"In the old days, when analog machinery was used for recording, there was no way to produce a demo from the comfort of your own couch"

Today, an arranger uses computer-generated electronic music to prepare a full, real-time demo of how the arrangement will sound. The producer and singer can then hear how the entire song will sound, and make changes before going ahead to record. In the old days, when analog machinery was used for recording, there was no way to produce a demo from the comfort of your own couch. All the client could receive was the musical score (which he may not have been able to read) and the arranger’s explanation. He just had to trust that the arranger he’d hired had done a good job on the song. Only very rarely would a client ask the arranger to change it after it was recorded, simply because it would be too expensive to redo everything. Because of this, the client often joined the arranger in the recording studio, and would ask the musicians to change some things on the spot, while they were in the process of recording the music. Nowadays, he wouldn’t even be there, because he knows every note in advance.

—Producer NAFTALI SCHNITZLER

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 848)