Vocals are, for many styles, the focus of the recording. They tell the story, and they have to be right out in front, in the groove and in tune to work. With other instruments, maintenance and repairs are a tangible thing, something a nut driver and an experienced hand can make short work of. But it always surprises me just how little most vocalists understand their instrument. It's impossible to outline all that goes into having a strong vocal technique that will allow the vocal performances to really smoke. But go in the studio prepared.

Take some lessons with a vocal coach, and get a handle on the mechanics of your instrument.

Aside from that BIG issue, before you go into the studio for vocals, get plenty of rest, and try to remain as healthy as you can. Practice your parts, work out phrasings in rehearsals, and practice harmony parts before you get into the booth. In the studio itself, it's important first to establish a vibe. Turn off the lights, light candles, hang up Britney Spears posters, or throw darts at Britney Spears posters- WHATEVER you need to get into the vibe of the lyric you are singing. A sincere delivery overrides almost all technical aspects in the studio.

Keep yourself well hydrated, and sing a few runs through the song without interruptions, to get a feel for what's going on in the music, and to determine what you need to hear in the headphones. Typically, I record about 4-5 takes of a song, and then "comp" (short for composite track) the best phrases from each into a finished vocal take, listening through for continuity, and punching problem spots. By comping, I can usually avoid beating on a vocalist too hard with punches, and that really saves the singer.

It's important also to pace yourself in the studio, to not sing too much and loose your voice.

With background vocals, or BGV's, the big issue is tuning. Every part has to be on pitch 100%, or they won't stack properly. This is where pitch correction usually gets employed for speed of takes. Be careful of phrasing, make sure consonants hit at the same points, and the phrases end at the same time. In a DAW (digital audio workstation) environment, this is easy to edit, again a time saver on big projects.

Aside from the terribly abbreviated points above, other big factors in vocal production would be the layering, the use of special effects vocals such as talking tracks, whisper tracks, and shouting tracks. How you layer vocals can depend on your preferred style. If you dig the Mutt Lange style (Def Leppard, Shania Twain) you might chew up 16 tracks (or more) of BGV's alone.