Monday, January 25, 2010

Writing Music?

Why write music?


1. Music in many ways is a window to a 6th sense. Not everyone has the ability to tap into this gift, but it's amazing when the connection is there and the music is able to come.


2. It has the ability to touch others and change someone. There's nothing more rewarding than having someone tell you that your song touched them or helped them through a difficult time.


3. Music is a gift. Even after you are gone, it can be passed on, shared and have an impact on others. No one lives forever, but your music can.

Tips for Recording your first CD

One of my goals with the next album is to provide tips on how to record a CD. This past week I've worked several hours late at night putting together the details for the next album. However, I haven't touched the piano a single time yet.

Have a Plan
The most important thing I found with working in a studio is to use your time wisely. Studio prices can vary but for a good studio, you can expect to pay at least $75-$150 per hour, if not more. When you step foot in the studio, make sure you have a plan and know how you are going to spend your time.

Stick to your Plan
As you begin recording, you'll have ideas and things you want to change. Make sure that your budget allows for creativity, but these is an easy place to run over budget. Stick to your plan and if a song is taking to long, skip it and move on. You can always come back to it and try something new another night.

Be Prepared. Practice, Practice, Practice.
Your first step once you are in studio is to start tracking your songs. That basically means you play your music and the sound engineer hits the record button. You can always fix notes and mistakes but it takes time to do this. It's always better to play it right and not have to fix it. You have your instrument at home. If you're on a budget, practice your guts out before you go into the studio so that you can lay down 2-3 tracks of a song and move on. I've heard stories of people spending days on a single song. In my opinion, the studio is not the place to practice... unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket. Be ready when you get there and your performance and final product will likely be much better.

Editing and Mixing
If you've laid down a solid take or two, this should be easy. Software today is amazing and you can fix small mistakes, but big mistakes are harder to cover up. It's kind of like a small cut and a wound that requires stitches. A small cut heals and likely doesn't leave a scar. Stitches are going to leave a scar. Keep your mistakes and required edits small and it's likely that no one will notice. I've found that it works great to have your sound engineer piece together a draft track and take care of the major edits. After that, it is helpful to sit with the engineer and make work with them on the small edits. After doing this on a few songs, they start to understand what you like and they'll make fixes to those things on the next few songs.

The next steps include Mastering and most important of all, artwork and marketing. If you can't sell your CD you won't ever make your money back. I'll cover these items in an future post.

Jason
www.tonioli.com

Monday, January 18, 2010

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep the streets even as Michelangelo painted por Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'"

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Whatever you do, be great at it.