Studio & production blog
Read my collection of news, insights and helpful articles, providing tips and advice on a range of recording and music production topics.
How to save money in the recording studio
Are you looking to produce your music professionally on a budget? Here's my essential guide to save money in the recording studio, and get the best results. Songwriters, artists and bands often get started by recording their own music at home. However, they may...
Spine-tingling arrangement of ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’
A lush arrangement for SAATTB voice perfect for choir and vocal groups I arranged the song for my amateur Eclipse Choir and we recorded in it Abbey Road Studios. I'm proud of how rich it sounds and I think a lot of vocal groups and choirs will embrace it too. The...
How do you know if your song is ready to record? Let’s look at pre-production and arrangements
You've written some songs, how do you decide if you're ready for the studio? You’ve taken the time to craft your songs, maybe with a group, maybe as a solo artist. Now you’re looking to make a recording, be it a single, an EP or even an album.This article looks at the...
My lovely arrangement of Fix You for choirs and vocal groups
I arranged Fix You by Coldplay for our online choir during lockdown, and it got the best reaction by far. I've now published the sheet music for piano and SATB voices. It's available to purchase from Sheet Music Plus. A complete teaching resource pack, including...
Opening the DAW with Source-Nexus
How the Source Elements Source-Nexus Pro plugin can improve your workflow Before I discovered this plugin the task of reference-listening to my mixes on small domestic-style speakers was a pain! It was time-consuming and laborious for me to switch away from ProTools...
Test microphones before you buy – Audio Test Kitchen
New tool to find microphones for the recording you want Here are a couple of things that happen when you spend a lot of time in music production. Firstly, you become surer of the sound you like and consciously aim for. Secondly, you hone in on the equipment - hardware...
How do you make an online choir work?
Since we set up isoChoir using Zoom every Friday in the lock-down we have been asked multiple times: how do you get the virtual choir to work? Since there seems to be such a problem with delay or lag in voices being heard, it seems impossible! The main message is that...
‘Here Comes The Sun’ virtual choir recording by isoChoir
isoChoir's first recording - Here Comes The Sun! isoChoir is a virtual choir which gets together every Friday night during this time of social distancing. We learned and performed this arrangement remotely in our first week online together. Then 56 of our wonderful...
isoChoir: How to make a virtual choir recording
Add your voice to our virtual choir recording with isoChoir. Please send us your part by Wednesday at 9pm in order to be on the track in Friday's live session!How to contribute your voice to our virtual choir recording DOWNLOAD...
Step Up To The Mic
James Hawkins Music presents... 'Step Up To The Mic' at the Epsom Playhouse on Sat 13th July 2019Wow Wow Wow! THANK YOU! We were blown away by the brilliant audience, the amazing performers, our fab band, and the feedback we received from our first Step Up To The Mic...
