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| August 13, 2009 |
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| In This Issue |  |
Just My Thoughts: Unrestricted free-agent thinking.
What's New? New website under development.
Other Stuff: Natasha's album project begins August 22nd.
Wisdom From The Grind: The Six Stages of Album Recording - Part 1
| Just My Thoughts | |
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Unrestricted free-agent thinking is what this is. What does that mean, you might ask. Well, whatever comes to mind is what I speak on, so here goes.| What's New? | |
A website we are developing which is essentially the whole catalog of SCR Entertainment is now in the works. The first 12 SCR releases dating back to 1993 plus all of the new works will all be available. At launch we will have over 150 tracks with more coming!
While the site is being completed, we are going to be adding a few albums on a new page on BanginBeatsByREL.com which is being worked on at this time. Currently, we intend to launch the SCR Vault site with the release of my first solo album “Spoken”. Date to be announced.
Here is a breakdown of the 5 most recent beats added to the site:
- Mo Fo U - Other Flavor
- Jazzy Funk - East Coast
- In The Hole - Club Flavor
- West Coast Funk - West Coast
- Symphony Funk - West Coast
| Other Stuff | |
Natasha and I have confirmed our production timeframe. She will arrive Saturday, August 22nd and depart August 31st. We will be laying foundation tracks and tracking vocals all nine days. I am very excited. I have traveled to other cities to produce for clients, but this is a first for me.
She is the first ever client outside of Minnesota to visit The Garden. This is going to be a great experience. I will keep you updated on progress in the newsletter and my blog.
| Wisdom From The Grind | |
The Six Stages of Album Recording
So you want to produce your own album project? Producing a record involves lots of creativity, planning, focus, time and money. There was a time when a record label would take care of much of the process, from securing the right producer(s) and songs, to funding the recording process. At one time this was the norm, but today it is truly a luxury.Any artist self-producing a project now takes on all of the responsibility for focusing creative output, budgeting, planning and scheduling. Self-producing a record can be very rewarding, exciting and lucrative if done right. Knowing the process of recording and assessing accurately your needs regarding how much time, money and resources will be needed is extremely important to the success of the project.
Without understanding the process of recording, you won’t be able to anticipate and avoid costly mistakes and delays. Your first CD project is too important to leave the details to chance. Provided you have a successful career in music, you will likely have more than one album release in your future; however, your first one doesn’t have to be a bad experience.
I have recorded 12 albums for SCR Entertainment, and over the course of recording these projects I have identified six distinct stages of recording an album. I will present these six stages in three parts as follows:
Part 1 - Stage 1: Preproduction and Stage 2: Tracking
Part 2 - Stage 3: Overdubbing and Stage 4: Editing
Part 3 - Stage 5: Mixing and Stage 6: Mastering
Stage 1: Preproduction
Your very early smart moves involves the work done during preproduction. Preproduction in very simple terms means things that take place before production. This is the most important stage of your project for avoiding potential problems throughout the rest of the project.
This is the stage of preparation where you essentially determine the particulars of the project. This is where writing, rehearsing, critiquing and choosing songs takes place. Doing this in advance will help you achieve a more polished performance later, as well as save time when the studio clock is ticking. Even if your recording time is free because you’re working in a personal studio, your professionalism demonstrated by being prepared in advance will show up in the end result of your project and bottom line.
If you are working with others, your preproduction work will help avoid wasting their time. Preproduction is also the stage in which to consider: who (as in, who needs to be involved,) what (as in, what do I need to do to complete the project successfully) and where (as in, commercial or home studio) will I record the project.
Achieving clarity regarding budget and scheduling during this stage will be the best way to complete the album cost effectively and within the established schedule.
Stage 2: Tracking
Great albums are made up of great songs, and great songs are made up of a great marriage between lyrics and music. Tracking is where that marriage begins. No matter if you are a solo artist or are part of a band, the first recording sessions of an album are called tracking sessions.
Tracking involves determining the sounds to use for a song, as well as the tempo and even the feel of a particular song and the project overall. Tracking is the stage where your album foundation is laid out. Programming and sequencing track foundations should provide you with enough vibe and energy to allow you to hear and feel where the song is going.
If you don’t love a song at this stage, you probably won’t love it later. I believe tracking is hands down, the most important stage in the process because everything gets built on top of these foundation tracks. Tracking sessions must be well planned out to avoid wasted time and costly mistakes.
Wisdom from the Grind: To produce a great album, know the six stages of album recording!
| Featured Project | |
I wanted to mention that while no tracks have been added in over a month; track production for the site is still taking place. More tracks are coming!
Beat production for BanginBeatsByREL.com continues to be the priority until the first goal is met: 60 World Class Beats! We now have 27 on the site.
"Spoken", my first solo album is developing nicely! This album will be a mix of all the musical flavors I love; spoken word, rap, neo-soul and lounge / down tempo tracks.
I'm an artist doing what artists do; creating art. Of course it's hip hop, and my hip hop roots will be felt. I've already begun production, so as things are developed I will share them with you. I have added three more tracks to the project. The total track number has again changed. At this point I’m considering 15. This will mark album number 13.
| Quote Of The Week | |
I built a studio, taught myself to write songs and produce music, formed a company and sold my CD’s directly to the people. You can do anything you are willing to follow through on!
"I am only one, but I still am one; I cannot do everything, but I still can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."
-Edward E Hale; 1822 – 1909, American clergyman and writer
| About Roger E Lear | |
He has built his career as a full time music producer by providing excellent quality music production and song writing services. You can learn more about REL at BanginBeatsByREL.com/About REL.
You can also find REL online at:
| Twitter: Twitter.com/RELTheProducer |
MySpace: MySpace.com/REL_42
MySpace: MySpace.com/RELCreations
MySpace: MySpace.com/SmoothComposition
Facebook: Facebook.com/Roger E Lear