How To Prepare To Record A Song - RecordingRevolution.com 

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Let me add a little something: record EVERYTHING!!! ALWAYS record!!! So many times, when I had to record a guitar solo, before recording the 1st take, I wanted to listen to the part I was going to play over and while I was listening, I played something on guitar and I wish I had recorded it because, I tried but I was never able to do it again!

Agreed. I have a saying that I try to pass onto other which is "By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail". Great video.

Yep, me too! I like to do everything myself & I like to be by myself when recording.

This is the most truthful video I have seen in a very long time. I'd like to see a tutorial on how to use midi drums in a rock/metal context.

I open the video, I like it first, then I watch it further Graham sir, you are my GURU. Have learnt a lot from you and still learning! Thank You for all this knowledge.

Man could have watched this video from the start of my carrier. This is putting together so many lost pieces. Thank you so much!!

"You know, this practicing thing is a dirty rotten trick. You practice, you feel yourself getting better and then you think you should do it all the time...." Geddy Lee as told by Neil Peart. Definitely my favorite practice observation. Good practice habits make it all happen.

Thanks Graham, you are the best, I ve grown so much since I’m listening to you!

Great video Graham, great preparation process synthesis, thaks!!!

Thanks Graham! Im a total newbie to recording, this was a concise, realistic and comprehensive intro, from a total pro.

So many useful information in one video thanks graham

Great stuff as always Graham. Thanks for your inspiration, music wise AND business wise 👍

This thing was what I was searching for when I started to learn recording... Which instruments to record first and which or how to follow ... thanks bro Jesus bless you more

Once again a video that spoke to my heart! Needed to see this today!

Great post. Proper time management is always the mark of a pro.

Great video. All beginners should watch this.

Thank you, Graham. Have a great day!

Yep well Done Graham. 1man Band At 60 and getting my new gear I get to make this happen..........for real. Can NOT thank you enough. Sincerely Matt C.

Now that's what I tune in for. Thanks

Your work is absolutely important for every musician in the planet man! Thank you so much! I'm writing from Brazil!

Thanks Graham! Great video and great advice! I'm with you about liking to be in control of everything and recording alone.

Excellent lesson, thanks for posting

this video is really helpful man i love your videos!!👌

Love it! Thanks for sharing the knowledge!

Dude you're the reason I started my own channel. I don't have equipment yet but I decided music is what I love to do. Thanks for all your tips, it is really helpful!

man, great tips once again Graham. thanks!!

2:17 I felt that so deeply

Thanks for tips, Graham! I’ve been meaning to figure out the best way to record efficiently.

Hello my friend....I sure like your approach to things. Been wanting to do up a studio at home for years and finally have the house for it. I will be using you as a guide and from all of us we say thank you for giving of yourself to help others......God Bless

Great video, and apt as i am working with individual singers and musicians working from home trying to pull together online church services, so a lot of planning, some singers never used an interface or software like GarageBand, Splice, fun times, coordinating recordings to be brought together for final mixes in Logic, for a Sunday online service

Your videos are amazingly helpful, thank you

Excellent info! Important about everything "behind the scenes" … just need rest of my family/band to see this. :)

THIS IS THE BEST MENTOR!!!! thank you sir. from Philippines...

very inspiring and super useful video graham...

Very helpful Graham:) Great tips great channel!

Thanks Graham! God Bless you

This is very helpful. Thank you.

Great stuff Graham. Usually I just wing it. I just record my own stuff and it's all just me, but it's a great idea to have a plan on all this stuff. 🤘🙏

Brilliant! Thank you

Thanks! This was very helpful

This is some really good information and yes, I want a simply setup, been avoiding outboards and patchbays.

Thank you so much.Excellent info. ♫

I came across this video this morning and thing you did a great job. This actually is almost identical to the flow I use for recording. I play most instruments myself. Everyone does things a little different. I either record against the click with electric and vocal or piano and vocal. If it is a guitar based song, I find it easier to not have the guitar bleed into the scratch vocal. Anyway, nice video with a great deal of good advice. Yes, I have owned my own studio since the 1970's.

Great video man!!!

Really helpful tips. Thanks.

Not to mention the re-works: re-writing, re-harmonizing, re-arranging, re-recording and re-producing, of which all is done very frequently to reach the best work possible.

Thanks for this breakdown

RIP Chris Cornell, legend.

..thanks graham..ur the best..

Thank you for your videos.

Great vid. I've been working music for online services since C19 hit. I'm overdubbing parts on cell phone shot acoustic/vocal performances. These tips help. Markers! Thanks Graham.

Blocking out time has never been as easy as this year. The appointment with my wine bottle can wait, I guess,

Thanks for this!

Thank you so much for the video. it's so important. may you do some videos about how to use pro tools?

This is a good comprehensive list 👌 Only thing I might've thrown in would be addressing gain staging levels, but I know you've mentioned that in previous videos, so this is a good general overview.

Very helpful!

you're on top of it, a full on recording of your take is heart, I still have to learn about mic'ing?

Thank you!

I just sat down with a notebook and studied the crap out of this video. Thank you so much.

Nice!

Great vid

hey graham great as always, listened to you podcast re mixing uni, i hope it will be still avaiable at that price, unfortunately at the moment monwy is tight, i will be buying, thanks for all the great info

Thanks for the info. I will most definitely take a look at this process. Currently My partner and I aren't recording because of this Corona Virus Pandemic and we set our priorities straight in the process..................

