World Chi Production Methodology

If you are interested in recording great music, you have come to the right place! For the first time, you can learn the secrets of how the great recordings of history were made! The better news is that anyone, especially you, can use these techniques to great benefit!

This state of the art production methodology is applicable to all types of music. You can use this technique if you are in a large or small band, and solo artists can use it too. You can be at any skill level from super advanced to beginner, and you can benefit from this system at any age. This system is for all of us!

World Chi Production Methodology is the most creative and efficient system ever devised! If you use this production methodology the way it is designed, I guarantee your music will improve tremendously. Also, using these techniques will save you money, time, and prevent lots of frustration and disappointments.

It's easy, great fun, and if you love recording music as much as me, using World Chi production methodology will be the most rewarding thing you ever do!

I love music production so much and I think it is so important to our world, I am making this information free on the internet (by the way, I know of no other document that describes this process as succinctly). You can use World Chi production methodology anywhere, at any studio, large or small, but I would like to put in a plug for me and my studio -World Chi in San Francisco - here. I have studied the process of music production extensively, and have used this technique countless times, therefore I feel like I understand this system and can demonstrate it better than anyone else.

Use this system, even better, come in to World Chi Studios, and hear the magic happen for your music!

Let's get started! The five steps to World Chi Production Methodology are:

1. Composition

2. Experimental Recording

3. Polished Recording

4. Mix

5. Evaluation

You could go further and include a sixth step in the process, which would be to learn from your experience and record another song. The more you use World Chi production methodology, the better at it you will become. Ultimately, the goal is to make this process an ongoing part of your life.

You can think of these steps occurring on different days, but they could all occur in 1 single session.

As previously mentioned, this system can be used for any type of music and combination of musicians. For descriptive purposes, this article will focus on how a modern ensemble, a three to five piece band, recording original music would use it. Descriptions of modifications for other situations will be given when appropriate.

Here is a brief example of how this process might work. Let's imagine we have a typical modern combo, a four piece, two guitars, a bass, and drums. One of the guitar players is also a singer songwriter. The band has assembled in the studio to record a new song. The songwriter has been working hard on a new composition, following the principles and techniques described in this document. He demos his new composition for the band. They love it . It seems like every new song he brings in is getting better and better. They are all giddy, excited, and eager to get started. The engineers set up a few microphones, and they get a rough recording of some guitar and vocals. The band then adds some synthesizer sounds, with backing vocals. Now they add percussion, sound effects, and background instruments. They are moving quickly, not trying to get a perfected performance, but to try out lots of ideas. They try a few different arrangements of the song and come up with a new and unique way to approach it.

After a fun and creative session, they get a rough mix to carry home with them. A few days later, they show up in the studio again, this time with a different mindset. They have their gamefaces on and now follow the producers recommendation of how to construct the song. They are good players and quickly nail down their parts. After a few hours in the studio they are done. A few days later, the producer and engineer, and two of the band members show up for the mix. Using the World Chi mixing protocol, the mixing session goes quickly and the final song is ready for release. At a band meeting a few weeks later, the band listens to the song and focuses on things they could improve on next time. They take their new ideas and start the process over again.

This of course was a hypothetical scenario, but it was distilled from many great historical sessions and my own experiences. The rest of this article will be spent describing the details for each step.

Composition

The first and most important step in World Chi production Methodology is composition. There are as many different ways to compose music as there are composers. It is worthwhile to mention a few of these methods so we can get a handle on the process.

A critical point to make here is that even though there is an infinity of composition techniques, I believe it is possible, indeed essential, to have a standardized, reproducible method of evaluating music. Refer to the document labeled "The Music Evaluator" which was also written by me.

First, let's describe the most basic and primeval of all composition techniques. Imagine lying in a dark, quiet room. You are motionless. You do not tap your finger on your side. You do not click your tongue. You do not hum to yourself. Now, in complete stillness and silence, start playing an original song in your mind. If you get confused or lost, start over from the beginning of the song. Keep going until you have a completed composition. I call this process "head writing".

