During the recording studio there’s a lot of information that you need to know about getting ready. Click to read our blog about some good things to know, like the click track!

But here’s some additional information that is good to have. Let’s remember the three P’s of Pre-Production: Practice, Prepare, Perform.

Practice.

To get ready for the studio you need to practice a ton. I know it sounds cheesy, but it is so useful. If you’ve practiced a ton, if you feel a little nervous, then you won’t actually mess up when you’re in the studio. Cause when you’re in the studio TIME is MONEY. And you don’t want to waste it messing up a ton. So practice until you’re perfect. Practice until you can play through a bunch of dogs running around you and barking. Play until you can do it with perfection in a thunderstorm, or when your friend is asking you to go out for some beers. Play until you’re unable to be distracted.

Prepare. 

This one is similar to practice, but it’s little different. Let me explain. Yes, you have to practice, but this means you need to prepare how you want your song to be. The lay out. The structure of your song. You need an outline. Do you want it Verse 1, then Chorus, Verse 2, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus. Or do you want it a little more story-teller-folksy, like Hank Williams, Verse 1, Verse 2, Verse 3, Bridge, Verse 4. Or do you want it a different way? Get it together and figure that out before you get in the studio.

Another way to prepare is by knowing what instruments you want on your song. And to know who you want to play them. Do you have friends or a band? Or do you need to hire people to come into the studio and play on your tracks. If that’s the case, where you need to hire out, then you need to know for sure what you want them to play. Or if you don’t know what you want them to play, and if you want them to make it up, then you need to know that as well.

Perform.

Yes, you need to Practice. Yes you need to Prepare, and yes, you need to Perform. What’s the difference? Performing is like being stage ready. Some people get in front of a mirror and watch themselves play. I know a lot of actors do this. But I know many musicians who like to video record themselves playing. This is helpful to know what you look like. Maybe you didn’t know that you hunch over when you play guitar, and that can actually help you play better if you did’t bend yourself over. Perhaps you didn’t know that you hold your head a certain way when you sing, and changing that can help your mic technique (blog about that coming soon). 

So remember Practice, Prepare, and Perform before coming into Production.

Cheers!