As a result of recording and producing literally hundreds of demos, I've learned that it is always better to "Prepare and Prevent" than to "Repair and Repent." Here are a few steps you can take to help make your demo recording experience more successful.

Song Preparation:

It may sound obvious but make sure your song is FINISHED. I can't tell you the number of times I've had clients come into the studio only to start rewriting a part of the lyric or melody. It is significantly less stressful (and quite a bit less expensive) to write a song when you're not paying the studio an hourly fee.

You can also benefit from trying a few rough recordings at home before you get to the studio. The simple act of listening back to a song instead of performing it will reveal any weaknesses or issues that need to be dealt with before the studio clock is running. The last of these rough home recordings will become the definitive work tape.

The Work Tape:

I use the term "work tape" but really it's any simple, inexpensive recording that you do on a hand-held tape recorder, mini disc player, mp3 recorder, etc. Generally a piano or guitar plus a scratch vocal will do the trick. The key here is not a perfect recording but rather an accurate representation of the song structure. In other words, it doesn't have to sound great as long as the chords, melody and lyrics are correct. The

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