3 Crucial Studio Lessons from The Beatles That Are Still Relevant Today
The Beatles still reign as one of the most commercially-successful and critically-acclaimed recordings artists of all time. Discover three key takeaways from an author who has spent years studying their approach in the studio.
For some 21st century musicians, engineers and producers, The Beatles may seem like a quaint band from a quaint time. They emerged more than 50-years ago, and today, many may know them more through their reputation than from their actual work.
But just as their impressive body of work has stood the test of time, finding new audiences in each generation, The Beatles’ approach to recording also has a lot to teach music makers of all types, even now.
In studying The Beatles’ approach in the studio over the years, I’ve found that many of the techniques that they and their studio team employed are as applicable today as they were in the 60s.
Read on for three of the key takeaways that are revealed when you take a closer look at the “The Fab Four’s” approach in the studio—which surely factored in to their becoming among the most respected and popular artists in the history of recorded music.
Put these lessons to work in your own music and you’re sure to hear the difference.
Lesson 1: Preparation is everything
I have studied thousands of tracks that The Beatles recorded in the studio, and one thing stands out: This was a well-rehearsed band.
From the very start, going all the way back to their January 1961 audition with Decca Records, they entered the studio prepared to perform.
While the end result in that particular instance wasn’t nearly as strong they hoped for going in, during this one session, the band tore through 15 songs. Think about that: With the red light on, they busted through a varied set list designed to show the Decca A&R man, Dick Rowe, the breadth of their abilities, from rockers to ballads to show tunes; one after the other, after the other.
During the Let It Be sessions years later, the band put in long days of rehearsal. During a single rehearsal session at a cold Twickenham Studio on January 22nd, 1969, The Beatles attempted over 115 takes of various songs (some lasting just seconds, while others were more concerted attempts to create finished versions). ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ was attempted 23 separate times, while “I’ve Got A Feeling” was attempted 29 times. Consider the stamina required to play a single song 29 times, over and over, in one rehearsal.
This was par for the course for The Beatles. They worked hard on perfecting their songs, and that is part of the reason we talk about them to this day.
When you’re working in a home studio or a professional environment, or somewhere in-between, do you go into the session prepared to your fullest to take advantage of the opportunity? Do you know the song backwards and forwards? Have you sorted out the arrangement, whether by yourself, with your band, or with your producer? Are you ready to track any of your parts at any time?
In the case of The Beatles, this penchant for preparation was not only limited to the band. The engineers and staff at EMI Recording Studios (now known as Abbey Road Studios) were, as I like to refer to them, ”stone-cold pros”. The staff ran three full studios and additional mix-only rooms for multiple sessions each day, starting early in the morning and ending typically at 10:00 p.m.
Before each session, the lead, or ”balance” engineer was responsible for providing the technical engineers who set up the studio with a ”recording sheet”. This sheet outlined all the gear the balance engineer required for the session. From microphones and stands to primary tape machines, outboard gear, echo chamber assignments, and channel routing, even down to the placement of microphones in the studio space, it all went onto that sheet in advance.
Beatles producer George Martin had a vision for what was to be accomplished during each session in order to move the songs toward completion in an efficient manner. (Though sometimes, especially later in their work, the band was making it up as they went along) Regardless, the crew had to be ready to respond. On the spot. And even without a recording sheet in hand, that takes preparation.
When you have the opportunity to engineer or produce an artist, are you ready to do your job from the minute they walk in the door? Do you have a plan, a workflow, a process that encourages creativity and production? Or do you wait until the artist shows up to start doing your job, or even think about what the day’s work will require?
Having your own processes and workflow organized beforehand actually stimulates creativity, as you’ll never have a guitarist waiting for you to set up all the routing to track his solo, or a vocalist getting frustrated because they are inspired and you’re not ready to turn on the red light.
Remember this lesson from The Beatles and their team: Preparation is everything.
#2: Limitations are good for your music
It wasn’t until the digital revolution came that we producers and engineers had the luxury of nearly limitless choices when it came to shaping recordings. Studios in the era of The Beatles were limited by factors like the specific tape machines they had, the consoles, the outboard gear, and the technical prowess of their staff.
