tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91175111625824171852024-03-08T11:56:15.697-08:00everdreamA blog about my musical wanderings; perhaps you'll enjoy the journey with me.everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-36672758406626307662008-09-04T16:23:00.000-07:002008-09-04T16:30:42.825-07:00Prepping A Vocal For The Mix - EQ Magazine<span class="byline"> <a href="http://www.eqmag.com/article/prepping-vocal-mix/oct-07/31789"><span style="font-weight: bold;">From EQ Magazine online</span></a><br /><br />By <a href="http://www.eqmag.com/biography/craig-anderton/36662_Conttype=31789">Craig Anderton</a></span> | <span class="date">October, 2007 </span> <div class="standfirst"> <p>As far as I’m concerned, the vocal is the most important part of a song. It’s the conversation that forms a bond between performer and listener, and the focus to which other instruments give support.</p> </div> <div id="ctl00_story_cms"> <p>And that’s why you must handle vocals with kid gloves. Too much pitch correction removes the humanity from a vocal, and getting overly aggressive with composite recording (the art of piecing together a cohesive part from multiple takes, and the subject of a future Vocal Cords) can destroy the continuity that tells a good story. Even too much reverb or EQ can mean more than bad sonic decisions, as these can affect the vocal’s emotional dynamics. But you also want to apply enough processing to make sure you have the finest, cleanest vocal foundation possible — without degrading what makes a vocal really work. And that’s why we’re here.</p> <p>Vocals are inherently noisy. You have mic preamps, low-level signals, and significant amounts of amplification. Furthermore, you want the vocalist to feel comfortable, and that can lead to problems, as well. For example, I prefer not to sing into a mic on a stand unless I’m playing guitar at the same time. I want to hold the mic, which means mic-handling noise is a possibility. Pop filters are also an issue — as some engineers don’t like to use them — but they may be necessary to cut out low-frequency plosives. In general, I think you’re better off placing fewer restrictions on the vocalist, and having to fix things in the mix, rather than having the vocalist think too hard about, say, mic handling. A great vocal performance with a small pop or tick trumps a boring, but perfect, vocal.</p> <p>Okay, now let’s prep that vocal for the mix.</p> <h3>REMOVE HISS</h3> <p>The first thing I do with a vocal is turn it into one long track that lasts from the start of the song to the end, then bounce it to disk for bringing into a digital audio editing program. Despite the sophistication of host software, with a few exceptions (Adobe Audition and Samplitude come to mind), we’re not quite at the point where a multitrack host can always replace a solid digital-audio editor.</p> <p>Once the track is in the editor, the first stop is generally noise reduction. Sound Forge, Adobe Audition, and Wavelab have excellent built-in noise reduction algorithms, but you can also use stand-alone programs such as Diamond Cut 6. Choose a noise reduction algorithm that takes a “noiseprint” of the noise, and then subtracts it from the signal. Using this simply involves finding a portion of the vocal that consists only of hiss, saving that as a reference sample, then instructing the program to subtract anything with the sample’s characteristics from the vocal (Figure 1).<br />There are two cautions, though. First, make sure you sample the hiss only. You’ll need only a hundred milliseconds or so. Second, don’t apply too much noise reduction. About 6dB to10dB should be enough — for reasons that will become especially obvious in the next section. Otherwise, you may remove parts of the vocal itself, or add artifacts, both of which contribute to artificiality. Removing hiss makes for a much more open vocal sound that also prevents “clouding” the other instruments.</p> <h3>DELETE SILENCES</h3> <p>Now that we’ve reduced the overall hiss level, it’s time to delete all the silent sections between vocal passages. If you do this, the voice will mask hiss when it’s present, and when there’s no voice, there will be no hiss at all (also see the Power App Alley in this issue on Sonar 6, which describes how to reclaim disk space when removing silence).</p> <p>With all programs, you start by defining the region you want to remove. From there, different programs handle creating silence differently. Some will have a “silence” command that reduces the level of the selected region to zero. Others will require you to alter level, like reducing the volume by “-Infinity” (Figure 2). Furthermore, the program may introduce a crossfade between the processed and unprocessed section, thus creating a less abrupt transition. If it doesn’t, you’ll probably need to add a fade-in from the silent section to the next section, and a fade-out when going from the vocal into a silent section.</p> <h3>REDUCE BREATHS AND ARTIFACTS</h3> <p>I feel that breath inhales are a natural part of the vocal process, and it’s a mistake to use hard disk recording to get rid of these entirely. For example, an obvious inhale cues the listener that the subsequent vocal section is going to “take some work.”</p> <p>That said, applying any compression later on will bring up the levels of any vocal artifacts, possibly to the point of being objectionable. I use one of two processes to reduce the level of artifacts.</p> <p>The first option is to simply define the region with the artifact, and reduce the gain by 3dB to 6dB (Figure 3). This will be enough to retain the essential character of an artifact, but make it less obvious compared to the vocal.</p> <p>The second option is to again define the region, but this time, apply a fade-in (Figure 4). This also may provide the benefit of fading up from silence if silence precedes the artifact.<br />Mouth noises can be problematic, as these are sometimes short, “clicky” transients. In this case, you can sometimes cut just the transient, and paste some of the adjoining signal on top of it (choose an option that mixes the signal with the area you removed; overwriting might produce a discontinuity at the start or end of the pasted region).</p> <h3>PHRASE-BY-PHRASE NORMALIZATION</h3> <p>A lot of people rely on compression to even out a vocal’s peaks. That certainly has its place, but there’s something you need to do first: Phrase-by-phrase normalization. Unless you have the mic technique of a k.d. lang, the odds are excellent that some phrases will be softer than others. If you apply compression, the lower-level passages might not be affected very much, whereas the high-level ones will sound squashed. It’s better to get the entire vocal to a consistent level first, before applying any compression. This will retain more overall dynamics. If you need to add an element of expressiveness later on (e.g., the song gets softer in a particular place, so you need to make the vocal softer), you can do this with judicious use of automation.</p> <p>Referring to Figure 5, the upper waveform is the unprocessed vocal, and the lower waveform shows the results of phrase-by-phrase normalization. Note how the level is far more consistent in the lower waveform.</p> <p>However, be very careful to normalize entire phrases. You don’t want to get so involved in this process that you start normalizing, say, individual words. Within any given phrase there will be a certain internal dynamics, and you definitely want to retain them.