Introduction
A good recording of my song can help me expand the range of my audience. It can also help me to get noticed by the good recording companies so it is very important to do it the right way. If I'm recording my first song or my demo, it does not have to be much expensive. If the song is good, then the audience are going to listen no matter how much money I spend on the song.
Step 1
The first thing I need to know is that where am I going to record my song. Do I have to rent a whole studio or I can record it in my computer or on a track recorder at home. If I'm going to record my song at home then I have to make sure that I understand the acoustical quarks of the recording room. The second thing I need to do is to choose the recording method of my song.
Step 2
There are basically two types of the recording methods. The first one is the live recording method. In this method all of the instruments and vocals are recorded in one take. The second method is multi track recording. In this method each instrument and vocal is recorded separately on its own track. It depends on my song which method I should use. If I am recording a metal rock song then I should select the live recording method but if I am recording a radio friendly pop song then I should select the multi track record method.
Step 3
The next step is to set up the instruments for the final recording. For drums, each drum and cymbal should have a separate microphone. The bass and guitars should be recorded via direct input method. If the guitarists uses a microphone and an amplifier connected in a separate room, it will give more clean sound.
Mixing and recording
After setting up my instruments, I must record song nice and clean. It is better to do it in one take and one should avoid the long time and hours of recording. I should avoid the irrelevant sounds or noises in the recording room. The final step for my song is to mixing and mastering my recordings. If I am recording at home with a computer, the mixing is easy enough. A rough mix would do fine. If I am recording at a studio, the engineers can mix my song for me. If it is my first song or a demo, then the mixing is not very much important for it. I should avoid spending a long time on mixing the recordings.
Mastering the recordings
For mastering my song, I have to do a final equalizing process and also add compression too. There is no such a unique way to master the recording. Different people have different style to master their recordings. I should keep in mind that if I am going to master my recordings, I should keep the un-mastered copy with me as well in case I do not like the final results of the mastered track.
