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haim shim

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Posts posted by haim shim

    Too Many Hats

    in Musician's Lounge

    Posted

    On 12/19/2021 at 5:40 PM, Clay Anderson Johnson said:

    The digital age has me adding and performing many new functions.  This is exacerbated by my current low level of income requiring me to perform duties for which I used to pay others, many of which I am not trained in doing.  The immediate list is:

    • Writer
    • Producer
    • Recording engineer
    • Instrumentalist
    • Legal registrations (LLC, Trademarking, Copyrighting, BMI)
    • Business & tax records (accounting & filing)
    • Distribution (Distrokid, SoundCloud, BandCamp, Audiomack, ReverbNation, Youtube)
    • Promotion (Public Figure Facebook page with ads, Google ads, Instagram, Spotify, email lists, soliciting bloggers & influencers)
    • Crowdfunding
    • Art creation
    • Webmaster (creating site, updating, SEO, Google Webmaster & Analytics)
    • Research reading

     

    This is in addition to my regular life.

    • Wife, friends, and family
    • Household comptroller
    • Maintaining house and yard
    • Daily meditation
    • Working out

     

    This increased workload has begun to impact my virtuosity as a musician.  So I am now having to go back to committing at least 30 minutes a day to simply playing scales on a guitar.

     

    When I was learning my profession I used to devote time every morning before work to playing major, minor, and diminished scales up and down the length of the neck.  Then, after I reached the level of proficiency and accomplishment to not require a “day job”, I took up piano and did the same on a keyboard.  After that I was playing enough and popular music is so structurally simple this was no longer necessary.

     

    Now, due to the time requirements of everything else being added, I simply don’t play enough so I have to return to scale practice.

     

    Does anyone else have similar issues of becoming overwhelmed?

     

    Hi Clay. I've been overwhelmed by some of the things on your list many times. But I think the more you get used to it, the easier it gets. I totally understand you, and sometimes, or a lot of times, life as an indie musician can be extremely challenging. Wish you success with all those hats, Haim.

    Best day to release music?

    in Music Industry

    Posted

    Some say it's friday because that's when literally everyone releases their music.

    But what if your release gets hidden with all of the releases on friday? nobody talks about that.

    I think that weekends are better than regular days, but there is no real formula in my opinion.

    • Like 1

    Songwriting advice

    in Songwriting

    Posted

    I agree. however, I take a different approach - instead of loops, a whole song, but it depends on the genre. Hip/hop & rap has more loops to it, even though some rock songs use loops as well sometimes but it's not the song structure normally. Also, learning how to play an instrument can definitely help people. It's also fun.

    A Guide to Hiring a Music Publicist

    in Music Industry

    Posted

    Thanks, interesting read.

    I especially liked the part where you wrote that sometimes a bad publicist may sabotage your progress or even worse. I guess it's important to find one that fits good to your needs, maybe a label can do that for you the best as they have experience with this kind of people. I like the advice of asking your producer as well.

    Where Do You Mostly Write Your Songs?

    in Songwriting

    Posted

    On 5/5/2021 at 9:24 PM, john said:


    In a cafe I don’t sing at full volume or anywhere near it. I tend to vocally doodle, quietly until I click record... and then I speech-level-sing. If out and about at shops, walking about, I sing at a gently projected volume. I used to do it at my old job. I started playing at 4. My mother was a singer and piano teacher. From a very young age my sisters and I used to be trooped out to perform for her friends, especially her music friends. I was performing in public from 8-ish, singing in choirs, then playing in youth orchestras and pipe bands amongst other things. I decided at some point that the best way to deal with any notion of embarrassment is to sing as I go about my daily activities. It also meant I got a lot more writing time and practicing! Life’s too short for embarrassment lol Add to that I find if you engage the people who react, they just accept it. In a cafe I’m not performing, but not hiding either. More respecting their space. Sort of. Lol People do ask, probably because I’ll be scribbling on a pad, recording etc. I’ve even been known to do something basic in GarageBand, though I use headphones. But when they ask, they are often interested and quite accepting. I guess I also tend to pick places where chat is louder than the background music. That way I am not ruining someone’s enjoyment of a song. Being sensitive to the environment also helps. If people are having a deep and meaningful, it’s probably the wrong vibe. 
     

    :)

     

    That idea makes me think about it further and I see the logic in it... I thought you are there with a guitar and singing lol. It's nice to read that you are playing live from a very young age. Also I guess the restaurants and cafe's in America are larger than here... I remember it actually. Here everyone is on top of each other's faces haha.

    • Like 1

    Indie Artists You Listen To

    in Musician's Lounge

    Posted

    There is one artists I discovered this week and she is amazing.

    She's got many great songs, I really recommend you to check her out.

    I know that usually people don't get into recommendations but I really think you should check her out:

    Her name is ElMar Origenes:

     

     

    • Like 1

    Where Do You Mostly Write Your Songs?

    in Songwriting

    Posted

    Hi John.

    I would say that it's changing all of the time.

    Sometimes I write while traveling, sometimes at home, then if I change a home I write there, normally in any room which at the moment I feel I have inspiration on. What's more important for me is the notebook that I write the song in, somehow it gives me more of a feeling than the place itself.

     

    By the way, how can you sing in a cafe? that sounds very challenging, aren't you a bit embarrassed by the surroundings?

    • Like 2
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