For many people, at first, this is a very difficult process and requires a lot of discipline. However, head writing can yield some incredible results. It powers up your musical mind and turns your necktop PC into a great musical synthesizer. Even though head writing can be difficult, anyone can do it! All it takes is the desire. It requires no physical musical ability at all.

A great way to use head writing is to do it right before bed. When I practice head writing before bed on a regular basis, it is not long before I start hearing music in my dreams. On top of being a great way to compose, hearing music in your dreams is a lot of fun. The list of great songs that have come into the world from composer's dreams is too long to mention.

Another technique I frequently use (and many other composers tell me they use a similar technique) is to get a guitar, a small recording device, a pen and paper and just start noodling. I call this technique "solo jamming". I strum some chords, sing some la la, until song fragments start to emerge. I use my recording device and paper to keep track of what I am coming up with. Other ways to start the creative juices flowing when solo jamming are worth mentioning. Sometimes I play other peoples compositions. Frequently I will play some of my own songs. I also keep a list of song fragments I have previously come up with and pull them out and see if they are ready to develop further.

Solo jamming is good for me in that the material I come up with is "pre sized" for my abilities. Sometimes, head writing can yield some very difficult material to perform! Also, I find solo jamming to be easier than headwriting.

Another good idea for solo jamming is to go different places when you do it. Head out to the park or the beach. Go to the mountains or the desert. Different environments and places will yield different perspectives.

During the compositional stage of the process, I feel it is not a good idea to get too many people involved. I think one or two people is optimal. If more than two or three people are involved at this stage, it can become chaotic. In the business world, solo idea generation is called "mindstorming".

However, if you would like to get more musicians involved in the composition process, a variation of solo jamming is to get a group of musicians and jam. I believe it is necessary to record the jam session. I have found that group jamming can yield some interesting instrumental moments, but almost always I had to come back at a later time and review the recording to try to get the ideas organized.

Finally, one other technique is worth mentioning. I call this the "flash". This technique is not totally under the control of the composer, but it is a good sign that the composer is tapping into higher powers. What typically happens is that suddenly, from out of nowhere, a song pops in your head, fully formed and ready to play. Unless you have a phenomenal musical memory, I recommend writing it down or getting it recorded somehow. I have found that the flash will usually only occur if the composer has been putting a lot of effort into their compositions.

As mentioned previously, it is critical to evaluate your composition before moving on to the next step. If you don't put a good effort into evaluating your composition, you may be sending a mediocre (or worse) product down the assembly line. I have always maintained that you can take a well written song and flub it in the recording phase, but it is nigh on to impossible to take a poorly composed song and make something good out of it during the recording!

The first step in evaluating is to do it on your own. The technique is as follows: When you feel like you have done the best you can with your composition, get the "Music Evaluator" checklist, try to be as objective as possible and grade your composition. This step is essential in the process, but many artists fail to do it and therefore come up with a weak product at the end. If you realize that the song just doesn't cut it, go back to the drawing board! Don't waste a lot of expensive studio time on a weak composition.

Objective evaluation of your own composition can be difficult because all of us have pride of authorship. Furthermore, no person that ever lived can see themselves the way others see them. No one! For these reasons, it is essential to have an outside observer evaluate your work, and this person is typically called a Producer. A producer can be anyone, but you would be well advised to seek out a professional, experienced producer. There have been a few great recordings made when the artists self produced, but that is the exception to the rule and it is not part of World Chi production methodology. If you want to stack the odds in your favor, use a producer!

If you can't find a professional producer, try out your composition on several (not just one) of your friends before going further. A professional producer should be able to objectively evaluate the composition from a number of angles, such as melody, rhythm, lyric, target audience, emotional impact, etc. More importantly, the producer should be able to give suggestions on how to improve the composition if necessary. However, a layman can usually only say, "I like it" or "I don't". Watch out for getting evaluations from friends. Often times they won't want to hurt your feelings. A better way to use your friends opinions would be to play several compositions for them and then ask which one they liked best.

