When most artists envision hitting the recording studio, images of capturing a goosebumps-inducing take or idea spring to mind. While those moments and feelings are bound to happen, we sometimes neglect to consider that these moments can often be precluded by stretches of frustration or even discouragement and self doubt from struggling to produce a satisfactory take. The goal at Rocket Skates Recording is always to help your recording project go as smoothly as possible, so we decided to compile the top pieces of advice we find ourselves offering up to Utah musicians preparing to record.
Practice
We love our spacious live room, and think you will, too.
It might seem like an obvious suggestion, but the importance of practicing your material before going into the recording studio is impossible to understate here. To quote Salt Lake City local band Heavy Rollers from a previous post:
“Practice makes perfect, and be patient. Try and get it to where you can play a song consistently, know your parts well, and understand that it is a process of building something and can take a while.”
Practicing your parts not only helps enable you to produce better performances, it also helps you spot potential avenues to explore when you hit the studio. That’s where the real fun begins in the recording process: exploring your song in ways you’re not usually able to during rehearsal.
The metronome is your friend
Playing to a metronome is a lot like having a close friend that you kinda hated the first time you met. You thought they were rude, and possibly a little drunk, but they were actually just telling you how things really are. This is the friend who doesn’t tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to hear. As a solo artist, or as a band, practicing with a metronome will help you tighten up things that you didn’t even know were loose. This is especially helpful when you begin recording, because timing issues tend to become magnified in the studio.
Know Your Budget
When we first decided to open a recording studio in Salt Lake City, one of our primary goals was to build a place of safety in which artists felt there was room for creativity. Part of providing that room to create involves not feeling like you’re constantly ‘on the clock’. That’s why we offer so many different methods for our clients to make something that they’re really proud of (more on that to come). Communicating your budget with us up front is a great way to ensure that we take the right path toward making your time in the studio productive, enjoyable, and on-budget.
Eliminate Distractions
This conversation was all business.
I’m not talking about not posting Instagram stories or anything like that (we love being tagged in your stories: @rocketskatesrecordingut) I’m talking about distracting people. There may be some people who are ‘in the group’ but not necessarily ‘in the band’ who are crucial to your creativity, but the friend who’s just there to party can lead to a lot of distractions from the primary reason you’re here: to make great music that you’re proud of.
Be Mindful of the End Goal
By this I mean don’t forget to think about how you plan to release this project, and communicate that with us. Are you planning to record multiple songs and release them all as a single project, or as singles? Knowing what your vision is helps us make the right decisions from the onset of your project.
If you’d like to schedule a tour and learn more about the studio, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at: [email protected]
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