it and might even be persuaded to buy it.
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| Book 2 – Chapter 2 Songwriting Checklist |
Course Overview | Book 2 – Chapter 4 Session Players |
Book 2: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 14b, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, Overview
