GregB

Thanks for all the insights Dad John. 😆

Most people probably would ... but I can only talk about my own mindset. >> It depends entirely on what you measure against. Yes ... I agree with what you said about 'opinions' vs. critique. >> The issue begins when we try to expand personal taste and use it as a predictor for market success. The two things don’t usually correlate. Unfortunately 'market success' is something we all witness but I for one don't understand. So many GREAT tracks by established artists are passed over for commercial alternatives. So many GREAT musicians I've witnessed at small venues who can't make a living from music. >> Someone somewhere will have datasets that can be used to predict the chances of a hit, the scale of that hit and how long it will be in the charts. Are they usually right? Yes I disagree completely. A few people can catch one wave and then ride it until it peters out, but only a tiny number can predict the next wave. Next to none will identify and catch the third wave. >> A great pop producer would ... understand the concept of units sold and money made. They have a vision of not just what is popular but also what will be popular and [how] that popularity is measured ... Again, this is pertinent only if trying for commercial success (vs. being 'good'). >> The mistake is to reduce ... an amateur listener’s understanding ... with a musician, a top producer ... and saying they are all equal. Again. Perspective and definition of 'amateur'. I know virtuoso musicians who have to earn their living by other means. >> Exactly the same issues exist in book writing, painting, clothes design. Sure. Quantifying creativity is like capturing smoke in a bottle >> Four people will listen to your symptoms, examine you and prescribe [differently] I feel this metaphor was not suited to the discussion we're having. An illness/injury is largely data driven and you can witness the diagnostic path being taken that reviews (or not) and cross-checks the available data. >> So why this idea that there is an equivalence in opinion about music, songwriting, production and music marketing? When I started the topic, I didn't say this. I'm saying that the biggest critic that I listen to ... is ME. I need to suppress my ego and TRY to be impartial as to the quality of my writing, musicianship, technical abilities. If I get to release a track, it is because it has met my own strict minimum standards. Being 'popular' has no bearing on it. My stated self-doubt is based on whether those standards are valid and high enough, and whether I can truly fairly evaluate something that I've created and in which I've invested time, effort and emotion. >> While there are plenty of amateurs on our boards, not all are. The variety of experience is one of the strengths of Songstuff, although the common thread is enthusiasm. However, one must also be wary of people shouting "I am good". Some are, some are not. Some may be good but haven't a body of work to show to allow us to form an opinion. >> That is why critique is not getting an opinion. No arguing THERE! I commend you John for such a detailed post. It made for interesting reading and I noted the many smiley faces aimed to defuse any potential taking of offence. You truly don't have to worry. I am inured to criticism. I am my sternest critic, closely followed by my wife, sons, extended family and friends, most of whom don't play, sing, or even create music!! I'm not sure is this supports or disagrees with your many arguments! Greg

Surely (and I'll stop calling you Shirley) this doesn't solve anything. When recording, the fader works AND SHOWS the changed INPUT signal levels in the strip. On playback, each fader affects its output signal level but does not SHOW the change in the channel strip.

That was probably a joke, but no! That's the way of influencers, pop stars, politicians, CEOs etc.. The world would be a better place without the self-declared geniuses acting on their beliefs

But I don't WANT to get close to The Macarena, or Shaddapa Your Face, or a million other 3-chord, 5-note, 10-word, all-chorus "hits'. Sure, these are "hits" but not necessarily by being GREAT music, instead capturing the quickly-passing social zeitgiest of the day. Even then, it's still down to personal taste. Two people can differ hugely in what they consider 'good', and neither is a better judge than the other.

Hi My first STudio One project is 95% complete, after falling on my arse for every 2 steps forward. E.g. the stock plugins (e.g. Mixverb) don't sound or work the same as those in ProTools. I'm getting quicker with the shortcuts, although my "left-hand-resting-position" is still giving me grief ... e.g. ALT-Z (Zoom to fit) is much too close to CTRL-Z (undo) ... which means I often find I've undone heaps of special-effort changes ... and they're not in History so I can't easily restore them. Frequent saving helps for now. But, GRRRRRRR!!! THE MAIN QUESTION I HAVE: The MIXER CHANNELS show track sound. Sliding the mixer UP causes an audible increase in volume, but the visual animated METERING LEVEL ARE UNCHANGED!!! In ProTools, the whole session could be switched between PRE-Fader monitoring (for recording) or POST-Fader monitoring (for mixing). Is there an equivalent setting in Studio One??? I'll share the new track in a couple of days prior to release. Greg

