How to arrange the studio version of your song

Compared to live performances of songs, recording a 'studio version' requires you to determine certain parameters of your song for eternity. Additionally, unclear or problematic aspects of your arrangement may become more apparent in the studio version, and listeners often have higher expectations in details when listening to a studio recording rather than a live performance. Below, you'll find some tips to keep in mind when transitioning your song from the stage to the studio.

Think about the details

• Tempo: Take some time to find the right tempo for your song in bpm (beats per minute). Don't change the tempo during the song unless you have good reasons to do so. You always want to record your song using a Click (Metronome)

• Fix the Song Structure: Before recording, you need to finish the arrangement of your song. This includes the different parts of your song, breaks, and rhythmic patterns 

• Rhythmic Coordination: Be carful that individual elements of your song work together: For example, kick and bass should work together, different guitars/keys should coordinate their rhythmic patterns. 

• Avoid a conflict for attention: Ensure that lead instruments complement, rather than conflict with, lead vocals. For example, the lead guitar should preferably come up during breaks of the vocal line, not play a conflicting melody at the same time. Avoid overlapping melodies and aim for a clear focus on the primary musical element at any given time.

• Don't be Repetitive: The first and second verse should differ in their arrangement, instrumental parts should be unique enough to keep the listeners' attention. Studio versions offer lots of possibilities to keep your song exciting by using all kinds of ear candy, interesting effects, additional couter-melodies, or percussive elements.

• Practise Before Recording: You need to be able to perform the entire song without mistakes. Know the song structure and each part of the song by heart. Singers: Know the lyrics by heart. Instrumentalists: Know any fill and licks your are going to record.

Arrangement tips - track by track

• Lead Vocals: Typically the most important element of your song. Therefore, I recommend recording vocals towards the end of a recording session, so vocalists can listen to a decent playback while singing, which should improve their performance. You want to record your lead vocals at least 2-3 times and then select the best parts of each recording. Warm up before recording. 

• Backing Vocals: Most of the time, you want to have more than one vocal track to make the vocals sound wider (at least in the hook). I recommend recording two double tracks where the vocalist sings the exactly same thing as the lead vocals to give the vocals more impact and dimension in important parts of the song. You can then add other backing vocals, like harmonies, counter-melodies, or some background choir singing 'Ooohs' and 'Aaahs' by taste

• Electric Guitar: Double your rhythm guitars/chord tracks (which means to record them twice). Panning them later left and right gives them more impact. Guitars are also great to add some sprinkles or atmospheric elements (ear candy) to your song: (Tape) Delays, Reverbs, and all kinds of shimmer and granular effects are your friends in this regard. Just remember to always also record the dry DI signal of your guitar without any effects, so you can adjust your sound later (see my recording strategies for different instruments)

• Bass Guitar: You always want to record a dry DI signal: They often sound better than an amp signal, especially due to the cleaner low end. Active bass guitars: Use fresh batteries. Make sure your performance fits well with the drums, especially the kick drum. You don't need to play the same rhythmic pattern but it should somewhat sound coordinated

• Keys: Recording MIDI tracks and using sound libraries allows you layer different sounds, meaning you are triggering more than one sound with the same MIDI track. For example, you could combine a piano with an airy pad or strings sound. However, some people also layer three different sounds of acoustic pianos as 'the third piano library adds this extra presence to the highs'. Like guitars, keys are particulary useful to come up with any kind of ear candy when running them through reverbs, delays, or even saturation effects. In my experience, acoustic pianos are particularly useful when you want to create soft and lush pad sounds that provide depth, while Rhodes sounds are great for creating more plucky and percussive ear candy