The Music Production Process
The following provides a guide of what to broadly expect when engaging the services of experienced Music Producers, like those at eleven:11 music production.
1. Songwriting & Composition
This involves the writing of lyrics and the creation of the composition in its most basic form (melody + harmony + rhythm). Often it is an artist or band that undertakes this function, which is then initially presented to the Music Producer as a demo or live performance.
On initial listening, the Music Producer is primarily looking to get a sense of how well they connect with the material, and whether it moves them emotionally or intellectually. This can be highly dependent on how well the artist themselves connect to the song. Secondly, the Music Producer will also be listening to the lyrical content, song structure, tempo, melodic, harmonic and rhythmic elements of the song.
These elements are collectively known as the foundation of a song, and it is here that the producer will request/insist on making changes if they are having trouble understanding the song's intent, before proceeding any further. Getting the song right at this point is crucial, as it will save a lot of time, money and potential heartache the further along you are in the music creation process.
At this stage, the Music Producer will often spend time getting to know the artists: who they are; what makes them tick and what their musical aspirations are. Activities often include heading out for coffee or dinner, a social event like a gig, and even a “listening session” where the artists and producer will listen to reference tracks as indicators of what they want to achieve for their project. This will provide further insight into each
2. Pre-Production
This stage in the process is where the Music Producer will make preparations for the recording, and can include any combination of the following:
Setting up the DAW session with tempo and click track, arrangement markers etc.
Pre-programming instrument parts that will become part of the song, or used as place-holders, eventually to be replaced by live instruments.
Pre-recording a vocal guide track.
Preparing music charts and lead sheets.
Booking and rehearsing musicians, and understand their technical requirements.
Booking the studio space and liaising with house engineers about the technical requirements of the musicians and DAW session.
The better prepared the producer is with the above, the easier the session can proceed as planned, on time, and on budget.
3. Production
This is where the Music Producer is responsible for extracting and capturing the best performance they can from the artist or band. Whilst part of their role throughout the entire recording process is to manage the expectations of all the various people involved in the musical project.
The nerves and stress of delivering a great studio performance can place pressure on a singer or musician, particularly if the studio is not an environment familiar to them. It is therefore extremely important that the Music Producer creates an environment where the artist feels relaxed, comfortable and safe. How this is achieved is dependent on the individual artist, but it can be as simple as a warm studio space with a candle-lit ambience. or perhaps it is engaging in friendly banter away from music, and joke-telling to lighten the mood.
While remaining sensitive to the artist, the Music Producer is also aware that an excellent performance needs to be delivered, so will be engaging their critical listening skills to ensure that the performances are delivered with the emotion, integrity, dynamics and technical aptitude that is required.
Here is a great video from one of the best producers in the business, Sylvia Massey (Foo Fighters, Bjork, Red Hot Chilli Peppers), on her role as a producer. Check out some of the crazy things she has her artists do in order to extract the best possible performance from them!
4. Post Production
Post Production Involves sifting through all the multiple takes of the vocal and instrumental performances and choosing the best ones. With the advent of technology, the best take does not always mean the most “in tune” (in the case of vocals, where dud notes can be edited), but the more convincing, evocative, or enticing takes. Instrumental performances are also scrutinised to fix any wayward timings on an otherwise great track.
Post-production also offers an opportunity to review all the elements of the track, and whether there is too much or not enough going on. In the case of the latter, the producer might want to add more “production value”. In the case of pop music, Music Producers may look to add new and interesting vocals, instruments or effect elements every 4 bars to keep the audience (and record label) interested.
This can be achieved by getting the vocalist (or musician) back into the studio, to do additional overdubs, adding loops or sounds from the impossible number of sample libraries available, or taking existing track elements and manipulating the waveform and/or adding cool and interesting effects.
5. Mixing
By this stage of recording process, the producer has now quite literally heard the track for the billionth time, so in order to keep a level of objectivity (and perhaps stops themselves from going slowly insane), they may elect to hire a Mix Engineer to shape and balance the tracks to achieve the overall outcome.
Some mix engineers have become “super stars” in their field and are hired by big-name artists because of a niche sound and vibe they have become known for.
Such Mix Engineers include Chris Lord-Alge, Tom Elmhirst, Sylvia Massey, Marcella Araica, Andrew Scheps, Manny Marroquin, and Tony Maserati, to name but a small few.
6. Mastering
Mastering bridges the gap between artist and consumer. The purpose of mastering a track or album, is to balance sonic elements of a stereo mix and optimize it for playback across all systems (headphones, HiFi, car stereo, TV) and media formats (streaming, CDs) . Traditionally, mastering is done using tools like equalization, compression, limiting and stereo enhancement.
The Mastering Engineer is a specialist role, and requires a finely tuned set of technical ears to identify specific problematic frequencies, as well as attending to requests from the Music Producer along the lines of “tighten up the bottom end and add more punch”; “add more energy in the mid to high-mid range” or; “add more colour and depth”. These descriptions are aesthetic in nature, and are meant to affect the overall finish of a track - like adding a veneer to a piece of furniture, or a filter to your photo before posting it on Instagram or Snapchat.
For an EP or album, achieving a similar finish for each track, as well as a similar volume, gives a sense of coherency for the listener as they move from song to song.
About the Author
Mark Fogliano is an experienced Music Producer, Songwriter, Composer ,Pianist for the Adelaide / Melbourne based music production company Eleven:11 Music Productions.
Eleven:11 Music Productions fulfils a range of musical needs - from song development, artist development, arranging, orchestration and music programming, to vocal and song production, recording, post-production, audio mixing and project management.