JonathonHolder

Melody is very reliant on harmony. The chords are what make it work. Chords first imo

I tell people that my current project is pop rock. But that just means that every song is somewhere around the pop and rock spectrum, really there's a lot of reggae, blues and some jazz in my set. The main thing I put into all my writing is to try and have a unique musical idea at the heart of every song.

Anyone got a link to a list of music press to send to?

I used to write a lot of songs that went iAABe or iAAABe, with B as a development of A. Basically I'd find a nice long chord progression, maybe a minute or so, that finished unresolved (i.e. usually on chord V). I'd repeat it a couple of times, but on the final repetition would take the chords somewhere else, usually ending up back on chord I. I'd then stick on a different idea for an intro to set the scene, and try and come up with a creative idea for the end. I would sometime change to another key at the end, or come up with a different riff and have an extended out-tro, or use something based on the intro. No chorus, no verse, no bridge, no middle 8. I've dumbed down a bit these days, so tend to go with the standard ABABCB half the time.

Just got a proper mix up, and also a mix with some alien sound effects. Seem like an ok mix now? Also, which do you think I should go for, the alien version or plain? I like the sound effects, but it obscures the main riff a little. I thought about adding a middle 8, but I think it works ok as a short novelty track, the kind of track they ply on the radio when they've got 2 minutes before the news.

Man, that's some really good insights, that's an unmixed version though. Would be great if you could take another look when I've got a mixed version up, should be by Thursday but I'll let you know. I'm def going to watch out for those things. I think the compression was from a dodgy master, hopefully can sort a lot out with EQing. Will take a look at the vocals as well. Cheers

Thanks for those responses. The engineer/producer I was mixing with was pretty insistent that all the breaths should be cut off this track, but I made him leave most of them on in the end. If you're interested it's 'We are not alone' on my myspace (link at the bottom). I felt the breaths add to the urgency of the track. This guy was telling me that it's standard practise to cut out breaths on up-beat tracks, but I've noticed breaths on a few commercial songs since then, e.g. that annoying new Katie Perry song. So that’s decided then, the breaths are staying in.

Hey guys. When do you edit breaths out from a vocal track, and when do you leave them in? Is there some kind of standard practice?

I'm just going to keep plugging away then, play gigs and do what ever I can.

Just put a vid on my myspace from my first gig with my project a few weeks ago. Some, uh, interesting singing, mainly because of the (lack of) moniter mix. Think I got away with it though.

Thanks guys, plenty of ideas there. Particularly thanks to John for taking the time to write that all out. So are you saying to do press releases or get media publicity I'd pretty much have to release a CD? That's possible I suppose, it would cost maybe £700 to get another 3 fairly decently recorded tracks to make up an EP. It's hard to throw that much money at something just because it could lead to some local press coverage. I guess it's always worth recording anyway though, I'd have to increase my income to afford that. I'll look for bands in my area, but I don't think there's much of a scene around where I live. The nearest live music venues are miles away, and the only local bands I know of are really small bands, i.e. the kind of thing you suggested to avoid. There's one fairly big band from my area, but they’re punk so I wouldn't really fit on the same bill. I'm gonna try to start a mailing list playing at open mics, as that's free promotion. Maybe if I keep playing the same open mic in London I can make that 'my venue', so I become known in another area than Woodford. I'm also thinking of trying to make a music video, as one of my friends is studying film and could help out. I’m not sure what I’d do with it then though – I’m pretty much a headless chicken at the moment. Maybe I need a manager.

Hey guys. Just posting as I'm having trouble getting anyone to come to my gigs. I think I've got some pretty good material, and a good band to play it. You can hear for yourself if you go on my myspace. I've just played a couple of gigs, and at the first one I brought 9 people, though the venue was still pretty full. The next one I only brought 3 people down, one band pulled out, and the other band only brought one person. To make it even worse, it was at the Bull and Gate, which has capacity for hundreds of people and a massive stage. Admittedly the gigs locations were a bit funny, one Kentish Town and one in Fitzrovia, when I'm from Woodford (east London/essex). I booked them as I though they were better venues and more connected to the scene in London, but there's no point playing to a virtually empty room. For both gigs I invited everyone on facebook and gave out a lot of flyers, for the Kentish Town gig I even got somebody to go flyer nearby on the night, but the total return from flyering was pretty much 0. I've booked a slightly more local gig in Leytonstone, will see how many people come down for that. Beyond that I don't know what to do. Because a couple of the people I'm playing with are on a session basis, I can't really afford to do a lot of pointless gigs. I'm virtually out of ideas. Has anyone got any suggestions of how to get a few people through the door? Jon

You can't just 'learn to play guitar', or even 'learn to solo'. You have to have something you actually want to learn. Could be traditional blues guitar, metal shredding, jazz, pop riffs, whatever. Pick something you want to learn, get a recording and work it out note by note. There is no secret, the trick is to get started; it doesn't matter where you start, as long as you start somewhere.

Elton John lost his falsetto from over-singing. You should probably rest your voice more, and hopefully it will recover. Or see a doctor.

Ah, so smueske is saying that if they had professional equipment, red book mastering would be available. So that implies they're not using the correct professional equipment. Hmmm