Gazebo

That is excellent and often a bit scary!

Thanks for watching. You are both absolutely correct. This is my first attempt at a video, and I had no storyboard or theme, just a bunch of video images from my phone. I had the song and thought there was a thematic link, so stuck it all together. I quite like it, but there are glaring problems on watching again after sleeping on it. The good thing is I can see a lot of the issues and you have been very constructive in your criticisms, so thankyou very much. It gives me food for thought for next time.

As I was given a wah pedal for Christmas it was only polite to give it a run out. This is a song I wrote about my morning walks during lockdown, which were both therapeutic and inspirational. The footage is from some of those walks. Light Across The Fields video.

There are lots of good free VST's and VSTi's out there that can help you to decide what you like working with and what you might want to follow and invest some hard cash into. My suggestions would be to look on the KVR website which has a database of products and download links. I'm in the UK and we have a magazine called Computer Music, which gives you access to a whole bunch of free effects and instrument downloads. A lot of them are slightly limited versions of paid software, but again can help in deciding what you like the sound of and what you want to work with. I will chip in with a few that I use: Lepou Poulin Guitar Amp VST's - a suite of guitar amps that can cover jazz to speed metal Ace Guitar Amp by Shattered Glass Audio - Tweed style amp sim Ignite Amps do some great amp and effect VST's DSK do some good keyboard/ strings/ brass instruments. I'm told they are not state of the art, but as someone who doesn't work with real instruments they sound ok to me. I'm interested to hear what others are using.

Elvis Costello has a great turn of phrase. More current, I think the Taylor Swift "Folklore" album has some great lyrics. Jason Isbell has some great lyrics. Bruce Springsteen hits the mark often. Dylan is the master.

What John said. Making money out of enthusiastic entrants.

I use Reaper, as it is now an old friend after sticking with it for probably 10 years+. There are some things that I think could be better, but not enough to persuade me to try and "learn" another DAW. If I'm just sketching things out I use a Zoom R8 Portastudio, which enables me to transfer anything I like across to the computer, or just gives a "notepad" for writing and arranging. Its interesting to see such a range in use - but as we know it's not the gear that defines the output. I did "audition" Studio One around the time I was making the decision to go with Reaper. I liked it, but had a personal preference for the look and feel of Reaper. I think I am unusual in holding that opinion.

Sometimes that process of thinking about things can be as much of a deterrent to progress as anything else. You see it all of the time, that the biggest barrier to creativity is yourself. Too much thinking about stuff, not enough doing. Fear of doing something that doesn't "measure up", too much worrying about quality control, when you have no output over which to QA check! Obsessing over the gear you "might" need, when you probably have more resource in your laptop than the Beatles had when they recorded Sergeant Pepper. I guess I have been there, and that's been causing procrastination. Here's a weird thing. I cut my finger quite badly which meant I couldn't play guitar, and suddenly when physically stopped from being able to play I had a load of ideas. As soon as I could play again I was recording and came up with something that I am really pleased with. It was recorded simply, with all existing kit, and it was so much fun. Great to be in that immersive space, where time disappears as I chase the sound I want. I think this song sets the direction for the EP. We are in lockdown for Covid-19 in the UK, and I suppose that has also affected things. I am working from home and probably more busy than normal, but we are taking local walks every day, and I am seeing things in my neighbourhood that I have never noticed before. We have found lanes, fields, alleyways and places that we didn't know existed, and that opens your mind to what is all at our fingertips. Looking forward...

Hi John - really good thanks. I went on Saturday and Laurence Jones Band played a great set. Some lovely guitars and equipment there. Managed to hold myself in check and came back with just some new leads and strings, but could have easily spent ££££££'s Probably a wise decision not to travel from Glasgow, though 😄

I am going to the Guitar Show tomorrow. Anyone else going who I could introduce myself to/ meet for coffee??

I have a few go-to's that do different things: 1) DAW - I run Reaper on my laptop, as it seems to me the simplest one to use - and as I have been using it for several years a move to anything else would disrupt my workflow 2) Joyo American Sound Pedal - I use this so much as a DI amp sim. Really cheap to buy, and surprisingly good Fender amp soundalike pedal. 3) Vintage V6LB Electric Guitar - this is a strat copy. Ive had mine for 13 years and it still plays and sounds great. I had a set up done on it a couple of weeks ago to clear up some scratchy pots, and thats all the work its ever had done. I have more expensive guitars, but this is the most versatile and one that I have really bonded with

There has been progress. I hate the phrase "LIfe getting in the way". It presupposes that life being lived is in some way less valuable than stamp collecting, trout fishing, off road biking, music (whatever your interest is). Truth is, that life is what enriches our interest, through providing perspective, and to a certain extent scarcity. There has been a lot of life since my first post on this blog. Most of it very positive, and things that you wouldn't set aside to force an EP onto an unsuspecting public a few days earlier. But there has been progress. I have five new songs in various states, all in some recorded form. All are needing a lot of editing, trimming and restructuring, but the melodies and lyrical intent are there. I've been experimenting with recording techniques and equipment, trying to find the "sound" for the ep as I have made demos The writing process has been organic, in that I have not forced anything, but just gone into my little recording space and seen what happens. It is working out, and I don't intend developing any of the songs beyond demo until I have decided on the ones to go on the EP. I'm normally a record it once and put it out character. This time I am going to redraft, rewrite, restructure and see what I can achieve. The photo is my writing and demo session yesterday. I used the Zoom R8 as the notebook for recording, so that I didn't overthink things around production, but just captured the raw elements in some kind of arrangement.

I was on a sunbed. The sun was beating down, and I was thinking about how much I love writing, playing and recording music, but that nothing happened with it. I have been here at Songstuff for a long while. I'm not much of an activist - a part time lurker really, but I started thinking it might be tome for a change. I wanted to set some rules, some targets and objectives and to see how I can do better than I have before. Here's what I'm thinking: Create a brand new musical vehicle, with a new "band" name. (The band is really likely to be me, possibly with some collaboration and support). Write and record an EP, 6 tracks maximum, with a unified sound Release before the end of the year - Bandcamp, Soundcloud and maybe look at Spotifiy etc via Distrokid, CDBaby or similar Proper videos for two of the songs, maybe lyric and static image videos for the others on a band specific Youtube channel Social media marketing campaign (I have just shut my Twitter account, but I think Instagram is better for music anyway. Twitter seems to have become a place to shout at other people) Aim to at least double the number of listens and downloads achieved on my best previous online release "Prime", which goes back to 2014. (Currently standing at total plays 394, 18 sales/ downloads - not the highest bar to be honest, but that's the benchmark). RULES All songs must be new - no old rewrites No new equipment - this is not a GAS exercise, but a creative one. Choose some base sounds (amps, guitars, keys etc) and stick with them to produce a homogenous sounding EP. No concerns about adding some unusual sounds, but the base should be recognisable. Artwork can be outsourced - not my area of expertise.

Added everyone on this thread - I'm at @KrooharrDude