tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86364459755944677562024-03-13T10:42:11.400-07:00The Makeshift MusicianLearn about making music.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-43267292431049227882009-06-29T11:49:00.000-07:002009-06-29T12:28:24.622-07:00Producing Natural-Sounding MIDI Notes<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">When making electronically-produced music, you'll find yourself often programming notes rather than playing them. People who don't understand the medium will say that this makes the music cold, mechanical and lifeless, but they simply don't understand the amount of work and craftsmanship that goes into manually arranging notes. A composer needs to take into account very precise attributes of every note of every measure of every part they program. This can be very daunting. When I write melodies that are more complex than I can feasibly play, I'll use Cubase's piano-roll style grid to place notes, and then I'll let the computer play them. In the early days, this usually meant that the notes sounded harsh and machine-like. How do I fix this? How can I make MIDI-generated tones sound more natural to the listener?<br /><br />Well, I thought, human hands are not machines. We don't hit every note on precisely the right beat, right? After placing my notes, I would nudge them just slightly out of sync with the rhythm. Hopefully this would be the subtle change needed to make the music sound more organic. Right?<br /><br />As it turns out, the hands of a trained musician actually have excellent rhythm; better than you would ever expect. Once I'd learned to play piano with some moderate skill I found that my own notes pretty much hit precisely on the beat when needed. My nudging of the MIDI tracks only served to make my melodies sound amateur and unrefined.<br /><br />No, the key to lifelike melodies, I found, is in the velocity of the notes played. With some exceptions, almost all of your machine-played notes can be placed in perfect sync as long as they have heavily varied velocities. Velocity, in this case, means how hard the note is played. Think of the difference between a piano being played softly and a piano being played loudly and you'll know what I mean.<br />I could spend several paragraphs describing the method to you, but I'll let this picture do most of the talking:</span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SkkSoAKrL_I/AAAAAAAAAG0/2DTQW51zPOk/s400/velocity_graph.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352830110555385842" /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As you can see in this very generic guide, the odd-numbered notes are louder, while the even ones are quieter. You can also see that there's a more subtle pattern of general volume change: The smaller the note (8th, 16th, 32nd etc.) the more likely it will be relatively quiet when it is not on the main beats of a measure.<br /><br />When making a melody, I will start with this pattern and then adjust it according to what I want it to sound like for that particular part. Following this pattern works particularly well for complex melodies with many notes.<br /><br />If you simply follow that chart to the letter, your melody will still have a machine-like quality to it. It's best to arrange your velocities in this pattern and then adjust everything a little afterward, putting emphasis on certain notes for dramatic effect. This particular chart, for example, is clearly skewed towards something that emphasizes beats on 1 and 3, which you don't alway want. Try adding a little randomness too and see how it comes out. The beauty of MIDI-generated music is that if you don't like it, you can endlessly tweak it until it sounds perfect.<br /><br />Do you have any cool techniques for MIDI melodies?</span></div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-68359721010146572462009-05-11T15:15:00.001-07:002009-05-11T15:16:46.136-07:00Weekly Music Writing - Like lifting weights made of creativityA while back I wrote about writing music constantly in order to build your skills and flex your creativity. I've been making music for several years now and my biggest project had been a 16 track score for a tragically unreleased computer game, which I finished in about 6 months. This was a great exercise, but afterward I got somewhat lazy. I was still producing music and getting better all the time, but unfortunately at a very slow rate.<br /><br />It was roughly two months ago when I had completed a song in the studio that took me about a week to make when I realized <i>'You know, I should really be finishing a song every week.'</i> That's when I decided to start my project.<br /><br />I call it the <a id="in4:" href="http://jupiterman.net/songathon" title="Jupiterman Weekly Song-A-Thon"><b>Jupiterman Weekly Song-A-Thon</b></a>. I'm writing and producing a new piece of music every week for three months. This means by the end of it I'll have twelve tracks, and so far I've completed nine. There are no requirements in the project other than finishing each song by Friday. The songs can be any length and any genre. In the 9 songs that I've already made, I've done electronica, jazz, solo piano, cinematic, ambient, and... er, harpsichord rock (kind of a failed experiment. It was a rough week.)