Practice Correctly | How To Prepare For Recording Session | Studio 101

Practice Correctly? What do you mean? We have done several video tutorials and blog posts on this topic and plan future ones. One way to practice correctly is to practice in the environment you are entering. Do you know those Iron Man competitions where the athletes swim five miles, bike ten, and run a marathon? They have to swim in the ocean for five miles. You would not practice in a flat, calm pool heated like bathwater. The environment that you are entering is cold and wavy. Same with entering a recording studio. If you are recording with headphones, practice with headphones. Get used to how they sound. Get comfortable with them on your head for long periods.

Another way to practice correctly is by using a click track or metronome. Using a click track will keep the group tight and your recording tighter. Thirdly would be to record yourself at home. Listen to how you sound. That sound won't change because you are at a recording studio. Keep adjusting yourself at home to blend the music of your group. When you enter a recording studio, you already have a good idea of how it will sound, not just hoping it will.

What Do I Do Now to Practice Correctly?

Lastly, I equate practice correctly to a hitter in baseball. You go to the batting cage an hour a day, seven days a week, and have a hitch in your swing. Then you keep practicing with that hitch, not realizing it, and are practicing the wrong way. Now you get in a game and wonder why you still don't make contact with the ball repeating over and over that you are practicing every day. If you practice wrong, it won't translate to the field. Same with entering a recording studio. You certainly do not want to practice the wrong way and play with a hitch in your instrument.

It would be best to listen to your recordings at home for consistent playing, timing, and dynamics. If you're playing is all over the road, the sound of your studio record follows suit. Practicing is not just time spent noodling your favorite tune; it is playing and dissecting the performance, repeating the right things, and eliminating mistakes. Your recording will thank you.