symphonious7

Ok, I'll take a crack at it. I don't think you are seeing what I'm trying to convey, Conveniently forgetting almost everything I say, You think you have learned everything you'll ever need to know, By putting walls around your mind, instead of letting go, And I could really help you, it's all I want to do, But you're so sure of everything, you'll see no other view, You think the Word protects you from horizons that are broad, But soon in time you'll see that you are actually a fraud, Because the very book you use to condemn someone else, Would tell you very plainly you have just condemned yourself, Hmmm... is that a lyric if it has no chorus? Can we do poems? lol

Oh shoot! I left mine in my other pants, let me get back to you.... (great idea for a thread when I have pics I'll do that)

Well I don't really know what the EXACT definition of shoegaze is haha I just always associate it with long droney rock songs that feel spacey and atmospheric and build slowly instead of like... barreling forward head first. And I don't even know what I've listened to of them, my wife just puts it on and I've gotten to know some of the songs, that singer though... he sings the way I'd imagine a vampire would sing hahaha it's cool.

Yeah they're one of the best bands I've heard that have that "shoegaze" sound. Hauntingly dramatic vocals, lots of atmospheric guitar work, they're great to space out to, had to grow on me at first cause I usually like music with more energy than that, but after I "got it" I really like em now.

@Jenn my wife got me into interpol! They're great!

I'd never heard of them but my wife and I LOVE a good 80's pop/new wave act and I love the song I heard "Dancing With Tears in my Eyes" I'm gonna have to check them out! For me lately it's been weird brazillian music and Mamas and the Papas. Two brazillian artists I'm really getting into are Milton Nascimento and Tom Ze. Ze makes some of the most out there stuff I've ever heard from any artist anywhere, here's one I think is really cool but... just know... it's weird lol. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxGbhYcoSEs Milton Nascimento is alot more tame and chill, here's one I LOVE from him https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC9c2hle8Eg As far as Mamas and Papas go I think they are hurt by the time they were recorded in. Their recordings are quite thin (it was the 60's what do you expect) but when I close my eyes and try to imagine "I'm hearing this live"I can tell, this would rock HARD with some modern production man. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhHMwE250zg

Edit: I just reread what I wrote, and thought about how it came across. You need to understand I've been a shut in for YEARS studying God and becoming infactuated, it's difficult for me not to come on strong, and I see that I'm coming on TOO strong. I will try to curb this behavior into a something that considers YOUR forum, YOUR culture, YOUR feelings, more from now on. My apologies.

Your point has so much volition with 99 percent of the world. It really does, because very few take their faith so seriously that it BECOMES THEM. It is ALL they are. However in my case, this is such. I can talk nothing but God's truth. The good news is I don't care if you believe me! hahaha, I'm not doing a "your god vs my god" kind of thing, I'm speaking from my utmost heart, what comes from my innermost spirit, for it has become the only way I know how to speak. And thus, it will always come back to the God who is all to all, who is everything to everyone, for nothing outside of Him has existence. BUT, I will not be that annoying guy that needs you all to agree with me! It's just who I am! It's just what I do! And if you can tolerate a little God talk here and there we can be great friends! But if you need me to try and dumb down my words, the spirit won't continue, and I'll have to move on. But I love you all so much, and hope you can handle me.

I didn't know that! I may not be able to be a huge part of this community if that's the case, I really don't have anything else to talk about it's all I do day in and day out, read God's word, pray, ask for direction, feel the spirit, do what it says. But I don't disagree with what you're saying entirely, I think that it's kind of like a... like zooming in on something. When you go to christianity, you are zooming in on the real definitive thing as close as you can, but within other beliefs (especially bhuddism) real thoughts of God are in there, they just don't come into full clear focus, doesn't mean it's not coming from the same source you know? And know that lying spirits DO try and pervert all the religions, you have to go with what you know inside, what resonates deep down when you're honest, and it's easy to get decieved. So I would say that the bible is the MOST magnified and detailed explanation of everything, but that doesn't mean that other writings weren't getting clues to the truth you know? anyway, I don't need anyone to believe what I say really, I need them to love.

See while I do believe ultimately God is Jesus, I think his spirit can be inately accessed by all, I mean he's the God of ALL right? I feel like there is a river in everyone's heart, and we know the difference between accessing our head and letting that river of love and truth flow out. It's hard for us to break out of the mind prison and I do believe people can get so stuck in their sins they can't access the river without Jesus' teachings and His help, but I think some people just always have access and never know who they're talking to, and that's fine. So... I'm right there with you, it's an honest space in the heart that you know is your core being and that core is always love, if someone looks inside and finds anything else? They've buried the river with all their bad decisions and giving over to lust and carnality, but it's still in there somewhere, it's what makes us human, we are the house of God. Absolutely, I don't want to wind up being that weird guy who always relates everything back to God, but at the same time that's my life you know? It's what I study and think about and research almost 24/7 so... everything's always gonna come back to that with me, it's nice to see people being open to it. Thanks for your comment!