Exactly. I doubt myself and my own songs while I'm creating them. I chuck out anything which doesn't satisfy my own tastes and standards, and keep working on promising stuff until it pleases me on multiple listens. But is this acceptance only because I've got used to hearing it? Could I have played better/differently? Should THIS instrument be THAT instrument? Should that line go up instead of down? Does that lyric phrase fully nail the intent? So many questions, Grasshopper. I accept that the possibilities are endless and one has to move on once you get past a self-imposed line in the sand. Else no track would ever get finished. Greg

Hi. I think it helps if you enjoy being a mimic and have developed an ear for accents ... although it's become woke to pillory anyone who attempts an accent! I think we all did mimicry to some degree at school (teachers, friends, people on TV) until it was ground out of us by the career machinery which seems to reward the conformity and the lack of humour. ANYWAY (end of rant) I'm currently doing a cover of German song that I translated into English. But, as a surprise element, I open with a couple of lines in German. I listened intently then wrote the sounds phonetically as meaningless English syllables. Seemed to work fine and I figured this approach would actually save me time ... done once instead of remembering correct pronunciations in a different tongue while reading from the page when recording. I'll post the audio in a week or so when the final production/mix is ready. If of interest, here is the original German and my phonetic interpretation: Du bist nicht da an meiner seite Dein sitz bleibt leer und macht der freiheit platz Doo biss nish da ann miner ziter dine zits bly bleer und markt der fryer platz Gesundheit! Greg

Hi. Thanks for the detailed response. 1. My drums parts to date have always been via EZ Drummer 2. Other than rhythm and general tone, I lack any band experience or sophistication in tweaking the sounds of each part of the kit. I love drums but I don't understand them. I'm simply an acoustic guitarist trying for a fuller production. (More excuses available on request 😄) 2. My condenser mic here was a Rode NT1. Affordable and, to my ears, nice enough sound. Other factors include: Mic placement. I simply don't have the patience (or the acuity of hearing) to identify the absolute best position. EQ. Mainly subtracting undesirable elements rather than boosting the good ones Cheers, Greg

Whenever writing or recording I'm always plagued by doubt. Am I any good as a writer/performer/producer? Is the track any good? But, when the process is complete, if I'm pleased/proud of it and I've done my best ... that's all that matters.

YES. Blossoming late in life, I've written music which I think is good. I've been amazed that I've been able to create quality finished products at an affordable price via the remarkable tools available to the amateur with a home studio. It has been a pleasant but unexpected surprise that people outside of my family and friends have listened and expressed their appreciation. Greg

yeh ... I only accidentally found the Send area when moving borders on the channel strip!

I purchased Pro Tools 7 in 2006/7 along with an MBox 2. The upgrade to v.8 was free (as within 12 months). The 1000+ page manual was daunting ... the days before YouTube tutorials! By the time I got around to doing my first home-produced album in 2015, I had fallen off the upgrade path ... you had to have at least v.9 to upgrade to v12. So I had to pay full price again! While I managed to be productive, the organisation (AVID) was giving me the sh*ts. They stopped supporting my Digidesign MBox2. The MIDI 'CC-Learn' feature was dropped, so I was unable to use the faders on my keyboard. Finally, with just 2 months notice, the customer base was told that the Support Plan (access to new versions) was doubling from $99 to $199 pa. I was livid. Within a few weeks, Presonus was offering a cross-upgrade to Studio One Professional at half price (equivalent to the cost of ONE YEAR's Plan from AVID), so I bought it in anger. But, as is always the case, when you have stuff to do, one returns to the familiar. I did another 12-track album in Pro Tools, and a few other small projects. However, the niggly things in Pro Tools have mounted and kept chipping away at my loyalty ... continuing with AAX only (no VSTs can be used!), random problems with latency and playback, internal instruments (XPAND!2) suddenly producing no sound at all, no renewed Support Plan meant that several of my 'special' bundled instruments were no longer available, etc, etc.. All the time worrying that my little plastic iLok USB might fail or get stolen/lost ... and nothing works without it! Now two NEW projects have come up. The lack of deadlines has given me the opportunity to switch and try doing a complete production in Studio One (5.5). These projects are: a cover/rearrangement of a German friend's song Nächster Schritt for which I translated the lyrics to English a few years ago a cover of Shine on You Crazy Diamond ... both tracks (Parts 1-5 and Parts 6-9). I've already made a start on Nächster Schritt as a reason/test-bed for learning. I have the full production in my head and am taking small steps to implement it. I've managed to interface my Scarlett 2i4 and test recorded my acoustic guitar to two tracks simultaneously as well as my MIDI keyboard. I can happily replay, edit, make MIDI music via different inbuilt instruments, apply effects like Reverb on a bus, use my old friends EZ Drummer and Ozone 9 in this new environment. I've mapped the stem of the original woman's vocal to a slightly different tempo that I've chosen. I've used the Arranger, Chord and Marker rulers, which work really well together and provided massive structural benefits. While I am now confident that I CAN do whatever I used to do in Pro Tools, in reality the going is VERY SLOW for several reasons: the interface is substantially different, and many important buttons/edges are hard to see the shortcuts are different ... simple things like Zooming are a pain a lot of the actual terminology is different ... e.g. a ProTools 'clip' is now an 'event' in Studio One the documentation is truly woeful. The Reference Manual is a joke at only 450pp, the 4 page index having less than 300 keywords. Many common DAW terms are totally absent (and Ctrl-F shows they're not anywhere in the Manual), e.g. Clip Gain. There is NO section in the manual on "MIDI", and the term is completely absent from the Index!!! [By contrast, the Pro Tools Reference Manual is 1520pp, while its Index alone is 44pp and contains 1500+ keywords). I LOVE manuals! Why spend 10 minutes watching a video when one can get straight to the chase in a manual via the Index. ANYWAY, I've made a start and will hopefully post new 'learnings' (both plusses AND minuses), as well as the actual music that results. Fortunately all DAW should allow the basics ... the environment, record, edit, mix, at least EQ/Compress, and bounce. Hopefully, more than just John will be in the Studio One conversation! Greg ,

