4 tips on how to record a good song

1

If you haven't already, write a song.Trying to record a song you haven't finished writing yet is like trying write a novel without any ideas about the plot or characters you're going to use — very tricky. Whether you're recording in your garage or at Abbey Road studios, you'll want to have your entire song figured out before you start to record. This saves you the time of having to re-record numerous takes as you figure out your song and, if you're using a professional studio, the money needed to pay for studio time.

• This means that your song's structure needs to be more or less decided-upon when you arrive at the studio, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you need to have every note pre-planned. Some artists, for instance, record their solos live in the studio. In some genres of music, like Jazz, entire sections of the song can be improvised — still, even in these cases, the musicians know when to begin and end each part of the song and how to stay in time with one another.
• 2
  Alternatively, pick a song to cover.Not every song you record has to be an original. You can also record your own version of someone else's song (called acover). There are no significant legal hurdles to recording a cover, though you are obligated to give the original songwriter credit if you sell your version commercially.^[1] Some of music's biggest hits have been covers (though this is not always well-known among fans of the songs). Below are just a few famous covers:^[2]
  

  • "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell (originally by Gloria Jones)
  • "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper (originally by Robert Hazard)
  • "Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley (originally by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton)
  • "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix (originally by Bob Dylan)
  • "Jolene" by the White Stripes (originally by Dolly Parton)
  • "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany (originally by Tommy James and the Shondells)

  3

  Practice, practice, practice. No matter when and where you're recording, it'salways in your best interest to practice your song until you know it like the back of your (hopefully callused) hands. By the time you turn on the mics, you'll want to be able to reliably play through the entire song without making anything rather than insignificant, tiny errors. If you can't, you risk wasting lots of time playing your song over and over as you try for a perfect take.
  

  • This is especially important if you're using a professional recording studio. While you can easily get away with making a few mistakes when you're recording in your garage, showing up to a recording studio unprepared can be embarrassing and costly. Studio time can be quite expensive (it's not rare for the services of a reasonably high quality studio to run at $100 per hour or more)^[3], so every time you make a mistake and need to start over, you're losing money. Plus, experienced sound engineers are present when you record in the studio — do you want to mess up in front of them over and over?

  4 Have whatever equipment you need to sound "just right". Just like you'll want to be able to play through your song without mistakes before you begin recording, you'll also want to have all of the equipment and accessories that you need to make your music sound just right before you step into the studio. While many professional studios will have various amps, cables, effects pedals, and even instruments handy, there's no guarantee that they'll have exactly what you need to sound the way you want, so don't count on this. Instead, have all of your equipment with you to avoid the hassle of adjusting to a new setup.
• • Obviously, if you're recording at home, all you'll be able to use is the equipment you have (or whatever you can borrow from a friend).