3 Reasons I have More Respect for Recording Artists and Producers

Ryan Egan —  January 27, 2011 — 6 Comments

Audio Fader

I received some recording equipment for Christmas.  It was awesome.  I was excited.  I hurriedly installed the hardware, borrowed a mic from church, and downloaded the latest version of Audacity.  I recorded an arrangement for a contest and sat back and listened.

It sounded NOTHING like recordings I listen to every day.  It sounded poorly mixed, averagely performed, and….novice, would be the best word.  Now granted, I did the recording and mix in a very short amount of time to hit a deadline for a contest, but it still sounded empty compared to what I’ve heard from friends of mine.  So, I’ve come to respect anyone who records and produces music, but especially people who SELF-record and product music.  Here are three reasons why:

  1. They’re incredibly creative:  not only do self-recorders and producers come up with the original melody and chord structure, they also come up with creative ways to arrange their songs.  Many of them begin with just a vocal part and guitar part (or piano part) but end up filling their arrangements with elaborate textures, rhythms, and harmonies.
  2. They’re willing to get judged and open to everyone’s opinion (even amatuer ones).  I’ve been reviewing albums off and on on here for a while, and now that I’ve been doing my own recording I realize how hard it is to do and just how un-qualified I am to be doing the reviews!  Also, it takes a LOT of guts to put your music out there for the world to hear.
  3. They’re patient and persistent (okay, that’s technically two more, but they go together).  I lay down a couple of rough tracks and say, “Meh, those are okay, I’ll go do something else for a while” when I should be re-writing and re-recording.  These artists and producers work hard and long until the right finished sound is ready.  Until you’ve done it, you know have no idea how much patience and perseverance is necessary to record and produce music.

So, as I begin my adventure of recording and producing I say, “You are amazing.  I salute you” to the many people who are doing it and very successfully at that.

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Ryan Egan

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Ryan is a follower of Christ, husband, father, worship leader, & creative. He is heavily involved in the Association of Free Lutheran Churches and desires to teach others to live a life of worship in everything they do.