WOW, THX!

Thanks G!

Thankyou!

Love the content, Graham! I’m a total newbie with home studio, and I’m have a terrible latency problem right out of the gate that has stopped me even before I could start. Got the Scarlet Solo interface and a new computer and cakewalk. Anyway, I’ve been looking for someone to possible pay to help me get this fixed since I know nothing. Tried all kinds of drivers. It nothing works? Thanks!

Thanks for the video, Graham! A lot of this stuff is sort of common sense when you think of it, but it certainly hits home when all summarised and laid out like that. My biggest problem is deciding on what’s final for the song, I’m often fighting this urge to constantly keep tweaking things, be it slightly varying vocal melody, guitar leads, drum fills, etc etc. How to battle that?

I’m close on your organizing the set. Alittle off on a couple things. I will switch it up. Thx

Thank you, Graham, for being educated people!

Thx dawg

Thx 😊 🙏🏾

Yeah, a friend had a band show up for a recording session, and they hadn't even arranged the piece, presuming my friend would do it and it'd be smooth the first time. I think he helped arrange it, then sent them home to practice it. Thank G-d it was in a small neighborhood, and not cross-country like you, or that would've been a huge waste of time.

My Core is Lap Steel or Dobro then Guitar it's All fun !

If you are a *Producer* I also recommend obtaining a copy of a lyric sheet of all the songs of the Artist you are working with and go over the song before the session starts. The Producer assist the Vocalist during the recording process to help capture a great performance that provides guidance and direction during the recording process. Record Producers rarely charge by the hour for studio time as they are quite different from an Engineer that focuses more on the arrangement, production, writing. I charge a flat fee per song or EP and some times may ask for points on the record.

Great Content. Friendly Graham. RecordingRevolution.

Starts giving advice (after a long intro explaining we should trust what he’s talking about) at 3:15

few nice tips. most hiphop artist punch ini and out. Im going to experiment more with full takes and comping those full takes. thanks

I have to see where I'm at after recording bass, guitar and drums, vocals and lead- then what I think will do to embellish that particular track. I can't plan it out because I don't know where the song is taking me and need to reflect on that, before making any other additions/subtractions. The last thing I want to do is predetermine I need a Mandolin, etc, record it- and find out that it doesn't fit the result. Whatever method works, I guess..

Hos can I record my guitar with petals to my pc ..what interface i can buy that will record my music without changing my petal sounds?

With the bands I’ve worked with, most of the drummers aren’t tight enough to just go on to the bass after the drums. Takes me about another 1-3 hours per song (depending on the song) to go through and tighten things up with beat detective.

I loved this video. Just one thing, I think the lead parts should be recorded last even if you have a good demo track to refer to. I'd record lead vocals after backing vocals and then as the last thing I'd record lead instruments like lead guitar, or lead saxophone etc because often these lead parts interact with stuff that's already in the song. I guess the best way to produce a track is to do it iteratively so you can go back and polish stuff the second and 3rd time round and so on. For instance in the 2nd iteration you could focus on how well you are building up and breaking down the song (if this is applicable to your genre), also focus on transitions. This might mean redoing the drums and bass, so that you have your "valleys and mountains" well defined etc. I guess if you're really prepared you can map out your song in your mind without needing to do it iteratively.

LISTEN TO THE MAN!

Pls I need your help...with the instruments I need to start recording

Thank you #Recordingrevolution. I've been planning to make a home studio and those recording tips are like a gold bar for me. Been watching a whole lot of your videos and most of all are relatable to biginners

I’m currently preparing to record! Purchased my first interface recently (presonus/studio one) Waiting for it to be delivered today! Also, I know you say to “not buy a recording computer!”! But I had to. I didn’t currently own a computer. Had to purchase a refurbished MacBook Pro.

Love some Chris Cornell. R.I.P.

How can you create markers in GarageBand?

One thing I hate about what people say on the internet is " all you need to make music is a cumputer, a daw and headphone" like I don't think you can do much good with stock plugins and it is more expensive than they say

6:11 this!!

Step 0: watch a Recording Revolution video to get the hipe

im just starting ordered a focusrite bundle from sweetwater ill be watching tons of your videos ! hey can you put drums on a piano track?

🔥👁🔥.

You should definitely add some timestamps of the steps so we can get to that part in the video easier

Problem is, I don't have an idea of how many instruments - even what instruments I will go with. Sometimes I have lyrics for one verse and one chorus only..sometimes, what I hear in my head is exploding, but i have no time or patience to settle into the technical aspects of it...it is a massive black hole time sink. Sometimes I wonder whether I should be trying to record at all..perhaps I should just use a tiny tascam pocket thang instead of a DAW. Then, finally, when my performance is so lousy, or the guitar tones are crap, and my spirit is being crushed, I give up and walk outside...then a new song comes to me..i am excited again..come back rinse and repeat ..

Yes, Chris Cornell was the best hands down.. at first , I thought it was a suicide.. but now I know the truth.. I was so depressed the day that Chris died. And also Chester Bennington Let’s just say that I live in LA and I know most of the people involved I should say I knew God bless Danny

They should be ready for Carnegie Hall before they walk in the studio door.

Hey quick question! I do hip hop vocals. Are you saying record the entire song including the hooks and verses for a natural sound? Or are you saying just do the hooks/vocals all the way through? Thanks!

Rehearsal