Getting back to the concept of the producer, this person could have, or even should have, been involved in the process of composition from the start. If you are fortunate enough to have a producer working with you use them and listen to them. An important concept worth mentioning again is, using a producer is a critical component to World Chi production methodology.

A few final words on the compositional phase of the process are in order. It is amazing to me how many artists come in to the studio wanting to go straight to the definitive recording, having done an inadequate amount of composition (or none at all)!

Often times artists will just flounder as they try to make up something on the spot. Sometimes the artists recognize that they haven't done their homework and start writing there in the studio.

Well, it's cool with me if they want to spend their dollars in my studio writing, but this would be like showing up at a construction site, with a bunch of workers, a pile of materials, and saying to the foreman, "OK, let's build a house". The first thing the foreman would say is, "where are the plans?". Same thing goes for recorded music production. You have a studio with all of its fancy expensive gear, engineers, producers, musicians, etc, and you don't want to waste their time either. Coming in to the studio with out having done your compositional homework is just not a very efficient way to use your studio time or to produce recorded music.

If however, money and time are no object to you, the recording studio is just as good a place to compose as any.

The bottom line on composition is: It is the most important part of the process. Work hard at it, make it part of your life! Good compositional skills will pay off 1000 times in the process of recording music!

The Experimental Recording Phase

Before describing the experimental recording phase, a little background is in order. In the old days of music, and I'm talking real old, like back in the days of Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart, composition was considered too complex of an undertaking for everyday musicians. It was thought that composition was best left up to specialist composers. The musician instrumentalist was considered a kind of blue collar worker bee. The composer was expected to have scored precisely what all of the instruments were to be playing.

However, what typically occurs in the modern world is, and was described previously in the example of World Chi Production Methodology, a singer songwriter guitar player for a band coming in to the studio with a page full of lyrics, some chords, a melody, an idea about song structure, but not a fully scored composition. At least not done as completely as a Mozart or Beethoven would have done it.

However, in modern days with the advent of recording technologies, and because of pioneering work by artists such as the Beatles, Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, to name but a few, composition of specific instrumental parts is more and more being left up to the player in the recording session. This can be OK, but you have to watch out. Composition of specific instrumental parts is still held to the same standards as when the masters were at it.

Strictly speaking, if you have all the instruments scored exactly as you want them to be played, and you know exactly how to set up the technical components of the session, such as signal routing, isolation, and effects, you may not need to do an experimental recording and can go straight to the definitive recording.

However, even if you believe you know exactly what all the instruments in a song should be doing, and you know how to communicate it to others, it can be valuable to get other musicians input. Using the input of other musicians, when available, is also a critical component of World Chi production methodology. Also, getting creative input from the engineers can be extremely valuable in getting a quality, unique recording.

Therefore, consider the experimental recording phase as the second half of the composition process.

The goal of the experimental recording session is not to get a great performance from the musicians, which can happen, or to get a pristine recording, but maximum creativity. For instance, when I am producing a session, once the musicians have learned the song well enough to be able to get through it, I will ask them to play the song in different styles. I might say: Play it faster. Now play it slower. Play it reggae style. Play it country. Change the key, change the time signature. Play around with the arrangement. Use some strange and wonderful special effects to change the sounds around. Experiment and have fun! After trying the song in a number of different fashions, it is amazing how easy it is to figure out where the song wants to live. I think of this as nurturing the song. Often times, the song will take on a life of it's own.

General Concepts about the Experimental Recording Session

During the experimental recording, encourage crazy ideas. Move quickly. Don't worry if the performances are not perfect. Your not looking for pristinely recorded signals either. At the end of the experimental session, you should have a recording of the song, with all the parts such as tempo, key, instrumentation, structure, etc. roughed in. Also, something most musicians don't usually consider is the engineers now know what type of microphones, effects, signal routing, and isolation to use during the definitive recording session.