</p> <h3>ARE WE PREPPED YET?</h3> <p>DSP is a beautiful thing. Now our vocal is cleaner, of a more consistent level, and it has any annoying artifacts tamed — all without reducing any natural qualities the vocal may have. At this point, you can start doing more elaborate processes, such as pitch correction (but please, apply it sparingly and rarely!), EQ, dynamics control, and reverb. But, as you add these, you’ll be doing so on a much firmer foundation.</p> </div>everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-72941244053114182752008-08-03T18:13:00.001-07:002008-08-03T19:10:12.649-07:00TV Intro Song: New Day Ministries<a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-07924902979965263 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/knw9hQvUZEs"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-07924902979965263 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/knw9hQvUZEs"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-07924902979965263 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/knw9hQvUZEs"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-07924902979965263 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/knw9hQvUZEs"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-07924902979965263 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/knw9hQvUZEs"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-07924902979965263 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/knw9hQvUZEs"></a><object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/knw9hQvUZEs"> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/knw9hQvUZEs" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed> </object><br />A local TV program host hired me to create a video intro and outro for her TV show, which included creating an original song. I enjoyed the challenge of creating the song and video with a very limited budget and time constraints. I always have fun when I get to be creative.<br /><br />I posted the mp3 version of the song in <a href="http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6777710">my personal SoundClick page here</a> (click on the player below)<br /><br /><div style="border: 1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); width: 200px; background-image: url(http://www.soundclick.com/images/elogos/SC_ExtBG200.png);"><br /><a href="http://www.soundclick.com/everdream274"><br /><div style="height: 70px; cursor: pointer; background-image: url(http://www.soundclick.com/images/elogos/SC_200.png);"></div></a><br /><div id="lower"><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-07924902979965263 visible ontop" href="http://www.soundclick.com/player/V2/mp3player200.swf"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-07924902979965263 visible ontop" href="http://www.soundclick.com/player/V2/mp3player200.swf"></a><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="never" allownetworking="internal" data="http://www.soundclick.com/player/V2/mp3player200.swf" width="200" height="60"><br /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never"><br /><param name="allowNetworking" value="internal"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://www.soundclick.com/player/V2/mp3player200.swf"><br /><param name="loop" value="false"><br /><param name="menu" value="false"><br /><param name="quality" value="high"><br /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /><param name="flashvars" value="playType=single&songid=6777710&scid=6777710&q=hi&ext=1&autoplay=0"><br /><param name="scale" value="noscale"><br /><param name="salign" value="b"><br /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"><br /></object></div></div><br />I uploaded the video to YouTube, but the process took F - O - R - E - V - E - R! I think YouTube would be better off having people convert their videos into FLV first, then uploading instead of the other way around. Just my $0.02 worth.<br /><br />For the song: I tracked, recorded and mixed with Cakewalk's Project 5 using Dimension Pro and Amplitube for sounds and FX. I used Sony Soundforge for compressiong and mastering. I used Audacity to do last minute editing and converting to MP3 for upload to the website.<br /><br />For the video I used Adobe's Premiere Pro and royaly-free video footage from iStockPhoto.everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-55715574783768972292008-08-03T17:13:00.000-07:002008-08-03T18:59:46.620-07:00New SoundClick Widget: Live Ozarks Bluegrass<div style="overflow: hidden; width: 300px; height: 450px;"><center><div><a style="left: 150px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-07924902979965263 visible" href="http://www.soundclick.com/widgets/creatives/mp3PlayerPremium.swf"></a><a style="left: 150px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-07924902979965263 visible" href="http://www.soundclick.com/widgets/creatives/mp3PlayerPremium.swf"></a><a style="left: 150px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-07924902979965263 visible" href="http://www.soundclick.com/widgets/creatives/mp3PlayerPremium.swf"></a><embed src="http://www.soundclick.com/widgets/creatives/mp3PlayerPremium.swf" flashvars="bandid=804127&ext=1" name="MP3PlayerPremium" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="300" height="430"></embed></div><br /><div style="width: 300px; position: relative; top: -390px;"><br /><a href="http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=804127"><img src="http://www.soundclick.com/images/navigation/blank1x1.gif" width="300" border="0" height="250" /></a> </div></center></div><img style="visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyMTc4MTUwMzQxNzEmcHQ9MTIxNzgxNTA*Njg1OSZwPTE1ODM2MSZkPSZuPSZnPTE=.gif" width="0" border="0" height="0" /><br />I am the live audio engineer for a bluegrass band which regularly plays at the historic Star Theater in Willow Springs, Missouri. I occasionally bring my recording gear and simply capture the outgoing audio signal from the soundboard (before it gets further processed by the EQ). If I enjoyed the show or a few songs, I will edit the songs at home and burn a few CDs for the band members. I might even post the songs up on <a href="http://www.soundclick.com/liveozarksbluegrass">SoundClick</a> and <a href="http://ozarksbluegrass.blogspot.com/">blog about it as well</a>.<br /><br />I put the <a href="http://www.soundclick.com/liveozarksbluegrass">SoundClick</a> widget for those recordings up on this website today. I do not play on any of these recordings. I simply run the live sound and capture the outgoing audio from the soundboard. No extra signal processing, EQing... nothing. These are RAW sound files.<br /><br />I will do some slight audio editing in Audacity and perhaps a very slight amount of EQ work. That is all I do to these files. Then I upload them to <a href="http://www.soundclick.com/liveozarksbluegrass">SoundClick</a> and I'm done.everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-51353320702734992032008-07-22T20:01:00.000-07:002008-07-22T20:06:08.081-07:00M-Audio Release "Overdub" Comics<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_XEU8rWPGjf4/SIafbhKLyEI/AAAAAAAAAeU/jJ75b8rZxok/s1600-h/overdub_sq.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_XEU8rWPGjf4/SIafbhKLyEI/AAAAAAAAAeU/jJ75b8rZxok/s400/overdub_sq.