Gone are the days when music production was bound by all manner of rules, especially when it comes to the production stages. However, having a clear understanding of all the stages involved can help you organize the entire music production process and allow you to enhance your efficiency. The music stages highlighted below can be tackled in any order, and a few can be done simultaneously.
Songwriting
Songwriting does not necessarily refer only to composing the song’s words. It is a process of gathering musical ideas to form the larger structure of coherent rhythm, harmony, and melody. You can also consider it a process of brainstorming what the music should sound like when finished. Songwriting can continue throughout the entire music production process as new ideas emerge.
Song Arrangement
The next stage of music production is the arrangement. Ideally, arrangement helps to ensure the music is not too repetitive, and the entire song is interesting. Arrangement entails selecting the instruments to be used and determining when they will be used for each section of the song. For example, the arrangement can help create a build-up to introduce the chorus and next verses, change how each verse sounds to make them more fascinating, or even make a song evoke more emotions.
Tracking
Tracking is the process of capturing a performance of the song music being produced in a format that can be played continuously at any time. Usually done by a music producer, this process entails recording all the instruments and voices needed to make the song. Several tracks can be taken and layered together to form the piece.
Editing
After the song has been recorded in a digital format, it can be edited using special music software to ensure and make it sound better. Editing involves cleaning and polishing vocal tracks, syncing, and introducing special effects. Some producers can also go to the next level of mixing the recorded tracks.