john

I love how different people approach things differently. I use a variety of approaches to get to a set point fairly early in the recording process, but my path to that point varies. There are certainly times the bass groove is not in sync, but I can see where it is going… right up to the synth section. I don’t mean I find any problem with that section, only that it was a little unexpected and the whole thing is at a draft stage, so the role and relevance of sections is still to be revealed. This is a stage I love in music creation. You are the artist with the clay in front of you, and you lay out the basic structure ready for you, the artist, to shape it. I’m looking forward to seeing where you go with this Clay.

I do love Bereft. It always leaves me wanting more. Sequences evolves nicely. I especially like the long end with sudden finality. It’s very fitting after the chaotic industry of the earlier sections of the song. The mind is a dark place to live has a number of distinct sections. I do love the metal sections, though I have to say I thought those sections screamed for an up front, deep bass.

Phone recording of “I Am Here With You”

Hi Gang Woot woot! It’s time for New Music Friday! Post up your current music projects, anything from just a melody through to a full production. As experimental as you want. I look forward to hearing your music! I recorded a few 1 take songs on my phone. I will post one up a little later. Cheers John

I guess it depends what level of the music industry you are at. Producing my own music has advantages in that I know myself, and usually how to get the best out of myself. I almost always have a strong vision for where to take a song and the sound I want to get. Working on other people’s music I find very easy, though my bluntness can be difficult for non-pros. Normally I have pretty good self awareness and although honest and pretty direct, when I am involved in a project I say what needs to be said. I try not to step on toes but it happens. In a pro studio everyone knows their role. In a demo level studio (they tend to deal with a lot of amateurs) lines are much more blurred and everyone has an opinion. I think pros really appreciate the clarity of direct communication. Amateurs tend to like a gentle shoulder massage before and therapy after a tough call. Lol If I work on my own tracks, the hardest bit is always knowing when enough is enough. That said it not that hard. Working on other people’s songs you just don’t have any much if any emotional attachment. That means I have great clarity, but again, my approach can unsettle non-professionals or people not used to me. Anyone who really knows me, knows that I care, I am just highly focused. If anything my directness relates to caring. I care enough to say something rather than keeping quiet for an easy life.

Windows 11 Upgrading I lose a lot of time updating my recording system. Good that it is up to date, but updates take a while to do. The most annoying bit is that every time I go through the update cycle, I restart my system. It’s a Windows 10 system. That means, every restart brings the “Upgrade to Windows 11!” Messages and software download… even when you don’t want to update! Arrggghh! I would upgrade to Windows 11 if it wasn’t for concerns about compatibility. We should verify that all software and hardware is Windows 11 compatible before upgrading, or risk hours lost on being an upgrade issues detective for who knows how long? You would think it would be easy enough to build a pre-update OS compliance test into Windows components that would inform you: These components would be updated in the OS upgrade These components would then require to upgraded An upgrade is available No upgrade is currently available These components may need to be upgraded, we could not determine compatibility It doesn’t need to be difficult. I just want to make music.

Hey Paul Welcome to Songstuff! How are you involved with the band?

Is middle of night here. Will listen and give feedback. I have an acoustic track I plan to record with my phone in the morning. If I get that done I will post it.

Now you are stepping out of that box, it’s going to be interesting to see where your journey takes you. As a writing and arrangement exercise, I would suggest creating at least one song with no guitar in it… at all. That way you force the step out the box… if you can do a few like that (even if you add guitar later, or do them under a pseudonym) then you will surprised at how liberating it can be, to rely on your underlying musical skills, without the crutch of your own primary performance skill.

Very true. I am a pragmatist. Whatever is done has to work at a minimum, work really well as a preference. It really is the old adage that you are only as strong as the weakest link. It is good to be compassionate and give people a chance, but you are not there as therapy or to risk all to accommodate the weaknesses of an individual. Sure accommodate weaknesses, just not weaknesses that can derail everything. I do tend to give people multiple chances in life (depending on what the issue is), but where my art is concerned I have largely come to a “one strike and you are out” policy. We can still be friends, or even play music between ourselves, for fun, but no serious projects. It’s like starting a race with a broken leg. Why would you do it? It doesn’t stop me wishing them well for their own projects.

Hey, welcome to Songstuff! Thanks for your PM to @Songstuff too.

Anybody else? I would have thought there would be a lot of Kontakt users!

Hi Gang It’s time for New Music Friday! Post up your current music projects, anything from just a melody through to a full production. As experimental as you want. I look forward to hearing your music! I have nothing recorded yet, but if I get a chance today I will record something and post it up later. Cheers John

Hi souip chitchen jammie, welcome to Songstuff! What do you do? Write? Compose? Produce? Manage? Market? Perform?

Het Stuart Welcome to Songstuff. Good to have you aboard. Hopefully we can help you to work towards your musical goals in some ways. The power of a positive attitude is important, being open to try new things and work on improving in all ways… they all help. The same is true of surrounding yourself with like minded people. Looking forward to hearing your music! Cheers John

Extroversion, or how sociable you are 9 Conscientiousness, or how self-disciplined and organized you are 8 Agreeableness, or how warm and empathetic you are 8 Openness, or how receptive you are to new ideas and activities 9 Neuroticism, or how depressed or anxious you are. 6 I don’t think we are set in stone. All we can give is an approximation of how we feel we are right now. A snapshot. Or how we believe we typically are. To be honest, my answers can change considerably. I am naturally quite upbeat, but I’ve been a carer for a long time and have my own health issues. Both have taken their toll, leaving me prone to anxiety and depression, but I don’t spend all my time like that. When depressed, in particular, I am less sociable, less self-disciplined and a bit less open to new ideas.

Hi! I moved this topic to the Songwriting discussion board as a better category for your topic Cheers John

I moved this topic away from our “Introduce Yourself” board to the Musicians Lounge as a more appropriate category for the post. Hopefully you will get a better response too!

Hey João! Welcome to Songstuff! What plans do you have for your band?

It’s a lovely piece Mahesh. I do love seeing how songwriters apply their skills so differently to get such different results. For some it appears so effortless, yet the writer in me knows that sometimes songs do appear almost effortlessly, but mostly it’s like the smooth moving duck on the water, while underwater they are paddling furiously to maintain his it looks on the surface. Nice job.

Hey Mike Welcome to Songstuff! Looking forward to hearing your music. Cheers John

If you could play one gig at a venue you haven’t played before, where would it be?

I wanted to highlight to indie artists the discrepancy in their budgets from an amateur approach to a pro approach. Keep in mind a lot of artists like the idea of transitioning from amateur to professional. Many things need to change, including dedicating time, effort and money towards promoting the thing they have so carefully and lovingly created. From experience, most happily spend a lot of money creating their music, from instruments, amps, effects, to rehearsal costs, recording cost, mastering, but relatively they then spend nothing to promote their music. Yes it is very rough approximation, but basic figures do help.

Hey Gang This is the New Music Friday topic for Friday 11th February, 2922. Please post up the music you are working on. Anything from one instrument or voice up to full productions, a few bars to full songs. Members please leave comments and suggestions. Cheers John

Hey Kelly Welcome to Songstuff! I used to play the mandolin, until mine was dropped on the strap nut and it cracked the shell. I almost bought a mandola at Christmas. I’ll get one eventually! Looking forward to hearing your music. Cheers John