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When is a song ready to record?

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DSmolken

Member
Do you record songs as soon as they're complete, play them live for years to gauge crowd reactions and optimize everything before recording, or somewhere inbetween? What's your reasoning?
 
All of the above - it depends on the individual circumstances.

When writing for commercial purposes, such as in response to a brief, short deadlines are usually in play, so writing and recording typically happen very quickly, one right after the other, often overlapping as the song gets tweaked while it's being recorded.

Some artists/bands write in the studio, as they're recording an album. While others write on the road or whenever inspiration strikes, and choose to record later.

Both approaches have their advantages.

Often there's a feeling of enthusiasm that comes with writing a new song, and by recording immediately, you can capture that raw energy and excitement, that's usually impossible to recreate later on.

On the other hand, road testing a song for an extended period of time provides the opportunity to optimize and refine the arrangement, tempo, and most importantly, the vocal delivery.

I don't necessarily think one is better than the other. There are many examples of both approaches in the songs that we love and admire.
 
When you play it for another musician you respect and they make a suggestion on that one part that's been bugging you all along, and you weren't even sure why. I did that multiple times in the past and the "2nd pair of ears" came up with small changes that turned out to be my favorite parts.
 
Doing live gigs with the bands I played in during the eighties and early nineties, we never had a record deal (and didn't focus on that), so distributing our music outside of gigs pretty much meaning copies of rehearsal tapes for friends and families. The songs evolved during performances, but they were never recorded professionally.

By the time I had my own little project studio, I already said goodbye to band-life. As a keyboard player in a band, you are always the one hauling the most gear around, and by the time you had your keyboard stand unfolded and ready to load the synthesizers, the guitarist had his axe plugged in and asked why we weren't ready to rock. After about a decade and a half playing live with all kinds of bands (though I never did the cover-band thing), I had enough of that.

Working at my own pace in my own studio has been very rewarding since then. Being able to compose and write in a full-fledged studio environment, and being able to experiment with sounds and arrangements, is a dream come true. So, for me, composing, tracking, and arranging are one integrated process.
 
Spirit Groove said:
From sketch, to draft, to arrangement, I record my 'songs' multiple times until I get to the final version.

Sometimes, like a sculptor, I chip away at stone to get to the concept, other times add clay to build up and shape the ideas into form.
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Wow, that's almost the complete opposite to how I approach writing. Just goes to show there's no one way to do things.
 
Tim Nash said:
Wow, that's almost the complete opposite to how I approach writing. Just goes to show there's no one way to do things.
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I'm not so sure our approaches are that different after reading this:
Tim Nash said:
I write my songs fairly quickly. I muck around, find an idea and off I go. I just react to what the day gives me. I find ideas that have to be worked at are usually the weakest ones. The quicker an idea hits and I record it, the better.
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My typical process is similar, but inspiration can come from anywhere, however the song may or may not be finished quickly.
I recently started writing a song that was inspired by someone I met. It evolved into a bigger idea that makes me wonder 'where is this taking me?'
 
DSmolken said:
... play them live for years to gauge crowd reactions ...
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I wish that part was still a reality for me. :grin: (I miss playing live.)

It does make me wonder about how much I would factor in crowd reactions, though. For the most part, they're good at spotting the good parts, but there are also so many "crowd pleaser" things that can mislead about what the good parts actually are. For example, if a singer holds a note for a really long time, the crowd will go nuts. But on a recording, it's not remarkable. Or there are all sorts of guitar tricks that crowds love, but ... not so amazing on a recording.

Also, a crowd can't really get into the lyrics as well, and unless it's a coffee house situation with a solo acoustic guitar and singer, they probably can't even hear the lyrics.

I don't mean to overstate that, it's just that in my way of thinking, the recording dictates how it's played live, rather than the other way around.

Anyway, that (long) tangent aside, my first reaction was that I record songs right away. In fact, the recording process is ofter part of the writing. But then I realized ... I have a whole bunch of songs in my head I've never recorded! So I guess I don't record everything right away.

In my own case, I think cost is the biggest snag, where I have to bring in a real singer. (Certainly not me!) So that raises the stakes, so I tend to be in the mindset of, "Well, it's not quite perfect yet," so I never do get around to committing.
 
I no longer play live. Back in the days I did, it affected the way I wrote music. As was mentioned earlier, what works live doesn't always work in a recording. Nowadays, writing, recording, mastering etc..... is one integrated process. A least for the way I work.
 
So this thread isn't just idle pondering, our church group wants to record a second album and there are songs and free access to a studio in July while the people who'd normally use it are away. Being the type to question everything, I suggested we get a good feel for the songs and record next July, but thinking about it... if we figure out tempo and groove and keys for the singers, the songs have all been written by the two writers for a bit, so... waiting a year would probably be massive overkill.

Also found a recording of Case Oats' "Bitter Root Lake" from five years ago and even though it's an acoustic duo version, other than the key... not much has changed between then and the released single. Not one word of the lyrics, I think. So perhaps gestation is largely overrated by those of us who have deadlines? It could be that.
 
HCMarkus said:
So what do you have to lose by hitting the studio this year? Maybe aim for an EP this year, and do another one next year.
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That's exactly my thinking too. If the studio is free you get to gain experience in a recording studio without the pressure of watching the money-clock.

Because I do my recording alone and at home it's super easy to hit the record button and I find it's valuable to listen and refine projects that I'm working on.

Sometimes an objective look in the mirror is needed, especially to critique my own performance, but also to get the feel if the song is really working and flows the way I want.
 
I mean, yeah, something like that... just don't want to rush in only to go "you know, we could have done a lot of things better" afterwards.
 
Well, it seems I'm getting my way after all... not that "I won" or "I was right" but it is kinda funny. As soon as the whole idea came up I immediately asked if we should be recording songs we haven't played live yet. Then about a month and a half after that our pianist/leader says people have been coming to her privately saying they don't feel ready and coming into a studio one person at a time isn't how we normally operate. So we're basically only going to record the three things we've done live multiple times and then get to the rest later after having the chance to come to grips with those songs and internalize them by playing them "for real".

And in this specific case, it really does feel like the right way to do it. We're not studio aces who can hear a song and give it the right style and feel in fifteen minutes.
 
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