3 Reasons Why You Need A Notepad For A Recording Session

A cliché thing to say, I know, but a valuable productivity tool nonetheless. Whether it be on your phone, laptop, or an actual notepad, a notepad can keep you on track for your session and improve your quality and efficiency of your session; here’s why!

Photo by Jan Kahánek on Unsplash

On The Spot Notes

Sometimes there’s just a lot of things to take notice of for a recording take. If your band didn’t practice much before the session, this is a must to have!

Especially if you’re paying someone else to record your music, but even if you aren’t, it’s important that the performances are exactly how you want them without taking the whole day. To do this, take notes during takes! There are so many things that can run through your head during a take, and chances are, you’ll forget some of them. Writing them down right away will ensure you can bring them up and without wasting much time!

Just make sure that writing down your notes is silent if you’re doing it during a recording take and they are recording in the same room/nearby; this is why it’s best to bring a real notepad or use your phone silently instead of using a laptop keyboard!

Maybe you have a spontaneous idea for the direction of the song, or you have an idea for the marketing, or you need to remember a certain change you’re making in the song so you’re ready for your take… write it all down!

Checklists

I’m all for checklists; I love them if you can’t tell from the amount of free checklists I’ve made for you guys 😂

Checklists are so crucial to nailing down systems to be as efficient and as high quality as possible.

It’s what engineers use to build skyscrapers, surgeons employ to save lives, and it’s what allows pilots to safely fly an 80 ton piece of metal through the air (Matt D’Avella. If you like minimalism and life hacks, check this guy out!)

For something as complex as recording, a checklist is a great way to keep on track. You can write down the songs to get through, the instruments that need recorded, the parts that need overdubbed, the list goes on.

I’ve really always used checklists, but when I worked as an electrical engineer, I got to finally appreciate it at its full value; We used checklists that were at least 3 pages long. Had it not been for those checklists, learning and remembering what to do would have been a nightmare!

Comping

A notepad is invaluable for comping; in fact, I’ll probably be using one if we record vocals. You’ll need to bring lyrics separated line by line, and I’ll be following it and circling anything that could be improved or re-recorded. This is how you know you’ve got the perfect comped take!

Just because I’m doing it though, doesn’t mean you can’t! You may hear things you want to fix that I missed or overlooked. This way you also know you have the best comped takes!

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A notepad is one of the best tools to have for success. Depending on how and how much you use it, it will get you the results you’re looking for, in half the time! Here’s some of the checklists I’ve made to help out with studio preparation, songwriting, and mixing or mastering preparation!

Studio Preparation Checklist

Songwriting Checklist (subscribe [it's free!] to the blog to get this checklist!)

Mixing and Mastering Preparation Checklists

See you in the next article!

-Michael