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226039712716408898" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" >M-Audio's <a href="http://www.m-audio.com/images/global/news/bigger/Overdub_Vol_1_%5BlowRes%5D.pdf">new comic book-style studio guide</a> covers all the basics, plus advanced tips and techniques. <i>Volume One: Studio Monitors</i> explores reference monitoring-including proper setup and installation.</span>everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-42885465319917732292008-07-22T06:17:00.001-07:002008-07-22T06:17:44.285-07:00Free Audio Loops and Samples<div dir="ltr"><div>Here is a list of websites I keep in my Google bookmarks for free audio loops and samples. There are of course many more sites available than these, but these are the ones I like to use. If you want me to add more to this post, comment on it and give me your sites. Thanks!<br> <ul><li><a href="http://www.freesound.org/">http://www.freesound.org/</a></li><li><a href="http://www.opsound.org/">http://www.opsound.org/</a></li><li><a href="http://www.samplenet.co.uk/">http://www.samplenet.co.uk/</a></li> <li><a href="http://ccmixter.org/">http://ccmixter.org/</a></li><li><a href="http://www.flashkit.com/loops/">http://www.flashkit.com/loops/</a></li></ul></div>Those are the ones I use regularly. Enjoy.<br></div> everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-40585831954073098162008-07-07T09:43:00.000-07:002008-07-07T09:50:14.122-07:00Lady MondegreenI've got to use that as a title for a song at some point. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/07/new.dictionary.words.ap/index.html">Read what the folks at Webster dictionary are doing with it</a>. I love <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen">mondegreens</a>!everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-56469894647177574722008-04-19T17:57:00.001-07:002008-04-19T17:58:34.886-07:00EQ Magazine: Managing Multisamples With SFZ<h1><a href="http://www.eqmag.com/article/key-issues-managing/apr-08/34543">Key Issues: Managing Multisamples With SFZ</a> </h1> <span class="byline"> By <a href="http://www.eqmag.com/biography/craig-anderton/41">Craig Anderton</a></span> | <span class="date">April, 2008 </span> <div class="standfirst"> <p>The following may seem techy, and, frankly, that techy aspect inhibited me from checking out the SFZ file format. But once I finally wrapped my head around the concept, I was glad I did.<br />The SFZ file format—a license-free spec, even for commercial purposes—was created by synth designer Rene Ceballos, and it defines how multisamples should be handled within an SFZ-compatible instrument. The format is compatible with several Cakewalk instruments, including Dimension, Session Drummer 2, Rapture, and DropZone. But it’s also compatible with the free, VST-compatible SFZ Player that works in any VSTi-compatible host (download the Player at <a title="www.project5.com/products/instruments/sfzplayer/default.asp" href="http://www.project5.com/products/instruments/sfzplayer/default.asp" target="_blank">www.project5.com/products/instruments/sfzplayer/default.asp</a>), so the format’s usefulness extends far beyond Cakewalk instruments.</p> </div> <div id="ctl00_story_cms"> <p>For example, suppose you work with Samplitude, you’re collaborating with a friend who uses Cubase, and you have a bunch of “found sound” samples you want to use as rhythmic elements. If you create an SFZ file of these sounds, and you both download the free SFZ Player, you can exchange keyboard parts that trigger these samples in the SFZ Player. What’s more, the SFZ format accommodates Ogg Vorbis (compressed) files, so you can use really big files, but compress them for faster file transfers over the net. When it’s time to mix down, simply change the SFZ file to reference the original WAV files instead of the compressed ones.</p> <h3>SFZ BASICS</h3> <p>You can think of the SFZ format as being similar to SoundFonts, but an SFZ file has two components instead of one: a collection of samples (typically stored in a folder), and a text-based definition file that describes what to do with that collection of samples. You can create an SFZ definition file in any simple word processor such as Notepad.</p> <p>For example, suppose you sampled a Minimoog at the F key for every octave over a five-octave range (F1, F2, F3, F4, and F5). You can then create an SFZ file that references these waveforms, and describes the root key of each waveform, as well as the keyboard range each waveform should cover.</p> <p>But those are just the basics. The SFZ format can also specify detuning, transposition, filtering, envelopes, sample start time, looping, and many other characteristics. Waveforms can overlap, and you can define as many waveforms as you want in an SFZ file. It’s therefore possible to specify a complete instrument using SFZ, and if you load that SFZ file into an SFZ-compatible instrument, it will play back exactly as you intended.</p> <h3>A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE</h3> <p>Creating an SFZ definition file requires some programming chops, but, fortunately, the commands are pretty simple and musician friendly. To elaborate further on the Minimoog example mentioned above, I recently created a multi-sampled set of Minimoog waveforms suitable for loading into SFZ-compatible synths. I sampled the notes at consistent notes for the various waveforms, and gave them consistent names (SawF1.WAV, SawF2.WAV, TriangleF1.WAV, and so on). I stored all the samples in a folder titled Minimoog Waveforms, then created an SFZ definition file for the sawtooth wave samples that defined the note range covered by each sample. Once I created that file, creating another SFZ file for the triangle wave samples simply involved doing a find on “Saw,” replacing each instance with “Triangle,” and then saving the file under a different name (MinimoogTriangle.sfz). I did the same thing for the Pulse, Square, and other waveforms.</p> <p>Once these SFZ files were done, I could load one into Rapture. The multisampled collection of waveforms then became a single “element” within Rapture (think of an element as roughly equivalent to a voice). I’ve also created multisamples with guitar notes, drum sounds, effects, and various other sounds.</p> <p>The main “unit” of an SFZ definition file is the region. Here’s the syntax for creating a simple region:</p> <p><region> pitch_keycenter=F1 lowkey=C0 hikey=C2 Sample=Minimoog Waveforms\SawF1.wav</p> <p>This says that the sample being used has a root key of F1, and should cover the key range of C0 up to and including C2. To reference where the sample comes from, an added “Sample” designation points to the “Minimoog Waveforms” folder and after a backslash, specifies the file name within the folder.</p> <p>Creating regions for the other samples simply involves substituting some different names, root notes, and key-range values. You can also add comments, as long as the line starts with two slashes. Figure 1 shows a file that defines a complete Minimoog sawtooth wave multisample with five samples.</p> <p>For more information on the SFZ format, including a complete list of commands (opcodes), surf to <a title="www.cakewalk.com/DevXchange/sfz.asp" href="http://www.cakewalk.com/DevXchange/sfz.asp" target="_blank">www.cakewalk.com/DevXchange/sfz.asp</a>, or check out the book<em> Cakewalk Synthesizers</em> by Simon Cann [Thomson Course Technology]. Granted, not everyone will get into programming SFZ files, but I’ve found it to be a tremendously useful format for creating sophisticated multisample collections that can play back in a variety of instruments.