Phil Kelly
Junior Member
First, a little background on my career ( this being one of my first posts )
I started my career as a "session drummer" back in the mid 60s ( after about tive years on road bands and working with pop singers of the day ) The requirements back then required you to be an EXCELLENT reader and capable of playing all of the pop styles of the day, but basically being a capable big band drummer first off. All dates were simul with a band spread all over a large room separated by baffles and goboes. There was no cue system.
All the players had to learn to deal with the the "delay " factor and be very sure of their own interior time and not "bend" to anything they might be hearing delayed. The only time a headset was used was when a click track was employed ( and then usually only the drummer, lead trumpet player and conductor if present got them ) The standard recording medioum was 3 track tape. ( From '65 to '70 , the number of tracks rapidly increased from three to 16 and rudimentary cue systems were put into use. )
By 1975, I had pretty much left the playing chores to younger more current rock based players who had the ever enlarging catalog of rock styles down and concentrated on writing, arranging and prodcicing which I still do to this day ( at the age of 73 ). By this point, the process of "building" the tracks had become the rule, and much of the recording was accomplished by overdubbing on a basic skeleton rhythm track ,and the use of electronics began to be felt. As the 80s wore on, the process of electronic tracking became even more and more prevalent ( and the consequent loss of work by seasoned session guys had begun to be noticeable. )
From the 90s onward, more and more work was done by solo musicians using DAWs ,samples and loops. This process really changed the basic way music began to sound
and continued to remove valuable jobs from the session scene. The introduction of tapeless recording, Pro Tools and like systems mad it vastly easier to produce tracks from people all over the world through a cyber connection.
Today ,( being a certified old timer with a specialty in writing for and working with "live " players when required ) most of my work consists of assembling these sub groups where ever they may be and assembling the final product over the internet. A recent project involved remote recording of a basic rhythm section in a small studio in Nashville,
( which I "produced in real time over the phone from my home in the Pacific NW ), sending simultaneous multi track mixes over the internet to a bassist in Dallas and a Guitarist in LA to add thir parts ( again, producing them over the phone ). Eventually, all these tracks were returned to my engineer in Seattle who assembled all these tracks on a Pro Tools "master" which was then finished off with horn Overdubs in Seattle and Tacoma ( which I actually attended )..and then mixed.
All of this just goes to show Bermudas basic point of what the "session players" of the current century will look like : individual players ( many with home studios ) who , via the internet, will either hook up and /or add their individual parts to a project. The only need for actual large recording rooms will be when a large group of acoustic players need to be tracked ( i.e. a full string or horn section that for musical reasons can't be best assembled by "layering" by fewer players ) Regarding the use of drum boxes or loops, I have recorded actual "live "sections usuing a loop or drum track as a basis for recording live remote players, and then having a live drummer replace the reference loop.
so : after this long winded explanation -I think tomorrows "session players " in addition to being monster players in all styles that can read fly droppings, will:
* be familiar with internet file sharing and remote collaboration.
* have the equipment and the facility to their own instrument(s) in their own space.
Traditional session work will still continue in some cases and places ,but It's my opinion more and more recording will be done in the manner I've described.
I started my career as a "session drummer" back in the mid 60s ( after about tive years on road bands and working with pop singers of the day ) The requirements back then required you to be an EXCELLENT reader and capable of playing all of the pop styles of the day, but basically being a capable big band drummer first off. All dates were simul with a band spread all over a large room separated by baffles and goboes. There was no cue system.
All the players had to learn to deal with the the "delay " factor and be very sure of their own interior time and not "bend" to anything they might be hearing delayed. The only time a headset was used was when a click track was employed ( and then usually only the drummer, lead trumpet player and conductor if present got them ) The standard recording medioum was 3 track tape. ( From '65 to '70 , the number of tracks rapidly increased from three to 16 and rudimentary cue systems were put into use. )
By 1975, I had pretty much left the playing chores to younger more current rock based players who had the ever enlarging catalog of rock styles down and concentrated on writing, arranging and prodcicing which I still do to this day ( at the age of 73 ). By this point, the process of "building" the tracks had become the rule, and much of the recording was accomplished by overdubbing on a basic skeleton rhythm track ,and the use of electronics began to be felt. As the 80s wore on, the process of electronic tracking became even more and more prevalent ( and the consequent loss of work by seasoned session guys had begun to be noticeable. )
From the 90s onward, more and more work was done by solo musicians using DAWs ,samples and loops. This process really changed the basic way music began to sound
and continued to remove valuable jobs from the session scene. The introduction of tapeless recording, Pro Tools and like systems mad it vastly easier to produce tracks from people all over the world through a cyber connection.
Today ,( being a certified old timer with a specialty in writing for and working with "live " players when required ) most of my work consists of assembling these sub groups where ever they may be and assembling the final product over the internet. A recent project involved remote recording of a basic rhythm section in a small studio in Nashville,
( which I "produced in real time over the phone from my home in the Pacific NW ), sending simultaneous multi track mixes over the internet to a bassist in Dallas and a Guitarist in LA to add thir parts ( again, producing them over the phone ). Eventually, all these tracks were returned to my engineer in Seattle who assembled all these tracks on a Pro Tools "master" which was then finished off with horn Overdubs in Seattle and Tacoma ( which I actually attended )..and then mixed.
All of this just goes to show Bermudas basic point of what the "session players" of the current century will look like : individual players ( many with home studios ) who , via the internet, will either hook up and /or add their individual parts to a project. The only need for actual large recording rooms will be when a large group of acoustic players need to be tracked ( i.e. a full string or horn section that for musical reasons can't be best assembled by "layering" by fewer players ) Regarding the use of drum boxes or loops, I have recorded actual "live "sections usuing a loop or drum track as a basis for recording live remote players, and then having a live drummer replace the reference loop.
so : after this long winded explanation -I think tomorrows "session players " in addition to being monster players in all styles that can read fly droppings, will:
* be familiar with internet file sharing and remote collaboration.
* have the equipment and the facility to their own instrument(s) in their own space.
Traditional session work will still continue in some cases and places ,but It's my opinion more and more recording will be done in the manner I've described.