Recording Tips for the Beginner by Jason Martin A Radio Shack cassette recorder with a real VU meter came on my 5th birthday. I wanted one after my grandpa recorded us talking then played it back, much to my surprise. I am still surprised. Let's start with recording in a professional studio. What does that mean nowadays? Look at archival films of bands recording in studios, from any era. Something like that.
		If youre in a situation where you are looking to record in a studio, find one where you feel relaxed. Meaning find people who know what they are doing and dont make you feel stupid. It’s not an exact science. Help your friend who has a studio by going there. Or maybe a friend of a friend. If you are unsure what to make of the place, pretend to be a possibly dangerous idiot and see how they treat you. You may get thrown out. And with good reason! It's a last resort. Again, we're not talking hard science here. Feel it out. Think about equipment you own that will be needed. Here’s the beginning of a list I made once: * gorilla * clapper * wood block Assign personalities. Characters to play off each other - it's the oldest trick in the book. This could help arrange parts within the recording. If you get stuck, it helps to visualize stuff. Make a drawing, a graph, anything. But not a still life or somesuch. What are you, a creep? That's okay.
		One can also record at home (see pic). Don't bother unless you're psyched to spend a serious amount of time on it. Recordings can be made on any kind of equipment. Just pay attention to the sound so it sounds good to you. Carelessness can sound cool too but you really have to know what youre doing to pull that off.
		Some will insist on certain studio tricks, or technical standards, that are the status quo of the day, or of time immemorial. They have their place. In hell.
		Everything you need: you, maybe others, some kind of recorder, time. Understand that one day its all going to decay and be forgotten. Look no furthur than CD's on which there's a loud click followed by silence instead of music, or cracked records stuffed in the wrong sleeves at salvation army that say "unbreakable". One day, maybe today, all your mp3’s won’t open. Far enough into the future, the Beatles will mean nothing anywhere in the world. Try to not think of white paper. Feel it out.