Last month, I explained how record production is a team effort, with the record producer in the role of team leader, and the record company's A&R manager having the final say. In some types of production, the rest of the team consists of the band, and no-one else need be involved. But for a solo artist, there has to be a musical backing of some sort, and unless he or she (or the producer) happens to be an extremely talented multi-instrumentalist, then extra musical input will be necessary.
Before samplers and synthesizers were quite as all-singing and all-dancing as they are now, arrangers were commonly employed to put the music together, and work with a number of session musicians to create a musical backing in a style appropriate for the song. Now, many programmers and keyboard players effectively take on the arranger's role themselves, for the simple reason that a few modules, and a few CD-ROMs perhaps, can supply just about any instrumental sound that could possibly be required -- all you have to do is play the notes into a sequencer, and you have an 'instant' arrangement.
Of course, even though an arranger may no longer be necessary, good arrangements for synths and samplers don't create themselves. For certain styles of music, arrangers are still used. For example, it is difficult to get the best out of a string section, brass section or orchestra, unless you have a deep understanding of the instruments, and the way in which they interact. You could bash out a few chords on a keyboard, get your favourite sequencer software to turn them into musical dots, and hand them out to a group of strings. But would it get the best out of the players and the instruments? I think not.
Arrangers seem to come in two types; lone arrangers (I think there's a pun in there somewhere) who work at home with a sharpened pencil and large sheets of music manuscript paper, and arrangers who are themselves string or horn players. I could also put backing vocalists into this category, since a trio of singers can often work out their own vocal arrangements, saving the producer a job.
You know it's time to hire an arranger when someone says, "I think we need an orchestra on this track", or a jazz band, big band or even a choir. Your first port of call will be your CD collection, where you will scan through discs where you remember a song being given the orchestral treatment, and hope that the arranger is credited in the sleeve notes. A call to the Musicians' Union will probably get the two of you in touch. Likewise, you may find that string and horn sections are credited on the CDs on which they appear, and you might even find them in the phone book or Yellow Pages.
Of course, I have to say that London is still the centre of musical activity in the UK, and you will stand a better chance of finding arrangers and musicians you have heard of in the metropolis. If you live elsewhere in the country, you will still be able to find excellent musicians and arrangers, but you might not be able to expect them to have as much experience of recording. String players in particular find studio recording much more difficult than playing live. The reason is that if they have to wear headphones, they won't be able to hear themselves in the way they are used to, and will find tuning more difficult. For a larger group of instruments, the musical director or MD might wear the headphones and conduct the musicians. If the MD doesn't have much recording experience, he may find it difficult getting the musicians to keep pace with a totally inflexible, previously-recorded backing track.
Once upon a time, it was every instrumentalist's dream to become a session musician. With the irresistable rise of computerised instruments, the demand for session players has waned, but there is still a keen market at the top of the business. The reason you would hire a specialist session musician rather than your mate who can pick and strum a bit, is simply because a good session musician can inject an wonderful air of confidence into the recording.
As your experience as a producer increases, you will find that there is a world of difference between someone who can play well, and someone who really 'has it'; 'it' being that indefinable something that makes a recording sound terrific rather than just alright. Be warned that there is still a breed of session musician that thinks it is okay to place a copy of Exchange and Mart on the music stand and imagine they are professional enough not to have to give their full attention to what they are doing. I would personally show someone the door if they did this, but I'm afraid it is still considered to be acceptable practice in some circles.
Of course, this won't happen if you get your musicians from a reputable source who is used to dealing with top producers. This source would be what used to be called a 'fixer', nowadays more politely known as a session agent. Whatever instrument or voice you need, you can ring up a session agent and he or she will be able to deliver the goods -- at a price. If you want quality, then you can forget about Musicians' Union rates, because these are considered to be a minimum level of remuneration. Of course, when the payment exceeds the MU scale, then you will also get flexibility and a certain amount of freedom from MU conditions on how sessions are conducted. You would need to clarify these points with the contractor and find out precisely what you are agreeing to in terms of the duration of the session, breaks, maximum recording time, and so forth. Be prepared to sign a contract or letter of agreement which will also contain the performers' consent required under the Copyright, Designs and Patents act for the types of use proposed for the recording.
