STUDIO
Our recording session is at Shane McConnell's Studio in Franklin on Saturday, May 1 at 10:00 Sharp! We will finish by noon. Please allow plenty of extra time to find your way there in order to be on time. I would like for each of you to commit to going to bed by 10:30 PM the night before the session, and sleeping in as late as possible. Your voice will only be as strong as your body is. If your body is tired, trust me, your voice will be tired. We only have one shot to get these vocals recorded properly, if nothing comes out when it is your moment to sing, there is nothing we can do about it. Take care of yourself and rest your body and your voice!
We must be good stewards of the school’s money. You can help by spending some QUALITY TIME with your rehearsal tracks. Become intimate with them. Go over every single song and make sure that all pitches, tempos, and rhythms are accurate.
We must be good stewards of the school’s money. You can help by spending some QUALITY TIME with your rehearsal tracks. Become intimate with them. Go over every single song and make sure that all pitches, tempos, and rhythms are accurate.
Directions to Shane's (from BA)
Visitors
As much as I would like to invite your friends or family members to stop by while we are recording, it is not a good idea. The control room is small and too many people creates a very tense work environment. Please ask your friends and family not to come. I know that you want this record to be as professional as possible. In order for that to happen, you have to be professional. Here is a check list of things that you can do to ensure a successful record: 1) Come physically prepared. Get plenty of rest before each session. Eat right. Drink plenty of fluids. If your voice is feeling tired, take vitamin C, drink hot tea with honey or lemon. Do not drink after anyone, and wash your hands so often your parents will think you have OCD. 2) Come musically prepared. Know every note, every interval, every rhythm, entrance, cut-off, breath, vowel, color, style, lyric, etc. If you are unsure of ANYTHING, make sure you know what is correct before the session. Do not take the attitude of....”Oh, it’ll be okay, no one will notice.” This is where you would be wrong. Things that go unnoticed in a live rehearsal or performance show up quite clearly on disc. And usually, we can tell which voice is in error. One misplaced “S” will require us to re-record that particular pass. This is a costly waste of time. Ask yourself...is there anything on any song that I am not 100% confident in singing? If the answer is yes, you have work to do. Please do not come to the studio with any unanswered questions. The time for that is in class, not in the studio. 3) You have heard me say that the most difficult part of recording is good intonation. I want you to be mentally prepared to sing in tune. I don’t want you focusing on anything other than singing in the center of the pitch. In order for that to happen, you must be mentally sharp and ready to work physically in terms of good posture and good breath support. |
4) Please be thick-skinned. I have never had a session when I did not ask someone not to sing on a pass. Sometimes it can be due to intonation problems, sometimes due to balance problems. Even the very best singers sometimes have difficulty in these areas. The time to work out any difficulties you may have with your part is prior to the session, not during.
5) Be sure to bring a bottle of water so you are well-hydrated during the session. 6) The studio is a blast if you are a person who is energized by hard work and doing what it takes to do something well. When we are ready to record, there should be NO TALKING. Any effort expended to get you to be quiet is effort that could have been spent getting a pass to sound better. There should be absolute silence in the 5 seconds prior to going red and the 5 seconds after we stop. This saves time and money in the mixing process. When I raise my hand, all talking should cease in mid-sentence. Girls, don’t wear jewelry that clanks or jingles. Guys, take keys out of pockets, etc. The time to go to the bathroom or go find your water bottle is not as we are gathering around the mics to record. Anticipate! Be prepared.
7) Treat Shane respectfully. Show your class by cleaning-up after yourselves and keeping your noise level to a minimum. 7) Don’t come dressed like a homeless person. You don’t have to be in dress code, but don’t come in your pajamas. Please dress appropriately. Thank you for your dedication to this project. Any sacrifices you make now will long be forgotten by the time the CD comes out and you will be glad you went the extra mile. I think with a lot of last minute effort, we can make this an amazing project. Please email me if you have any questions and practice, practice practice! |