The Songwriter’s Guide To Recording Professional Demos Cliff Goldmacher Published by Cliff Goldmacher Music Production ©2009 Tel: 615.320.7233 Email:
[email protected] Website: www.cliffgoldmacher.com Edited by Peter Goldmacher Layout & Design by CasJam Media For those of you who’d prefer to print out this book but still have the audio examples easily accessible, you can go to the E‐Book companion page for the eBook companion web page and access to all the musical examples there while reading your printed copy of the book. http://www.cliffgoldmacher.com/e‐book‐companion No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, without the express written permission of the publisher. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Chapter 1 6 Why Use a Professional Recording Studio Chapter 2 9 What to Do Before You Go into the Studio Chapter 3 13 What a Producer Does Chapter 4 17 Working with Session Musicians Chapter 5 21 Working with Demo Singers Chapter 6 27 The Mix Chapter 7 32 Submitting/Pitching Your Songs Conclusion 36 3 Introduction Welcome to “The Songwriter’s Guide to Recording Professional Demos.” This book is based on a relatively recent realization on my part… In short, it occurred to me that after 20 years as a songwriter, producer, engineer and studio owner and after working with hundreds of clients on literally thousands of demos, I actually had an opinion on how to make the demo process easier and more effective for my songwriting clients. I believe there are certain practices and behaviors that if observed can make the demo process less stressful and more productive regardless of whether you’re a first‐time songwriter or a Grammy‐ winner.