One of the most difficult aspects of being a composer for me is moving from pre-production to production. When I talk about pre-production I'm referring to the songwriting and arranging of the composition, getting all of those elements together, then prepare them for the recording studio.
It's not easy for me because I'm a perfectionist. I believe many of us artists may fall into that Type A personality that we want our music, our craft, to shine perfection.
But then comes the moment where we take all our hard work, writing and arranging in pre-production, and plunge into the production itself to make our music come alive. We have a checklist. Asking ourselves is all the pre-production complete? Are we happy with the arrangements? And, have we rehearsed the songs enough to record them efficiently? The last thing we want is to be unprepared when we step into the studio. Make any last minute changes if needed.
These questions must be asked while in pre-production. It's good to be prepared. Go through your check list again just to make sure you have everything in order. We want our transition from pre-production to production to be as smooth as possible.
The recording studio, the production, costs time and money, or if you have a home studio it still costs time. But at the same time don't get stuck in pre-production. Sometimes it's easy to get wrapped up in the preparation that we don't take the plunge into producing and recording the songs.
Whether it's your first album or your 100th, there's still that transition, perhaps some anxiety, moving from pre-production into the studio, ready to hit the record button.
While it's important to plan and get everything together in pre-production, don't hesitate to hit the record button when the time comes. If your music is ready to record, hit that record button and make some music dreams a reality.