Recording your first album is a landmark moment for any artist. Even legendary bands had issues with their first record, so you need to be very well prepared if you want your first recordings to succeed.
So what can you do to make sure your first album recording goes off without a hitch? This article gives you some essential album-making tips to keep in mind.
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1. Know Your Material
One of the most important things, when you make an album, is that you know your material back to front. There’s nothing worst than going into the studio with someone who doesn’t know how to play the songs.
Not only will this result in a longer (and more expensive) recording session, the performance is almost certainly going to be worse. Don’t let yourself or your bandmates down, and make sure you learn the songs.
2. Develop Your Songs
Usually, when you make an album, you’ve developed the songs over time. You should have demos ready for the songs you want to record, and if possible, you should have tested these songs out in live shows.
If you search for demos made by your favorite artists, you’ll notice that the songs tend to evolve quite a lot by the time they record the album. Check out some multitrack recorder reviews to find some great demo-making tools.
Of course, when making music, there are no rules. If you feel inspired to come up with something there and then in the studio, that could also work. With that said, you should treat those kinds of songs as a bonus and have solid material prepared in advance.
3. Choose the Right Recording Engineer
If you choose to work with a recording engineer to record an album, you need to make sure you pick the right one. The recording engineer you select can have a considerable effect on the sound of the album.
For example, an engineer like Steve Albini is well known for making records that capture the live sound of a band playing in a room. For a guitar-based rock band, this can sound great, but it might not be the best approach if you’re triggering sounds from a laptop.
4. Consider the DIY Approach
These days, you don’t necessarily have to work with a professional studio at all. It’s perfectly viable to record your album from home in a modest home studio.
This will take more time since you’ll need to purchase the equipment and learn what you’re doing. With that said, learning to be your recording engineer is a great skill to have, and you can consider the money you spend on your studio an investment.
Obviously, there are limits to this approach. It might not be viable for you to record an acoustic drum kit at home, but recording things like guitar and bass is very achievable from a home setup.
Make Your First Album a Sucess
Recording your first album is a challenging but rewarding experience. The key here is to be prepared. You need to have excellent quality songs to record, and you need to work with a recording studio that suits your sound. Also, don’t write off the possibility of putting together a home studio.
If you want to learn more about other music-related topics, take a look at some of our other articles.