First Art Records represents years of experience dealing with music intended for studio recording. Completing, arranging and writing parts for musical compositions, and hiring the musicians to play those parts, are all within the scope of our services.

Before any serious thought about recording can take place, your music must be finished! Writing music in the recording studio, or even "fleshing out the parts", is expensive. This means every facet of the song must be complete, including all the lyrics, chords, melodies, and a complete 'roadmap' of the form (verse, chorus, bridge, etc.).

Look over this list and see if First Art Records can help finish off your composition:

• Harmony - Do you have a melody that needs chords?
• Form - Do you need to put together the pieces?
• Melody - Do you have words but no tune?
• Lyrics - Are you having trouble completing the words?

If you have said yes to any one of these questions, then First Art Records can help. If you have a complete composition, the next area to check is arranging.   [ top ] [ next ]

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Even if your song is finished, it may not be ready for other musicians to play. Music must be organized ahead of time, and each musician at your recording session must understand their role in your music as completely as possible. In essence, they must have something to do! These decisions, which must be made before the session begins, are the basis for your arrangement.

To make sure you are ready, here are some things to consider:

• What is the total number of instrumental parts?
• What is the total number of vocal parts?
• Which instruments play all the time?
• Which instruments play solos?
• Which instruments play fills?

In addition, each vocalist and instrumentalist must know exactly what they should be playing and singing. Explaining parts in any lengthy detail in the recording studio will incur unnecessary expense. Songs can be learned from home-made recordings if necessary, and for musicians who read music, this may entail the use of notated parts.   [ top ] [ next ]

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Many musicians play by ear, working with recordings and at rehearsals to learn their parts. Others, more typically the type of musician hired to play at a session, are well-versed at reading notated parts, and are often more comfortable with this method. If you are not familiar or confident with written music, check the list below to see what your needs are.

• Horns, Woodwinds, Orchestral Strings
  • - typically need notated parts
  • - soloists need a chord chart
• Keyboards, Guitars, Bass
  • - often need a lead sheet
  • - specific parts may require notation
• Drums, Percussion
  • - can use a form chart
  • - specific patterns should be notated
• Vocals
  • - word sheets save time [$]
  • - some vocalists require notated parts

D E F I N I T I O N S :
CHORD CHART - A chart containing the chord changes of the solo section or entire song.  back
LEAD SHEET - A chart containing the melody, often with chord changes included.  back
FORM CHART - A chart showing the form in sections, often with rhythmic indicators.  back

If there are gaps in your preparation here, First Art Records can help you fill them in. Let us produce professionally functional charts for your session, so everyone is on the same page!   [ top ]   [ next - need players? ]

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Once your music is prepared, you will need to be sure the musicians needed to perform your music are prepared as well. If you are recording as a group, decide if your band members are recording all the parts, and if they will be doing overdubs. If you are planning on using session musicians, First Art Records can help you provide them.

Our roster of musicians includes the following:

• Background vocalists
• Soloists on most instruments
• Rhythm Section: guitar, piano, keyboards, bass, drums
• Specialty: percussion, orchestral
• Reading musicians - all instruments

We can provide the finest musicians in the Erie area, and ensure they are prepared for your session.

Now that your music is ready for musicians to play, it's time to think about getting it ready to sell! That means protecting what you have composed with a copyright, protecting your recording with a sound-recording copyright, properly registering and paying for the mechanical license of cover material, and registering with a musician's service like B M I. These are all covered in the next section on copyright and registration.

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Contact First Art Records for more details and information here.

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MUSIC PREPARATION

Composition

Arranging

Notated Parts

Musicians