Unit 1: Prepare and apply pre-production planning for a music recording

Studio Timetable

Below is a structured timetable of when I plan to be in the studio. I have highlighted what I am going to record in each session and how long each session will last for.

Session	Date
1    (Up to 2 hours)	5/11/15
2    (Up to 2 hours)	12/11/15
3    (Up to 2 hours)	15/11/15
4    (Up to 2 hours)	25/11/15

Studio Session: Log Entries 
Before going into the studio I created some log 
entries. With these entries I could plan what I what I was going to do ahead of schedule before we went into the studio. I could highlight certain goals I wanted to meet before the end of the session. Afterwards I could evaluate what I had completed and whether the goals were met, as well as plan for the next session. Below is four recording sessions planned out and what I want to complete within them.

Section A (to be completed before the recording session)

Name: Andrew O'Brien

Number and length of session: 1 (2 Hours)

Date of session: 5/11/15

Names of engineers: Tom Whitehead

Names of musicians and instruments being recorded: Emily, Piano

Goals of the session (at least 2):

• To record the piano in full
• To practice the vocals with my vocalist, to make sure they are prepared 

Section B (to be completed after the recording session)

Were all goals achieved during session? If not what reasons were there for this?

Both goals were achieved in this session, as I managed to record the piano part in full and practice the vocals with my vocalist. The only part of the session that was difficult was trying to set the BPM for the  recording. I tried searching for the correct BPM on the internet, but after discussing and practicing with Emily we decided that the correct BPM was 79.9.
For this first session I had to set up a new Cubase file, which involved creating 7 mono tracks. I also imported the orignal song and set the BPM, which I found out by researching on the internet. I then asked my engineer to set up two condenser C1000s microphones, each one pointing up towards the keys of the piano. I checked and set the gain by asking my performer to play through the piece as practice. I did a few recordings of the piano and afterwards picked the one that sounded the most clear and professional. 

What are your plans for the next session in the studio?

• To record the drums
• To organise a time with Hayden to record the bass guitar 

Section A (to be completed before the recording session)

Name: Andrew O'Brien

Number and length of session: 2 (2 Hours)

Date of session: 12/11/15

Names of engineers: Emily Gibbard 

Names of musicians and instruments being recorded: Drums, Tom

Goals of the session (at least 2):

• To record the drums
• To organise a time with Hayden to record the bass guitar 

Section B (to be completed after the recording session)

Were all goals achieved during session? If not what reasons were there for this?

Both of the goals were achieved in this session because I managed to record the drums. Before I started the recording I played Tom the song and explained how I wanted the drums to be played. I explained that I wanted a slow simple beat throughout the verse of the song, then when it got to the chorus I asked him to use the full kit. My engineer Emily then set up all of the microphones that were required for the recording, I then set all of the gain levels. After a practice run through I recorded the drums, then organised a date to record the bass guitar with Ben.

What are your plans for the next session in the studio?

• To record the bass guitar 

Section A (to be completed before the recording session)

Name: Andrew O'Brien

Number and length of session: 3 (2 Hours)

Date of session: 15/11/15

Names of engineers: Emily Gibbard 

Names of musicians and instruments being recorded: Hayden, Bass Guitar 

Goals of the session (at least 2):

• To record the bass guitar in full for the recording 
• To organise a time with Kate to record the vocals 

Section B (to be completed after the recording session)

Were all goals achieved during session? If not what reasons were there for this?

Unfortunately all of the goals were not achieved in this session because the performer was unfortunately unavailable to record. However instead of letting the studio time and session go to waste I got my vocalist Kate into the studio and we recorded the first verse of the song. We did a few practice run throughs and when I felt Kate had the emotion of the song, I recorded. I have organised another time to add the bass guitar to my recording, and also finish the main vocals. 

What are your plans for the next session in the studio?

• To record the bass guitar 
• To finish the main vocals 

Section A (to be completed before the recording session)

Name: Andrew O'Brien

Number and length of session: 4 (2 Hours)

Date of session: 25/11/15

Names of engineers: Emily Gibbard 

Names of musicians and instruments being recorded: kate, Vocals and Bass guitar, Hayden 

Goals of the session (at least 2):

• To record the bass guitar 
• To record the rest of the main vocals 

Section B (to be completed after the recording session)

Were all goals achieved during session? If not what reasons were there for this?

All of the goals were achieved for this studio session as the recording is now complete. For this last session I recorded the bass guitar first, I did this by getting my engineer to plug a Jack lead into the back of the mixing desk and connecting it to the bass guitar. I could have used a DI box to connect the bass guitar, however I have found through my research on DI that connecting the bass guitar straight to the mixing desk is easier and provides a better signal. Once the bass guitar was set up, I asked the performer to run through the track a couple of times so I could set the gain and so the performer felt they were ready. After a couple of takes I finished recording the bass guitar, the performer also had a input on what recordings they preferred and which they thought was the best quality. After this I asked my engineer to set up the Rode NT1 microphone for my singer so I could record the chorus. Since my performer was used to the singing this song from the previous session all I had to do was set the gain. I recorded the chorus three times and picked the best quality recording out of those three.

Letters and Emails 

Before the project I also had to write numerous letters to individuals to make sure this project could go ahead. Below are copies of the letters I sent to Columbia Records, and the artist Kate Thomas. I also sent an email to the Performing Rights Society to request permission for a mechanical license.

