Pstudio Psychology: How Engineers Can Keep Sessions Running Smoothly

I had gotten an email from a musician last fall, soon after our session. He said he and the other musicians had a nice day and told me it was “great to work with a talented engineer who could also have fun with the band.”

Rick Slater has his eyes on keeping everyone comfortable in the studio.

It made me stop and reflect. I love making records and obviously they all do, too. It would be my hope that all my clients had fun and productive sessions. But what I had come to assume was the norm actually takes a little forethought and lots of handholding.

I was taken back to the afternoon when a few of us entry level staffers at Mediasound were discussing what we thought made a session flow smoothly. Vic, who had already done some assisting, told us he thought it was like being the host of a game show.

Twisted though it may seem, he was right: The engineer has to combine the tech with the talent and make it seem to flow smoothly while entertaining the audience.

Oh — and it should be so natural that nobody realizes it, they are just having a great time.

Tune In – To The Artist

Days before that aforementioned session went down, I listened to music from the artist I would be working with and listened for clues as to what possible approach I should take. I consulted with the studio and mapped out all the mics and outboard equipment I wanted to use on the session.

The day before the gig I reviewed all this with the assistant engineer. Since not too many full-on tracking dates went on at the facility, there were plenty of interns eager to volunteer during the setup. Having the mics up and tested helps me have time to greet the musicians as they come in. I can chat with them and see if they have any particular needs or ideas and I have time to address them before the downbeat hits.

On this date I had the impression that the horn player had been marginalized somehow on a previous session. I made sure to go over the mic choice and placement with her and make sure she would be comfortable. I assigned an intern to help her make her recording area comfortable for her, and went back to tweaking the drums. When it was time to get her sound, she was warmed up, sipping tea and sounded great on the mic we chose. We joked a little and soon after that we were laying it down.

More Than Just Making Conversation

Many times while I’m dialing in a sound for one musician, others are filing into the control room. My goal is to quickly say “Hello” to everyone and there is often an ongoing dialog about the session — I try to listen and in the downtimes join in on that conversation.

On this session I took a break from getting sounds when the artist we were all working with came into the room. Unfortunately we had had no chance for pre-production, so I wanted to speak with her about the material and her vision for it.

We all began to throw ideas around about how we could get the vibe she was feeling — having a strong musical background gives an engineer some good touchstones to be able to speak with the musicians in their own language and really puts them at ease. I think that factor cannot be underestimated, but realize that you won’t be hyper-knowledgeable in all musical forms. Contribute where you can.

With everyone focused but still cracking jokes and eating bagels we charted our course. Remember that this is not a party, and time is money. We tracked the band live, overdubbed percussion, vocals, harmonies of various types including a large gang vocal, and did a rough mix all by 6PM.

Cool Heads Prevail

When I first started assisting at Mediasound, it was on sessions just like this for Sesame Street: I noticed how relaxed all the session players were and how they joked amongst themselves and with the engineer. Even when something went wrong, everybody stayed calm and worked it out.

If the session gets hectic, go to a peaceful place — it’s the professional approach.

Don’t get me wrong: There was pressure, but nobody wanted to add to it with attitude. I’ve always tried to keep that vibe in my mind and learn from all those great players and engineers. If I lose my cool it will permeate into everybody else’s attitude.

I once freaked out an assistant when I pushed away from the console while angry. I was smiling, but he said he knew under it all I was seething and it really bugged him. There have been times where I had to be firm but never in front of the other people on the session.

This is especially true with assistants. I would never call out someone who was coming up. Nothing makes a session fall apart quicker than an assistant who is freezing up with fear.

Stay Aware of Your Surroundings

Sometimes you will have a head-on collision with a client.

No matter how you try to be professional, they have an issue. Sometimes, as in one case, a member of the band isn’t giving the performance everyone needs, or maybe there are issues amongst the individual band members. In these scenarios the person you are dealing with might often feel defensive.

I have always tried to stay calm and stand my ground if I felt not doing so would somehow be detrimental. Often it has lead to a long discussion period, which ends up getting settled on middle ground after everyone has voiced there opinion.

Sometimes you may not be aware there is an issue. On one project I was brought into midstream, I especially bonded with the producer over our love of certain gear and the process of record-making. Even though the artist seemed comfortable and often was part of these conversations, he was feeling marginalized.

After we finished recording there was a two-week break after which the original engineer was asked back. Two songs I recorded were the singles from the album, but it always bothers me that he didn’t have a better experience.

Another artist/producer who was especially nice to me while we were recording turned nasty once we booked a couple of weeks at Sony to mix two albums. I felt for sure he was going to fire me, but instead we worked 16 hours a day for two weeks.

I just smiled and invoiced heavily. It was clear to me that he was enjoying being the top dog in the studio, and I wasn’t going to ever change his vibe. By remaining professional I picked up projects with his keyboard player, his drummer, and mixed an album for his bassist.

Bright Side=Right Side

I remember a choir director once saying that you should smile when you sing, as it would give the tone a lighter sound. Well, the sound of a group of happy and relaxed musicians working with a studio team that nurtures that environment is a pretty cool thing too.

Be prepared and have fun: It will make a difference.

Rick Slater is a NYC-based producer/engineer who’s recorded and/or mixed with Chuck D, Robben Ford and James Chance, and worked in NYC studios such as Mediasound, Quad and Sony. Learn more and get in touch with Rick at SonicSearch.

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