Behind the Scenes: #14 The Recording Session
A Peek Behind the Curtain: A Solopreneur Produces an Album Recording
And now comes the point of the whole adventure: recording! Now that I’ve prepared a couple of songs with the pianist and the bassist, chosen a recording studio and a mic, and scheduled a time that works for all parties, I’m ready to lay the first tracks.
I mentioned previously that I have a health condition that makes travel a little tricky. I didn’t mention that I also have asthma, which is challenging for a singer since it affects the breath, which is the carrier of the vocal sound. I’m not the only one who is so afflicted (Bernadette Peters, Billy Joel and Dolora Zajick are asthma sufferers), but it’s something I always have to deal with and plan for. I’m careful not to expose myself to anything I know I’m allergic to or to dusty or polluted air in the twenty-four hours before I have to rehearse or perform.
Now came the day we were all set to record in a Soho recording studio. Soho is downtown from my Upper West Side home, and that of the pianist. If you’re not from Manhattan, just know that that’s quite a distance, and that it’s a different area that generally has a bit more air pollution than we have on the Upper West Side, which is farther north. That’s because Soho is sandwiched between Downtown and Midtown, the two business districts of Manhattan.
But the studio itself had air purifiers, and I figured the trip down on the train was brief enough that it wouldn’t cause a problem. I had gotten a respiratory virus about ten days before the recording, the worst case for a singer, and I was of course concerned about the effect on my voice, because in a recording, sound is everything; there is nothing else. However, my primary objective for the session was to get the instrumental tracks done, because I could always go back and do vocal overdubs. That reduced the pressure a bit. I much prefer a live performance, though, and wanted to get the vocals down, too, if at all possible.
I had a final rehearsal on the recording project two days prior to the recording session. Although I was still a little sick, it went well, and the voice was coming around, so I felt fine to go into the studio.
Then … the Apocalypse came. On recording day, I woke up to a sky that was ORANGE. By 1:00 p.m., it was so dark I had to turn on all the lights as if it were night. You couldn’t see anything outside through the thick haze. The air quality, on a scale of 0-500, was 485. We were warned not to go outdoors. Did I mention I have asthma?!? I was not about to cancel the session, though, because my pianist was going out of town for an extended period, and because booking two musicians and a recording studio at a mutually acceptable time again was something I didn’t want to do, plus I was already behind schedule.
So I went. I did it. I had no breath, but the only thing that was crucial was to get the instrumentals down. I could go back in a couple of weeks to re-do the vocals alone.
I walked out into a scene from a movie. Orange sky, no visibility, people stumbling around with a dazed expression. I put on a mask in the hope that filtering the thick, polluted air would stave off asthmatic symptoms until I got to the studio.
When I arrived, the recording engineer said that every other singer he had scheduled for that day had cancelled. No one could sing in that environment.
But sing I did. And I have to give major kudos to the pianist and the bassist for showing up that day, as well. We were all committed to thumbing our nose at Mother Nature and getting the job done. In addition, the instrumentalists were seasoned pros, and weren’t likely to cancel under any circumstances, because that’s what musicians do: the show must go on.
After everyone arrived at the recording studio, we settled in for our two-hour session. It was the first time I’d been in the booth in that particular studio. The booth is a tiny, soundproofed closet that allows a singer to record isolated vocals on a separate track while the instrumentalists play in the same studio. I’m never crazy about singing in a small space, but it’s a necessary part of the recording process if you’re recording other tracks simultaneously. It was difficult to find a place to stand or sit in this particular booth that was comfortable, but I managed to find a spot I could maintain for most of the two hours we were there. The headphones through which the instrumentals were fed to me were far too large for me, and I had to use one hand to hold them on while I sang, which made singing difficult. I’m never one to complain in a performing situation, though, and I wasn’t the important one on that particular day, so I just muscled on through and got it done.
The instrumentalists were troupers, gave it their all, and got some terrific instrumental tracks down. The recording engineer was pleasant and helpful, and I felt we were in good hands. All in all, in spite of the Apocalypse, the asthma, the respiratory virus, and the headphones, the music-making was productive.
With a two-hour session that’s focused on executing the music as perfectly as possible on a recording, as opposed to performing the music for an audience, the concentration required is intense, so it’s important to take breaks. The energy in performing radiates outward, while in recording, it goes solely into the microphone. Taking a break not only gives our minds and bodies a rest, but we come back with a renewed focus and a clearer ear.
In addition to a couple of short breaks, I called a major break halfway through. We had a chance to leave the recording studio to sit in the outside room, walk around, have a nosh or a drink, and talk. The recording engineer offered to play tracks for anyone who wanted a listen at that point. The pianist wanted to hear a couple of tracks, but I avoided listening at all, as I know that listening to my own singing is often traumatic. I wanted to keep my focus on the task at hand and to replenish my energy.
During the recording session, it’s important to keep everything as positive and relaxed as possible. That’s good practice for producing or directing virtually anything in the music business, but it’s especially essential for recording, as the experience is so condensed in every regard.
I felt certain that we had had a productive session, and as we concluded, I let the instrumentalists and the recording engineer know how very much I appreciated their work. Then I walked out into the Apocalypse once again. This time I didn’t bother putting on the mask, inhaling quite a lot of the polluted air … something I came to regret.
The next day I woke up coughing up soot! I couldn’t breathe. I hurt all over. I was sick with asthma and exhaustion and didn’t make it out of bed all day. Lesson learned. In the event of another Apocalypse, wear a mask at all times!
Next up: Vocal Overdubs
A new installment of Behind the Scenes is published every Tuesday, except on the first Tuesday of the month, when a general post is published.