Pantonal

Here ya go!

I discovered this video yesterday. It is quite simply incredible. Let me restate that, IT'S F#@CK"N AMAZING!!!!!!! I also discovered his breakdown of the track (a modest 315 tracks), a reaction video or two (one had to keep pausing playback because they were so blown away). The harmonies and modulations are so beautiful. It really is pretty amazing.

Hi Areeson, Passion is a wonderful thing. I remember being in high school and getting passionate about music. However, I'm going to play Devil's Advocate here, because I also know that decisions made in high school can have life long consequences. The vast majority of music majors end up doing something else for a career. That's why the joke goes something like this, What did the former music major say at McDonald's? Answer, Would you like fries with that? Remembering back I also know I could have majored in a science, when I took Geology as a senior (to fulfill a lab requirement) the professor asked me if I'd be interested in majoring in it. I told him I'd be graduating soon, but that question made an impact. Instead I ended up doing a lot of sales in my career. I was pretty good at it, but not great. I'm still doing music, but I know a lot of others who had more lucrative careers who are still doing music. I would suggest you explore what's required to obtain a position in an orchestra (and how difficult it is to get a spot in any major orchestra) or how many bands don't make it big. Talk to older musicians about their experience as a professional. One thing that will probably stick out is this, nobody cares where you went to school or what you learned, they'll want to know if you can play. Are you a monster at your instrument? You have the benefit of time, you have a few years to find out if you can become a monster (apparently you're not now). Just keep in mind that's only the first requirement for success as a musician. Good luck.

Learning songwriting is a process. Anyone can rhyme, but what makes it interesting? The story, the wordplay, something else? And music, that's a whole 'nother step. How do you walk a thousand miles? You keep taking steps. James Taylor is a master, certainly! But he's not the only one and if you imitate him you'll be a poor reflection of someone else. Stravinsky once said, "Good composers borrow, Great composers Steal!" So borrow ideas and concepts, but speak with your own voice. Always be cognizant that you're learning how to express yourself. What makes you different? What makes your viewpoint interesting to others?

A lot of good points have been made, but there's one aspect I feel the need to bring up. It very much helps to know what your system sounds like and how it compares to other speaker/sound systems. I usually work with a pair of Adam T7Vs which replaced Tannoy Reveals. The T7Vs sound thicker and have more bass, but their bass response falls off a cliff below 40 Hz. The Tannoys in general sound much thinner but their usable bass response actually extends to the low 30s HZ (deeper than the T7Vs). Upstairs I have an old pair of Celestion 9 home audio speakers and then there's my car. If I can get a mix to sound good on all of those different systems (probably best to also include headphones and airpods) then it'll sound good on almost anything. That is an important aspect of what mastering accomplishes. I'm always amazed at what I hear in my mixes when I first play it on something other than the Adam T7Vs. Suddenly I hear more reverb (too much?) on the vocal or the snare pops or gets lost or the vocal needs to be louder/softer. Play your songs on lots of systems to hear these things.

Nice to see a conversation here actually get some engagement. I think it's important to note here that Rick is not an artist. He's a former producer who has become an influencer on Youtube. As an influencer his opinion is what he offers. People watch his videos because they have come to respect his opinion. This particular video offers some strong opinions on the Top Ten Songs globally. Most are negative but some are actually positive and I don't think anyone who watches Rick's videos would feel differently regarding the opinions he has expressed. Personally, I agree with the opinions he expressed. So, to Hobosage, Rick's opinions are how he earns his living, so not expressing them would not support his lifestyle. The world is full of non artist critics because there are people who care what they think.

Absolutely freakin lovely!!!! Your guitar playing is excellent and the harmony is far advanced from what you typically hear on solo guitar. My only critique would be the drums don't sound as lively as the guitar. Are they live drums or samples? If samples try layering in a subby kick to complement the snap of the one you have and give it more impact. I'd also layer in a different snare for more pop. I might also add some bass in spots. To Gtar Pkr: don't buy a cheap condenser, spend at least a couple hundred bucks. I'm not saying buy a 414 (much less a U87), I'm saying get a decent condenser. A Lauten Audio LA220 is $328 at Sweetwater. In my experience you get what you pay for and a condenser mic that's around $100 is cheap for a reason.

