Recording a music project is a heady experience. A sonic dream gets turned into a reality. No wonder you want to get into the studio as soon as possible! And if you prepare well, it often turns out even better than you hoped or imagined.

But I hope you just noticed I added “…if you prepare well”. No, you can’t wait til everything is perfect (it never will be) but you can wait til you have done some wise preparation to maximize your time, money and effort of heart.. and keep your sonic dream from turning into a sonic nightmare.

Here are some recording preparation tips:

• Do you have the right songs?

If you don’t have strong songs, you don’t need to record. End of story. There is no amount of production or mixing or mastering that will turn a weak song into a great one. (And who wants to hear weak songs?) Maybe get back to the drawing board, write and/or collect more songs til you are satisfied that they will represent you well.

• Do you have enough funds to cover your budget?

Make sure you don’t have to cut important corners… putting recording off til you accumulate your funds can be very wise.

1. Budget more time than you think you’ll need to do your tracks, vocals, and mixing!
2. Consider any extra musicians you might want to create the project you really want.
3. Try to have enough budget to cover mastering. There are many levels of mastering, some inexpensive and some quite expensive, but any mastering is better than none at all.
4. Most of the time you’ll want to buy your own hard drive for keeping and saving your project files. Ask your engineer for a recommendation.
5. Consider also that recording budgets don’t usually include graphics and duplication. Of course you can go ahead and record and then put off doing this until you have the funds. But if it turns out great, you’ll want to get the whole package finished as soon as possible!

• Are you vocally ready?

You can do your tracks when you have the songs. No pressure there. You can sing scratch tracks (sing while the band is recording your tracks) when you are not vocally at top form, but do NOT try to do your lead vocals without having your voice as strong as you can get it unless they really aren’t that important (and when is that?) Practice at full voice volume for 4 to 14 days before a significant lead vocal session. Consider doing some pre-production vocal lessons for optimal vocal preparedness

• Have you memorized your songs?

While you can indeed sing with lyric sheets in front of you, it is my strong opinion that you should memorize your material. It’s too easy to let the page get in the way of your focusing on the emotional delivery of the song. Also, it’s really great to be able to ‘own’ your songs, become immersed in the rhythms, play with your voice and experiment with different ways of singing the material BEFORE you get into the vocal booth.

• Are you physically strong?

You don’t have to be a triathlon champion, of course. However, you need energy to be able to support your voice well for great lead vocals. Sleep, eat, exercise, and by all means hydrate yourself with plenty of water days before you go in to sing. It will matter, I assure you, to the quality of your vocal efforts.

• Do you have the right production team and musicians available?

It’s best to wait until your dream team is available. Musicians and background singers can be interchangeable to a degree, but you might be surprised at how few are best at what you need. Make sure everything is booked far enough in advance to ensure your best team is on board.

For more (a ton more) studio information, please check out “Singing In The Studio“, a multimedia professional guide to getting vocal magic in the recording studio. www.singinginthestudio.com