When I was first creating music as a teen, I would do whatever I felt when I mixed, I had no fear, no method, just feel. None of these mixes were as they should be, but many of them were very vibey. Then I met a producer who mentored me 5 years and taught me all kinds of things about mixing. None were very easy to implement, but his ideas of sonic correctness, creating space, making room, what eq does, what makes a good mix, what makes a bad mix etc. These ideas went whirling through my head, I decided "he makes good productions, he knows what he's talking about" and began implementing such ideas when I mixed. I'm not saying these ideas were bad, but they took over, and I lost something. My mixes just got worse, and worse, and worse, I began to fear mixing, feel it was never ending, and never release my songs, I am still kind of at this phase, but I'm nearing the end of it. Recently, I've begun asking God to show me what it is I'm missing in my mixes, and whether or not you believe in the source this is how He has been changing my thought patterns and I'm hearing improvement. I feel like rather than the rigid philosophies that my producer taught me, the philosophies I get through faith are more life engaging and freeing. So here are some things I believe I have learned. They are true for me, and apply to me, decide for yourself if they may be true for you. 1. Do not FEAR your controls and do not believe in "perfection". There is no perfection, there are vibes and you are pulling them out of the frequencies you have to work with. If you strive for perfection you will nitpick and pull yourself out of a creative and inspired mindset and into a scientific and rigid one. Fool around, play with the controls, have fun, see what can be done. You can't screw up what isn't right yet, just be sure to remember anything you may want to get back to before you tinker with it. 2. PAINT. Every sound has a shape, a thickness, a weight, a color, a coolness a warmth, a tone, use these to paint a picture. Rather than focusing on one single instrument at a time and thinking "How can I bring that out" or "I want to hear more of the umph of this sound" or trying to emulate things you imagined in your brain, try to listen as a whole and paint a picture. Once you get it in the ball park volume wise, what kind of picture do you have? Is it flat? Hollow? Not giving you a feeling? Boomy? What do your ears want to hear, and I don't mean idealistically. It's not what your brain wanted to hear when you wrote the song, or imagines on the radio, what does your brain want to hear from the real sounds coming out of your speakers. examples: There's no rhythm, I'm not feeling the beat. It all sounds apart from each other, there's no congruency. My voice is piercing. 3. MIX FROM THE HEART. If you are trying to emulate something you've heard or a band you want to "beat" or your motivation is to be the most "slammin" or "poppin" or whatever it is, you are probably not being very realistic and not getting very good mixes. Center yourself, be honest, quench pride, now listen, and pull out something that is compelling. This is your chance to make yourself feel something from your creation, come to that with reverence, awe that you are allowed to do something so expressive and wonderful and now see what can be done! See what can be done! 4. LEAVE NOTHING OUT. Keep a watchful eye over your whole creation, don't let anything go left amiss, it's easy to think guitar and bass or voice and piano are all there is and then Mr. Hi Hat or Ms. Snare are destroying your whole world. Be conscious of your entire creation from the commanding guitar solo to the sprinkles of a shaker. You can liken this to the love you would put into fine cooking or building a home, love your entire mix. And if you don't love a part? Get it out, and replace it with something you do love. 5. KNOW WHEN TO QUIT. Your brain is a divinely created machine, but it is still a machine and one that isn't even functioning at high capacity! (various reasons, wrong thinking, state of the environment, health etc) Sometimes the desire to finish is so strong that we keep going even when we know we aren't having fun, aren't feeling it, we're tight. It's always good to stop then, even if it's 5 or 10 minutes, just be peaceful, let your brain stop straining, get back to the essence of your song, all of mixing should be a joy, if it's a chore, stop. 6. LISTEN HONESTLY. Sometimes I find myself mixing as I think about other things, mixing but focusing on the sounds and not the feeling, and the whole time I'm telling myself "this is sounding pretty good, it's going alright, I'm making progress" but in reality I'm aimlessly making changes, mixing but not LISTENING. You've got to let your song take you on a journey, that means learning to space out, not having expectations, not dwelling on the last moment, not anticipating the next, but LISTENING. This is also a huge part of hearing the voice of God but that's for another blog and possibly another forum But yes these principles apply to life but they apply to mixing as well. Being in the moment, having a still heart, closing your eyes and being taken off on a journey, this is how you will know if you are really getting what you want. I think sometimes it's easier to just pretend the journey is going how we want and not listen for fear of disappointment, but if you have faith you can correct the problems and achieve your goal, it's the only way to truly know what's wrong. You have to be unafraid to close your eyes and objectively listen and see if you are happy with the journey you've created, if not, don't fear the correcting process, it's how you grow as a mixer. You tinker, honestly, and are unafraid to acknowledge the flaws. And DON'T be afraid to re record, sometimes you can't make a sound work because the sound ITSELF doesn't work. 7. KNOW WHEN TO QUIT FOREVER. A mix can always be changed and made better, but usually by the time you have something you can really live with (if you're being honest with yourself and it gives you good feels every time you hear it) the audience would rather just have it than have you tinkering away forever. At some point you have to consider it good enough to put out there, and this is usually when you are already happy but your brain keeps wanting to go "weeeeell... I mean maybe I could get that just a liiiiiiittttllleee more" or when you start to think it's ready but say "well it doesn't sound like this band..." or you get fearful people will compare it to *blank*. At that point? Just put it out, if there's something wrong with it the people may tell you, but who cares, we get better at mixing by sharing mixes, you won't bust out of nowhere with perfect sounding songs, you will grow and grow and grow forever and ever. Amen. Most churchy mixing post ever hahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahhahaahahahahaha Deal with it. I might make more of these as more come, let me know what you think my friends.