If the Producer was important during the composition phase, he/she is essential during the experimental recording session.

A good producer can make musical suggestions to the band and technical suggestions to the engineers. Often times, the band will hit on a unique sound but not be aware of it. The outside observer, the producer, is in a much better position to evaluate musical ideas as they are being played than is the band.

Now that the song is completely roughed in, the producer can decide how best to arrange the definitive recording session. For example, the producer can now answer such questions as: Should we record all instruments at the same time? If not, which instruments will be recorded first? Should we record instruments first and then overdub lead vocals? Knowing the process to be followed in the definitive recording session is invaluable in terms of saving time and getting the best possible performances from the players.

An optimal number of people for an experimental recording session is three to five players, an engineer and a producer, for a grand total of about 5 to 7. More than that and it can get chaotic, less than that and you may not be bringing in enough creative horsepower.

The business world has known this technique of idea generation and enhancing creativity for decades. In the business world, generating ideas with between two and ten people is called "brainstorming".

Frequently, during the course of the experimental recording session, the players should put down their instruments, come out of their headphones, and come into the control room to listen to how the song is going. With everyone listening in the same space, it is easier to communicate and make suggestions and changes.

The Definitive Recording Session

The definitive or polished recording step in the process is what most people think of as occurring in a professional recording session.

We can finally reveal the most important concept in World Chi production methodology. If you don't get anything else from this document, remember this:

People can either be exacting and accurate, or creative,

but not both at the same time.

There is a time to be fun and creative, and there is a time to execute. Use maximum creativity during composition and the experimental recording session and be accurate and precise during the definitive recording.

There is a role for creativity during the definitive recording, albeit greatly diminished. However, often times if someone comes up with ideas in the definitive recording session it is best to stay with the plan and to say, "let's try that idea on the next song.

Trying to go to the definitive recording without adequate creative work and planning (which should be done in the compositional and experimental recording steps) can waste all kinds of time, cause problems and frustrations, and yield a poor final product.

An example of what can go wrong by trying to go straight to the definitive recording is as follows: The artists and studio personnel have spent time and energy to set up, mic, check levels, and perform their parts. Sometimes the musicians will play their parts a number of times during a session in order to get the best pass. Let's assume the band feels like they have acceptable basic tracks laid down. Now someone has an idea and wants to experiment. Rather than try out a lot of different ideas fast and loose, the band feels as if they have to get perfected performances of the experiments. Typically, this can take a lot of time and you end up getting a lot of perfected recordings of things that you don't even use. Can you now see how this multi step process can end up saving you time and preventing frustrations?

It has long been known in the music business how essential the producer is during the Definitive recording session. As a professional session musician that has played countless hours in a studio, I can assure you how easy it is to loose perspective. It is critical to have an outside listener to let you know if your performance is good enough or if you should give it another crack. A good producer should be mindful of time and expense, 2 very valuable commodities. And unless you have an extremely democratic group of people, it is very important to have one person steering the ship.

The Mix Session

There is lots of information on the internet about mixing but I consider World Chi mixing protocol to be the state of the art. I am writing an article to describe this process and it should be on the internet soon. In the meantime, if you would like to see how it works, come in and we will demonstrate it for you.

General Concepts about the mix.

I usually recommend to artists to not attempt a final mix on the same day they do the definitive recording, but it can be done if necessary. The reason for this is that during the recording session, sometimes the song will be played dozens of times looking for the best pass. It is very easy to loose perspective after so many listens. Leave it for a few days and come back to it with fresh ears!

General Concepts about World Chi Production Methodology

After you finish a hard, but fun, day in the recording studio, don't go home and listen obsessively to your work. I recommend doing something completely different. Go look at nature, the stars, trees, a park. Smell some flowers. Look at architecture. Listen to a college lecture on history. Take photographs, paint a picture. Look at, touch, and rub your hands all over a piece of sculpture. The main point here is to give your musical mind a rest! Especially, I don't recommend going home and obsessing over your music while using drugs or alcohol.

