The last assignment for the advanced production class is creating a production from start to finish. This includes the 5 stages of producing:

• Pre-production
• Production
• Editing
• Mixing
• Mastering

My professor, Justin, assigned me to be the pro-tools operator for another students capstone. The goal for this was to ensure that everything was set to record, enabling recording groups, checking levels, and creating new playlists.

We moved fairly quickly through these tasks, but I was glad Justin offered support for how to do them. Operating pro-tools was a great learning experience for me because it allowed me to work quickly, which is important as a producer. It is also a helpful reminder on how to record within this software, because I usually record in Logic.

I also took time before the session to make sure I understood various parts of the song such as the tempo, the instrumentation and the recording format. Knowing this information in advance of the session helped speed up the preparation time on the morning of the session.

Later in the day, I met with a vocalist to prep some ideas for my capstone project, which is an R&B arrangement of “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers. I communicated to her that I wanted to keep the essence of the main melody, but allowing her to have flexibility for ad-libs as well.

In addition, I wanted to make sure we prioritized having time to record harmonies, and vocal doubles, which will help make the arrangement sound more full!