My Letter to Columbia Records

                                                                                                                         Ashby Rd
                                                                                                                         Tamworth
                                                                                                                         Staffordshire

                                                                                                                         B79 8AA
      

Columbia Records
9 Derry Street
London
W8 5HY

Dear Sir or Madam

I am writing to you today to request your permission to record and release a cover of Adele’s song Hello. I am working with an upcoming artist Kate Thomas who has asked me to record the song for her. I have sent a letter as well to ask for a mechanical license, however I thought it best to email the label to formally ask for your permission. Myself and Kate would be very grateful for this opportunity to release our own version and the commission made from the cover would obviously be split equally and the original artist/producers would be compensated.

Yours Faithfully,

Andrew O'Brien
A.O'Brien

 My Letter to the artist Kate

                                                                                                                Ashby Rd

                                                                                                                Tamworth

                                                                                                                 Staffordshire

                                                                                                                  B79 8AA

Woodland Rd
Tamworth

Staffordshire
B77 4FF

Dear Kate,

I am writing to you today to confirm that you are still available for our initial meeting to discuss the song that you would like to record. I have emailed the performing Rights Society to request a mechanical license and I have also sent a letter to Columbia Records to formally ask for their permission. Once we have discussed what you like to record and how you would like the track set out, I can begin contacting local musicians and summarising a final budget. If you any questions or queries before our initial meeting do not hesitate to contact me, I look forward to seeing you.

Yours Truly,

Andrew O’Brien
A.O’Brien

Kate's reply to my initial letter

                                                                                                                Woodland Rd

                                                                                                                Tamworth

                                                                                                                Staffordshire

                                                                                                                B77 4FF

Ashby Rd
Tamworth
Staffordshire
B77 4FF

Dear Andrew,

I am still available for our initial meeting and would like to discuss what we are going to record, as I already know some local musicians who would be willing to help us record the cover. I would also like to discuss the overall budget and how much each individual component is going to cost. I shall of course let you know of any arrangements I make with the musicians, if it is before our first meeting.

Yours Truly,

Kate Thomas
K.Thomas

                        

Email to the Performing Rights Society

Screenshot of email sent to the Performing Rights Society 

Amazon Research 

Other parts of the project that I needed to consider was the release of the project once it was completed and how it was going to be released. I went onto Amazon.com to search for some CD cases, the screenshot below shows a set of 50 for £15.85. One of Kate's ideas was to release 100 physical copies of the single through her own website. In total for £31.70 I could obtain 100 CD cases. These limited physical copies will hopefully attract more fans to buy the single. 

Ways to promote the cover

For this cover to be successful. myself and Kate had many discussions and spider diagramed ways we could promote this song.

• Social Media- We realised that this was the most popular way for people to interact with each other and how a lot of artists promote and communicate with their fans. So that is why Kate set up social media accounts with Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The most popular among all of the social media platforms.
• Physical copies- Kate also wanted to release 100 copies of the cover in CD format, signed by her, to the first 100 fans that purchased the cover. This will help inspire people to buy the song, but it may make people actually invest in Kate as an artist and become a proper fan.
• Contact radio stations- Another popular way is to contact radio stations, either through email or phone in to request that they play the song on their station. Alos if Kate fan base continues to grow, it means more people can request the song on their local station. Since it is an already popular song, hopefully people will want to hear a cover on the radio.
• Interviews- Since Kate is an upcoming artist there may be local papers or companies who may want to interview her to learn more about her and why she is covering Hello. This would again hopefully gain her more support and sales.

Photos from the studio

I also took photos of the studio to show the set up and what the studio looked like.

Piano that was used, miked up

Studio 

Evaluation 

This is my evaluation from my music recording. In this evaluation I will consider how the entire process has been, what went well and what could be improved if I were to do this again. I will also note whether I was prepared for this recording and I had done enough planning and pre-production for it to be a successful recording.

The process leading up to the recording itself was met with no complications. The first component I tackled was organising an initial meeting with my artist (Kate) to discuss what path we wanted to take with the recording and how we were going to release and promote the cover. From that meeting I was left in charge with contacting Columbia Records and the Performing Rights Society to gain a mechanical license. Kate took on the task of finding some local musicians who could assist us with the recording and provide them with a list of dates I had set up with the studio.
I also did some research into local radio stations to see if any of them would be willing to play the cover, unfortunately until Kate can gain more fans and attention they wouldn't play the cover. The more requests she gains from people, the increased chance she will have of having air time. At this point this was the first set back we received in this campaign, I also realised how important it was to plan every stage of the process, especially when the recording is being released to a commercial market.

When it came to actually recording the song, there were no immediate issues as the musicians turned up on time and the parts were recorded to a high priority. However in the third session my bass guitarist was double booked and unable to record that day. In the future I will have to make sure that the musician is able for the specified time, fortunately I had booked enough sessions so there time to record all of the parts. Mixing and mastering the track was another part which took longer than I expected, it took while to get the overall balance perfect and to a professional standard. The next time I start mixing and mastering a track again I will make sure that I have enough time to mix it to a professional standard.
Overall I have learned a lot from this experience and what I need to do to improve in future. Even though I had still all of the pre-production prepared, it was still challenging at times to complete the cover. Link to the overall recording can be heard below.

https://soundcloud.com/user-886671367/sets/hello-adele-cover