Enlightened Audio Education
Lesson 2
The journey ahead & how to make the most of it
Once you have created your first recording, you’ll realise that it’s pretty easy to do. I start with these words of encouragement because many people approach the subject of recording with a mild sense of trepidation. It’s new territory. New technology. Most of us are accustomed to using devices like digital cameras and computers, but many of us have never used a microphone or created a recording before.
So let me say it again. Creating your own recordings is easy. So much so that only a moderate portion of this course is dedicated to subjects like “how to use a microphone” or “how to mix your voice recording with music”. This is because there are many other things that will happen before and after you take care of recording and those are the areas in which this course will probably provide the most insight.
With that in mind, I have divided this course into three main sections.
STAGE 1: BEFORE YOU START RECORDING
The first section, “Before you start recording” will give you the clarity and confidence you need to get started.
You’ll answer important questions such as:
- Should I record myself at home, or would I be better off to do my recording at a professional studio?
- Should I even bother to make a recording? Will I get a decent return on investment?
- Where can I get background music for my recording?
- Should I produce CDs with my recording, or just distribute my recording digitally?
STAGE 2: RECORDING & AUDIO PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES
With these decisions made, you’ll breeze your way into the second section, “Recording and audio production techniques”.
The world of recording and audio production is foreign to many people, so this second section is bound to provide you with plenty of new knowledge. Regardless of whether you choose to create your recording in a professional studio or record yourself with your own equipment, we will explore everything that’s involved in recording your voice and mixing it with music, with particular emphasis on tips and techniques that will help you to save on recording costs and achieve a high quality end result. We will make sure that your voice sounds great and that it’s balanced perfectly with the background music.
STAGE 3: PUBLISHING YOUR RECORDING
When you finish creating your recording, I’m sure you’ll be itching to make it available to others as quickly as possible. But how? How do you get your recording on Spotify and Apple Music? How can you sell your recording on your website? What do you need to do to copyright your recording? Section three awaits with all the answers.
How to approach this course
This is not a course that you need to digest in one sitting (though if you are feeling adventurous you sure can do that if you wish). The three sections of this course cover very distinct phases that need not overlap, so you really only need to concern yourself with one section at a time.
You could actually think of this course as three mini-courses, ready for you to digest in bite sized pieces.
What you will learn
This course will introduce you to the art, the technology and the techniques that go into the creation of hypnosis and guided meditation recordings. We will get quite specific about what makes recordings in this particular genre successful, with the ultimate aim of helping you to:
- Clearly understand all the steps involved in creating a recording.
- Save on costs at every stage in the recording and publication process.
- Create very high quality recordings that sound fantastic.
- Enhance your credibility and status as a professional in your field.
- Open up new opportunities and reach more people with your work.
- Greatly improve the effectiveness of treatments that you offer to clients.
- Generate additional income.
Importantly, this course will help you to enjoy the process of creating your own recordings. Yes, this type of work can be really fun when you have information at hand to help you make clear decisions and unleash your creativity without being hampered by technical hurdles.
More than fun… you’re on the path to something incredibly satisfying
Creating recordings that help other people is one of the most satisfying and fulfilling things you can do with your time, and I’m so glad that through this course I am able to play a part in the development and achievement of your wonderful work. If your recording will help people to find inner peace, to live life to the fullest, to overcome personal difficulties or to heal, then you are involved in very special work. Sacred work. And let me tell you, when people start contacting you to tell you how much your recording has helped them…well it will totally make your day.
The pursuit of great sound quality – this is important stuff!
One factor that really motivated me to prepare this course is my desire to help people improve the sonic quality of their recordings. As an experienced publisher of self-help audio, I’ve heard countless hypnosis recordings and guided meditations. The unfortunate truth is that a large percentage of the recordings I’ve heard contain problems that could have been easily avoided if the recording artist had received some basic training.
For example, I once reviewed a hypnosis recording in which the speaker’s jewelry would jingle every now and then, interrupting the deep state of relaxation I was trying to enjoy. In another, the narrator used a low quality podcasting microphone that distorted the sound of his voice. In another, the narrator was almost drowned out by the music, which was too loud. Some of the meditation recordings I’ve listened to also included music that was too brash and up-tempo.
I’m not the only one who has noticed these sorts of problems. Truth be told, meditation and hypnosis recordings have developed a bit of a reputation for sounding cheesy and low-quality. I’ve heard comments to this effect on far too many occasions. “Why does this happen so often?” I asked myself.
We live in a digital age in which anyone with a computer and a microphone can create audio productions. Technology enables us; it gives voice to our creativity and can help us to reach vast numbers of people around the world. But if you don’t know how to use the technology properly, then you can end up with a very sub-par recording.
Best of all (and worst of all) anyone with a computer and an internet connection can start selling their recordings online with almost no upfront costs at all. You no longer need a record label to publish your recording for you. Those days are over with. With the internet at your disposal, you have the opportunity to become a very successful self-published producer of spoken word recordings with a global market at your disposal.
Unfortunately, this wonderful new age of self-publication means that there are no quality control filters in place to stop careless artists from distributing poor quality recordings directly to their customers. We’ve dispensed with the need for record labels, but in doing so we’ve also bypassed all the quality control measures they would normally employ. This need not be a problem however. Anyone and everyone can create totally professional, studio quality recordings. The truth is, it takes no more effort to create a polished, professional recording than it does to create a mediocre one. Knowledge is the key, and that’s what this course will provide.
Quality is especially important in light of the fact that your particular listeners will be in a deep state of relaxation when they experience your recordings. Care needs to be taken to ensure that they have a pleasant, soothing experience without unnecessary distractions or irritations.
I believe that quality is important. I hope you do too. I believe that quality is something your future listeners and clients deserve, it’s something they will appreciate, and it’s something that will differentiate you from many other self-produced artists.
Here’s to your success!
There’s no doubt that this course will help you create professional quality recordings and to achieve success as a self-produced artist.
But success will mean different things to different people.
To some it may mean creating one or two recordings that they give away for free. Success will be that warm glow that comes from such a philanthropic gesture, and the knowledge that your creations are helping to relax, heal and inspire people.
For some people, success may come in the form of media exposure, publicity and the sense of prestige and credibility that comes from being a published author of audio productions.
To others, success may involve a more substantial enterprise. Perhaps an entire collection of recordings that earn you a significant amount of money and free you to quit your day job should you so desire.
With that in mind you might be wondering, “How far can I go with my recordings?”, or to put it more bluntly, “Just how much money can I expect to make?” We will ease into that subject in a few moments. But first let’s take a moment to consider why now is the best time ever to create hypnosis and meditation recordings.