For the majority of The Beatles’ career, they worked on four-track Telefunken and Studer machines, only moving up to a whopping eight-tracks using 3M machines in 1968—just a little over a year-and-a-half before the end of their run.
The legendary REDD consoles that they primarily tracked with until 1969 only had 10-inputs, and had to be supplemented with premix summing units in order to expand their capability.
Pieces of outboard gear (like the Altec compressors and Fairchild limiters) were in short supply, and thus had to be inserted into the four main output channels as opposed to any one input.
All this meant that performances had to be grouped together. For example, all the backing vocals, plus handclaps and percussion would be recorded a single track. That same track might even contain the guitar solo.
As for effects, The Beatles used echo chambers, plate reverbs, tape delay and varispeed—just four core effects—to achieve nearly all their sweetening.
But did this limited toolkit stop them from making creative an innovative music?
To the contrary, it forced them and their team to make the most of what was at hand, and to stunning result.
To this day, in a traditional studio using hardware outboard gear, if you’ve only got two compressors, two limiters and a single echo unit, then that’s all you’ve got to work with. End of story.
Contrast this to the limitless world of modern digital recording and ask yourself: Do I really need an 1176 or LA2A on every channel? Maybe just placing one on the group bus does the trick. What is the minimum audio chain necessary to get the sound I’m looking for?
You’ll find that limiting your choices, if only in your head, will produce three direct benefits: It will make you work harder to ensure that what you’re tracking is the best it can be, it will focus your efforts, and it will force you to creatively problem-solve.
#3: Make a commitment
When The Beatles were making their earliest 2-track recordings, they and their team had little choice but to commit to their decisions about everything from the arrangement, the balance of the mix, compression and EQ, and any sweetening that was going on. They literally ‘printed’ everything as they went.
As they moved on into 4-track recording, some of these choices could be put off until later, but once they went beyond 4-track and needed reduction or ”bounce-down” premixes, they once again had to commit to their vision for the song.
If you think about it, most types of artists have to commit all along in their work. A painter can’t paint the undertone wash of his portrait one colour and then, after he’s three layers out, go back and change the colour. He’d have to paint it all over again. A sculptor can’t chip away the marble, then change his mind about it.
Making a commitment takes you down a road that shapes your future decisions. Knowing you have to make a commitment causes you to think more carefully about what you’re committing to.
”Penny Lane” began its life as a recording with three piano performances, a tambourine and a harmonium. All this was committed to a single track on a new tape, with all the requisite decisions about volume balance, EQ, dynamics and effects baked-in.
Sometimes The Beatles would do two or more reduction mixes on a song in order to open up more tracks for additional sounds. Each time, they would print everything just as noted in the example above. They would group performances and balance them in preparation for the final mix. It was carefully thought-out and carefully executed; but they made the commitment.
Their music sounds the way it does because they made those choices as they moved forward on a song, each prior decision informing every decision that would come later.
Working in a DAW like Pro Tools, you also can commit to your choices and shape your own recordings by “committing” your tracks. The bonus is that you open up precious processing power for other tasks required for the recording and mixing process. But beyond that, making a commitment is one way to stop the endless cycle or remixing that is the bane of digital recording. It takes you progressively closer to the shape of your finished song and your vision for it. It even helps you make better decisions about each element that you add later on, as you’ll have a clear sense for the full context in which it will live.
Summing It Up
Preparation, limitation, commitment. These are just three of the many lessons the work of The Beatles can teach us all these years later. My decade spent researching, studying, and dissecting their recorded work constantly informs the choices I make in my own recordings to this day.
I prepare for every opportunity either as a musician or a technician; I put practical limitations in place, so as to not get lost in endless options; and I commit to my vision for the songs I am working on.
I hope these lessons serve you as well as they have served me.
Jerry Hammack is the author of the four-book series, The Beatles Recording Reference Manuals.
He has worked as a musician, producer, recording and mix engineer since the 1980s, and is currently focused on mix engineering. A dual US and Canadian citizen, he makes his home in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Learn more about Jerry and his work at http://www.beatlesrecordingreferencemanuals.com and http://www.jerryhammack.com
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