Recording Artist Advocate: A Symphony?

When the Beatles were discovered, record labels were still in the business of "developing" artist. That meant they might teach them how to act in an interview or how to dress... or how to make better music.

I'm sure this still happens at the highest levels. But it's more likely you will need to seek these things out for yourself. Fortunately you have a great resource right at your fingertips. If there isn't a YouTube video about some question you want answered, wait a minute and there will be. 

One of the things George Martin taught the Beatles was how to make a good song into a great song. One technique was borrowing from symphonic music and introducing separate parts, or movements, into their songs.  Think about their music and there is a lot of that going on. Some of their music was actually different song parts slammed together. Brilliant!

Try to remove yourself from your own favorite songs and try to hear them like your audience does. If it's getting too long or if you could be loosing their attention; try a big change. You'll come back for the finish, but a symphonic like change in character, or a back and forth in perspective could be just the thing to keep their interest. 

If your doing the same things the other bands in your music genre are doing, you'll just blend in. Shake things up and stand apart.  

Recording Artist Advocate: Pay to Play?

How often are you asked to pay to play at a venue?

Artist would say, "never!" but when you have to supply the audience it's really the same thing. Most bands will use their social media to get an audience to their shows and to some extent that is a good thing. But, if a place doesn't have enough regulars to stay in business, and their looking for you to do all the heavy lifting... find another place to play.

The venue is locked in one place. they have a lot invested and a lot is on the line. On the other hand you can move around freely and play wherever you want. If you have a great show or a bad one you can take it in stride. Don't let anyone make you think you need them more than they need you. Promoters, bookers, and venues can treat artists like commodities. Some let themselves be treated that way.

This applies to asking for a fair price too. I'm not saying you should be walking around with a swelled head, but you do offer a service these businesses need. Treat yourself right and they will too.

Recording Artist Advocate: Alternate Tunings?

It's funny how often an artist asks if it's OK if they do an alternative tuning on a song... as if I'd get upset with them. There may be engineers who do, but I never have. 

Drop tunings can change the emotion of a song and artist do that a lot. It can make for some mixing issues as the low bass notes take up the same space sonically as kick drum, but so what. That's for me to work out.

I came across something recently that I'd like to explore with artists. Most of the time A is 440Hz and everything follows that standard. But that's just since the 30's or 40's. Before then A could be 432 or 435 and I've read that A444 is supposed to improve sound too. 

A 432 Hz tuning, is described as perfect because all the other notes stay whole tones.   Middle C is 256 Hz, E above is 648 Hz.  This stays consistent throughout the entire note range. With some tunings the other notes fraction off and supposedly our ears or brains don't like the sound. I wonder how digital treats that, but that's another issue.

This may be something or it may be nothing. Try for yourself. See if things sound better when you tune differently. And when you record, tell your engineer so he or she can work better with what your doing.

Recording Artist Advocate: Get Good Monitoring

I don't usually work outside the studio unless I'm recording live music, but I recently put together a sound system for a live event and it was a learning experience.

The venue was outdoors in a covered amphitheater. There was the main artist doing spoken word with musicians backing up. I had the mains and 2 monitor channels. Because there was a high roof and all that open air, I could run the monitors pretty loud with no feedback. 

The artist loved it and had some of their best performances. The headliner didn't want to leave and spent a good deal of time telling stories and entertaining the audience after the main show. With such good monitoring they were able to perform better than ever.

If you can't hear yourself well, you will over-sing and shred your voice. That leads to a performance that's less than it could be, and a shorter career overall. So get good monitoring!

In ears is great, but a wedge works too. Even a hot spot, which is a small speaker on a mic stand, is better than nothing.

Monitor better and your performance will be better. Your voice will last longer and you'll be a happier performer.

Recording Artist Advocate: Does music pay? It depends.

There are people making good money playing in bands that will never perform an original song. Corporate work is all about pleasing the widest group of folks. A Christmas party for a business is all about making everyone from the warehouse staff to the CEO happy.

Heritage bands will always find work as long as their original audience is alive, even if they’re just licensing their music to movies, TV, or commercials.

Most of the time I work with artists creating original music. That’s what I know most and that’s what I want to talk about.

Can you make a living creating original music? Yes you can, but you have to be willing to work harder. Those other players are riding on the coat tails of past success. You are going to have to make your own success.

According to Butch Vig, Nirvana practiced together almost every day for 6 months, 10 hours a day, before they went into the studio just to make sure they were ready. Despite the slacker attitude they wanted to be successful and were willing to put in the hours.

You’ll also need to play out and chase those paying gigs like your life depended on it. If you don’t play and get paid, you don’t eat.

There is a lot more and I can’t cover it all in this posting, but the answer is yes, music pays. People are doing it every day.

Here is something to think about: Comedians have to come up with a lot of original material. They are always in a different town. And they work alone. If they succeed or fail it’s all on that one person. There are comedians you’ve never heard of who make over a hundred thousand dollars a year.

You are most likely with a group of musicians you like. You can bounce ideas off each other all day. You share the load driving, setting up and tearing down, even calling venues and booking. If nothing else, you've got it better than a comedian.  

Find your niche and serve those fans. You can do pretty well for yourself.