Working With An Online Session Drummer: 4 Tips to Make Your Remote Session a Success!
In today's digital age, creating high-quality music from the comfort of your home is more achievable than ever. However, as a DIY musician, you might find yourself needing a professional drummer to bring your tracks to life. From the room sound, to the microphones, to the drums themselves, an online session drummer can help bring your music to the next level.
I work with musicians, artists, and producers every week as an online session drummer. Over the years, I’ve found there are a few key pieces of information that take sessions from unorganized to smooth and professional.
Check out these 4 easy tips below to help keep your session on track and on budget!
1. Understand Your Needs for Your Music
Before you start searching for an online session drummer or musician, it’s crucial to define what you need.
-Music Genre: Knowing what genre you want to market your music in will help when selecting everything from microphones to drums. What is appropriate in one genre may stick out in another genre.
-Project Scope: How many songs do you need recorded? Is the project a whole album or just a one-off single? Having a clear scope makes deadlines easier to hit and keeps projects on budget.
Which brings us to…
-Budget! Having a clear idea of what you want to spend and what work you need completed is imperative to running a successful session. Outlining your budget will make sure you have funds for everything from hiring an online session drummer, to mixing, mastering, and even distribution.
2. Start the Discussion
The best part about working as an online session drummer is the fact that I get to be invested in every project I take on. Having worked in this industry for over 15 years, I have accumulated many resources to help songwriters, musicians, and producers take their songs to the next level. Reaching out with information and any questions you may have early in the process allows the musicians you’re working with to not only understand your needs, but they now have an opportunity to provide resources and help.
3. Setting Up a Successful Collaboration
Provide Clear Instructions: Be as detailed as possible when explaining what you need. Share your track, reference songs, and any specific styles you prefer.
Discuss Any Deadlines: Agree on a timeline for when drum tracks will be recorded and delivered. Making sure both parties are clear about deadlines is easy to do and helps avoid any misunderstandings.
4. Build a Long-Term Relationship
Working with an online session drummer should not just be about a one-off collaboration. Building a
long-term relationship with artists is something I highly value at Drum Arsenal Productions. When you’re working on a remote recording session it can be easy to feel removed from certain parts of the process.
By working with musicians and creatives with the intent of fostering a long-term relationship you bring one of the best elements of music back into the process: camaraderie. Creating music is a fun process and some of the best people I’ve ever met and worked with have been through online collaboration.
Being able to work with musicians from around the world is one of the biggest perks of the modern age and working remotely online. There are no barriers. Regardless of location, there are so many resources available to artists and songwriters. Whether you’re producing a single track or an entire album, the right musicians can add that professional touch and bring your vision to life.
If you need an online session drummer, I’d love to discuss your project and help you get the sounds you’re looking for. Happy recording!
