How to Produce Instrumental Music

If you're a dedicated musician, you're already aware that most rock 'n' roll is vocally-oriented. With rare exceptions, any Top 40 success is unimaginable without vocals. However, recording and producing instrumental music can be just as fulfilling, particularly if the people involved create guitar and keyboard lines that mimic the human voice. Getting the recording down is only half the battle, though. To create truly compelling music, you'll need to resist the temptation of filling every sonic space, and avoid imposing your will on the musicians involved.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Compression, echo, reverb and other effects
• Computer
• Digital editing program (such as Nuendo, or Pro Tools)
• Drum machines
• 8-, 16- or 24-track recording console
• Guitars
• Headphones
• Keyboards
• Microphones
• Mixing board
• Preamplifiers

1. Decide what genre you want to pursue--instrumental music can cover everything from pounding dance and house tracks, to '60s-style surf and spy themes and full-blown psychedelic rock freakouts. The more closely aligned your own interests and skill levels are to the styles you're tackling, the more successful your productions are likely to become.

2. Meet with the band--or session musicians, if you're working with people for a specific project, such as a jingle--to work out the material in advance. Unless you're working for a record company, you'll need to keep a hawkish eye on your specifications and the budget. Tread carefully when spending your own money. Whenever possible, record during downtime rates to save money.

3. Record a complete take or two with the musicians to get balances and rough mixing levels straight. Often, the greatest recordings occurred when nobody knew the proverbial red light was on. You should have a clear idea of the arrangement and use of studio processors and effects--including compression, equalization and reverb and delay, among other effects--to produce a particular type of mood.

4. Resist the natural production tendency to fill up every inch of the sonic spectrum--if you've worked on other people's sessions, you'll probably already understand this principle. Put another way, somebody has to give up--or cut short--their pet guitar solo in favor of a repetitive keyboard part that's not so prominent yet ties the song together (as Grand Funk Railroad's hit, "We're An American Band," should demonstrate).

5. Focus on specific bass, drum, guitar or keyboard lines that bring out a track's melodic potential, but always think outside of the box--sometimes, it takes an unusual effect or instrument to bring out a hook line that might have languished hidden in the final mix (as the famed '60s beat producer Joe Meek, for example, ensured by using a Clavioline on the Tornados' international smash hit, "Telstar"). Never lose track of the total melodic picture.

6. Don't be afraid to creatively exploit the quirks of digital editing programs, such as Nuendo, to bring out the nuances of a final mix that might otherwise go unnoticed by the casual listener. Allow the musicians some input on the final mix, but don't give in to pressure from players who only want you to use the individual takes on which they sound best.

Tips & Warnings

• Never impose your ethic blindly on other musicians at the expense of the particular track--sometimes, it takes a different pair of ears to hear what your own set may be overlooking, once you've heard a piece of music multiple times.
• Study magazines dedicated to home and professional recording, and read interviews with great producers to pick up on techniques that you may come in handy to your own approach.
• Use tact and diplomacy in dealing with musicians who may want to excessively retake a particular track, or offer unsolicited advice that may not fit your vision. Don't back down on the vision that you want to pursue in realizing a project to its conclusion.