That's great to hear man, when you seemed to disappear right after getting the files I was like "He didn't like run off with my song did he??" So I'm just happy to know what's going on. I hope you get it sorted out soon man!

That is something I will definitely try. And it is so good to see you posting, I've been wondering where you ran off too haha

holy crap. I actually see EXACTLY what you're saying now, he needs to hook them first with some stronger lines and then after he's already got their attention use the weaker "different indifferent line". I totally get what you mean now.

To be fair, like I think without hearing how this rhyme would actually be delivered, it's difficult to make proper judgements. And I can kind of see what Hobo is saying but it really depends on how it's delivered I think. Written out that just looks like bad writing, but in the song it might work it's hard to tell with rap. I mean honestly even the rap songs I like if you see their lyrics typed out they can look pretty stupid lol Hear it in the track and then it's like "awwww yeaaaaa" So I dunno, it's a difficult thing to critique without music.

I listen to rap LOL HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAAAAY. Rap has always been about wordplay in ways that demolish the english language. This is music from the streets, it was created by people who often times couldn't even get proper education, so now even when rappers are highly educated, just because of the nature of the genre you still talk like you're from the streets. Back in the day they were using ill in all kinds of ways. Run DMC "You be illin" and beasty boys "I got the ill communication" it's kind of like... grammar is thrown out and if the writer can make up new words that still have a decipherable meaning it's cool. And as far as the same rhymes at the end continuing, yea that's normal too. Here's a nicki minaj song. I am not Jasmine, I am Aladdin So far ahead, these bums is laggin' See me in that new thing, bums is gaggin' I'm startin' to feel like a dungeon dragon Raah, raah, like a dungeon dragon I'm startin' to feel like a dungeon dragon Look at my show footage, how these girls be spazzin' So yea the continuous rhyme of words that shouldn't even rhyme is quite normal. Alright now on to the OP's song. First line I'd change is "Turned into maternity" I'd make that "traded in for maternity" Second is "Stuck in the sickness but you ain't gonna get no remedy" I'd make that "But you don't want the remedy" it fits better with the theme. Other than that this is pretty deep for a hip hop lyric. Lots of great points being made about the girl having layers and putting up walls and treating guys like trash only to hide the fact that she wants a loving lasting relationship. I think this was pretty dang decent man.

