Before you ever set foot in a recording studio you should make sure you are, without doubt, going to produce the best song ever. Although recording has afforded us the luxury of new wonders and expectations being met within the music scene, old style needs should be in place to give your songs that extra significance and listed below are some tips to help you perfect your arrangement prior to the start of recording.
1. Balance. Your instrumentation needs to be balanced with an even amount of ranges between low and high. Your recording will not sound half as good if you have too much of one and not sufficient of the other to balance it all out
2. Harmonies. You need good support as far as the melody of your song is concerned. Without the correct harmonies, or other sounds to the melody, your song will appear to have a piece of the puzzle missing.
3. Musical Arrangement. Based around the ability to sort out the instrumentation in the song, the arrangement should not only be balanced but should incorporate contrasts and similarities, with the music expressing what you are trying to say. The use of basic theory concepts can assist you with this.
4. Spacing. This is far more important than harmonies and tunes. You do not want to rush through your song but by the same token you do not want to take too much time either. Make sure you keep your song moving correctly by giving some breaks with the melodies and changing up the harmonies to keep things interesting to the listener.
5. Tempo. Make sure your tempos are distinct so they can be followed without a beat being missed. It is important that once you are in the recording studio that your timing is spot on, as being out by just one second can cause problems with the recording process
6. Form. The simplest way for a listener to appreciate your song from the start is to ensure you have the right form. If you are focused on lyrics, use this as your hook during the chorus. When experimenting with form, make sure there is a particular part of the music which returns to the original to keep the appreciation of the listener thus enabling them to relate to the music.
7. Variety. Variety is regularly overlooked when arranging a song. Even though you are repeating choruses or verses, some different instrumentation is needed in your recording.
8. Movement. The movement of the song lies far beyond the tempo and into the added extras of a recording. This is important as it is likely to make or break your song. Louds and softs, ornamentation and other add ons will help to steer the song in the right direction.
9. Consistency. The song needs consistency to hold it all together. This is related to the form of the song and also links other aspects of the song together such as the lyrics and musical concepts.
You can exercise some leeway within all of these areas but the listener needs to follow where you are going with your music so a framework really is necessary.
10. Creativity. You really do not want your music to sound to similar to something that everyone has heard before. Therefore, creativity and putting your personal mark on your song is vital. . Let yourself go a little, follow your creative instincts and the rest will fall nicely into place on its own
Use the above mentioned simple tips to improve and prepare your song ready for recording. This way your music will not only be polished by you will stand out a head and shoulders above the other performing musicians and your voice will be heard by all.
Related Articles
Regular Practice Sharpens Your Singing Skills
By: Kevin Sinclair | 10/02/2008 | Music
Music Articles - Music is a natural intuitive phenomenon operating in the three worlds of time, pitch, energy, and under the three distinct and interrelated organization structures of rhythm, harmony, and melody.
Songwriters: Collaborate for Success
By: Lathum | 06/09/2007 | Music
Music Articles - Music is a natural intuitive phenomenon operating in the three worlds of time, pitch, energy, and under the three distinct and interrelated organization structures of rhythm, harmony, and melody.
The Choice Between Singing Alone Or In A Group?
By: Kevin Sinclair | 16/04/2008 | Music
Music Articles - Music is a natural intuitive phenomenon operating in the three worlds of time, pitch, energy, and under the three distinct and interrelated organization structures of rhythm, harmony, and melody.
Greatest Underrated Guitar Players
By: Kenny Auyoung | 10/10/2006 | Music
Music Articles - Music is a natural intuitive phenomenon operating in the three worlds of time, pitch, energy, and under the three distinct and interrelated organization structures of rhythm, harmony, and melody.
The Pros and Cons of Becoming a Disc Jockey
By: Sarika Kabra | 17/01/2008 | Music
Music Articles - Music is a natural intuitive phenomenon operating in the three worlds of time, pitch, energy, and under the three distinct and interrelated organization structures of rhythm, harmony, and melody.
Calling All Songwriters, the New York Songwriters Circle Wants You!
By: Eric de Fontenay | 24/09/2008 | Music
Music Articles - Music is a natural intuitive phenomenon operating in the three worlds of time, pitch, energy, and under the three distinct and interrelated organization structures of rhythm, harmony, and melody.
Hobbyhorse: Sunshine Superteam Re-imagines Folk Psychedelia
By: Mark Kirby | 28/02/2008 | Music
Music Articles - Music is a natural intuitive phenomenon operating in the three worlds of time, pitch, energy, and under the three distinct and interrelated organization structures of rhythm, harmony, and melody.
Singing Lesson Programs - Learn Without Annoying Criticism
By: Kevin Sinclair | 31/07/2008 | Music
Music Articles - Music is a natural intuitive phenomenon operating in the three worlds of time, pitch, energy, and under the three distinct and interrelated organization structures of rhythm, harmony, and melody.
More from Kevin Sinclair
How To Play The Piano To Communicate A Feeling Or Emotion
By: Kevin Sinclair | 01/10/2008 | Music
If you are going to play the piano, it is important that you put everything into it. You don't want to just play the notes on a page or the chord progressions that you see, but you want the music to touch someone.
Letting Go And Moving On
By: Kevin Sinclair | 29/09/2008 | Advice
Letting go of the old is one of the hardest things in the world for most human beings. Letting go of old worn-out habits, old feelings that are emotional scars that will not heal and get in the way of progress, are all things that most people when reading of them nod their heads and agree should be thrown away like an old ratty security blanket from childhood.
The Paradox Of An Attitude Of Gratitude
By: Kevin Sinclair | 26/09/2008 | Advice
The attitude of gratitude is a terribly overlooked aspect of manifesting your dreams and desires. When you feel gratitude for all the good that you have in your life, without even making any efforts you are throwing open wide the doors to bring even more abundance of good things into your life.
A Working Knowledge of Chords
By: Kevin Sinclair | 26/09/2008 | Music
Are you interested in learning how to play the piano, but you just don't want to wait for years to be able to play? Well, you're not alone. There are many people out there that want to find a quicker way to learn to play music.
Do You Have A Retirement Plan?
By: Kevin Sinclair | 19/09/2008 | Advice
There is no guarantee that you would live only ten years after you retire. Now imagine by chance you survive more what would you do? No work and you blew away all your savings. The best way to handle this situation is to make a retirement plan.
Successful Home Business Tips
By: Kevin Sinclair | 15/09/2008 | Home Business
It's rather interesting that the internet can be as helpful as it give you an opportunity to earn extra money or provide you with a steady side income. There are so many profit making opportunity online. Internet has become the home of many small businesses.
What The Heck Is Web 2.0?
By: Kevin Sinclair | 15/09/2008 | Technology
The new happening thing in the web world is Web 2.0. You must have wracked your brain as to how it works? What is it? Where is it and going? So do you feel that it is some highly technologically advance software program making a debut at the web world.
Building A Singing Group
By: Kevin Sinclair | 13/09/2008 | Music
There is science in music too. The excellent chemistry in science is manifested from the mixture of substances but in music it is through the blend of voices. Usually there are four voice groups in music i.e. the tenor (high male), bass (low male) soprano (high female), and alto (low female).
Art and Entertainment 
| Posted: 16-03-2008 | Comments: 
