What is Pre-Production?
“Pre-Production” is the first initial stage of the song-making process. It is gathering information about all things Vision for the song as an artist. This stage is crucial to setting a foundation for how the song will be created, developed, and brought to its finished end. Below is a non-exhaustive list of critical aspects of a song to think through before beginning the production process.
Critical Aspects to Consider for the Pre-Production Process
Overall Vision
The first thing you'll want to think through is your vision for the project as a whole. How do you want this song to feel? What kind of emotions or moods do you want it to stir up in the listener? What message, if any, do you want to clearly communicate? What is the big picture you are trying to create in the making of this song? Think broad strokes. If you have a clear understanding of your Vision for the song, all other pre-production details will follow suit.
References
Next, it’s important to think through what stylistic direction you want to go. No artists (or the songs they create) are without their influences. This is the time for you to acknowledge who inspires you and in what ways! A “Reference” is a song that you refer to for inspiration and direction on how you want your song to be stylistically approached. The reality is many songs could be dressed up (produced) any number of ways. Within the same lyric & melody, you could end up with a pop song or a country tune.
The purpose of references is to help you and your producer know relatively what genre you want your song to live in. We recommend having at least five songs in mind to refer to when working on a given song. We also recommend being keenly aware of what you like about these songs that make you want to draw inspiration from them. This will prevent any future headaches for you and your producer from misalignment or confusion on stylistic direction.
Key Aspects of a Song
In our experience, there are three Key Aspects of a Song that you want to set in stone pretty early before pushing the record button.
- Song Form (ABABCB, etc.)
- Key Signature
- Tempo
Think of these aspects as essential to the DNA of the song. They set the foundation for how the song will grow and develop in every way. There are few things more stifling to creative momentum than deciding you want to change the key signature or tempo after you’ve finished tracking with a full band (that you probably paid hundreds if not thousands of dollars for). This is not to say that, in this situation, the song cannot be salvaged. It is to say you are putting your song at a significant disadvantage from being the best it could be if you backtrack on a decision like that. So, it’s imperative that you take intentional time to think through these key aspects and come to a firm decision on them that you don’t intend to go back on later. Many things can easily be changed throughout the song-making process, but changing these aspects late in the process comes at a cost to you and your song.
Song Form
How does this arrangement feel? Is it all-around engaging? Do you find that each song section is adding to the song's story, or is a specific section taking away and/or distracting from it? Is having a bridge necessary? Should you have a longer, more elaborate intro or just immediately start off with the verse? Do you need to cut that instrumental in half? Answering these questions will give you a roadmap for the song that will guide you to a finished work of art.
Key Signature
Is this key good for the range of your voice? When you are singing the climax of the song, are you high enough that you expel the energy to match the dynamics of that part but not so high that you’re straining? Does it need to go up or down even just a half step to make it feel better for you to sing? You as the vocalist are the number one priority when considering the optimal key to choose.
Tempo
Does it feel like the tempo is dragging too slow or pulling you too fast? Is it a good pace for your lyric & melody? Does it need a drastic change from what you initially planned to make it more stylistically what you want? You would be surprised at the difference a 1 or 2 BPM tempo shift could make.
Conclusion
It can’t be overstated—having these things in mind in the beginning stages is a must. If you make intentional decisions on them early, this will undoubtedly make for a much smoother song-making process when you get in the studio to record & track.