</p> </div>everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-56384249946096122302008-04-19T17:39:00.000-07:002008-04-20T13:30:10.083-07:00EQ Magazine Story: How To Get Your Music Out In The Digital World<a href="http://www.eqmag.com/article/musics-new-messiahs/apr-08/34491"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;">Music’s New Messiahs: You!</a></span><h1> </h1><span style="text-decoration: underline;">http://www.eqmag.com/article/musics-new-messiahs/apr-08/34491</span><a href="http://www.eqmag.com/article/key-issues-managing/apr-08/34543"></a><br />A service from EQ Magazine<br /><br /><span class="byline">By <a href="http://www.eqmag.com/biography/gary-j-mraz/1004">Gary J. Mraz</a></span> | <span class="date">April, 2008 </span> <div class="standfirst"> <p>How To Get Your Music Out In The Digital World</p> </div> <div id="ctl00_story_cms"> <p>The platinum towers of music industry temples have trembled in Biblical proportions. Former titans of music retailing like Tower Records have folded, and major labels have been hit hard by file-sharing. With dramatic changes in traditional music retail and distribution, how do artists find the Way, the Truth, and the Light? End times bring forth new revelations. We the artists have become the authors of a new testament in the future of digital media, and can flourish by taking advantage of this newly-level playing field.</p> <p>Modern, successful music companies think differently. There are electronic distribution labels (digital only) that do not manufacture standard CDs. INgrooves (<a href="http://www.ingrooves.com/">www.ingrooves.com</a>) claims to be the world’s largest digital record company and a leader in digital entertainment. Their paradigm is to let fans burn the physical media while providing them with the professional content, graphics, music and text. Warner’s “e-label” will release clusters of songs online; the artists will retain ownership of their masters and copyrights while signed to the label. EMI Music CEO Alain Levy declared the CD almost entirely dead and buried. (Levy was axed several weeks after making that pronouncement.) Paul McCartney’s new album <em>Memory Almost Full</em> was released through Starbucks’ Hear Music label and sold over 160,000 copies the first week—33% more than McCartney’s previous release on EMI, his long-time label. As CD sales wane, many labels are rethinking the album format altogether, requesting acts to release two songs every quarter.</p> <p>In an effort to re-ignite disc sales, Warner Music has introduced MVI (Music Video Interactive), a format that combines album and DVD content; it spins in anything that supports DVD playback. The typical MVI includes hi-resolution audio and 5.1 surround sound audio, MP3 files, behind-the-scenes material concerning the album, and a ring tone program that allows making a ring tone from any song on the album. <em>Snakes And Arrows</em>, Rush’s 18th studio album, is one of the first to be released in the new format.</p> <p>In October 2007, Radiohead rocked the industry by making their new album<em> In Rainbows</em> available online as a free download. But, people could also decide how much they wanted to pay for it. Record industry executives predicted that the experiment would be a financial flop, but 48% of U.K. downloaders paid for the album, averaging $5 per download. 40% of U.S. downloaders paid for the album, but they paid a higher average of $8 per download. The experiment had an intangible value by making fans more loyal to the band, and more likely to recommend the album to their friends and attend concerts.</p> <p>Either way, Radiohead’s gambit may have been shrewder than the numbers would at first indicate. Some years ago, William Fisher of Stanford University published some interesting data on the CD’s cost structure. According to his figures, the retailer’s slice of the CD is 38%, while distributors take 8% and marketing another 8%. The artist, in contrast, typically gets only 12% and the music publisher 4%. So the maximum Radiohead would get from a conventionally-marketed CD priced at $16.49 is actually $2.63 which, coincidentally, is almost exactly what Comscore stated they received from their online experiment.</p> <p>In late 2006, Barenaked Ladies grossed $978,127.99 in revenue from intellectual property in the first week of music sales from their new album. Understanding this sales figure requires looking beyond the numbers on the charts, according to Terry McBride, band manager and CEO of Nettwerk Music. McBride notes BNL released their album on their own artist-run label, Desperation Records, in multiple formats—from physical CDs to digital albums, deluxe editions, USB flash drives, ring tones, multi-tracks for remixing, streams, etc. Not only do all these outlets generate revenue, but also the percentage the band actually sees is significantly higher since they own their intellectual property. BNL actually hit as the #4 digital seller in the U.S. and #3 in Canada. <em>Barenaked Ladies Are Me</em>, the first original album in three years from BNL, charted at #17 in the U.S. with only 36,811 albums sold and #7 in Canada with only 8,008 albums sold.</p> <p>Corporate giants spend billions in aggregate acquisitions (i.e., purchases that combine content companies, technology, and software). These corporations sponsor, acquire, and morph companies like YouTube and MySpace to beguile the eyeballs of today’s youth. The Ozzfest is a perfect example of a new corporate music model. People were frustrated with overpriced CDs so they got it free online. Concert tickets were also becoming overpriced, so last year Ozzfest was free—one helluva good distribution method. Corporations sponsor these “tastemakers” (influential musicians and blogsters that set trends and styles) who can drive traffic to their sites. They exchange free concert tickets for personal contact information from that desired demographic.</p> <p>A recent Content Delivery & Storage Association summit (CDSA) featured keynote speaker Mick Fleetwood. As founder and manager of Fleetwood Mac, his stellar music career spans a 40-year evolution of music and delivery formats—8-track tapes, vinyl records, cassettes, reel-to-reel, Digital Audio Tape (DAT), LaserDisc, CD, DVD, and downloading. He reminded us that with every transition, naysayers prophesized the demise of the music industry when actually, the changes had a revitalizing effect. He stated that every “transition moment” offers new guerrilla marketing opportunities and also, “quality and integrity creates longevity”; with a “long tail” marketing mentality, quality content can be morphed into a variety of iterations. (Coined by Chris Anderson, the Long Tail concept enables potential distribution and sales channel opportunities created by the Internet that enable businesses to develop and extend that market successfully.)</p> <h3>THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIGHT</h3> <p><strong>I.</strong> Digital Distribution. Snocap’s digital distribution model allows musicians to sell downloads directly from their own site rather than relying on other sites. You upload your songs to Snocap (Figure 1), then grab the bit of code they provide and plug it into your site. This creates a “store” on your site where people can hear 30 seconds of a tune, then purchase it for download. Snocap makes your songs available on MySpace or your own website, and accepts anyone (which iTunes doesn’t). You don’t even need to have a physical CD. <a href="http://www.snocap.com/">www.snocap.com</a></p> <p><strong>II.