The Music Production Process

Making music is no simple task, and to make a "good" song, there are 5 main processes that you need to go through. These are: the composition, the pre-production demo, the recording, the mixing, and the mastering. I am going to break these down and explain what must be done, and why.

The Composition

A song you hear on the radio these days was more than likely not wrote by the person(s) performing it. A band or an artist will usually sit down with a songwriter/composer/producer and discuss song ideas - riffs, melodies, chord progressions, beats etc. A few songs will then be wrote, and then the band will come back and try out the different songs, see what ones work, what ones don't, what needs changing, and eventually a rough song will be ready to rehearse for a pre-production demo.

Compared to most modern music, electronic music seems to take a different route, where almost all stages of the music production process is done by maybe one or two people. The "producer" will write their own beats and melodies, record themselves, and quite possibly mix down their own stuff, before getting it sent off to be mastered (if not mastered by themselves). This method is very unique for electronic music, and is made so easy to achieve because everything from the composition to the mastering can be done in the same software on a mac or PC.

If the band writes their own songs without the help of a composer or songwriter, it should always be put down in writing and made clear - this is because there are many issues regarding copyright that need to addressed, and you don't want someone taking your work, saying it's theirs and then making money off it just because a contract doesn't say what work is actually yours. The copyright of music and lyrics are separate, if you have a different vocalist to the artist/band performing the music, the lyrics are theirs and you have no right to use them without their permission, and it works the other way round too, if you are singing over someone's song, you do not have the right to use or make money out of their instrumental without their permission and/or some kind of agreement, which would need to be made clear in a contract.

When a song has finally been made which the band is happy with, it is usually rehearsed again and again, mixed, re-mixed, and played out at gigs and concerts to see how it goes off, crowd reactions, and to get feedback. This is vital as you don't want to go ahead and properly record a song if no one is going to like it.

The Pre-Production Demo

Booking a studio is very expensive, and unless you know exactly what you are doing from the second you enter the studio, it is a big mistake to go ahead and book somewhere if you are just going to be sat around jamming all day without any real aim. Studios can cost hundreds of pounds per day so from the moment you start until the moment you finish you need to know exactly what you are doing.

As a band, get a rough recording of the song/s you want to have properly recorded, do this by visiting a small indie studio which wont cost much money, or even record it in someones room or garage. The idea is just to get down what you want recorded so you know what to do when it comes to the real recording. Sort out any problems you have with the song, get the BPM & key right, and then you should be ready to enter a studio and get straight to work.

The Recording

The band will talk with the studio engineer, who will be familiar with all their equipment and the best techniques for recording. The producer will oversee the whole recording process, and may even be the studio engineer. The band, engineer & producer will then work on the songs, recording the different instruments. Different mics will be used, put in different positions, and then EQ'd, compressed and perhaps some effects will be added to get the sound everyone is happy with. All the tracks will be put together and layered to make the final song which after a lot of work and rework will be ready to be mixed.

The Mixdown

Most likely done in the same studio the song was recorded in, the song will have all the channels balanced, and tweaked in various different ways. This can include panning instruments, EQing again, adding more effects, automating different tracks, changing volume etc. Finally the band should be happy with a very tight song with every aspect sounding good, clear, and sat nicely in the mix, ready to be sent off to be mastered.

Mastering

The final mixdown of a song will most likely be sent off to another studio where someone will use their expensive hardware to add the final touches to the song. Tiny bits of EQ might be added, parts may be compressed in various ways, exciters or stereo spread could be used, and all these little effects will be slightly enhancing and correcting the mix to make it sound perfect. The person mastering the song will be using specialist techniques and will have a very good understanding in acoustics to make sure that the final product going back to the band will sound 100% perfect.