Rough to Release

In the previous chapter we looked at production and setting out the vision for the song. So now we have our spark and spice mixed together and our direction set, how do we go about turning that into a reality? If you're a proper composer or you're just really good at thinking about musical parts, it might be as simple as writing down everything you want to play, hitting record, and playing it all.  If you're anything like me then you might be quite a long, long way from that. So I have a 'Demo Dub Delete' cycle, and you might find it helpful too. Demo Firstly, and most importantly, capture the essence of the song as completely and accurately as you can. For me, this involves practicing to a metronome a few times and then recording to a click. As well as being a bit of good discipline, this also makes it easier to add midi parts later if the baseline is solid. It can get a bit awkward if you have a tempo or time-signature change, ideally work out where those things a...

 I've gone back and forth about the order of these next two chapters several times, I'm still not sure they're in the practical order, but I think this is the right order for the finishing-your-song flow. What is 'production' when we're talking about music and home recording? In the 'good old days' the music producer was someone who would work with the band to help them establish and execute their vision. They would cover things like artist management (making sure everyone was happy and productive), label liaison (making sure everyone was getting paid and deadlines are hit), session management (making sure the engineer and artists were on the same page), but they also had a hand in the arrangement of the track, the composition of any supporting parts and that all important job of taking the vision out of the artists' head and getting it on tape. Sounds like a fascinating job, but how many people here can afford to pay a professional to do all that? Y...