Self Sufficient Musician

Perhaps it doesn’t have quite the significance it had once, but musicians still like to put out an album — a collection of songs — rather than just releasing singles.  And when you have a collection, the order in which the songs appear obviously makes a difference to how the overall collection is perceived and received.

It’s just like the days of making mix tapes — you carefully choose your songs, order them so that they flow well from one to the next.  This is definitely more of an art than sceience, but that being said, there are certain thought schemes that going into sequencing an album.

Let’s say, we’re putting together a 12-song rock album.  The following will be my chains of thoughts in putting it together.

1. The opener, obviously is very important — definitely one of the stronger songs, if not the strongest.  This song should be a good representative of what the rest of the album sounds like.  However, some albums choose to open with little nuggets or prelude, something unexpected and catches audience off-guard by being the complete opposite of what the rest of the album is.  That can work, too, as long as it’s short enough.  I personally like albums where the first song isn’t the most obvious single — because then the rest of the album feels like a let down.  (And many albums are!)
2. The #2 spot, after the warm-up of the opener, may perhaps be the greatest spot for the biggest single.  Assuming you didn’t put in a little prelude in the #1 spot, the #2 is a place where you’ll want to reinforce what you delivered with #1 — not a place for a change of pace, experiment or contrast.
3. In a rock album, the first two songs should be the one-two punch of uptempo songs to get listeners grooving.  The #3 spot, then, is a good place for a mid-tempo anthem.  Something a little different from the first two, perhaps slower and steadier — but just as strong.
4. After setting the tone with the first three songs, #4 spot is a great place for a change of pace.  Perhaps something a bit more experimental, or if the first three were up-tempo, this may be a good place for a hit ballad.
5. If #4 was a ballad, here’s a place for experiments.  If #4 was more of an experimental song, then #5 is a good place for a ballad.
6. Maybe because I grew up listening to cassettes, I’d like this spot to be something that feels like a closer to the 1st half, before hitting hard again with the next song.
7. The first song of the second half should really pick things back up and hit hard again.  If this is a 14-song album, then the same would be said about the song #8.  So, whichever ends up falling as the first song of the second half.
8. And here’s a follow-up to song #7, recreating the one-two punch of the beginning.
9. #8 or #9 is a great spot for another single.  Usually most albums line up singles between 1-4 and then run out of steam — if an album has a single in the #8 or #9 spot, that gives the impression of an album having a great depth — and very worthy of buying the whole thing.
10. If #7 and #8 were up tempo, here’s another good place to slow down a bit.
11. #10 and #11 are probably places for experiments or not single-worthy songs.  Ideally, no song on your album will be weak, but these are spots for ones that are less “obvious.”
12. Albums seldom have enough good songs to really finish strong, so that’s what I’d like to see in an album.  Closers should aim to leave a great “aftertaste” from listening to the whole thing.  Many rock acts finish with a ballad, which is a move I’m not a fan of, though it makes sense.  While “save the best for last” doesn’t make a lot of sense from a marketing point of view, I’d say pick the last song carefully — let it be a song you don’t mind people remembering you by.  Because the last thing they hear is what’ll stay in their head.

Obviously, sequencing a very subjective thing.  What may feel like a smooth flow may feel jarring to another listener.  That being said, it’s definitely possible to screw up the overall impression of the album as a lager work when you are careless with sequencing.  Every element of putting an album together makes a difference — thus, every piece is worth considering carefully.

Just for kicks, here is a quintessential 12-song rock album that sold gazillion copies.  And they did sequence them well.

Guns n Roses: Appetite for Destruction

1. Welcome to the Jungle
2. It’s So Easy
3. Nightrain
4. Out ta Get Me
5. Mr. Brownstone
6. Paradise City
7. My Michelle
8. Think About You
9. Sweet Child O’Mine
10. You’re Crazy
11. Anything Goes
12. Rocket Queen

The biggest single is sitting at #9 there, but I don’t think the millions of people who bought it minded listening through all the 8 songs getting to the most known songs.  A collection of great songs, sequenced to perfection, is a pleasure to listen to.

Definitely something to aspire to.

I’m stating the obvious here, but since you’re paying your hard-earned money to a recording studio for their time, it’s in your best interest to go in prepared and maximize your use of their expertise/facility.

