#pre-produciton

Getting Substance Painter textures to look the same in Unreal engine 5

Sean Forsyth

Selecting a tempo for a new recording is an important decision. A song key that is a little above or below the ideal pitch is forgivable. A recording that drags or that is too fast is abysmal.

Getting the tempo just right is an art form. Some artists arrive at their tempos intuitively. Some of us need a little nudging or convincing before making a pacing decision.

Here are three techniques I use in pre-production to select the right tempo for an upcoming recording.

Rough Recordings Average - The first method requires a bit of homework, but it’s the most effective of the three. Here, we compare rough recordings from various environments. Ideally, if you have a song that you want to record, you’ve been performing it live. Try recording four or five shows and bring those tapes to the pre-production session. Next, make a phone recording of the song in a familiar, comfortable environment (like your living room or practice space). Finally, in the actual pre-production session, record a rough version of the song without a click track or guide beat. Now, mark the tempos of these six or seven versions of the song. Take the average. That’s your ideal tempo.

Commercial Compare - The second method is quicker. Here, take a commercial song that has the same basic feel you are going for and clock its tempo. Compare your song’s tempo to the commercial one. How does it sound? How does it feel?  This is a good way to double check the first method, too. Comparing working tempos to the song market takes your session out of an artist vacuum and plays it in the real world. It’s surprising how effective a simple bpm nudge at this stage can be.

Sing It - The third method is even faster. Here, sing the song over a click track set to as fast as you can tolerate while still getting out all the lyrics intelligibly and in the feel you want. This method will err on the side of fast, but that’s usually better than having a song drag. When used with the first two methods, this technique can provide that needed final double check.

Pre-Production

Step 4:  Record scratch tracks

Once you have a song list and tempos for your collection, it's time to start recording skeletons. This consists of a scratch vocal with a click track and one supporting instrument.   

If you are recording as a band or without a click track you'll want to just record a scratch vocal with your rhythm track.  

Recoding a scratch track is essential for multitrack recording. It becomes the lot upon which the song's foundation is built. 

It's at this stage that you can play around with foundational elements. Suppppse you have a good tempo, but you want to try a few different keys. Try them here. Try them all.

Although it's is a scratch performance, why not try to make it the best it can be?  Make sure your guitars and pianos are in tune.  Sing in key as best you can. I've always ended up using something from preproduction in a final recording.