Previous: 4. Record the piano, guitars and other rhythm instruments.

5. Action: Record the counterpoint instruments and solo instruments.

Ingredients: Your counterpoint charts, roadmap, and the music you've recorded so far.

Explanation: When you wrote out the counterpoints and the song roadmap, you did most of the work. You know exactly what is played by which instrument and when. Counterpoint instruments are those that will play the secondary melody. They can be saxophones, synth pads, electric guitars, or even organs and accordions. Take your written material in hand and lay down these tracks. There may be solo instruments that play in parts of your song as well. Do those after you have finished the counterpoint instruments.

Because these tracks can stand out more in the mix, you should take care that they are playing correctly. If, for whatever reason, you find something that doesn't work as you record your own song, don't be afraid to fix it. Now, as you put it together, you should hear how the whole arrangement fits. Clean up any clashes, especially in your solo instruments, counterpoints and harmonies.

Result: The solo instruments and counterpoint and harmony tracks are done. Strike up the band.

Next 6. Record three vocal tracks.