So, here’s a quick check list of what to do before you head to the studio.  Don’t skimp on this — it can really affect how your recording will come out.

• Figure out which songs to record.
• Know the keys to all the songs.  Experiment with tuning/capo before going to the studio to figure out the key that sounds the best and/or is the easiest for the singer (the most important consideration)
• Know the tempo to all the songs.  You don’t have to use clicks if your rhythm section is solid, but still, figure out the precise BPM (beats per minute) of every song before you go in.  Recording, like playing live, can affect your mood and make tempos feel fast or slow — you don’t want to rush or drag just because you aren’t in the right frame of mind.
• Record your songs.  Wait, you said before going to studio… yes.  Tape your rehearsal, and listen to it before heading to a recording studio. It will reveal issues with songwriting, arrangements and performance.  By all means, address those issues before going into studio.
• Put new strings on your guitars.  New heads on your drums.
• Write out settings for your effects/amps.  They may change during sessions, but you’ll know where to start.
• Make sure all your everyone knows when and where to show up.
• Type out lyric sheets.  You think you remember words to your songs, right?  But actually, in studio you’ll be thinking of a lot of other things besides the words — and it sure helps to read off lyric sheets, so you have one less thing to compute with your brain.  Make sure the font is big enough for you to see.
• Get good sleep.  Not just the night before, but 2-3 nights before.  Think you perform your best when you’re sleep deprived?
• Eat a solid meal.  The same as above.  Empty stomach = grumpier mood = think negatively.
• Show up before your schedule time.

Did I miss anything?

If I had a band it’s another story, but I am a Self Sufficient Musician — a one-man band. I program the drums (which is time consuming, though not without its own merits) and play and sing everything else.

If I worked full-time for a month, how many songs should I be able to write and record?

That’s the challenge I’m setting up for myself for March. I’m taking my new recording studio for a test drive. I just switched from Sonar to Logic as well (I was running Sonar on Windows via BootCamp) so I am afraid I’m not going to be as fast as I was on Sonar — hopefully the switch will pay off in the long run, as Mac OS is more stable than Windows.

I know I just started this site but because of the above, I’m going to be more sporadic with updates for March. There’ll be loads of goodies to share after that, though, so stay tuned!

In just about every other areas of music instruction, they encourage students to analyze, learn and steal from the greats.  Guitar students start out by playing along to their heros.  Singers sing along.  Classical music students analyze Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and likes and learn what stylistic elements identify their compositions as their works.

Rightfully, this is a tricky topic with songwriters, because we’re so afraid of plagiarism.  Even if you don’t end up in court, being accused of plagiarism, being a copycat, is a major insult.  And I’m not advocating that plagiarism is acceptable — it’s not.  But learning from the greats is still the most effective way to learn a craft.  What you do is instead of copying bits of music — though that’s where everyone must start — you analyze songs and learn the system that makes the great songs great.

And this also extends to the art of record producing — great arrangers, engineers and producers are constantly analyzing what they hear in recordings.  Instrumentation, mix, types of reverb used — all that information is available to those who know how to listen.

Once you start analyzing, you’ll discover that each piece of music/recording contains an amazing amount of information.  It’s packed full of techiniques that you can employ into your own songwriting and production. Below let me identify what you can glean from a recording, so that you can start developing the skill of listening critically. (continue reading…)

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a million-dollar studio to produce a recording worthy of public consumption — or even mass success. There are times and occasions where it’s good to spend money, go to
a studio and let others worry about the recording end of things, but I
generally encourage musicians, particularly those who aspire to be Self
Sufficient, to learn how to record themselves.

Studio engineers tend to obsess over this gear and that, and they endlessly debate the merits of sonic difference only discernable in the very best of listening environments.  Sure, we’re making art — but music is also a communication.   The role of tools is to make Good Enough recordings so that imperfections are not distracting. Once that’s achieved, everything else is a marginal benefit at best.

That said, there are some fundamental competence you must master as a producer of a recording in order to have your recordings compete in the market place.

I’m going to discuss these qualities more in abstract here — there will be more focused articles that give practical tips on how to achieve these qualities. (continue reading…)