</strong> Physical Distribution. CD Baby (Figure 2) has re-defined the independent model of physical CD sales and distribution. It took them four years to hit the $1,000,000 payout mark; now that can happen within a single week! CD Baby has also forged digital distribution agreements with iTunes, DigiPie, iSound, Tasty Audio, Naros, Flip and more. <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/">www.cdbaby.com</a></p> <p><strong>III.</strong> Electronic Press Kit. Sonicbids is an online service that allows musicians to create an electronic press kit (EPK) and connect with people who book, license, and promote music worldwide. In June 2007, over 300 musicians who submitted EPKs online had been selected to perform in festivals, conferences, contests, film, and TV. Bottom line is that it gets your music into the hands of people who you might not otherwise be able to access. <a href="http://www.sonicbids.com/">www.sonicbids.com</a></p> <p><strong>IV.</strong> Ring Tones. Cell phone ring tones have become the newest mass music distribution method. In fact, many artists make more money on ring tones as they sell for two to three times more than a digital download. Imagine playing live and having a banner up during the show advertising that you can download your album right now on your iPhone—with this strategy, fans don’t even need cash or credit cards, as they just pay with their iTunes account at the show. Creating ring tones of your own music is pretty cool; you can do that at www myxertones.com/default/.</p> <p><strong>V.</strong> Internet Radio. Broadcasting your music 24/7 on your own Internet radio station is another great way to find another audience. Live365 (Figure 3) allows users to create their own stylistically unique format, upload original material, and find new markets. I am astounded at how many times a week users listen to my radio station Voodoo Radio. live365.com/stations/kozmraz?play&site=</p> <p><strong>VI.</strong> Market Branding. Content sites like Cafepress and Zazzle.com can Manufacture On Demand (MOD) an entire merchandise catalog of branded t-shirts, coffee mugs, mouse pads, posters, etc. you can sell at shows. Major recording artists use these services; it doesn’t cost you a cent, yet expands your merchandising possibilities. <a href="http://www.cafepress.com/">www.cafepress.com</a>, <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/">www.zazzle.com</a> </p> <p><strong>VII.</strong> Social Networks. MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, Second Life, etc. have been a successful tool for live performers who use the online community to build “friends lists” for touring and new release information. It’s a good idea to form co-operative alliances that help everyone; for example, an East Coast hardcore band and a West Coast band can put each other on their top eight list; promoting each other’s MySpace pages expands both audiences. Or, check out Ernie Halter—his fans place his live show banner in their MySpace page. He can update that banner image by simply revising the image while keeping the same URL, which updates all the MySpace images carrying the banner at once. If you don’t have a blog on blogspot, get one and keep it going. You will be ranked in days if you do. Use Pingomatic (basically a “ping engine”); every time you update your website, blog, or MySpace page (or anything to do with your band), you submit it to Pingomatic and they notify the search engines. You can also post to all of the social sites with a service like <a href="http://www.socialposter.com/">www.socialposter.com</a>. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/erniehalter">www.myspace.com/erniehalter</a></p> <p><strong>VIII.</strong> Electronic Journalism. Writers can find more opportunities than ever to get articles published online. This lets you promote your music by simply providing your website address at the end of an article, while establishing you as an expert in your field and enhancing your reputation. Right now Pop Matters has an open call for feature essays on any aspect of pop culture, past or present. <a href="http://www.popmatters.com/">www.popmatters.com</a></p> <p><strong>IX.</strong> Functional Website. With so much “static” on the Web, small companies like <a href="http://www.bandspecial.com/">www.bandspecial.com</a> are a one-stop shop for everything from logos to pimping out your MySpace. At the D.I.Y. conference, I bumped into Emily Arin who has a brilliant idea of a subscription-based website that serves several purposes. For $12, subscribers receive a song monthly for a year. This not only pleases subscribers, it motivates Emily to maintain deadlines and builds her repertoire for live shows. Her subscriptions have exploded, and people enjoy the surprise of a new song at their home every month. <a href="http://www.emilyarin.com/">www.emilyarin.com</a></p> <p><strong>X.</strong> New Opportunities. Be alert for a changing landscape, and be a pioneer. If a system is set up for format A and format B is coming, independent artists can take transitional risks, and if it actually works, they’re ahead of the game. I personally experienced this with my Studio Voodoo DVD-Audio release. Packaged in a “Super Jewel Case,” it was larger than a CD jewel case so retailers ended up putting it in its own special, uniquely visible section. Or, consider a company like TuneCore, which for a modest fee, will “broker” your music to multiple digital music retailers, with you keeping all the revenue. Models like this simply weren’t possible five years ago. <a href="http://www.tunecore.com/">www.tunecore.com</a></p> <p><strong>XI.</strong> Play Live. If you’re not an established artist who releases and sells new music regularly online, nobody knows you and you have to get known. Playing live is the litmus test of your true artistic caliber: If your talents inspire a passionate response, it’s infectious. Your music, message, and artistic viewpoint will spread “virally” (marketing techniques that use social networks through a self-replication process) on the Web, and fans will buy your products. Build a physical fan base, then build an online community.</p> <p><strong>XII.</strong> Stay Educated. Participate with related organizations, attend conventions and seminars, read trade magazines and publications like this one for relevant information; EQ magazine, Berklee, and others offer “webinars” and online classes. I also recommend the film 800 CDs by Chris Valenti. Wrapped around a seminar by music industry veteran Tim Sweeney, it’s an entertaining, insightful, and inspired perspective on how to sell those remaining 800 CDs of yours. The more informed you are, the better your potential of making a living in this new digital marketplace; check out Andrew Dubber’s The 20 Things You Must Know About Music Online. Best of all, it’s free! <a href="http://newmusicstrategies.com/ebook/">http://newmusicstrategies.com/ebook/</a></p> <p><strong>XIII.</strong> Innovation is the New Commodity. You’re probably creative in many ways, so utilize those talents to expand your artistic opportunities and do something that differentiates you. For example, my Studio Voodoo releases were created in 5.1 surround sound, and use that medium to maximum effect. Although there are also stereo mixes available, I’ve promoted the surround sound feature because it’s different. If you search for “surround sound” in CD Baby, four Studio Voodoo releases come up in the first seven titles.