But what if your budget is limited, or you only want to make a demo recording, and can't justify too much expense? If your material is good enough, you might be able to persuade a top session player to work for you for the minimum fee, simply because they like the music. Another strategy is to book a musician on a demo rate, which may be lower than a full session rate. Of course, you won't be able to release the recordings -- or if you did, you'd never be able to book a session player again. But you could record your demo, hawk it around the record companies, and if someone does take to it and wants to release it, all you have to do is go back to the session agent and renegotiate the fee -- you can't lose! Also, bear in mind that not all the musicians on a session agent's books will have reached the pinnacle of their careers. Some will just be starting out, and although the agent will have taken them on because they have outstanding ability, they may need to build up a track record, and may see your project as a means to an end.
There is a very subtle dividing line between keyboard players and programmers. Typically, a keyboard player will specialise in tinkling the ivories, and only tweak the odd sound here and there if he feels inclined. A programmer, on the other hand, is hired for his collection of instruments, sounds and samples, and is expected to be able to produce exactly the right sound for the occasion, and maybe just do a bit of playing on the side.
As a budding producer, perhaps you have a MIDI setup and are capable of programming yourself, as many established producers can. But you will be aware that programming takes a lot of mental energy and patience. Hiring a programmer to do something that perhaps you could have done yourself will allow you to concentrate fully on the music, which is exactly what a producer needs to do. The programmer will also have a fantastic memory for sounds, and when you need a string sound that is just so, the programmer will be able to call up a few patches and demonstrate them to you, so that you can choose the best.
Equipment-wise, what should you expect a programmer to bring to the session? Having seen top programmers in action, I can say that you should be expecting three or four keyboards, a couple of racks full of modules, a Macintosh computer equipped with a pair of large monitors running an audio sequencer and Digidesign Pro Tools, and all the interfaces, disks, cables and backup devices that are necessary to make it all work. The time spent setting up such a system is considerable, as is the time spent after each day's work logging all the sounds and making sure that they can be recalled the next day, or at any later time, if necessary.
It is quite common for a producer to regard a programmer as a kind of producer's assistant. The producer will give the programmer an idea of what he wants, then go away for an hour or two, leaving the programmer alone with the equipment, to see what he can come up with. This is where you really need to be working with people who understand your requirements, and who you can trust to come up with something that is likely to suit your taste.
Steve is currently working on George Michael's new album.
• WORKING WITH PRODUCERS:
"I think it's
important when programmers work with producers or artists, to be able to work
together in a similar way. I've been in a situation where people have had an
idea for a sound in their head, have explained it to me, and my understanding of
it was different to theirs. If you are on a similar wavelength, you can get
things done a bit quicker. It's also a matter of learning to understand how they
describe things. It's the age-old thing: a producer might say, 'Make it
brighter'. Your reaction might be to crank the top end up, but that is perhaps
not what he means. One producer's description can be completely different to
another's. You almost have to be able to read their minds."
Keyboard player Dave Clayton is working on the final Take That album with producer Chris Porter. He also played on George Michael's 'Jesus to a Child'.
• EQUIPMENT:
"I tend to bring it all,
leave it in a room somewhere and bring out what I need. I've got masses of
analogue gear and modern equipment too -- clavinets and electric pianos, and
synths ranging from the Roland System 100 to the Waldorf Wave."
• PRODUCERS' REQUIREMENTS:
"Some get me
in to show them how it could be. They rely on my experience, and see if I can
develop something from their idea. They might like the sound of a particular era
and just let me jam and find a way I can fuse it into their track."
• FEES:
"I've had people quote MU rates
to me, but people hire me because of my ability, and also because of the fact
that I can bring in a lot of equipment as well. The rate varies from project to
project. I might work for someone on a small label for a negligible rate, and
charge the full rate to people who can afford it. I'm in the fortunate position
that I've been in the business a few years, and I tend to do things I feel will
inspire me."
Credits include Peter Gabriel, Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, Seal, Neneh Cherry and Simple Minds.
• IDEAL NUMBERS OF STRING
PLAYERS:
"Sometimes 10, sometimes 40. It's about texture, warmth and a
lot of different things. If a producer says to me, 'I want this to sound very
big, but I have only so much money,' then there's a problem."
• SUPPORTING THE VOCALS:
"I am working
on a project with a girl singer, which is just orchestra with no rhythm section.
Her voice is slightly thinnish, so I have added violas into the string
arrangement just to pick up the lower range of her voice, to bring out the
bottom edge. That is the kind of thinking behind what I do."
