FinnArild

I liked no 2 and 4 the best (the right ones). The others seemed a bit cluttered and hard to figure out. Remember that people often only have a second to be interested and get the message in the poster when driving by in a car. I liked 2 a lot, actually - neat backdrop.

Not only only VST plugins - but only UAD VST plugins ...

Not sound card, but I use the UAD2 Duo card for VST plugins. I couldn't live without it now. With IO - do you mean a soundcard?

Feeding the Fire - Genesis (Genesis Archives) (... with oxygen ...)

Now that I have got my UAD 2 card they get all my $ anyway - man - those things are addictive ..

Looks interesting - however - my songwriting workflow in Cubase is so good now I doubt I'll try something else.

There's formulas, just listen to any songs on the radio these days ... question is: do you want to be limited by those? If you do, just write down what they do on a paper, like - 2 bar intro, 8 bar verse x2, 8 bar refrain a fifth up ... and so on. Then apply it on your own stuff. However, my advice to you would be to just finish what you have without needing to have it "perfect" - then post it here for advice, and then (and here's the epiphany) - change it!. Writing music is often a very reiterative process - especially in the beginning. Writing a song in one go has only happened to me a couple of times - most of the time it's hard work combining themes and figuring out transitions. Good luck!

So - things have been very, very busy - and a lot of it not concerning my next release: Testament, so I have regrettably not written much in this blog this year. But - now we are getting to an end with both the redecoration and tracking Testament. My wife was graceful enough to let me finish the home studio room first, so that is up now - if not quite there yet. I have also been in studio and done all the vocals for Testament, so all that remains now is some background vocals, some guitars and piano (which my good friend Reidar Wiik will do) - and we should be ready to mix. Talking about mixing: I'll be doing that myself too, on this one - with some guidance from Tor Øyvind Quille which mixed my last album. I have purchased some neat mixing tools (UAD-2) and currently experimenting with the equipment and the songs that are all but done now. I will start posting up teasers before soon, so: Keep watching this space - things are happening, at last! I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Source

I got it: "Ray". Fading Lights - Genesis (I Can't Dance).

Cool - I keep getting fifths, though ...

It's a Good Thing , John.

I think you should make time and try doing it yourselves. All of us are busy people and I doubt anyone will find the time (feel free to prove me wrong, guys). Asking others to do your stuff is not the road to enlightenment.

1. Do you sing, play an instrument or instruments? Sing, Guitar, Keyboards - some drums and flute too, but not to the level of it being very useful. I started playing when I was around 5 or 6 I guess. 2. Are you in a band or bands? Not really, I am a solo artist - but I have other people playing for me so I guess it's sort of a band. http://www.finnarild.com 3. Do you write songs? Do you write lyrics, music or both? I do it all Do you have a writing partner? Some times I do 4. Do you record your music? Do you use a home studio? If so what gear do you use? I have a dualcore Dell machine and a M-Audio 410 soundcard. I use Cubase as my DAW. I have several soft instruments and the ones I use the most are Quantum Leap Pianos, Symphonic Orchestra and Choirs. My favorite synth is the Absynth. Hypersonic 2 is a great plug for general synth sounds. Do you use a recording studio? I do vocals and mix in a pro recording studio. Do you have music available on the web? if so where? http://www.cdbaby.com/finnarild 5. What other roles do you perform in the music business? I have produced and labelled another album in a completely different style for a friend. That includes promotion, cover graphics, writing a couple of songs and hands-on production in the studio. I have also done guitar, background vocals and orchestral arrangements on several other releases. 6. Are you a tech head? I'd have to answer "yes" to that - but not in any disabling way. 7. What country do you live in? Norway 8. What are your ambitions? I have several ambitions - I would like to release more progrock albums and start being a house-hold name in progrock music. Also I have an ambition of writing more songs for others and also possibly move into music for Commercials/TV/Movies. Finally, I'd like to write at least one big classical symphony before I die. 9. Do you draw/paint/write stories/computer art/dance or other creative pursuit? I have done a bit of drawing in my time, but I never seem to get any good at it. I have done quite a lot of graphical work in my dayjob and websites for others. Good old Photoshop. Other pastimes is fishing, tending to my pets (two cats these days), loving my wife, redecorating (for the past 2 years ... while still loving my wife), gaming (currently World of Warcraft) and programming. 10. What would you like to get out of Songstuff? Connections, advice, friends and fun.

