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Proper microphone techniques, optimum audio signal levels, getting a killer guitar tone, how to properly double a vocal (both physically and virtually) and many other tips are stored in our locker known as Recording.

A Guide To Recording A Killer Lead Vocal.

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The article below comes from the latest edition of Electronic Musician (emusician.com). It was written by Michael Cooper who really seems to know his stuff. It’s a long article, but if you are serious about recording great vocal performances you should read this in its entirety. I’ve been in this business for about 15 years and even I took away some great tips. At times it gets a bit technical, but continue reading. He blends advice for techies and newbies alike quite nicely.

Best of luck and please remember to contact us if you have any vocal tracking needs or simply want to discuss a technique in Michael’s article. We love to talk shop!

A SOUP-TO-NUTS GUIDE TO RECORDING KILLER LEAD VOCAL TRACKS

By MICHAEL COOPER

Recording a Killer Lead Vocal

"Pamper the Talent", Michael Cooper

THERE’S A good reason why music-production illuminati dub the lead vocal the “money track”: If it’s not fantastic, you don’t have a record. To casual listeners, it hardly matters how good the instrumental tracks sound. The lead vocal is the thing that grabs their attention and impels them to listen to a recording, or hit the Skip button.

In this article, I’ll detail the techniques that have worked for me when recording lead vocal tracks over the past 30 years. My focus will be on overdubbing vocals to existing instrumental tracks, but much of what I’ll cover applies equally to tracking a singer simultaneously with a band. It all begins with common-sense tips.

Prepare Ahead of Time Nothing drains a singer’s mojo faster than waiting forever while his mic is set up, a preamp and compressor are patched into the signal path, a new DAW track is created, and a headphone mix is devised and routed to his cans. If possible, make sure all these tasks are completed before the singer arrives at your studio. That way, you can immediately get down to making magic together after a couple minutes of ice-breaking chitchat.

I’ll talk in-depth about equipment selection and setup shortly, but a few words about mic choice bear discussion now, before your session begins. If you’ll be working with a singer for the first time, ask her well before the session what her favorite mic is for recording; that is, one that has yielded flattering results on her other sessions. Try using the same mic model if you own it. If it’s not in your arsenal and you can’t justify renting it, choose another mic from your collection that has a similar frequency response, polar pattern, and bass proximity effect.

An alternative tack is to set up a few of your best vocal mics before the session and have the vocalist briefly sing into each one so you can hear which is the best match for her voice. The drawback to this approach is it takes time, something that the project’s budget might not allow. Fortunately, there is a simple way to choose the perfect mic on the spot. But first, a little feng shui is in order.

The rest of this article includes topics like…

  • Pamper the Talent (I wrote a similar article recently titled, Putting a singer at ease in the studio)
  • Hang it High – Microphone placement
  • Patch in Preamp and Compressor Before the Talent Arrives
  • Tweak the Cue Mix
  • Fix Now or Comp Later
  • Using Polar Patterns to Shape Tone
  • And much more.

To continue reading please head on over to Electronic Musician.

How to Write Songs That Stick!

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Below is an excerpt from an e-course I subscribe to by Morgan Cryer. Morgan is a Nashville based songwriter who has had airplay and hits on commercial radio.

That said, he is also a songwriting coach amd internet marketer. He’s the author of the e-book Strong Song Writing. I don’t pay attention to most e-books, but Morgan’s seems different. He cares more about providing in-depth guidance than fluffy content.

I don’t own his book, yet, but I do plan on purchasing it very soon because my next big music endeavor is going to be based around songwriting. 

So if your main focus in this business is writing songs you’re going to want to pay attention to my next few Round Ups. They’re going to be all about how to sculpt the best song you can write – every time.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy Morgan’s view on starting your song strong.

 

GET DOWN TO BUSINESS IMMEDIATELY

By Morgan Cryer

Morgan Cryer

Songwriter, Morgan cryer

One of the most overlooked secrets to writing strong songs is so simple you’ll think it’s stupid.   And yet it’s so important that I don’t know why songwriting authors and “teachers” have not made more of a big deal of it.

Here it is:  ALWAYS start your songs strong.

It sounds too simple to even be called it a “tip.” I can hear you saying it,
“Everybody knows that!”

But do they?  Out of 100 songs I hear at writer’s events, 97 of them will have weak first lines (actually weak first and second lines).  Just think of how crazy this is.  You book a flight, pay a registration fee, make sure you’re in the right room for the critique session, and then you patiently wait through all the other writers’ stuff.

It’s finally your turn!  They announce your song title and your name, and press
“play.”  ALL EARS ARE ON YOUR SONG!  AND…because you didn’t
start strong, all that rapt attention just bleeds out into the carpet while your first
two lines dribble out of the speakers like warm mayonnaise.

No (or low) impact.  By the time your lyric gets up to speed it’s too late.
The audience has quietly slipped you into the “just another wanna-be songwriter”
category along with 96 other people.

**Actually, you have 2 other “first impression” chances even before they hear
your first lyrics:  1) Your intro, which should “arrest” everyone quickly and reset
their mood, …even before that, 2) The moment you walk onto the stage, or into
the room, or into the publishing company office, your personal presence can
greatly help or hurt your chances of being taken seriously.

In my book, Strong Songwriting, I go into great detail about how to “ace”
all these first impressions.  You can check that out by clicking here.

How to write songs that stick!

WHAT ARE YOU SHOOTING FOR?

Your goal is not to make every song’s first line into an epic event.  Sometimes a song calls for an understated beginning.  However, understated is not the same thing as boring or un-engaging.

Here’s what I believe you should shoot for in EVERY first line you allow out of the house:

“Your first line should entice, dare, tease, or otherwise promise the listener that if they will listen to the next 3 lines, they will be happy they did.”

Remember that a song is a two-way communication.  A listener must literally give your song the time of day to even experience it.  If you don’t make (and keep) a worthwhile promise right up front, a split-second decision will be made
to bypass your song.  So keep this simple thought in your mind:

“Make the promise in the first few seconds, then keep the promise with the rest of the song.”

For Morgan’s next tip, he’ll talk about the simple differences between boring songs and interesting songs.

Just Sing The Damn Song!

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This is a repost of an article written by Robin Hilton, producer and co-host for the popular NPR Music show All Songs Considered. He brings up a question I’ve discussed many times with music colleagues. “What’s more important? The lyrics or the melody?” Personally I’m a melody man. A song’s melody is very important to me, but [...] Continue Reading »