Today began with a novice singer recording a cover of a Chris Brown song. Honestly, it sounded pretty bad. What interested me was that Mr. Hodgin (as the engineer) has the responsibility to communicate his opinions about the track– good or bad– to the artist. I listened closely because this is a very valuable skill to have. Whenever I do my own recording sessions with my friends, I usually do not have very much trouble communicating my opinions because my friends trust my musical opinion, and they have a close, strong relationship with me, so they will not get offended. However, in the industry, the artist often does not have any prior relationship with the engineer, and could potentially become offended with criticism.
In this case, Mr. Hodgin told the artist that Chris Brown is a very talented artist, and it would take a lot more practice to perfect his singing style. The artist was demoralized but determined to get it right the next time he came in.