[Plans and Goals]

6 hours ago, VoiceEx said:

@john This is a fantastic topic and I would like to make a suggestion that might be related to it. Though keep in mind, Its.. errmm.. a bit unorthodox, and I'm not sure if its possible. So, if I'm speaking nonsense here, please bare with me! 😅

 

For the sake of convenience and providing context, I will simplify the general idea by using some of my own experiences in online forums, in hopes that this might encourage more people to pitch in and further this discussion.

 

Okay. So here's how this goes. I will also ping few existing members which I think might be interested in at least viewing this topic. What? Its been a long time while since I bugged random people! 👍 @Mahesh @Peggy @GregB @Mora Amaro La Loba @Karhala @TheGarageJump @Reginald Bigsby @eclecticnosepicker @Stewart Schmidt

 

As you may already know, before I came to Songstuff I genuinely disliked general music forums. Practically every other community I checked out before signing up here, was either: completely useless for free members, plagued by parasites and scammers, had little-to-no staff involvement, or, in some extreme cases, I have even seen entire communities which were just straight up toxic (Admins included). I could go on, but you get the idea.

 

Now, thankfully, I think that SF has carefully nurtured an amazing community over the years, and it shows! Though before anyone starts jumping to conclusions, no, I'm not saying all of this to boost anyone's ego. Far from it. I think that despite all the great things this place has to offer, the majority of people just don't do anything with it.

 

So, in the spirit of the thread, I would like to suggest you guys do a small yet effective hands-on demonstration of what Songstuff can do for its members. And, no, I'm not suggesting something big or too elaborate. Something basic. More like, a "Sneak Peek Free Membership Model", which includes current community members. The idea is to present real-time coverage of how Songstuff can help its members, and in a approachable way. People like user friendly stuff.

 

So here's how my idea goes. It will seem a bit strange at first, but maybe there's something to it. And, yes, I will present this idea with financial considerations in mind. My suggesting can be done for free, include anyone, and present results with relatively minimal efforts. I am also going to compose this "pitch" in a realistic way, based on things which I have noticed that typically go on in forums (not just in SF).

 

The Initial premise of the presentation:

 

Realistically speaking, what most musicians have in common is their desire to have an audience (not to mention fans and supporters). So, if you guys will demonstrate how you take an actual DIY artist, with, lets say, 1-30 listeners (at best), and show publicly the documentation of you taught them to turn that into 5k+ effectively (with relative ease, without any party needing to spend money), and in a way that's easy to understand and is accessible for amateurs - than I believe that that would be a good selling point as a presentation for some of the benefits that Songstuff has to offer. Or, At the very least, it might get people's attention, and encourage people to want to reach out more, and take part in this community.

 

Think of it as like saying: "THIS is what Songstuff can do, and actively does for its free members. Can you show me another Forum that actually into that?". And if this presentation is done 'live' and on board, not through private messages, as something that everyone can see in here, than I think that would make for an interesting "free membership preview" which might also incentivize current members to start wanting to participate more, and bring their friends along.

 

I'm not sure if this is possible, since I haven't really seen this done anywhere else. Though here are a few suggestions on how you guys might be able to do that:

 

• Pick a few current members of the community which you believe might be interested in being featured in this sort of documentation / presentation (Possibly through conducting a survey or handing out a questioner). However, come up with a way that literally any registered member could apply and participate. You know, so that people won't get the impression that there's some kind of internal favoritism involved.

 

• Once you pick a several trust worthy candidates, assuming all parties are in agreement, than you could take it to the next level by having all parties Stream the progress, share their insights, and each party create their own logs and continues share their documentations, both as individuals, and as a collective. A sort of streaming collaboration, as it were. Than shove that in any and all Songstuff related content, media feeds, and you could slowly extend that to existing supporters which are a bit more established. Like Mahesh maybe, or whoever else.

 

• Speaking of which. While your doing that, you could also get more traction on the Youtube front through this. I mean, yeah, the playlists are great. However, its not as sexy as flexing how far Songstuff can take someone. Not to mention, it will also open the doors for pushing even more common social media things, Youtube shorts, TikTok, generating revenue (etc etc etc).