I've always considered myself a musical scientist. I would be so bold as to say you should as well. While I don't know much about the craft of audio mixing and engineering, I've always had a natural ability to compose and I believe it is this mentality that I am a scientist of music that helps me to do this. Let me explain what I mean. The average musician from my experiences tends to be highly emotionally involved in their creations. They become attached to the work, attached to sounds they want to work in their songs, attached to the cool riff they came up with on guitar, attached to that synth sound that worked before it was mixed in with all the other instruments. Music is a form of expression and because of this musicians tend to be very subjective when it is being created. This is a piece of our soul we're trying to get out, so dedication to objectivity is a struggle. But what does a scientist do? They perform experiments in a lab. They mix chemicals together and see what happens. Objectivity is key in science, and if a scientist has an agenda and tampers with his results to give off the appearance of this theory being confirmed, he will be found out one way or another and labeled a pseudo-scientist. Musicians would do well to look at this process of experimentation and objectivity and apply it to their musical endeavors, as hard as that can be, and as strange as it may sound. This is where inspiration needs to meet with reality, not to be replaced by reality, but to be blended with it in a harmonious way. I know from my own personal experience that when I feel inspired, when that wave of emotion hits, what I'm writing seems magical to me. The ideas flow yes, but they are seen through rose colored shades, because I'm feeling a strong emotion. For the rest of my life when I hear what I wrote at that time, I may be brought back into that emotional place, the same way that smells and scenery do when I had a great experience with friends. This only lasts however when I'm alone. As soon as I am in the company of someone else and I show them the idea? That feeling is gone, and as I'm playing the song I had such a fondness for, I suddenly realize there are many things wrong with it! Why did this happen? Because I held too tightly to that wave of inspiration, that feeling I had, and I became convinced it was in the song, when in reality I just associated it with the song. And that's where a scientific approach becomes helpful. Your studio, your room you write in, the place you create, that's your lab. Your inspiration is your work material, it's what you've got in your test tubes if you will. Your goal now should be to experiment with that material and TEST YOUR RESULTS. Holding onto the hope that you are getting the result you want is not going to make it happen. Staying grounded and realistic, while not in itself going to obtain the result, will at least allow you to know what you have actually created, rather than what you wish you had. So how do you apply this practically, metaphors aside? I know of two concrete ways. First you need to make the conscious decision to keep your emotions about your work and your examination of the work separate, it is a choice. Practice thinking like a critic. After you get what you feel is a good rough draft or even a finished song, put yourself in the shoes of a critic (maybe not the harshest critic though, you don't want to fall into the other trap of not giving yourself credit where it is due). Imagine you are someone who is in a grumpy mood, someone who doesn't expect this song to be entertaining, and see if you see any problems with the song. Secondly you need to compare your work to similar projects that you know are getting the results you want, compare your lyric, your composition, or mix to an established artist who does a similar style. Does it stand up? Could you follow that act? If not, you may need to re-examine your work. In the realm of composition I find this the most true, and also time saving. Rather than assuming the musical pieces you expect to work will indeed work and then spending lots of time trying to make them work, be a scientist. Experiment, throw an idea in and see how it reacts to the other parts of the song. If it's not working? Come up with a different idea. In the writing process if things aren't flowing? Go for a walk, don't try to make them flow, get away, come back with a fresh perspective. Objectivity is going to take you from a personal songwriter writing for yourself, into a communicator who actually gets your emotions across to others. So the next time you sit down to create, think like a scientist. Experiment, stay objective, and test your results. It's difficult, and I myself forget this sometimes, but it's a good thing to keep in mind. At least, this Symph thinks so

HAHAHAHA I totally read that last part in a stalker voice "I will be watching you.... muhahahaha" That's awesome! I'm glad this was inspirational to you! And I think it's great for us to share our stories it helps us to feel less alone.

Hahahaha awesome!! I got a new one cooking tonight, gonna see what I think of it tomorrow and probably post another blog and a video. This is exciting to me! Which is weird cause I usually don't get excited these days, I think I didn't know I liked to write hahaha

