If there is a figure, a person with the reputation of being all-powerful in the process of turning a song into a work of art and, also, into a successful product, over the years, that is the music producer. But who are these people and what do they do? What does a musical production consist of?
Recording… Musicians, singers, songwriters and other creators of songs or instrumental music, when it comes to finalizing the final version of a work, generally with a commercial objective, at some point find themselves involved in a series of tasks that must be completed for that to happen with guarantees. This set of tasks is what defines the different aspects covered by what is known as musical production.
a little history
Since music could be recorded and marketed, at the beginning of the 20th century, at least, since songs were fixed on a medium, as a product for private consumption, certain technical and human matters had to be prepared and executed by several people. The musicians had composed melodies, rhythms and so on, the lyricists had written the verses of the songs, perhaps an arranger had determined every musical detail of the piece that was going to be performed, but, to turn everything into something that could be performed, sell wholesale, some more things were needed.
musical production
Really, what we know as music production, as we have seen, involves a lot of small and large tasks that must be completed to finally obtain a commercial recording.
Plate and record From a general point of view, we can divide a specific musical production into two general work areas: The executive productionThe artistic production
Let's see what each of them deals with.
A&R or executive production
The A&R, or also known as executive producer, is traditionally the representative of the record company, the person who manages the budget of the musical project as a whole and coordinates the different professionals involved in the preparation of the final product, among other things. . Following the agreement or contract signed with the artists, it covers the expenses of the recording process and ensures that the artistic and, especially, the business aspect meet the preset objectives. It is assumed that at all times you will be in contact with the artists and will ensure the entirety of their musical proposal, collaborating with them, advising them, etc… Suggest or choose an artistic producer, designers and image consultants for artwork or video clips and other financial matters. and legal are the responsibility, depending on the case, of an A&R.
Artistic production
The music producer is in charge of artistic production. He is in charge of directing the entire process of preparation, recording, mixing and mastering of a musical work. It may be a single, an EP, a complete album or similar that, at the end of this process, will be ready to be manufactured, advertised, distributed and sold in the various music consumption channels.
Musical producer The artistic producer is the figure that we usually associate with the word “producer” simply. This is a musician who will be the coordinator, advisor and whatever is necessary in this process, interlocutor of the record company, if there is one, with the artists and vice versa. You are supposed to have a clear idea of what the creative party, usually the group, performer or artist, is looking for, and what the record label expects as a viable commercial product that is as successful as possible in terms of sales and other financial matters.
Arrangements
The arrangements are all those musical details that will be chosen for the final version of the song or songs to be recorded. The instruments that will be used, the specific structure of each song and any matter directly related to the music will make up the arrangements of the songs. Usually, the raw material of the groups or artists will be the starting point and, together with the artistic producer and, sometimes, other specialized musicians, it will be defined what and how each song will be recorded.
Sheet music with arrangements
recording studio
The recording studio is where the music and lyrics will actually be recorded, where the musical basis of the production will actually be created. It can be a large professional space with microphones, instruments and all kinds of high-quality equipment dedicated to this task, home studios with more or less media or a mix of the two. With the digital revolution of the 21st century, it is common that in the vast majority of cases, a good part of the final material is recorded in home studios and, if there is budget available for the project, something is transferred or added to more professional studios and, logically, also much more expensive.
Musicians
The musicians are the heart of the recordings. Together with the singers, they will be in charge of playing the parts of the songs in the recording, following the previously established arrangements or leaving some space for improvisation and interpretive inspiration of the moment. The singers will take care of the main vocals of the project and will try to interpret the lyrics of the written song and the vocal arrangements, choruses and so on. They will record everything necessary and more, multiple takes, creative experiments and everything that can contribute something to the final result.
Guitarist musician and sheet music
sound engineer
The sound engineer will take care of the technical aspects of the recording. That the signal from the instruments is correct, that the material is prepared for use and, ultimately, that the acoustic and sound elements available make the recording process as easy as possible. He will be in charge of the recording devices, usually digital, the controllers, the necessary software applications and will be responsible for ensuring that everything that is recorded sounds good, correctly, as the project has been defined.
The mix
With everything recorded, we move on to the mixing phase where, among all the available material, the best takes or parts will be chosen and edited for the musical purpose of the production. In addition, the particular sound of the instruments and voices will be processed, as well as the overall sound of the song or set of songs, until a specific sound identity is achieved, either due to the musical style that one wants to emulate or follow or due to creative ideas. of the group or performers.
Mastering
Once the material has been mixed, only the final step: the so-called mastering. This last step is responsible for giving a final technical review of the sound of the production, depending on the use that is going to be given to it. It will try to balance the different songs, if it is an album, or, for example, also make sure that it sounds perfect on any audio player where that musical work can be heard. Mobile devices, headphones, more sophisticated audio equipment or any other sound source must offer a result in accordance with what has been recorded and with the objective set by the musical direction of the project. When this task is finished, we will have an audio file called the master, which will be the property of the record company or whoever paid for the recording process and which will be the original from which the copies that will be distributed and put on sale will emerge. the supports, shapes and channels that are decided.
The music producer in the 21st century
It must be said, to be fair, that this entire list of people, tasks and materials has currently been gathered in a few people and in a few spaces.
Modern music producer The modern producer, so to speak, in this 21st century, is usually in charge of artistic direction, arrangements, playing instruments and even singing or doing choirs, being in control of recording and something else. This person, this kind of superhero, often, depending on the capabilities of each group or artist, can even write the songs necessary to complete a repertoire or be part of the songwriting team. Choosing a producer, therefore, is an important decision since their work will imbue the content, form and final sound of the recording with their approach, tastes and skills.
Conclusions
In short, producing a song can be as simple as recording on a computer in your room, mixing and mastering right there and releasing it to any digital distributor or something much more complex, expensive and sophisticated. In any case, to publicize a musical work, the production process, with more or less budget and sophistication, is essential, so it does not hurt to have notions of what it consists of and how we should deal with the participants in that work. . Forward. Write songs, record them and let the world hear them. #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_form { } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_column_with_background { padding: 10px; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_form_column:not(:first-child) { margin-left: 20px; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_paragraph { line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_segment_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_text_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_textarea_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_select_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_radio_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_checkbox_label, 3 .mailpoet_list_label, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_date_label { display: block; font-weight: normal; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_text, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_textarea, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_select, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_date_month, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_date_day, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_date_year, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_date { display :block; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_text, #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_textarea { width: 200px; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_checkbox { } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_submit { } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_divider { } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_message { } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_form_loading { width: 30px; text-align: center; line-height: normal; } #mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_form_loading > span { width: 5px; height: 5px; background-color: #5b5b5b; }#mailpoet_form_3{border: 1px solid #fcb900;border-radius: 40px;text-align: center;}#mailpoet_form_3 form.mailpoet_form {padding: 20px;}#mailpoet_form_3{width: 70%;}#mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_message {margin : 0; padding: 0 20px;}#mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_paragraph.last {margin-bottom: 0} @media (max-width: 500px) {#mailpoet_form_3 {background-image: none;}} @media (min-width: 500px) { #mailpoet_form_3 .last .mailpoet_paragraph:last-child {margin-bottom: 0}} @media (max-width: 500px) {#mailpoet_form_3 .mailpoet_form_column:last-child .mailpoet_paragraph:last-child {margin-bottom: 0}} Please leave this field emptyDo you write songs or would you like to?
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