 

Anyway... this reply is much longer than I intended it to be, but I think that perhaps what I'm saying might help. I mean, at the very least, if forum members can see this sort of progress going on, and with members they actually know, it would I think potentially encourage more members to participate. I mean, think about it, if you tell people "Yeah lets put you on the UK list with a bunch of artists", its not the same as saying: "Check out this flex!" lol. That's just a joke, but you get what I mean.

 

Again - I don't know if this idea is feasible! I want to make that crystal clear! 🤐 I simply think that it would be cool if more people shared ideas together, and I hope that this sparks even more discussion about these topics!

Although it's not been discussed publicly, I know we've talked and you know I can make pretty decent sounding rock productions. As far as helping burgeoning indie artists here, I don't know how much help I'd be. I could definitely give mixing, arrangement, production, songwriting tips. The only problem being how much of the original artist would shine through. I tend to hear things a certain way and want them done in that fashion. Maybe that's the mark of a good producer? Or a tyrannical musical dictator!

[Awesome Guitarists and Awesome Guitar Performances]

Here's my favorite Ozzy guitar player showing you how to play the biggest song from that era properly. If you want a great left-hand work out, try playing the outro solo correctly on two strings as he shows you here. Those five fret stretches are really great for the hand.

[Unsure of 'sound' on my first ever EDM/Electronica track]

The mix is a bit boxy sounding. A lot of EDM is really hyped. Big bass, bright treble. Your song has a lot of midrange, which would work for a rock arrangement, but it doesn't pop the way EDM should. Those synths at around 1:15 come in way too loud also, they bury everything else. The music itself doesn't really inspire to dance (down tempo harmonic minor stuff usually doesn't), but I don't think that was your intention since this was based on an old song. Just trying to electronify it?

[Awesome Guitarists and Awesome Guitar Performances]

 

[Do you do vocal warm-ups before you practice or sing?]

3 hours ago, Peggy said:

Does doing your backup  vocals help with your lead take?  And then are you satisfied with the backup vocals?   

My songwriting partner and I do the backing vocals together, at the same time, on one mic. I've found that two people singing together into the same mic makes the backing vocals sound WAY more full and lush than just one person doing all the singing, or two people doing the singing on different mics. I've read the same thing from a bunch of pro producers. Two voices into the same mic almost creates a new voice that's unique. We start with the low harmonies that are easy to sing, and that helps us warm us up. They're not the most prominent backing vocals in the mix, so if they're not absolutely dazzling it doesn't matter anyway. If they're not in tune or really crappy, then we scrap them right off the bat and just redo them immediately. We listen as we go, and if something's not up to snuff, we throw it out. Doing several tracks irons out any pitchiness, and we usually do several tracks to get a big sound. At the very least four for each part, because we want at least two tracks of the same part in each stereo channel. That really fills out the sound.

 

After having warmed up doing the low backing vocals for every section that needs them, we're usually in good voice to do the main backing vocals in the middle register. And after we finish that, we're definitely warmed up enough to do the lead vocal. The backing vocals help in warming me up for the lead take, and the backing vocals themselves are usually satisfactory because we started with the easiest part for us to sing.

[Do you do vocal warm-ups before you practice or sing?]

When I'm tracking a song I do the backing vocals first, so I guess that's my warm up for sounding better on the lead take. Haha. I practice guitar way more than I do singing. What are your warm up suggestions, Peggy?

[New Music Friday #12]

This is a nice piano piece. A little harmonic minor flavor towards the beginning middle?

[Playlists]

Did the poll!

[Rapid fire]

On 7/9/2021 at 7:29 AM, Simpan30 said:

Hello  

Did my first vocal cover.

I am no Rob Halford but i tried my best in trying to sing this song.

It is  Rapid Fire. I would love to be a singer someday i am 31 years old so i still got time.

 

 

https://vocaroo.com/1bzW8eHwgrRf

I saw Rapid Fire in the thread title and immediately thought Judas Priest, but figured it was an original song. Pleased to see it really was Priest. Dude, you sound uncannily like Halford. I'm not just sucking up, 'cause I can call out crap when I hear it (politely). This isn't it. A great vocal take.

 

The backing track on the other hand leaves something to be desired. Some of the riffs are simplified, sloppy, and the MIDI drums are robotic. I don't know if you created that though.