Outsourcing Musicians on a Solo Project (Management)

For my latest project that I am currently working on (ATOM'S WRLD), I have chosen to produce a selection of musical compositions that will incorporate both electronically synthesised instruments and live instrumentation such as a drum kit and electric guitar. The DAW (Digital Audio Workspace) I have chosen to for this project is Ableton Live 10. Even though there are tools that can be used inside this program that are able to replicate the sounds of a drum kit and guitar, I figured that if I wanted to really bring this project to life I would need to record them myself. As I only have the knowledge of how to play the piano and produce music through a DAW, I needed to outsource artists to assist me with these recordings.

Important Events/Issues

Even though the project can not be polished off to the standard I have in mind without outsourcing and recording the right artists I need, there are a few key events that need to happen before this. It may be obvious, but a project plan needed to come first. The easiest starting point for me, is deciding on a concept; something I will be attempting to keep reference to throughout all stages of production. Considering that the concept for this project is to be an audio representation of a progression through a series of events, the songs themselves must progress in conjunction with one another. So... figuring out song structure was the next item on my list of things to do. Once this was established, musical notation and tonality is to be considered. As I previously spoke about in my Project Plan, I want all of the tracks in the album to blend together, so when it is played in the structured order, it sounds like one piece of music and not noticeably seperate tracks. Although, this can be done in the final stages of mixing.

I think we're ready to start searching for my recording artists....

Now, one issue you may find with this, is knowing who has the experience necessary to execute your vision. But even then, if you don't personally know the artist you want or they are a professional touring artist, there could potentially be a lot of money involved for a simple track recording. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to know artists with the knowledge I need who also happen to be friends of mine, so they were happy to help me out free of charge.

Let me introduce...

Dominic Ward

AND...

Jacob Thrum

Recording - Guitar

As a producer outsourcing artists for your own work, you must be willing to work around the musicians schedule.

One week prior to the studio session I had booked for the recording, I sent Dom a scratch track to practise with. But on the day before the session, I created a short 16 bar phrase which I decided that I also wanted to add into the album. We recorded the guitar and it went very smoothly, Dom is an excellent guitarist (Appendix A). After a sufficient amount of recordings had been done, I mentioned the 16 bar phrase I had recently produced, to see if he was interested. Dom listened to the short midi sequence I had created and without hesitation, he began to emulate the melody on his guitar. So, due to Dom's love for music and willingness to help me out as much as he can, we proceeded to record a few other melodies that required no practise to execute (Appendix B).

This was a very positive thing that came out of the session. Not only did the planned recording run smoothly, I was able to get an extra track recorded on the spot. This was only possible due to the face-to-face experience we had in the studio. I can certainly make sure this happens again by speaking with the artist about their time schedule and knowing what their availability is, so I can book a studio time which best suits their needs.

Appendix A - Recording the Planned Guitar Sequence on a Neve Custom Series 75 desk.

Appendix B - Unplanned Recording of a Brand New Idea on a Neve Custom Series 75 Desk

Recording - Drums

Being able to get your idea across to a musician is a crucial part in reaching the final product you envision your work to be.

For this recording, I followed the same pre-production stages that I did with Dom. I sent it through to Jacob a week before the planned session, except this scratch track had the recorded guitars over it for better reference. The time came to step into the studio and record the drums, but due to a show that Jacob had to play in the following week, his band decided to get extra practise in during that time. So instead, I spent the session mixing previously recorded tracks, rather than recording the drums. A week later, Jacob sent me stems for the drum recording that he had done on his own and at his house. Although it fits the track and is well executed, there are a few sections in the recording which I would have preferred to be done differently. But that is only due to my creative flow, not Jacob's drumming ability. It's not a big issue and the finished product is sounding great, but it is still a small negative experience that I would prefer to not have to deal with in the future. I made the mistake of not immediately planning another session with Jacob after he pulled out of the first studio booking. This is able to be avoided with better communication methods; a very small but significant trait that is required when outsourcing musicians.

As the producer and project manager, communication is a soft skill that Is required to ensure that all stages of the production run smoothly and in accordance to the plan.

Jordan.