</p> <h3>LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL</h3> <p>You’ve found the way, selling songs directly from your aggregate website. Your internet radio station broadcasts your music 24/7, and CDs, T-shirts, coffee cups, and mouse pads with your band’s branding are available for purchase. YouTube plays your videos, and you take advantage of social networking sites, mailing lists, and blogs, telling everyone about your next projects and gigs. You play live at bookstore chains, clubs, and festivals. Yes, you are the new digital Music Messiah. You can make a living with your craft in this new digital Mecca because when you sell 100 units of anything, it’s your profit. You now have the power to spread your words and music throughout the world.</p> <p>Ultimately, though, remember it’s all for nothing without compelling music. Enduring songs with impassioned lyrics sung by stellar vocalists create a life of their own. It is you who must inspire your audience to actually spend their hard-earned money . . . on you!</p> </div>everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-23594209680196532532008-04-15T18:52:00.001-07:002008-04-15T19:00:43.001-07:00MixLine Tip: Save My Snare!<a href="http://enews.penton.com/enews/mix/mix_online/current#a080415_5"><span style="color: rgb(235, 151, 0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:100%;" ><b> <span>RECORDING TIP: SAVE MY SNARE!</span></b></span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- MixLine, Kevin Becka<br /><br /></span></span></span></span> <span> <span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" > A badly recorded snare can often be helped by duplicating it and then treating the duplicates as separately processed members of the same "club." For starters, duplicate your track, either by multing it to a second channel on your console or physically duplicating it in your DAW. One of these dupes will be optimized for punch, while the other will be used to add snap. Alone, they will not have what it takes to flavor your drum mix, but that's the point - it's the combination that will work.<br /><br /> <p>First, bring out the snare's low end on one track with some EQ at 100 to 200 Hz. Remember, this will be the foundation of your track, so don't be afraid to go for punch. Then treat the other track more severely, digging out the transient with a compressor set to a slow attack time (30 to 50 ms) and a fairly fast release (100 to 300 ms). The release time is tempo-dependent, so you can get away with a slower release time on a ballad than you could on an up-tempo song. Try to stay away from the dreaded "pumping," where the compressor gasps for breath in-between hits, bringing up the noise floor unnaturally. Set the EQ to bring out more of the top frequency range of the instrument at 1 to 3 kHz. Once both tracks please your ear, you can mix them accordingly. If you're mixing in a DAW, then make sure your latency is lined up perfectly by using delay compensation or physically correct it by sliding the tracks back by the amount of delay. Most DAWs will let you see how much latency is being introduced by a group of plug-ins. Take that number and move your entire track back to match up with its original position. Keep in mind that one track's latency may not match the others due to differences in plug-ins. <span style="font-style: italic;">- </span><i>Kevin Becka</i></p><p><i><br /></i> </p></span> </span>everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-27511627523477496292008-04-10T20:56:00.000-07:002008-04-10T21:05:34.993-07:00Delirious? Kingdom of Comfort WidgetI find musical inspiration from many sources. This band, Delirious?, from the UK is one of my favorites on two very different fronts:<br /><ol><li>They have chosen to evangelize the true message of Christ to a generation which would most likely never set foot inside a church, and would most likely be asked to leave a church (unless it was a post-modern, cutting edge church)<br /></li><li>They have created a distinctive sound and style which is all their own, yet it can compete with their "secular" radio contemporaries (and it has to in the UK, because there is no separate "Christian" vs. "Secular" radio - it's all secular)<br /></li></ol>This band has been compared to U2 and Coldplay - two names not to scoff at (and two of my favorite bands!). There are few bands whose albums I will purchase automatically whether or not I've ever listened to a single song previously. Delirious? is one of those bands (U2 and Coldplay also qualify).<br /><br />Here is a widget for the new album, Kingdom of Comfort:<br /><br /><br /><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; clear: both;"><table style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="432" width="300"><tbody><tr><td colspan="3" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-07973229555283925 visible ontop" href="http://delirious.thewidgetplanet.com/mediaplayer3.swf"></a><object style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" height="400" width="300"><param name="movie" value="http://delirious.thewidgetplanet.com/mediaplayer3.swf"><param name="wmode" value="transparent" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><embed src="http://delirious.thewidgetplanet.com/mediaplayer3.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" height="400" width="300"></embed></object><br /></td></tr><tr><td align="center" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="http://delirious.thewidgetplanet.com/howtoplace.html"><img src="http://delirious.thewidgetplanet.com/1d_place.gif" alt="Place This on your web site" border="0" height="37" width="84" /></a><a href="http://musichristian.com/sys/product.php?PRODUCT=551628" target="blank"><img src="http://delirious.thewidgetplanet.com/2d_buy-usa.gif" alt="Buy USA" border="0" height="37" width="110" /></a><a href="http://www.purashop.com/product_info.php?products_id=24187&osCsid=a46f4b427bab30081ac7b58bd8cc8a82" target="blank"><img src="http://delirious.thewidgetplanet.com/3d_buy_uk.gif" alt="Buy UK" border="0" height="37" width="43" /></a><a href="http://www.delirious.co.uk/" target="blank"><img src="http://delirious.thewidgetplanet.com/4d_logo.gif" alt="Delirious" border="0" height="37" width="53" /></a><br /></td><br /></tr></tbody></table></div>everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-69876370286697866932008-04-08T17:58:00.000-07:002008-04-10T22:47:42.555-07:00Laptop Vs. Keyboard Workstation<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">In the Beginning, there was a DX7.</span></span><br />For years I used keyboard workstations because that was the only choice available to the keyboard geeks in the 80's. In the early 90's I tried using MIDI with a Yamaha PSR keyboard and my computer, all using software bundled with a Voyetra sound card. This was very cool! Then I found <a href="http://www.cakewalk.com/">Cakewalk </a>(can't remember if that was the software bundled with my sound card). This was also very cool! Later a college roommate and music major introduced me to <a href="http://www.pgmusic.com/">Band In A Box</a> and that was fun because I could create a groove and jam with it in almost no time.