The 10 Do’s and Don’ts of Recording Your Music

Jesse Cannon is a 15 year music industry veteran and founder ofMusformation.com. Aside from producing music, Jesse is passionate about teaching others. His creativeLIVE course on DIY Mastering begins Dec. 10. Winning a record deal with a rad label used to be everything; getting your music into the right hands was the big break. Fortunately or unfortunately, this is no longer the case.

Winning a record deal with a rad label used to be everything; getting your music into the right hands was the big break. Fortunately or unfortunately, this is no longer the case.

Now, as music industry gatekeepers hold less power and the Internet rules over music sales and buzz, the quality of your recording -- your actual product -- determines your success more than ever.

In a time when anyone can convert their home into a studio and a single song gaining traction on Spotify or Rdio can spin a few hundred fans into millions, releasing well-produced, well-executed, high-quality tracks is critical to success in the industry. Good music is a natural, viral marketer. No amount of promotion, touring, or record labels will get you as far as a tight, finished song that makes people feel good.

Recording good music requires a lot of hard work and a fair amount of planning. Although this seems pretty obvious, throughout my career as an album producer, recording musicians for 300 days a year for over a decade, I’ve seen good music go bad, and could-be-good music never take off due to poor planning and decision-making. Below is a compilation of my Do’s and Don’ts for recording in the music biz.

Mixing Vocals : The Ultimate Guide to EQ’ing Vocals By Chris Huff

Mixing vocals could be considered the most important part of your mixing job.  For instance, people will tolerate a poor acoustic guitar mix when the vocals shine through.  This isn’t to say you shouldn’t put effort into creating an all-around solid mix.  My point is that when the vocal mix suffers, everyone notices.  How do know your vocal mix was bad?  Have you ever heard these complaints; “I couldn’t hear the lead singer,” “I couldn’t understand what they were singing,” or the worst complaint, “they sounded terrible, what happened?”  

This vocal mixing guide gives you the information needed for creating a solid vocal mix every time.  By the end of this guide, you’ll know what you need to do, when you need to do it, and how to do it.