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The following sections describe how recording music can be broken down into five steps: 1) polishing your performance, 2) having a good recording environment, 3) selecting and setting up mics to best capture the song, 4) getting a balanced mix of the recorded tracks, and 5) maximizing the quality of the master version.

Each of the modules below provides you an overview of the five steps and are linked to other lens with more detail, so you can focus on topics that are of more interest to you. Keep checking back as more and more topics will be added under the five steps below.

I. Polished Performance

Having a well rehearsed song is certainly the first important step for a good recording. No level of processing can hide a bad performance and adding more and more layers and effects only clouds the recording. Instead, the recording process should help bring out the detail and quality of a really good performance. Something else to keep in mind is that some people are shocked to hear how different they sound on a recording. So, part of rehearsal should include some basic recording to help you get used to hearing yourself in this way.

II. Good Recording Environment

At one time or another, we’ve all been to a bar or club where the band was so hard to hear no matter how loud or close you were to the stage. Other times, we have been in places where the band was so clear that no matter where you were in the room, they sounded great. So, certainly the room you are recording in will also impact how well a recording will come out. To avoid these problems, a little understand of room acoustics and how to fix these types of problems easily can make a huge difference in your recording.

III. Mic it Up and Press Record

Having the right microphone for the right job can make a world of a difference in a recording as well as where you place the mic for each instrument. You don’t have to spend $5000 on microphones to get a high-quality sound. With a little know-how on placement, which type of microphone works best for each instrument, controlling gains and some practice, you will be able to capture the true sound of each instrument. This is also a good time to reduce any hum noises that are usually the result of ground loops. Another type of noise to consider at this point is the noise floor, which is that hiss you hear when no one is playing or singing. Once all the microphones are picked and setup with a nice clean sound with minimal background noise, the final step is to bring each microphone and direct inputs into the recorder equipment as separate tracks. Now you are ready to record you songs.

IV. Balanced Mixing of the Recorded Tracks

Once all your tracks are recorded, getting them to all sound good together in a master track is a little trickier than just raising and lowering the volume and panning each track. Using this simple approach tends to result in a mix that feels like a wall of sound with no real life or clarity. With a little understanding of frequency space, reverberation and spatial placement, you can get your tracks to sound like you were standing in the center of the room with all the instruments playing around you.

V. Maximizing the Quality of the Master Version

You would think that once the tracks are mixed well that you were done. However, this final version of your song needs to fit in with the same quality and performance as other songs on your album and the radio. So, you should gain an understand about what needs to be adjusted in the master version to ensure the quality matches that of your favorite songs and albums. Specifically, mastering requires a good understanding of compression, equalization and what loudness really means. In addition, you need to make sure the master version sounds just as well on a car stereo as it does on high end studio monitors and this step is where you make those adjustments. Also at this level, conversion to compressed formats and resolutions are a consideration in quality of the sound and understanding this can make a big difference in the final product. In the end, you don’t want the recording process to rob your song of its magic and beauty and this final step will ensure your song will have the highest quality and detail no matter where it is played.

So make that hit music and soon you will be buying a years dog supplies as a gift to your pet pitbull.

About Author

I am a musician and songwriter living on the road. http://www.jimkoz.com However, I’m by no means professionally trained in music or recording, but as a regular guy I’ve managed to learn how to write my own music and do my own recordings that sound professional. I’ve received a number of awards for my songwriting from Billboard Magazine, SongOfTheYear, SongDoor, and the Great Lakes Songwriting contests. Nevertheless, the real test is that you hear for yourself and I welcome you to go to my website http://www.jimkoz.com and listen to the songs posted there to judge for yourself. My style of music may not be what you are into but it doesn’t mean you wouldn’t find ideas that could still help you. What I’d like to do here is post articles on recording music at home, tips and ideas on songwriting, and ways to improve your practicing and rehearsal time.

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