<br /><br />But that was all for fun and hobby at home. When it came time to gig, I used workstations and arranger keyboards such as the aforementioned <a href="http://www.sonicstate.com/synth/yamahapsr500.cfm">Yamaha PSR 500</a>, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korg_O1/W">Korg O1/W</a>, an <a href="http://www.vintagesynth.com/index2.html">Ensoniq ASR-10</a>, and an <a href="http://www.sonicstate.com/synth/alesis_qs8-1.cfm">Alesis QS8.1</a> and even the old <a href="http://www.sonicstate.com/synth/dx7.cfm">Yamaha DX7</a> (love it or hate it - I love it!).<br /><br />I loved playing on these machines, but hated lugging them around along with my keyboard amp. Good thing I was young and just out of college. Now I'm married with 4 kids and pushing 40 and the idea of lugging a mammoth keyboard or two plus amp does not appeal to me. And having worked in the Information Technology field for over a decade, I felt it was time to investigate using a computer instead of a keyboard. I totally skipped over the era of using rackmount sound modules and samplers! (If keyboard workstation interfaces were not user friendly enough, how in the world could a small rackmount interface be OK?)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Back to </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.cakewalk.com/">Cakewalk </a><span style="font-weight: bold;">for me.</span></span><br />I re-entered the PC based music world again using Home Studio and playing with demo versions of Sonar. I was impressed with Sonar, big time!! I was hooked and ready to make music on my computer. That computer monitor is so much easier to work on than my old workstation's limited LED interfaces (I preferred Korg's O1/W the best interface of all those older keyboards).<br /><br />Armed with a powerful laptop, a <a href="http://www.kurzweilmusicsystems.com/Product.php?product=52">Kurzweil master MIDI keyboard</a>, an <a href="http://remixmag.com/mag/remix_maudio_ozonic/">M-Audio Ozonic</a> and an amp, I can now gig with a lot less weight and a lot more options / power.<br /><br />However, for live gigging, Sonar and most other DAWs are not up to the challenge. But <a href="http://www.propellerheads.se/products/reason/">Reason</a>, <a href="http://www.ableton.com/live-7-whats-new">Live </a>and <a href="http://www.project5.com/">Project5</a> are up to the challenge. I chose <a href="http://www.project5.com/">Cakewalk's Project5</a> because I'm kind of loyal to <a href="http://www.cakewalk.com/">Cakewalk </a>for being there for me all these years, plus when I purchased P5 it came bundled with many synths which made it the best band for the buck.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">However, two years into using this and I'm finding that the keyboard workstations are calling my name again.</span></span><br />Why? I work so much on computers throughout the day and even at home in the evenings (checking email, my RSS reader, posting comments to blogs or writing to blogs) that I'm getting sick of using my computer all the time! I think it would be refreshing for me to take a small 61-key workstation (e.g., Roland Fantom G6) and go off to some other room and sit down and compose on it. Of course, then I'd be limited to the samples on the workstation as well as the effects; I'd be limited by the hard drive or storage media of the workstation and the RAM on the workstation too. All of these limitations are bound to be inferior to the same limitations on a laptop or PC workstation. But for some reason I keep checking the Internet for information about the latest keyboard workstations.<br /><br />I don't know what's up! I love working with <a href="http://www.project5.com/">Project5</a>! It is the easiest, most intuitive DAW I've used. It reminds me of how I used to work with patterns on the old Korg, only it is so much easier to do it now. I have so much more power at my fingertips now. But the old ways are calling to me anyway. Perhaps I'm just waxing nostalgic and it's a passing phase.<br /><br />If it is I need it to pass quickly before I fork over several thousand bucks on a new keyboard workstation!everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-7679485385505405102008-02-17T13:38:00.001-08:002008-08-03T16:36:18.422-07:00New Track: FollowI've been mulling around a song idea for several years and am just now getting to complete it. I have laid down what I believe are the essential instrumental tracks now, and have begun the vocal tracks. Interestingly (for me), this song began life inspired by a Delirous song (I don't remember which one), but as it grew and evolved it became something completely different: a musical tribute to some of most influential ideologists (for me):<br /><ul><li>John Lennon (with the whole "give peace a chance" and "all we need is love" thing</li><li>Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (with the whole "content of your character" vs. "color of your skin" thing)</li> <li>Jesus (with the whole "love your neighbor as yourself", "lose your life to keep it" thing)</li></ul>Lyrically I hope to show how these men taught some things which are inspirational for me - things I aspire to become / achieve; things that I hope speak to all people everywhere throughout the generations. Musically, it is a tribute to the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album, AND 90's grunge sound (circa, Bush / Stone Temple Pilots / Pearl Jam / Nirvana).<br /><br />We'll see if I can pull this off. I have questions as to whether I'm trying to cover too much ground both lyrically and musically. I remember my dad used to say "keep it simple stupid' (and I would laugh hysterically, being a 7 year old boy). I'm afraid I've digressed from that concept on this song. But something inside of me keeps pushing that direction regardless of what my common sense tells me. We'll see if this is a train wreck or a great song.<br /><br /><ul><li><a href="http://everdream274.blogspot.com/2008/01/falling-down-mixing-eqing-panning.html">Falling Down: mixing and EQ-ing</a></li><li><a href="http://everdream274.blogspot.com/2008/01/falling-down-vocal-track.html">Falling Down: vocals</a></li><li><a href="http://everdream274.blogspot.com/2008/01/falling-down-track-info.html">Falling Down: track info</a><br /></li></ul>everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-34309860733675930382008-01-19T12:19:00.000-08:002008-01-19T21:10:40.668-08:00Falling Down - Track InfoI'm still tweaking the vocal tracks because they just don't sound like I want them to yet. I don't know if I'll re-record or redo the FX on them. But for now I'll do a track breakdown so if anyone else wants to use similar sounds, they'll know how I created these...