Working in music production: jobs guide
So, what about being part of the actual music making process, working in the studio with artists as they record a hit album of the future? Here’s a guide to some of the jobs available in this domain.
The Recording Studio
A recording studio, as you’d probably guess, is a space that’s used for sound recording. Everything about a studio is designed to ensure the best possible sound quality can be recorded, with a mixture of absorption and diffusion materials on all surfaces in the room.
Typically recording studios have three rooms: the ‘studio’ (or ‘live’ room) where instrumentalists and vocalists perform, the ‘control room’, which houses the equipment for recording and manipulating the sound, and the ‘machine’ room where any loud machinery that might interfere with the recording is kept.
There are also often smaller rooms such as vocal booths for voice recording and ‘isolation booths’, used to keep loud instruments such as drums or electric guitar from being picked up by mics directed on vocals or other instruments. The rooms usually have soundproofing in place so there is no sound clashing between them.
Record Producer
A record producer manages the process of making a record, overseeing all aspects of the production of the recording. This involves logistical tasks (choosing a studio, managing a budget, scheduling musicians), technical tasks (selecting which recording, mixing and mastering ‘processes’ to use) and musical tasks (making decisions that effect the final sound of the record).
Most producers essentially become collaborators with the artists they work with, and can have a great influence on how those artists’ records sound. In fact, because of this iconic producers over the last few decades have exerted a powerful influence on the course of pop music, with some producers, Phil Spector and Timbaland for example, creating some of the defining sounds of their eras.
So integral are producers to the ‘sound’ of the recording, that they often take songwriting credits for the compositions they work on. And, of course, with the development of music technology, it’s now become possible for the producer to be the only person involved in the creation of a musical recording, so that someone like Timbaland can enjoy chart success all on their own. When working in that capacity you might want to think of them as ‘artist producers’.
Sound Engineer
Sound engineers work in recording studios, twisting, tweaking and manipulating music in a variety of ways to get it to sound just as the artist and/or the producer would like it to. They are involved in all stages of the recording process, from recording the music itself, through to editing, mixing and mastering the results.
In a bigger studio there may be a number of different sound engineers. A recording engineer sets up electrical equipment during a recording and operates the soundboard. A mixing engineer mixes pre-recorded material and a mastering engineer is responsible for the final but crucial stage in the recording process (more on which below).
To carry out these different roles, sound engineers require training in everything from designing to installing and operating sound recording and broadcasting equipment and consoles.
Mastering Engineer
The mastering engineer is responsible for ‘mastering’, or producing the final ‘master recording’ of an album so it’s ready for duplication (pressing to CD or uploading to download stores).
This means taking music mixed in a number of different ways during an artist and producer’s recording session, recordings which may use a variety of different recording techniques, and preparing it so it’s consistent and ready to be distributed in all required formats, from vinyl to MP3.
When mastering, the engineer does a range of technical things to the recording, including ‘equalizing the sound’, ‘compressing the limits’, ‘reducing distortion’ and ‘balancing the volume’. It’s crucial when mastering to correct and remove any tonal imbalances, as poorly mastered music can actually put off listeners, giving them ‘hearing fatigue’.
Mastering engineers also sequence tracks, putting songs in order, adding timings between them, and fading in and out at the end of tracks where necessary. Typically mastering engineers have many years experience sound engineering before taking on the role.
This article is part of the unicornjobs.com guide to Working In The Music Business. Click here to go to the guide index.
