New CD - The Recording Process

Filed in News on December 03, 2008



Every few years, I make myself start the recording process again.  I use the word "make" literally because I never really want to at the beginning.  As I get into it, I always get more and more excited.  While it is exhilarating at times, getting a project like that done is an incredible amount of work.  Here is a typical timeline for how it goes.

I usually start tinkering with figuring out what songs I want on the CD a full year ahead of the release.  That takes some time--a few months or so.  During that time, I am usually only really working on the project twenty minutes or so a day. 

After I finalize the songs, I start the arranging process.  I am ashamed to admit that this takes a lot of time--first of all, I am pretty slow at arranging.  While I have little trouble just sitting down and playing off the cuff, I struggle a bit with more formal arrangements.  It also is slow because I am so busy with other things.

I just finished the arranging for the new CD at the end of November, largely because that was a drop dead deadline to keep on schedule.  Of course, I have been slow this time because I am working on a lot of other things at the same time such as my DVD series, my work with my teacher, my concert schedule, and various other performances.  For example, I am also currently arranging music for another recording for a quartet I sometimes play for.

The reason I had to finish by the end of November was because I had to get the music to Steve Mauldin, who is writing the orchestration again.  Thankfully, I did not have to write out the music for him.  I just had to record it fairly cleanly on my keyboard using different instruments to give Steve cues for what I want to do.  Steve will take those recordings, write out the chords I am using and build an orchestration on top of them.  He does a remarkable job.

Over the next two months, my job is to polish the music while Steve writes.  There are many parts of the music that I am not playing well right now and I am more focused on those.  Sometime in January, Steve will start sending me the orchestrations and I will practice along with the MIDI files.  This is necessary to ensure that I have not changed anything. (Since I am not working from written music, it is natural for me to start doing things differently over time.  This obviously creates a problem because Steve is writing based on what I am playing now.)

We are scheduled to record the orchestration in Nashville on February 10th.  We are using about thirty musicians again and a choir.  On that day, I need to be able to play the music well but not perfectly.  That is because the piano track will be "scratch," meaning it is temporary.  I will record my part in another room and it will never make the final recording.  However, even though the piano will be scratched, it is necessary for me to play my part to establish feeling and other factors that I want in the recording.

Last time, I recorded the final piano along with the orchestra.  We are "scratching" the piano in Nashville this time for a few reasons.  First of all, it takes a lot of pressure off me because I do not have to be perfect.  Second, it allows me a chance to go home and practice with the orchestration to get comfortable with it before recording it.  Third, I wanted to take my time with the piano rather than being under the intense pressure of trying to work quickly as is necessary when you are paying thirty musicians at once!

In late March, I am recording the piano here in Atlanta in the concert hall of Kennesaw State University on one of their two Steinway 9' grands.  (I have already picked the one I want.) 

Since this has become a long post, I am going to stop here for now.  I will discuss this last recording step in more detail tomorrow and go through the rest of the process then as well.



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Angel Mayes
12/16/2008 12:10:16 PM

Hi, I have been thinking about doing a recording like your last. I would love to do a full orchestration but cannot afford it. What do you think about a synthesized orchestration, and do you know Milton Smith? He has done a lot of work in that area for popular musicians.

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Greg Howlett
12/16/2008 12:14:01 PM

Yes, I have talked to Milton in the past. You are right that he has done orchestrations for several popular groups especially in the SG genre. He sent me a CD of a piano project he did like that and it was quite good.

For me, that kind of approach does not work well because there is so much rubato in my music. It would work better for musicians who stay closely with a set tempo.

You can consider a mix of synthesized orchestration but also adding a few live musicians. That would make a big difference especially in brass. You could also synth the strings but use at least one live string player as well.

Doing a hybrid like this will help your sound and not break the bank.

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