During the first day at Deke Sharon's San Francisco home the focus will be on everything that needs to happen before you get into the studio, as preparation will make a significant difference in the quality of your recording. This world-renowned arranger, singer, and overall AcaGod will open your eyes to where a recording REALLY starts - well before you see a microphone!
You will learn about all of the logistical, political, and emotional pitfalls involved in the process, and just this valuable info alone will save your group a lot of strife, tears, and cash!
Group logistics and infrastructure will be discussed, to make sure you have a good hierarchy in place to get the project done. In addition, all of the business aspects of your album will be discussed, including legalities and the technical side of pressing (contacting a company, setting up an account, paying for mechanical royalties). There's a significant amount of non-music that needs to happen to make a great recording.
And then there's "Pre-production:" Rehearsal techniques will be covered and shown through an enjoyable process. After choosing a song (via email, before the seminar), all attendees, being singers, will form an a cappella group and learn a custom arrangement. Initially, everyone will work on a version of the song as a "live" arrangement, and then they'll learn how to prepare for the process of singing in the studio, with arrangement augmentation ideas saved to use in the studio during the recording process.
Throughout the day there will also be a number of focused discussions: what makes a great "album?" How should you choose which songs to record? How should you pace your recording project? How can you choose an appropriate album title? Generate excellent album art? Marshall your campus resources to your benefit? At the end of the first day in San Francisco your mind (and notebooks) will be full, and you'll be ready for four days of intensive recording and mixing in Bill Hare's state of the art a cappella studio in the hills above Silicon Valley.
Microphone usage and technique, how to get the best out of the worst (as well as best) singers, adding parts "on the fly", how to make tracks with attitude, character, and feel, optimizing the singer's cue, studio psychology (i.e. tricking singers into doing things they don't think they are capable of), editing, fixing, mixing, a zillion other things - and yes, all the button-pushing you'll want or need as well!
But this course is not about the technology - that's really the easiest part - it's about using these tools musically and artisically. This is the part most people miss when distracted by the recording process itself (even when in a professional recording studio with an engineer to take care of all the techie stuff), and besides being more fun and fulfilling for your group, it will also be that much more for the listener!
When it all comes down to it,
the information you learn here will save your group thousands
of dollars, but even more valuable is that you won't have people
flunking out of school or going bonkers by doing hundreds of hours
of extra unnecessary work! Don't try to "rescue" the
project afterwards (which we see WAY too often, maybe even on YOUR last project), do it right from
the start - your album will sound MUCH better, and actually be
cheaper as well as a more pleasant memory for all involved!
Ian Goldstein at the console during Soup To Nuts 2005 - Ian went on to produce 2 great albums for his group, Colorado College Back Row, landing a coveted spot on BOCA,
the opening track on the "Voices Only" compilation, as well as an Honorable Mention in RARB's "Picks of 2006"! Congratulations, Ian!
"Mexican Wine", which Ian refers to in his statement, was our class project that week - you can hear it here
Q: How much does it cost?
A: The course costs $1600 per participant, with a maximum class
size of 8, though we will try to keep it down to 7 if possible.
There will be a $250 incentive bonus for those who register before April 1, which will of course bring the cost down to $1350.
The class will actually "start" well before the day when we finally all meet in person. We will have discussions
via a
Yahoo group and get a better feel for each individual's strengths
and areas in need of improvement. We'll also be able to better
talk about logistics, rooming arrangements, etc, during this time.
Q: Which airport should I fly
into?
A: San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is nearest to Deke, San
Jose International Airport (SJC) is nearer to Bill (Bill and Deke live about an hour apart by car).
Again, by getting registered early, we can coordinate all of this
online so that things run as smoothly as possible in terms of
getting people to and from the seminar locations.
Q: Are there hotels nearby?
A: Yes, there are clean, inexpensive Hotels near to each location.
Q: How can I afford to do this? I'm just a poor college student!
A: This is really an investment for your group to make, in our
opinion. Your group has already been bleeding money for years in
this
process. As stated above, we are confident that what you take
away from here will save your group thousands of dollars, create a
MUCH better end result, as well as sell more product as the world takes
notice of your work! The cost of this (including travel and
accomodations) could come out of a group's album budget, and the group
would still come out ahead financially, let alone the other
obvious benefits it would recieve.
To register, or if you have any other questions, please contact Deke and Bill directly.
See our 2007 class in action!
Hear our 2008 Class Project!
Our Winter 2009 Class Page! Hear our Summer 2009 Class Projects! Listen to The Mouth Off Show special Soup To Nuts Edition! Cy Cerrano put a bunch of video clips up from the Summer 2009 S2N!