The draft version MP3 supplied here has now been deleted because the final/official version has been released. It can be heard (and discussed if desired) in this 'Showcase' forum link ... https://forums.songstuff.com/topic/57145-running-from-red-extended-mix/ Hi In the absence of any NEW music, I'm re-visiting an old track. Considering history is repeating itself in Ukraine, I'm giving a new twist to Running from Red from Prescient (2015). The original is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0wp17gtQDE. Below is the first draft which passed my wince test. The central core of the song is the original vocal and guitars (thank God for home recording and backups) placed against dance-flavoured electronic drums. Several new themes have been added before and after this core. Although the new version sounds faster, both are 150bpm! This EDM approach was inspired by Jeff Wayne's remix, The Spirit Of Man (DubUlladub), from his “War of the Worlds” album, a great favourite of mine. Because this is my first ever foray into EDM-style arrangement, I'd appreciate some feedback on: do any of the structural elements seem ill-judged or feel out of place/style? is the mix suitable for the instruments/sounds being used? is anything screeching or uncomfortably 'pumping' in your ears? Please don't hold back on ... I understand that comments can only ever be personal opinions based on experience/taste. If worried about appearing overly critical, you can message me direct. Cheers, Greg

Hi. Appreciate the interest. Yes I have a MIDI keyboard to input notes to ProTools (when note manually writing the notes ). The keyboard's pitch wheel allows me to smoothly pitch change -2/+2 semitones, but it's is difficult to accurately control the speed and smoothness because the wheel has a 'notched' middle point. In ProTools, I can automate pitch over time distance by drawing it in. But am limited to -2/+2 semitones. So, e.g. with a D note or chord, I can smoothly glide from C to E. But that's the limit ... I can't for example do C to F, or B to E SImilarly, if I played the chord of C on guitar, I'd like to smoothly pitch change the wave form e.g. to F, gliding at a speed (distance) of my choosing. Greg

Great concept, man. You could better match the concert's vibe by: A dynamic mic, if you have one, requires closer physical contact. If you only have the condenser, move back from the mic and belt out the vocals .. which will cause visible throat and general body movements. Stage performers use dynamic mics, not condenser mics like yours. Standing up would also better match the concert visuals and create a visible singing 'effort'. A good subtle edit trick would have been to have the concert audio (piano intro) fade in underneath your video title, and then visually cross fade to you starting to sing (rather than you just 'waiting'). Enjoyable. Keep at it! As always, personal opinions from a non-professional. Cheers, Greg

Hi Gary. Nice. It cries out for some light arrangement, e.g. drums and bass, and perhaps an extra instrument to add interest to an otherwise long and repetitive ending. The 'looking up the nose' video is rarely flattering (and I notice you have others with the same format). Think critically about the angle, location and background. Hope to hear more songs from you 👍 Greg

Hi Logan. I had seen The Swan & The Ram elsewhere on the site. Well done for taking the rare tongue-in-cheek visual approach to music pioneered in Hard Days Night and The Monkees. It really is great fun. Music videos are peppered throughout Songstuff, e.g. Showcase, Performance, Videos & Images, Blogs etc. The Music Video Club is also a 'please watch this' platform but is specifically background/explanation about the creative and technical side of the filmmaking. The concept, planning, shooting, editing, equipment, problems, decisions, etc.. You did provide a little about the location shoot (buried in the middle of your interview video) which was interesting and, by the way, exactly why I don't do location or performance shoots! I look forward to reading something about your video journey. A write-up (mini article) is never wasted effort as it can always be re-used elsewhere, e.g. sent to journalists, or posted on your own online platforms. Cheers, Greg

