How to Prepare Your Song for Remote Drum Recording
Remote drum recording can be a very straightforward way to get professionally recorded live drums onto your track without needing to book a full studio session.
The better prepared your song is before the recording starts, the easier it is for the drummer to understand what you want and deliver something that fits the track.
You do not need a finished mix or a perfectly produced demo. What matters is that the song, structure and musical direction are clear.
Here is what I recommend sending before a remote drum recording session.
1. Send a clear guide track
The most important thing is a version of the song that the drummer can play along to.
This could be a finished production, a rough mix, a demo, or even a simple guitar-and-vocal recording.
It does not need to sound polished.
The main thing is that the arrangement is clear enough for the drummer to understand where the song is going.
Where possible, I would usually recommend sending a WAV file rather than a heavily compressed audio file.
2. Include the tempo
If the song has been recorded to a click, send the BPM.
If you have a separate click track, that is even better.
For songs with tempo changes, it is useful to provide a tempo map or explain clearly where those changes happen.
If the track has not been recorded to a fixed tempo, that does not necessarily cause a problem.
A natural performance can still work well, but it is useful to discuss it before recording begins.
3. Make the song structure clear
A clear structure makes the whole recording process easier.
For example:
Intro – Verse – Chorus – Verse – Chorus – Bridge – Final Chorus – Outro
If you can include bar numbers or timestamps as well, that can be very helpful.
This is especially useful if the arrangement contains stops, unusual bar lengths, extended sections or changes that might not be immediately obvious from the demo.
4. Tell the drummer what you want
You do not need to write out every beat or fill.
In fact, sometimes too much instruction can make the process more complicated than it needs to be.
What is more useful is a clear idea of the overall direction.
For example:
“Keep the verses fairly restrained and open up in the choruses.”
Or:
“I want something tight and fairly dry, with very little overplaying.”
You can also tell me whether you want an existing programmed drum part followed closely or whether you want me to create something around the song.
The clearer the musical direction is, the easier it is to make the first recording work.
5. Send reference tracks
Reference tracks are one of the most useful things you can send.
If there is a particular drum sound, groove, production style or drummer you have in mind, send an example.
You might like the groove from one song, the drum sound from another and the overall energy of something else.
That is completely fine.
References can often communicate an idea far more quickly than trying to describe everything technically.
6. Explain what the programmed drums are for
A lot of songs arrive with programmed drums already in the demo.
That is absolutely fine.
The important thing is explaining how closely you want them followed.
They might be:
a finished part that you want recreated with live drums
a rough rhythmic guide
a starting point to develop
there purely to communicate the feel
Those are very different briefs.
The more clearly that is explained, the easier it is to create a live drum part that suits the production.
7. Remove anything that could be misleading
If your demo contains old drum takes, several percussion ideas or unfinished parts, it can help to mute anything that is not relevant.
The guide does not need to be stripped down completely, but it should be clear enough that the drummer can tell what they are supposed to be reacting to.
Clarity saves time.
8. Leave some space before the song begins
When exporting your guide track, leave a little space before the music starts.
A short count-in or a couple of bars of click can be very useful.
This makes it easier to line the recorded drum files up accurately when they are imported back into your DAW.
9. Tell the drummer what files you need back
For my remote drum recording sessions, I normally provide the individual multitrack drum files so they can be imported directly into your session.
Depending on the project, this may include tracks such as kick, snare, toms, hi-hat, overheads, rooms and additional character microphones.
I can also provide processed drum tracks if required.
Because that involves additional mixing and processing work, processed tracks are charged separately.
It is useful to agree what you need before the session begins.
10. Discuss deadlines before recording starts
My standard turnaround can be up to around one week depending on workload and the requirements of the track.
For projects with a tighter deadline, I also offer a priority service with a typical turnaround of around one to two days.
The priority service is charged at an additional rate and assumes that everything needed to start is already available, including the track, arrangement, references and clear direction.
If you are working towards a release, mix session or other deadline, it is always worth mentioning that at the start.
What happens after you send everything?
Once I have received the track and understood the direction, I can work out the drum part and the recording approach that best suits the song.
That may mean changing the drum kit, tuning, cymbals, microphones or room setup depending on the sound we are trying to achieve.
I do not use exactly the same drum setup for every track.
The aim is to create a drum performance and drum sound that feels like it belongs on your production.
Do you need to know exactly what you want?
No.
Some clients know precisely what they want.
Others send a rough demo and a couple of references and ask me to interpret the track.
Both approaches are fine.
Part of the job of a session drummer is understanding what the song needs and making musical decisions that support it.
Looking for remote drum recording in the UK?
I provide professional remote drum recording from my studio in Reading, Berkshire, working with artists, songwriters and producers throughout the UK and internationally.
You can send me a finished production, rough demo, programmed drums, reference tracks or simply an idea of the direction you want to take.
If you have a track you would like me to play on, send it over and tell me what you are looking for.
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