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How to Make Professional Quality Music

Creating professional quality music takes expertise and preparation. Composers study for years to hone their craft in order to create professional quality music. Several factors contribute to a high-quality final product. Missing any of these elements can mean the difference between an amateur and professional result.

Composing and Rehearsing 


Step 1 Learning to compose can take years of study. Study with a professional composer to ensure that the music is unique and avoids common mistakes that amateur composers often make. Online study is an option, or you might go to a local college or university, but studying the craft is essential.

Step 2 Check your music for any inconsistencies or awkward parts. Proofread the music and have each individual part checked by a professional musician that plays the instrument for which the part is written. There is nothing more instructional than getting a professional's view of a composition.

Step 3 Rehearsals need to be scheduled ahead of time. Plan rehearsal time so that the recording session can be spent entirely on recording good quality music. The recording session is not the time to rehearse or make changes to the music.

Step 4 Don't leave anything to chance; rehearse the music. Rehearse the music until the piece is ready to be recorded. Do not go into a recording session until all musicians can play their parts perfectly.

Recording 


Step 1 Look around town for a good recording studio. Find a good recording studio and ask them what their pricing is per hour. To create a professional recording, it is best to go to a professional studio.

Step 2 Give the performers three options to choose from when scheduling. Schedule a time that is convenient for the performers. By providing the performers with three options, you can limit the confusion caused by a completely open schedule. Too many options can cause conflicts when trying to schedule an ensemble rehearsal.

Step 3 The final rehearsal schedule should include time to play through the music. Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images Create a final rehearsal schedule a week before the session to meet every day and rehearse. These rehearsals should be short and take no more than the time it would take to play the entire recording session.

Step 4 Meet early to warm up and mentally prepare for the session. Meet the day of the recording session and warm up the group. Don't play anything difficult or get carried away; the intention is to simply warm up.

Step 5 Listen to the recording engineer to help ensure a quality session. Arrive at the recording studio and follow the directions of the engineer. There will likely be several "takes" of the same section of a piece. Be prepared to move quickly in order to get as much recording time in as possible.

Step 6 The recording session is not the time for small talk—keep silent! Resist the urge to speak or make unnecessary noise. After each take, there will need to be a moment of silence in order to ensure a high quality recording.

Step 7 Mastering helps refine and improve the recording. Send the final product to be mastered. The mastering process will enhance the audio and send the music through several compressors. The best studios will have music mastered in more than one place.

Step 8 Send your music to various online media distributors. Distribute your recording to online distributors. You can submit directly to these companies, or hire a service to distribute your recording.

Ensure that the music is in perfect form before it ever reaches the musicians' stands. Learn to compose music with a professional composer before undertaking a recording project. Once a recording is released into the world, it can be very difficult—if not impossible—to retract it. Make sure everything is perfect and spend the necessary money to make corrections before the product is released.

References
Mastering Your Music: The Essential Guide [http://www.musicbizacademy.com/articles/gman_mastering.htm]
UreMusic: Music Composition Lessons [http://www.uremusic.com]
Mastering: Mastering Music for CDs [http://homerecording.com/mastering.html]

Resources (Further Reading)
CDBaby: Digital Music Distribution [http://www.cdbaby.com]
UreMusic: Music Composition Lessons [http://www.uremusic.com]
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