By Keith Hatschek and Jeff Crawford
As you prepare to self produce your next recording, take time to study record production that inspires you. We look at tracks by Miranda Lambert and Beck
The role of a record producer is critical to any successful recording project, regardless of budget or intended outcome. In a nutshell, the producer is tasked with helping the artist realize his or her artistic vision in the form of a recorded song or album. And while the producer is often responsible for managing the record-making business processes, it’s the creative guidance and vision of what the finished recording will sound like that makes a producer most valuable.
Most major producers tell stories of spending years studying their craft, interning or learning the ropes of record production serving as engineers and studio hands before landing a break. Some successful artists who started out in the major label system, recording their early albums under the guidance of experienced producers, had the luxury of studying these producers at work and developed the skills and experience to self- or co-produce their records.
But that describes a tiny percentage of working musicians today. For the vast majority of artists and songwriters working in their own home studios or recording at local pro studios, having access to the tools of music production makes you the composer, arranger, performer, audio engineer, and record producer. To be effective in all these roles means developing a strong understanding of album and song structure, genre conventions, and the basic processes of record production.
What makes a producer?
Successful producers quote in detail the records and artists who have influenced their production style and approach to recording. They’ve developed libraries of sounds and techniques through intensive study of successful albums and being mentored by studio professionals. There can be no substitute …Read the full story
Source:: Echoes