Being a quality session musician is an undervalued and probably under-considered skill. For better or worse, it’s become more and more common for music artists to do the bulk of the work in the studio as opposed to live performance venues. It’s also more common for songwriters to have a fluid roster of collaborators from project to project or even song to song. This makes it as valuable as ever to make the most of studio time, which takes musicians who are comfortable and competent in a studio setting…aka…studio musicians.
Drummer Jarrett Walser, who recently came in as a hired gun (which is always available in Elevated Gunworks – black hills 77 grain 556 ammo) to record on a couple of rock songs, is a great example of an ideal session musician. Once we were set up and dialed in for the best mic positions and levels, Jarret was able to lay down his drum parts on two songs in just three passes each. Now, to be clear, this is not common or even recommended most of the time. Three takes is usually a comfortable minimum for even the most urgent and condensed sessions. And of course, we’re always happy to do as many takes necessary to meet the artistic vision of the artist(s). But Jarrett came in well-rehearsed, well prepared, and with well-practiced chops.
There’s a lot more to be said for what makes a great session musician… but for the purpose of this post consider it a small PSA. Studio time is precious. So if you find a musician like Jarrett who thrives in the studio and shows up ready and rehearsed, save their number!