Progress of the Album: DarkHorse (Chapter 6)

Tentatively, I’ll be recording drums and bass at DarkHorse Recording in Nashville, Tennessee this coming June (this is where Dave Bechtel and I recorded much of my last rock album Backstage Pass in 2003-2004). However, a number of things need to happen before I move to this next stage in the production process.

Financial Planning
First, I need to save enough money to pay for the trip. I’ve actually built some buffer time into the production schedule so that I can focus a couple months on doing side jobs to fund the recording sessions (If you or someone you know is in need of audio/music work, please let me know! This is how I am mostly funding this project – with side jobs). I’ve decided to approach this project in stages both for production and financial purposes. Production wise, the audio editing process is going to be easier if I first record and edit the drums and bass (I find it's trickier to edit a lot of instruments together. The guitars, strings, and other live instruments are easier to edit if they have been recorded to a solid drums and bass track). Also, financially, it only makes sense to divide the recording process into several Nashville trips, specifically over 5-6 months. (The cost of food and gas with multiple trips is minor compared to the accumulating recording costs). I will probably take two additional trips to Nashville in the late summer or fall – one for strings and guitar overdubs, and a final trip for mastering. I’m praying God will provide the money somehow in His time and in His way.

Chord Charts & Sheet Music
Throughout the last eight months of writing songs and creating demos, I’ve also compiled chord charts for each of the 13 songs on the album. For now, these charts function to help me remember what chords go where as I arrange the demos. However, before I go to Nashville in June, I will need to write out basic sheet music that notates where the chord changes happen, and I’ll also need to identify any specific drum and bass licks. Certain instructions may include “bass with overdrive” or “kick on all four” or “use toms instead of high hat.” In addition, all of the chord changes need to be notated in the Nashville Notation System, which substitutes numbers for chords. For example, a G in the key of G would be written as a “1” and an E minor in the key of G would be written as “6-“ (as E minor is the 6 chord in the key of G, with the “-“ symbolizing a minor chord). Nashville studio musicians use this system as it simplifies songs to a basic structure, allowing for faster sight-reading and on-the-fly key changes.

Moving to Pro Tools
I generally use Apple’s Logic Pro for music creation and recording (that’s what I’ve used for years, and what I’ve used to create all the MIDI demos for this project). However, in Nashville, we will be recording using DigiDesign’s Pro Tools. This means I will need to prepare in advance a basic Pro Tools session for each song (and will need to transfer some audio elements over from my Logic demo sessions). What audio elements will be included in these Pro Tools sessions? First, each song will have a click track, which will assist the drummer and bassist in keeping with the tempo of the song (even if there is a retard in the song). Second, for each tune, there will be a mix of all the fake instruments minus the fake drums & bass. This will allow the drummer & bassist to play along with the demos and simply replace the fake drums & bass. There will also be several other audio tracks, including the lead vocal, and another track for the background vocals. These elements will be separated, allowing the volume of the vocals to be boosted or lowered depending on the needs of each player (they will each be wearing headphones, and will be able to make various volume adjustments to their liking).

Up next… “The emotional side of recording.”

(Pictured is DarkHorse Recording in Nashville. This photo was taken in 2004 during the recording of Backstage Pass. For more info on DarkHorse Recording, visit: http://www.darkhorserecording.com)

Check out my 2004 album Backstage Pass on iTunes.