I am a strong believer in feeling and not over-thinking stuff. That is what makes my posts so short.

Actually, the answer is really simple: There's no right and there's no wrong.

Hooray! http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/17/sweden....jail/index.html An important victory against the freeloaders.

Even the old synths and Mellotrons could be a bitch to get in tune. Thank god for the sampler ... well - probably not God, anyway ...

I thought it was sound, so Quicktime should be fine - but some sites may prefer .mpg or .avi instead.

Do you, Steve? ...

Quicktime? Eew ... Can't you get it in .wav or at least a decent resolution .mp3? Finn ...

If the CD is produced under one of the Mechanical Rights Organizations and you are registered as a contributor, you are entitled to a small part of the sales (in Norway it is 9.9% of sales divided between contributors after agreement upon the size of the relative contributions). If not, you probably get nothing. In any case, keep your dayjob

Control Surfaces A control surface is a piece of equipment that lets you control the DAW via buttons and faders instead of using a mouse and keyboard for everything. They make it easier to control both recording and mixing sessions since you focus more directly on tactile controls. There are several things you need to consider before buying a control surface: How well it works with your DAW software Size Prize Needed features They come in all sizes, from simple one-channel strips with some buttons to 16 channel with 32 channel A/D, coffee machine and a microwave oven (OK - the two last was untrue). The one-channel fader type has become quite affordable - I am in the market for one of these myself. Here are some alternatives I have been looking at - Frontier Designs TranzPort - wireless! - Presonus FaderPort - Frontier Design AlphaTrack

So - how to get started out, you ask. Well - you will need some equipment. Even if there are plenty of all-in-one recorders for sales, I would recommend a PC based setup. Most PCs these days have plenty of computing power to get you started, but you need to buy a separate soundcard, since most built-in soundcards is not for music recording. There are plenty of soundcards to choose from, and some different ways to connect them to the computer. Some you can plug in with an USB or Firewire cable, others are cards that you actually need to open your computer for to put them in. For a beginner I would advise you to buy one with an USB 2.0 or Firewire connection. Don't spend your hard-earned money on too many inputs or outputs. Chances are the extra in/outs will be mostly un-used. An exception is if you are planning to record drums or a whole band in which case you will need more inputs. But by then you won't really be a beginner either ... Next, you need some Software. For music software, there are not so many to choose from, but most of them have an entry-level version that doesn't cost that much. The limits is usually in numbers of tracks and plugins and I would advise any beginner to start out with one of these entry-level packages and update later if you need to (in which case you're not so much a beginner anymore ...). Pro tools, Cubase, Sonar and Logic are the most popular systems. Finally, if you are going to record acoustic stuff, you need a decent big-membrane condenser microphone. There are plenty of these around for not-too-much money too - look or ask around on forums to get advises on one that fits your use. Remember that you also need a microphone stand, a shock absorbing mic-holder and a pop filter. Now you are ready to start learning about recording ...

In earlier days, melodies for me was more a function of the rest of the song. As I have evolved, melody has become more and more important to the point where I think of almost everything as a melody. A bassline, a chord progression, a supporting lead synth - many times I treat more of them like melody rather than structure. I also happen to think that one of the more important aspects of any melody is repetition. The most important thing about repetition is stickyness - repetition over verse, inside a verse or verse-line hammers down the point of the melody, but it can also be creatively used with rythm or modulation changes to form even more interesting structures while keeping in context.