Shred Academy – Free Guitar Lesson by Zack Uidl

A
Guide to Becoming a Great Studio/Session Musician ~ Part 2 ~

By
Zack Uidl

This
is the second installment of “A Guide to Becoming a Great
Studio/Session Musician.” Please read Part
I first before reading this article, which is part two.

In
a studio environment, it is important to work quickly. This
is to save money, but also to deliver the finished product to
whomever on time while maintaining a high quality with the work
that you have done.

1.
Have all or as much of the material prepared as possible. You
want to be ready for everything that might occur in the studio
so be ready. Have the music memorized, have all equipment ready
to go, and have back up options for everything. This includes
the actual music and the instrument parts, but also for all
the instruments.
2. Be fluent in terminology used in a studio. Many times, what
you will need to do will be spoken to you and not given to you
ahead of time. So, be able to understand what things mean and
be able to do what is explained quickly.
3. Be a fluent sight reader. This includes all forms of notation
and side notes. Be able to read sheet music, tablature, and
chord charts and be able to do this for numerous instruments.
While you might not need help with your part, you may need to
explain it to someone else on another instrument. You may be
given a piece of music and be expected to perform it that moment.
So be prepared.
4. Be able to compose and record quickly. Just like everything
else, you need to practice songwriting. Be able to compose in
numerous styles fluently and be able record those ideas in as
few takes as possible.

In
order to be a desired studio musician often, you will need to
be familiar with working in all styles of music. This will simply
ensure more studio work for you as a session player as you will
be called in for more projects than someone who can just perform
well in one style of music. You must be versitle.

1.
Have a genre of expertise. While you do want to be versatile
with nearly all styles of music, it is important to have a genre
that you focus on. This will make you THE musician for that
particular style at that studio. All the other style’s
projects will simply be additional to your focused music genre.
2. Be able to perform and compose in all styles. You will want
to be able to do so quickly and when you are called in to the
studio without having to do research. This will speed up the
session and allow you to become a better songwriter and musician
as a whole.
3. Learn other instruments. Some styles of music may not call
for you instrument or use your focused instrument as the main
aspect to a song. Some songs are written with the purpose of
being driven by the guitars, and some are not. Being able to
play multiple instruments will allow you to compose accurate
music in whatever style is needed. And, you will also write
better songs when you consider all the instruments that are
going to be involved.

The
final aspect that people look for in a great session musician
is there technical abilities. While this is not always the most
important, it still holds a massive amount of weight behind
it.

1.
Learn new techniques. There are many musicians that seem to
think that it is okay to not become fluent with numerous techniques.
They become really good at one technique, and ignore the others.
This is a horrible mistake. Yes, you do not need to be the very
best with all the techniques on your instruments, but, some
projects will call for a certain technique, and if you don’t
know how to do it, or are not good at it, you will not be called
back to that project.
2. Preparation. Having a certain level of mastery for each technique
on your instrument will simple make preparation for the studio
work much easier. You will be much more prepared both in and
out of the studio for anything that might arise.
3. Be able to associate techniques with a particular style.
Knowing what scales, arpeggios, chords, progressions, and techniques
are commonly associated with a particular style can really save
a session. If you understand that a certain genre used a certain
chord progression frequently, it is really easy to get the material
written and recorded.

While
this list is short, it outlines the basic principles of what
people look for in a studio/session musician. Following these
guidelines will put you well on your way to becoming a great
and reliable session musician.

Feel
free to email me if you have any further questions on this topic.

Zack Uidl
zack@zackuidl.com
www.zackuidl.com