It sounds like you're aiming at an instrumental. If there are no lyrics then the title should be something that entices someone to listen. If there are lyrics then usually the title is based on their text, but not necessarily. In other words feel free to break the rules, it will help you learn why there are rules in the first place. I'm an old guy, I've come up with lots of titles and there have been times when I was stuck> I wrote an instrumental piano piece and was stuck with coming up with a title. Then it dawned on me that I should just name the feeling I was trying to express and the piece was titled Consolation. FWIW I played it for my father's celebration of life, though that was many years after I'd written it. The simple truth is, there's no right or wrong. Name it 'whatever' or 'anything' and you will learn from the experience. That's how you get to Carnegie Hall.

I've produced and mixed my own songs for a long time, at least 40 years, with increasing levels of technological capability. It's really been an amazing ride. Even the basic technology available today is superior to actual recording studios in the 1980s. Keeping up with that has been a challenge. I wrote and recorded a bunch of songs back in the aughts (2000 - 2010). When I played them for my son (now 32) his comment was, "Sounds kinda retro Dad." That's when I knew I had to learn more about producing, but it took a bunch of years to decide to pull the trigger. So earlier this year I bought one of the producing courses, in my case I chose Producer Accelerator (it was on sale), but there's also Produce Like a Boss, Produce Like a Pro, as well as Udemy and actual accredited schools (Berklee, Full Sail). The approach I learned was different from the mixing course I also tried (but didn't really like). The mixing course seemed aimed at those who wanted to sound like a band, whereas the producing course started with the concept of a song as a composition that included instruments and effects. The latter seems closer to me to what is actually happening in pop music production today. I can confidently say my music doesn't sound retro anymore, though it also doesn't sound like insipid pop music either. That might be because I'm an old dude and I'm just not that simple minded. If you want to hear my most recent productions, just go to the music tab on my web site. My older music is on the front page so you can actually compare my retro sounding songs to my recent work at: stevechandler-music.com Steve

I feel your pain. My first music computer was an Apple II+ that had a whopping 48k of RAM and ran Dr T Music software. Then I got an Atari 1040 ST and got hooked on Emagic Creator then Notator which eventually morphed into Logic. I was running Logic 5.51 until maybe 4 years ago when that computer finally died for the last time. At that point I decided to bite the bullet and buy a used Mac Pro with 32 GB of RAM and lots of solid state hard drive space. That computer is stuck at High Sierra and Logic is stuck at 10.4something, but it still runs great. Sadly I can't upgrade any Waves plugins, but I'm not sad at not being able to buy Waves plugins. I have the ones I want. I run a lot of Kontakt, and some other proprietary sample players (for their free sample libs), but the included drums and bass in Logic are awesome and I don't feel limited at all. In fact the stock instruments in Logic are VERY impressive, though in comparing Alchemy to Omnisphere, Omnisphere still wins. I may upgrade my Mac at some point fairly soon, my question is get an Intel Mac Pro or an M1 Mini? Either will do the job. A Mini would need lots of external drives and the Pro would cost big bucks. I'm not in any hurry to decide. Thoughts?

I agree with Samson that the vocals could be improved both with regard to the quality of sound captured and the performance. Unlike Samson I'm not convinced you were rapping. The fact that I'm unsure what you were actually trying to do means that it wasn't done well. From a singers point of view, I would strongly suggest you learn more about rapping because any sense of pitch and vocal technique was not evident in these recordings. As for rapping I'm no expert but there doesn't seem to be much emotional expression in these recordings. Your profile says you're only here for self promotion. I believe that's a mistake. There is much you could learn here. Good luck. Steve