I did a post about the lost art of pre-production in a previous producer thoughts post. Pre-production for me is primarily about having a vision for a song and/or a collection of songs.
On the other hand, noodling on ideas, sounds, parts etc is your revelation. You’re discovering things, you’re in a more playful mode.
Why is it important to distinguish both and to do both?
Music Tech Is A Blessing/Curse
Modern music technology makes it easy to get lost in the creation journey. DAW makes the process visual which can be distracting and you can get caught making visual decisions instead of sonic visions. You’ve also got so much choice and this can lead to overwhelm or settling for something that is less thought out and mediocre.
That’s not to say that a “dive in and see what happens” approach doesn’t work but it’s not the only way and it’s helpful to have other approaches to music production and writing when the “dive in” approach isn’t working.
Sketch Your Vision
I think having a vision for a song before you start recording is incredibly powerful. Sitting down and imagining parts and arrangements is a great mental exercise. Removing yourself from the DAW, sitting down with a notepad and imagining the song playing in your head then sketching out the structure with notes on instruments, sounds, emotions to convey, vocal production ideas etc. can be a profound experience.
Definitely use pen/pencil and paper. I’m not being old school, devices inherently are morth than a notepad and cause distractions. There is something pure about pen to paper and this process is about a pure vision of your song taking shape in your mind.
This is pure creation.
The Takeaway: If you’ve never done it before, try sitting down and sketching out the production of a song in your head before you record a note. Take the whole page, go into detail, imaging how it all sounds when it’s done. Use language you understand whether it’s technical or descriptive. Take this vision and use it as you go on to record. Once you’re done, consider how it changed your approach. Was the process easier? Does the finished song sound different to others that you’ve recorded?
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