B1Horn

Tony,

I have recently been called to do some recording sessions and the experiences have been good, but very challenging for me. You have done a ton of this kind of work and I am wondering if you could give some advice on how you keep yourself as fresh as possible take after take. Is there a particular "studio mindset" that you've developed or are there other strategies that you've used to be succesful in this environment, especially if you're blowing demanding lead parts?

Thanks very much for any information you can share with us.

kadleck

Hi B1 -Recording work isn't all that different from many other kinds of playing except that it is often concentrated into a 1-3 hour block. The main thing is to realize that you have a certain amount of time to get the job done. Hopefully the conductor or leader of the session will manage the time accordingly. Otherwise you can end up doing take after take in the last few minutes just to get it done before overtime.Try to get the mix correct. It will make life easier. Many times there is one headphone mix for everyone so compromise is involved. I almost always play with one headphone off just to hear the live sound in the room. (It helps me with the pitch.) Some engineers like to get "complete takes" (very little editing involved on their end). Others like to edit which requires that you play things correctly only once. Then they piece together your "greatest hits" for the final product. (That type makes us lazy!)In terms of preparation, my only advice would be to show up early, with every mute you own, a pencil, and doubles you might need (C tpt., flugel, etc...)Good luck -Tony