<br /><ul><li>vel drum: acoustic.simple > classic EQ > drum aux</li><li>dim drum: room kit 01 > amp sim: solid state clean</li><li>pad: dim pro:affected > amp sim: solid state distortion</li><li>rhodes: dim pro: rhodes 2v 4th > amplitube: asdf > classic EQ</li><li>piano: dim pro: tiny piano > studio verb: piano hall > sonitus EQ</li><li>guitar1: strat > amplitube: edged pride > classic EQ > tempo delay</li><li>guitar2: strat > amplitube: edged pride > classic EQ > tempo delay</li><li>bass: dim pro: dull fingered 1 > amplitube > classic EQ</li><li>vocal verse: me > De-ess > sonitusfx EQ > sonitus reverb: lg plate > FX Dynamics Processor: hard limiter</li><li>vocal bridge: me > De-ess > sonitusfx EQ: telephone > amplitube > FX2 Tape Sim: heavy saturation > FX Dyn Proc.: radio compression</li><li>vocal chorus: layered verse FX and bridge FX</li></ul>I've got some nice constructive criticism of this song, and I'll attempt to incorporate them and rerelease this song when that is done. Thanks to those on the Cakewalk Project 5 Forum and Scott Garrigus' Forum!everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-72075753964198999682008-01-13T19:04:00.001-08:002008-01-19T21:08:47.848-08:00Falling Down Vocal TrackI haven't listened to myself sing in a long time. That's a big mistake: listening to yourself for the first time in a long time. I think you're always going to be shocked by what you hear because the sound in your head is different than the sound everyone else hears. When you first do a playback of your vocal track, you'll probably feel like I did (if you have any honest musical listening skills)... "Whoa that sucks!" "Is that ME?" "Why did I think I could even bother to record myself?" <br><br>I experienced all these emotions this weekend as I attempted to lay down some vocal tracks for my song, Falling Down. I went through the full range of emotions ranging from:<br><ul><li>"I need to re-record the vocals" to </li><li>"perhaps I should ask someone else to sing instead," to</li><li>"I should rewrite this whole song in another key perhaps and then I can sing it better," to</li><li>"I should just give up songwriting and especially singing!" </li></ul><br>Let's just say that for this song to have survived this weekend is a miracle. I've had this song in my brain for over a decade and it's so close to being completed... and it almost dies, because I don't like my vocal track. I think the problem here is that I like all the peoples' voices on all the other songs I listen to (and some of these people really can't sing well at all!)... but I don't like my own voice. Honestly, is Mick Jagger all that great as a singer? I think if you pick some of the biggest "stars" in rock history, very few, if any, could have survived through a season of American Idol. <br><br>So the real issue isn't if my voice is any good. My voice is fine - I can sing better than many rock stars, but that's not what made them rock stars... Nope. What made them stars and what continues to separate the mediocre from the great is in their presentation of the song. U2's Bono is no vocal Pavarotti, but what he lacks in vocal training he makes up for in emotional content. This is where the rock stars really deliver the goods. Kurt Cobain and Nirvana never really displayed musical virtuosity in either singing or playing, but they redefined a musical genre (and I'm very thankful for the influence of the grunge rock of the 90's). Billy Corgan (of The Smashing Pumpkins) is sometimes flat out annoying to me vocally, but I really enjoy his music! <br><br>Now I'm re-inspired to go back and record some vocals. This time I'm going to focus on the emotional delivery of the lines and not the technical aspects of good vocal delivery. This isn't choir or a choral / vocal contest! This is my song, my music created by me, mostly FOR me (and anyone else who enjoys it). I got this song in me and I gotta get it out. I think only I could possibly do it right... if I can't nobody else will. <br> everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-17134869848322955872008-01-06T19:39:00.001-08:002008-01-19T21:08:47.848-08:00Falling Down: Mixing, EQing, PanningWhen I started down the musical path at the tender age of 8 or 9 (can't remember exactly when)... I was only concerned with "live" playing. I wanted to learn to play the keyboards so I could be a rocking piano man like Billy Joel or Elton John. Never did I dream it would be important to understand and study the concepts of EQing, mixing tracks, panning, etc. Later, when I actually started playing with bands, I realized the importance of EQ because the keyboard players' sound tends to get lost in the mix, so I had to figure out ways that my sounds would "cut" through the live mix. I learned how to EQ my synth patches for a little more "bite", piano would have more punch and highs and sound more thin instead of full. <br><br>Now, decades later, I find myself needing to learn more stuff yet again. I guess ya never stop learning, eh? I'm trying to get this song, "Falling Down" into a semi-final form and I find that it just doesn't sound the way I want it to (for more reasons than the obvious "I can't play these other instruments well" thing). Aside from the fact that I just can't program drums, the drums just don't quite get it (but they're almost there). Then there's the problem of panning sounds in the stereo field. The Rhodes sound originally came in a bit to the right, while the drums and the synth pad were fairly balanced on both sides. Then the guitars come in, one panned to one side, the other to the other side. The guitars do not come in at the same time, so there's a time when the stereo field feels unbalanced. But is that really a problem? <br><br>We're so used to balanced stereo fields these days, but it wasn't always so. One of the most influential albums ever, Sgt. Peppers, was not really a stereo album at all. John Lennon was creative in how he used mono sources and placed them in the stereo field. If one of your stereo speakers blew out on you, it meant you couldn't listen to this album properly (either you'd lose the drums or the guitars). This album is not a balanced stereo field and its a milestone in musical history! Perhaps I don't need to concern myself with my song so much and just enjoy the creative journey. <br><br>After all, this is a labor of love. I should be able to enjoy the journey... the problem is that I'm a perfectionist, perhaps along the lines of John Lennon. When Lennon was asked if he'd go back an re-record or remix any of the Beatles' songs, he replied, "All of them." I know how you feel John, a musical project is never "finished", you just run out of time. <br> everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9117511162582417185.post-62296503690462241492007-12-30T12:52:00.001-08:002008-01-19T21:08:47.849-08:00Falling DownI have recently uploaded what I'm calling a pre-demo version of my song "Falling Down" to my SoundClick page (<a href="http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=699474&songID=5324434" target="_blank"> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=699474&songID=5324434 </a>).<br><br>This song was created over a decade ago by me when I got my first "professional" quality acoustic guitar (a 1977 Martin D-28). I'm a keyboardist not a guitarist, but I have fun making sounds, noises and chords on the guitar. I started with a basic chord pattern and liked it. Then I switched to my Fender mexi-Strat, ran it through some delay and a little bit of distortion (for that U2 / The Edge feel). The chord pattern was droning in my brain and I started to improvise some lyrics. I liked them too since they felt like they matched the feel of the song. Soon I had an entire lyric written. And nothing happened musically with that song for the next ten years. <br><br>Next, life happened. I got married. Graduated from college. Started my professional career. Began raising children. Etc. "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon. <br><br>Now I use computers to record my song ideas and I've finally started towards the path of completing all my song ideas. Thank you God for silicon chips! ... and reverb/delay, tube amp simulation, drum kit samples, free stuff and chocolate (oh yeah and also for my wife and children who have been my distraction from music for a decade!) <br clear="all"><br><br> everdreamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18180680412805864943noreply@blogger.com0