Monday's meeting of the Guild was a fine time talking music and production with Rockford producer and session drummer Jaben Pennell.
"A producer in a nutshell is someone who makes sure that the project goes where it's supposed to go," Jaben told us. Sometimes this means helping a band or solo artists with arrangements, making chord substitutions and lyric suggestions to music as needed and lining up session musicians to deliver the right performances for a recording. Other times, it's simply about keeping a group from getting lost in the details.
We talked a lot about the importance of "capturing a moment" in the studio and creating the environment - musical or otherwise - that allows performers to best represent their own abilities.
"You try to find that unique element in an artist and polish that," Jaben said. "You try to bring out their best."
Of course, a lot of us who are technically inclined were eager to discuss plug-ins, mics and mix technique - so we got a healthy dose of everything. But for me, the lesson was that great music transcends mere technicality - it's about the people who make it.
Find Jaben's contact info right here. Reach your favorite Aurora recording studio right here.
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