If there’s one thing Jason Theiste knows about, it’s being in a professional recording studio making music for millions to hear. He shares some insight into the studio with some helpful tips that have worked for him in the past to either get in the mood to record or to ensure he is prepared!
Learn as much about the project as you can …
If you are hired to play your instrument on someone else’s music project, find out all the details about the following:
– How, when, and how much you’ll be paid, the studio, location, engineer, producer, artist, how long you have for each song, style of music, and so on. The more info you gather and the more prepared you are, the smoother the session will go.
Get music ahead of time …
If it is possible, get the music that you will be recording to ahead of time. This will allow you to play along with the music and figure out what key each song is in, what instrumentation has been used so far, and where you will add your own music throughout each piece.
If improvising, don’t write your part …
If you are able to get the music ahead of time, play along with the music to get some ideas about what you will play and where. However, be careful not to compose a part to play. Come up with a few ideas and a general sense of what and where you’ll play to make sure you leave room for the spontaneity of improvisation during the recording session.
Try to nail it in one take …
If you go into the studio prepared, have the perspective that you will only play it once through and accomplish what you set out to accomplish. Although you will most likely do several takes of the same piece, it is often the first take that is the best.
Get in the creative zone …
Make sure you spend time prior to your session to get your head into the creative zone. Do whatever you usually do to achieve this. Perhaps it is listening to music or sitting quietly in a place of comfort. Also, be sure to warm up on your instrument before your session and go through your mental notes on each song so you are ready to record.
Fulfill your roll as studio musician …
If there is a producer or an artist acting as producer be sure to listen closely to their feedback and input as your session takes place. Your job as a studio musician is to play the music that the artist / producer wants to hear. It can be tempting to play the music you think is most suitable and this often works, but if you come up with music you like and it’s not what the artist /producer has in mind, then be quick to adapt and do what is required for the project.
