Recording Sessions
When going in to record live musicians, there’s a few things I’ve learned by experience.
PROTOOLS
1) If it’s a studio that uses ProTools, create a protools file that has stems, not tons of audio tracks, but stems like woodwinds, brass, strings, etc.
2) Make sure the bar numbers in the ProTools file match the bar numbers of the sheet music. This includes making sure that the ProTools file has any meter changes, like if there’s a bar of 2/4 in there somewhere, for example.
3) Have a printed, audio click track. This means not just the standard click track you can create in ProTools but an actual audio file of the click. The reason for this is engineers sometimes will use that to create count in clicks at the tempo of a new section. Like if there’s suddenly a tempo change at bar 30, if you just did a regular click count in they’ll hear a click for a bar or two at a different tempo which will suddenly change when they’re supposed to start playing…not cool. A recording engineer therefore will copy a bar or two of the audio click at the new tempo and copy it to the prior bars, that gives the musicians the count in at the correct tempo.
SHEET MUSIC
For sheet music there’s a few things to consider:
1) Make sure the music is notated well and easy to read. That includes having the correct key signature, the correct accidentals (should that be an A# or a Bb? depends on the key and the circumstance), are the rhythms notated in such a way that they’re comfortable to read? If I were to get in teaching about proper notation it’d be a whole book on it’s own, and there are books on that. Hopefully you know enough about notation to notate your scores and parts. If you don’t, you can start to educate yourself, there are lots of resources, or consider hiring what’s called a copyist. A copyist takes the music from the composer, or orchestrator and creates the sheet music, both the scores and the parts. A good copyist can save you lots of valuable recording time when potentially expensive musicians are on the clock. Copyists can also do takedowns for you (if you need to see some music in MIDI or notation they can write it out by ear for you, such as a reference you’re working with).
2) Make sure there are bar numbers on every bar!! Notation programs will often default to bar numbers only at the beginning of a staff, or every however many bars. This is often good for music that’s rehearsed as an orchestra or band, etc. but not for a recording session. I’ve seen sessions where time is wasted because I have to count backwards from a staff to figure out what bar number a bar is I want to refer to.
3) Size of the notation and size of paper can also be important. For the size of the music, I try to choose something that’s big enough to easily see and read but not too big so that it doesn’t cause more pages than needed. Paper size, letter or A4 is fine. If you want to be professional and fancy about it, copyists usually use “part size” paper which is a little bigger than letter size and has to be special ordered, and often on a thicker, off-white stock. That honestly matters less than the other details I’m listing, but looks professional and has it’s benefits.
MUSIC STANDS
Some things to keep in mind on music stands:
1) Make sure each musician has a music stand. String players usually share 1 stand per 2 musicians.
2) Have a pencil on each music stand, sharpened, ready to go. Engineers who do this I know are pro.
CHAIRS
1) Have chairs for all musicians, with no arms, especially no arms for cellists.
2) For cellists and bass players you might need a rug or something to put their end pin in so the instrument doesn’t slip, and so the floor isn’t damaged. They might bring something but better to be prepared.
HEADPHONES
1) All musicians need headphones of course, make sure the chord is long enough so they don’t get tangled. With a group of musicians it’s best to have headphone amps throughout the room so each has their own station to adjsut various levels such as track and click to their preference.
2) String players usually want 1 sided headphones. That means there’s only a headphone on one ear so that they can hear their instrument well enough. To play in tune string players really need to hear their instrument which is what 1 sided headphones are for. If you don’t have 1 sided headphones, they can probably just position it so one ear is free.
RECORDING TECHNIQUES
When you record you can choose to record the full ensemble together, or individual sections or instruments. Recording individual sections of an orchestra separately is called striping. There are several benefits to this such as not having an orchestra sit around unnecessarily while you work on a part with one of the other sections — for example you spend time on intonation with the brass during the session, while 24 string players sit around being paid for their time. Another benefit is that one has more separation in the mix which gives one more control and flexibility in the mix.
Having the whole ensemble at once, on the other hand, can be a creative choice with benefits too. If the parts aren’t difficult you could save studio time by recording all at once. Additionally, musicians might play slightly differently if they’re in the room with the full orchestra, which could potentially lead to a better or more organic performance.