Importance of Vocals: Becoming a Music Producer

Series Summary

So you think you have what it takes to produce the next big thing? So you think you know how to translate an energetic live performance into a stunning album? So you think you know how to work that $12,000 piece of audio equipment? Becoming a music producer involves much more than just the desire to create great albums; working producers have had years of experience in the studio, logging many hours in recording sessions, remixing, mastering, trying things over and over until the sound is just right.

If you’re thinking about becoming a music producer, this might just be the place to start. In this free video series, our expert, a producer, musician, and studio owner, will give you some of the basic stepping stones you’ll need to get started. He’ll show you how to coach a vocal artist in the studio, how to draw the most out of a performance, and how to get the artist set up. Tips also include some technical information about where to record vocals, what microphones to use, how to set levels, how to use a digital audio workstation, and an explanation of the differences between analog and digital recording.

Video Transcript

"Hi! My name is Larry Hammel, singer, songwriter, engineer and producer of Deep Waves Studio here in New York City and on behalf of Expert Village, I would like to welcome you to how to produce a recording artist. Early on in my career as a singer, I always had a difficult time recording; particularly vocals. The vocal is the most important part of a song and you must make sure that when you are recording you can connect with the listener and that the vocalist connects with the listener. Your job as an engineer or producer or someone who is recording a vocal is to capture the essence of that performer's muse, so to speak. The emotion, the transfer emotion, is key to this. Since the beginning of recorded history, the vocal is the most important thing and technology has really flourished. We are here in this big facility but you could be recording in your closet, your bedroom, your bathroom, wherever it hits you. Some of the techniques we are going to use today can be applicable to your home recording techniques. We are actually going to have a girl come in and she is going to sing the Karaoke tracks just so that we can avoid some multi track recording and concentrate strictly on the vocal."