It should be obvious by now, but it is worth mentioning again that it is more efficient to do songs one at a time. Many artists confuse creating a recording with playing a live gig. Artists often reason, "well, we play 10 to 15 songs in just an hour. We should be able to do the same in the studio". Not so fast! There are several main differences between live performances and studio work. The first difference to keep in mind is that in the studio, you want to be more accurate and precise (at least during the definitive recording phase). In a live performance, mistakes just vanish into thin air. In the studio, you have to slow down and deal with them. Also, in the studio, you are working up new material, trying to be creative. In the live performance you are usually trying to execute pieces that have been practiced numerous times.

World Chi Production Methodology calls for a definitive evaluation step. If you do an honest, objective evaluation after each song you finish, and learn from your mistakes, you are virtually assured of getting better.

There are some situations in which this production methodology needs modification and it is good to mention a few here.

First is when the music is jazz, meditative, or spacey. This type of music is not composed per se, the instrumentalist just play somewhat randomly. However, there is a type of composition being done here. There are decisions being made such as: what instruments will be used? what tempo will be played? The feel of the song, etc. I highly recommend doing an experimental recording session before attempting the final recording. There are musical and technical issues that should be worked out before running mic cables, putting people in isolation rooms, setting up headphone mixes, etc.

Next is if a cover song is being done and the artists want their version to sound as close to the original as possible. The artists don't have to go through a composition and experimental session. But, if you think about it, the composition was done, it was just done by someone else. If the song is a big well known recording, I can just about assure you the original artists went through an experimental recording step. Even if you know how the song is supposed to sound, you might benefit from an experimental session in order to work out technical issues such as: Which mics to use on what instruments? What effects patches to use? Should the band play all the instruments at once, or should you lay down basic tracks and then overdub the other instruments?

If you are planning on doing a cover song, but you are going to put your own spin on it, the experimental recording session is essential. As a matter of fact, new and unique versions of previously recorded material were usually hit on during experimental recording sessions.

If you are a solo artist, such as a solo singer guitar player, the process is the same, maybe a little bit easier. Composition is the same, the experimental recording is the same, but you can transition from the experimental recording to the definitive recording quicker. Mixing is easier because you have less instruments to mix down.

If you are a solo vocalist that does not play any instruments, your task is easier in some respects, and a little more difficult in others. You are fortunate in that you can focus all your efforts in lyrics and melody. You just need to find some musicians to play in your sessions. If you come to World Chi in San Francisco, we can provide studio musicians and score instrumental parts, often for no extra charge!

As you get better at using World Chi production methodology, you will pick up speed. I recommend to do all the steps at different times when first getting started, and then combining them as your confidence and knowledge in the process improve.

I sometimes hear artists say, "We don't want to have a rigid set way of creating art!" I sympathize with that sentiment, but I frequently see artists getting lost somewhere in the process and spending a lot of time, effort, and energy and coming up with very little. Don't get me wrong, even if you show up in the studio and you don't get a definitive finished product, or a magnificent work of art that is destined to last the ages, it is still better than guns and bombs. It may be possible to get a great recording using some other, more random, "artistic" technique, but I believe that is depending on luck. It is possible to hit a baseball standing backwards, swinging the bat over your head with your eyes closed, but it is very unlikely.

Hey Dave, you said this was easy! Well, let me define what I meant. If your goal is to get great recordings, coming up with less than that can be very frustrating. Trying to cut steps and take shortcuts can lead to frustration and a weak final product. Therefore, it is "easier" to spend the time and effort and get it right!

Conclusion

I hope you have gotten a lot from this article. Please drop me an email and let me know what you think! Or better yet, come to World Chi Recording Studio in San Francisco and see the process work first hand!

For better music,

Dave Grayson