For the past 15 years of my life, creating music has been my identity. When I was in highschool I would wait in the parking lot after school and call people over to show them the new track I'd recorded the night before when I should have been studying. The reactions I'd get would be highly encouraging. Girls would look like they'd just fallen in love, guys would either seem jealous or like they wanted every song I'd ever made in their possession right then and there. And that's why I knew that this music stuff was gonna be easy. I was gonna get out of highschool, put a band together, make an album with nothing but number one hits and be rich and famous forever. But shockingly, this is not what happened. (I was as surprised as you) What instead happened was I began working with a producer who promised me the moon, which I made him renegotiate to being a recording contract since I didn't know what I'd possibly do with the moon plus I'm pretty sure the rest of humanity needs that thing to stay where it is. After negotiating our deal the next 5 years of my life was work work work, but not on my music, on other people's music, always with the promise "this is going to get you money and teach you what you need for when we make your album". Which I believed and tried hard not to complain about. It was around this time that (early 20's) I was introduced to the love of my life, a cold bitch named alcohol and her sister marijuana. From the moment I first experienced either (both in the same night) I was hooked. I couldn't believe people thought these things were bad, they made me see things for what they really were! Turned me into a ladies man, and most importantly, they helped me make my music! My ideas were so much better when I was buzzed in one way or another! So I began keeping both in constant supply. Something strange started happening though. As time passed I began to care less about the music, while still convinced I was creating it better, I just didn't feel compelled to like I did in highschool, I began showing up late to my recording sessions with my producer, and resenting him for never getting around to my own project. Years passed, the drug use remained manageable but was growing in importance to me, and then one day my producer told me it was time to work on my album! Finally! I was so excited. He just needed 13 grand, which my parents provided in faith since they believe in me more than I or anyone else ever will. A year passed, we finished the record, he successfully sucked most of the creativity out of it but I wasn't gonna complain too much, we made it in a real studio with studio musicians, and I trusted that he knew better than I what was going to sell. After the album was finished he let me know one minor detail he hadn't before, I was gonna need another 15 grand to hire a music attorney to shop this album. We didn't have it, all my parents' savings went to the album creation beforehand. I was devastated. This took my manageable drug habit, and turned it into a full blown obsession. Long story short, I smoked and drank my life away until I got in trouble with the law and my parents discovered the secret I'd been hiding for so long (but just BARELY getting away with it) and I was sent to rehab. Now I'm not saying after rehab I was fixed, but for the sake of time let's just say I went through a relapsing period of off and on use and then one day it just happened. I looked at my life, and thought "Where's the guy who was going to be a star? Where's the musician who could impress anyone and everyone? Do I want to be a drug addict, or a musician?" I decided to take sobriety seriously, I threw myself into youtube, got back into recording all the time, got my excitement back. But by this time, I was approaching 30. And that's when the struggle I still deal with today began. It's a daily fight to the death between my belief that I can take these talents and DO something with them, and this anxiety I feel over having pissed away a decade of my life and the age that puts me at. So what does that have to do with this blog? This is the first time in my life that I am sober, and trying to make an album that reaches people. Radio, A&R, fans, I've hired a producer to help me fix the mixing errors I can't fix on my own. And on youtube I am now documenting the entire creation process from start to finish. On this blog I will share the videos from that channel, and also just give extra insight into the album, it's concepts, how the songs came to be, what they mean to me, and go into greater detail than I do in the videos themselves. And the best part? Not every post will be this long. This feels like my last stand, I'm here to teach and be taught. Share and be heard, but listen as well. The music you will see me creating is not going to be what you typically hear on the radio or even from indie artists. Be it good, be it bad, be it somewhere in between, Symph Music has always been it's own thing. A cross breed of influences that are difficult to trace and define. So I hope you'll join me in this expedition, and I thank you for reading.

I love how you worded that last part hahaha

Yeah that's pretty much what I got, that's why I said I'd heard it before but in cliches. It's usually said "Just trust your instincts" "Trust yourself" "Be confident in what you write" etc. But you put it in this way that made it hit me more like... "Just stop wrestling and love what you love about what you do, leave the third party in your head who judges it all harshly out of it and don't try to GUESS what they want to hear, make it mean something to YOU and you are GOOD" at least that's one way I thought of putting it. There was a subconscious understanding I can't really put into words as well.

This is an exciting way of looking at things. There's a sort of... "call to duty" for artists (all people but kind of specifically artists because they have the power to excite these inspirational feelings in others) to go out there and live for the sake of their art. Kind of to jump out of emotional airplanes because there's a song at the bottom of that drop. It's a really neat way of looking at things! I'm gonna go check out that song now.

Hobo that was... unexpectedly powerful and deep. I've... heard the same message before but in cliches that didn't really make an impact... I'm gonna put that in my phone and keep mulling it over when I feel weird. Thank you.

This is a troublesome thing for me. I wrestle with myself as a songwriter. Mainly a lyricist. Musically speaking I'm actually almost arrogant about my abilities, I believe I can compose and sing like no one else I know, not necessarily always better but it's always got this stamp that only I can really give it, and that unique sound really makes me feel like I have something. But what bothers me is that my lyrics always sound a bit too distant. They aren't... I can make chord progressions and compositions that will make most anyone go WOWWW that's COOL!!!! But I feel like I can't move someone to tears, can't get people to go "man this speaks directly into my life" or "Your music has helped me through a really rough time" And the funny thing is that this makes me flip flop between thinking I'm a great artist, to think I'm a useless one. My inspiration hits usually when I've watched a movie, when I'm doing work of any kind, when I wake up, I mean melodies and guitar licks and such fly into my head very easily, but it's that "knowing myself" thing you speak of... I think I know myself, and what I know is there's not much to me, so there's not much to my message. I don't know if it's all in my head or real, it's just the light turmoil I have. I certainly don't lose sleep or stop writing over it, it's just always there, in the back of my mind, and never truly resolved unless just seemingly so for a short period of time. Great post by the way, that youtube series sounds like it may be just what the doctor ordered.