Hi Z Needs commitment! I only made the switch from Premiere to Resolve by going cold turkey on a new album project. It was PAINFUL! Fortunately the required editing features/skills were limited (compared to music production), but even after 40 music videos I'm still make mistakes with shortcuts and the interface. I've been trying to make the final switch from Pro Tools to Studio One but I always scurry back to familiarity when frustrations build too high. I'm waiting for a new simple project which is do-able using limited features. That first zero-to-hero finished project will then cement my confidence levels to continue solely in that new environment. Greg

GREAT music production and a TOP video!! 👍 I'm not into Rihana so unaware of how close this cover is, so my only comment is that the vocal (the focal point) should have been more up front (up at least 3db?). [Personal opinion as always from a non-professional] Greg

Was this your first recording/video, or one of many? Either way, I imagine this project was a lot of fun to do. The following are MY personal opinions only ... and probably other would disagree. MUSIC: The music track was well done - a high quality production The song is a classic, and the cover works well as a duplication (vs a re-interpretation or re-arrangement) Did YOU do the backing track from scratch, or was it a third-party product? (If the latter, it would have been good to see the attribution in the end credits). You have a nicely-textured voice. In this track, it rarely hit that top note properly. Transposing the arrangement down one or two semitones would have brought the arrangement right into your power zone. Or else do what most of us do ... and auto-tune ... even if just on the weakest notes! I've sat with an engineer friend who spent two hours fine-tuning a professional vocal that sounded great to me! So it is NOT cheating! (I always fine-tune my own vocals, but only the really obvious faults before getting too bored with it all!) VIDEO: This is a separate set of opinions depending on what I like doing/seeing in videos Your 'staging' and camera angle was great and interesting BUT it became UN-interesting because it never changed ... you never look at the camera, you never smile, and you break the fourth wall of 'performance' by regularly taking your hand off the guitar (to turn the page?). The lack of visual change/excitement instead focused my attention on the performance (miming) of both guitar and singing. The miming was problematic throughout One solution is to do multiple video takes (e.g. by musical section) and editing together the best ones, or else having multiple camera angles ... e.g. behind, or side, and switching angles to avoid the worst of the sync mistakes. To avoid the whole miming/syncing issue, have a video with minimal (or no) 'performing' element. E.g. you at the computer putting it together, with headphones on nodding to the beat, lost in thought while walking somewhere, third-party clips or stills. OK. I have too much time on my hands! You have real talent that, with very little extra time/effort, can be showcased at the next level. I'll watch out for the next one. Cheers, Greg

Appreciate the reply. Do you have an example of this (the pitch wheel by default does 2 semitones up/down). Any suggestion for doing similar to for a waveform (i.e. NOT midi)?

Q1 - How can I take an audio sound/noise and smoothly: change its current pitch to any target pitch over a specified time period (e.g. 1 bar or 10 bars) Q2 - how can I smoothly change the pitch of a MIDI note/chord beyond a total of 4 semitones? MIDI keyboard pitch wheels seem to impose a limit of 2 semitones above/below, as does the pitch automation lane in my DAW. All suggestions gratefully received. My available desktop tools are ProTools, Studio One, Logic Pro X, and Audacity. Greg

You can get great insights into how your releases are doing by analysing the data freely available from your Digital Distributor. In my own case, all my releases have been through CD-Baby. This means sales reports are all-inclusive and are identically structured. I use Excel to analyse the reports to provide comprehensive listings and graphs. Apple's Numbers and Google's Sheets will probably do the same, but I have zero experience with them. As of mid 2022, I have 55 tracks with CD-Baby in the form of 4 albums and 1 single. Dates range from 2004 to current. Once the latest data is downloaded and added to any existing records, a couple of clicks updates the analyses to show performance of tracks by quantity, platform, country, track name, album, date (e.g. month, quarter, year), etc., etc.. The 'database' on my computer currently has more than 13,000 records (see below), each row representing a consolidated CD-Baby sales report for an individual track. Total plays currently exceed 620,000. Once the raw data is structured in a Table like the above, then it is playtime to show anything you want, e.g. ... The only 'problem' I ever had when starting out was date format inconsistencies. CD-Baby uses MM/DD/YYYY. Most other countries (like mine) use DD/MM/YYYY. But I have a fix which is applied to any new incoming data after being added. I'd be happy to share the basics about how I use, build and analyse reported data. If interested, please respond to this post, explaining your data sources, spreadsheet software, and what you want to achieve. If there is sufficient interest and overlap of topics, I'd be happy to create a tutorial video and/or a Zoom meeting, else I'll post individual responses.