• CHANGING THE ARRANGEMENT IN THE
STUDIO:
"I rewrite it for the principal of each section, and ask them to
pass it on. It's the quickest way I've found. It happens quite a lot, since you
often get a track where the vocalist has changed his phrasing and you need to
make adjustments."
The Kick Horns (Tel. 0171 732 2889) are Simon Clarke (alto and Baritone sax, flute), Roddy Lorimer (trumpet and flugelhorn) and Tim Sanders (tenor and soprano sax). Credits include Blur, The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, The Stereo MCs and Trevor Horn.
• MAKING COMPROMISES IN THE
STUDIO:
"Arranging is the most time-consuming part of the process, as it
involves a complex series of decisions and collaborations. When we do more than
a couple of takes of something, it tends not to be because we've got a phrase
wrong, but because, for example, the bass player wants to hear a big chord with
a fall on the end, while the singer wants us to play a unison line that the
keyboard player player hates, which the producer has earmarked for backing
vocals..."
• A HORN SECTION VS INDIVIDUAL
MUSICIANS:
"Producers booking individual musicians get just that, whereas
with the Kick Horns, they get a very efficient horn section with a shared sense
of phrasing, achieved from 13 years of playing together. They get a team with a
long-standing commitment to songs and singers, who enjoy collaboration with
bands and producers; a group who understand each other, and whose aim is quite
simply to make songs sound better."
Debbie runs the Session Connection session agency, who handle many of the top musicians in the UK.
• CHOOSING THE RIGHT PEOPLE:
"Quite
often, there will be eight or nine people who can do the gig, and only one of
them will be the right one. We take pride in what we put together. We want
producers to be very, very happy with the people we send. 99% of the time it
works out well."
• FEES:
"For a lead vocal, we ask for an
advance and then points. A lead vocal is going to make or break the track, and
if it does make it then the vocalist should be getting royalties, somewhere
between two to five percent for a first single. If there is a band who wants a
guitarist and they can't pay very much, I'll put them in touch with one of the
younger people on the books, and say 'if you want to, go ahead and do it'.
Sometimes there's no point in getting involved, except to get the younger people
started. We can put people in touch with each other, and sort of try and create
families."
Credits include Bjork's 'It's Oh So Quiet', Alison Moyet's 'That Old Devil Called Love', Simple Minds' 'Street Fighting Years' and Monty Python's 'Always Look On the Bright Side Of Life'.
• TYPES OF PRODUCER:
"Some producers are
very specific about sounds and styles of writing. They will go over the
arrangements they want with you quite meticulously. Other producers will ask you
to do what you feel is right, and then on the session you will take out a
phrase, repeat a couple of bars or something like that. In a lot of cases,
people ask for me because they know what I can do, and I get a free hand to go
in any direction I want."
• SCORING:
"I don't have a computer or a
synthesizer. I find writing out music is quicker than doing it on a computer. I
wrote and orchestrated the tank chase sequence in Goldeneye in about half
a day. Once you get the momentum, you can hear what the strings and brass ought
to be doing. Technology just gets in the way."
As a drummer/rhythm programmer, Andy's credits include Take That, Tina Turner, The Beautiful South and the Manic Street Preachers.
• GETTING WORK:
"It's all word-of-mouth
recommendation. Agencies try very hard to represent musicians, often
fruitlessly, because recording is a high-cost, high-pressure enterprise, and
no-one wants to recommend someone who is going to make a fool of them.
Producers, generally, are very wary of using people that they have never heard
of, because they don't know what they are going to get when the person walks in
through the door."
• PRODUCER'S EXPECTATIONS:
"All
producers have their own methods, but most of the people I work with regularly
call me in to be creative. They don't just call me in to play an idea that they
have. I have worked quite a lot with Trevor Horn over the years, and I said to
him that my enjoyment was in being presented with a rhythmic puzzle that I have
to solve. He said that that's the same way he feels about producing, except that
he is solving the entire musical puzzle, not just a segment of it."
• FEES:
"I got into music because I love
music, not because I want to make loads of money. I have a ludicrously expensive
rate I go out for, but if something sounds like really great fun, I'm quite
willing to negotiate. I often think I'm a very lucky person to be doing this.
I'm getting paid to do the thing I most love to do anyway."
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