<br /><br />Here are some things I've learned along the way so far:<br /><br /><b>1. There are ways around writer's block.</b> Usually by Friday when I'm finishing up a new song I have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to do for the next week and I may even start working on the next song immediately after finishing. This isn't always the case, however. There have been a couple of weeks when I've started without any clue what I was doing and nothing I try seems to click with me. It can be very frustrating. This is not the end, however! I've somehow managed to deliver a song every week regardless. How?<br /><br />Well, one week I simply couldn't get much time to work on anything. Instead of just giving up, however, I dug around through my hard drive and dredged up an older song that I had been working on several months before. I hadn't been too happy with it, but in the few hours that I had that day I polished it up and finished it off in time to release it that afternoon. I became much more satisfied with it.<br /><br />Another week was truly a case of writer's block. Friday came around and I still had nothing, despite having spent a lot of time in the studio previously that week. I didn't know what I was going to do. Then I remembered I had a piano piece that I had written as a sort of chord exercise for myself almost a year ago. I only played it on my keyboard in my bedroom and never really considered recording it. Until now, that is. Despite it starting out as an exercise, it was musically sound, had an interesting chord progression, had some real emotional power and I could play it fairly competently. Problem solved! I recorded it, tweaked it, and had it done in less than two hours.<br /><br />Writer's block will most likely hit you sometimes, but there are creative ways to get around it. You can also try doing something completely off the wall, if you have no ideas left. This is how you get stuff like harpsichord rock; not the best thing ever, but something different, at least.<br /><b><br />2. I have a style/formula and I have certain limitations.</b> I've always kept this idealized vision of myself as a composer who is genre-less who can write a competent piece of music in any style imaginable. This project has shown me the reality of myself as a composer. There are certain genres that I gravitate towards, like electronica, and others that I struggle with, like rock or symphonic. I really want to make another rock song after the success of Mighty Surf Wizard Battle, but I have a hard time mixing electric guitar sounds and coming up with chords to make up the verse and chorus sections. I have an easier time with symphonic works, but again, chords (my arch-nemeses) are difficult. The real problem with symphonic, however, lies in the technical limitations of my own studio.<br /><br />I also have a very specific way of putting chords and, indeed, whole songs together. I tend to have chord changes occur every measure, but almost never more frequently. This can be very limiting.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">None of the problems I've mentioned here are insurmountable</span><span style="font-size:100%;">. They are not intrinsic aspects of my or anyone's character.</span> There more learned about music and more practice one gets, the better their work becomes.<br /><br /><b>3. Time constraints will give you perspective.</b> Since I'm not living in a mansion built out of solid gold BMW's, I have to work at a job like everyone else. My particular job, thankfully, affords me some flexibility to work on other endeavors. Still, work, social obligations, self-education and writing for multiple websites take up a lot of my time, and I'm sure you can relate. With all of this in mind, I set aside around 8 to 16 hours of my free time each week to work on my music. This is certainly not enough time to create a masterpiece, but it <i>is</i> enough to put together a well-made 2 to 3 minute song.<br /><br />Having such a time constraint will force you to know and understand what is most important in the music you're composing. There are many things I could tweak on each piece that I write; making sure every last drum beat and portamento swing is absolutely perfect, but I simply don't have enough time. Instead I focus on making sure it's a finished product that has some emotional weight and is produced well. When you write all the time, you get more efficient. Little technical things that you struggled with before and would take up so much of your time will eventually fade away as you become more competent at them or you find a more efficient way of doing things. You'll learn to produce quality on your first try, rather than your third, simply because you'll have no choice.<br /><b><br />4. Forcing yourself to make music is incredibly rewarding.</b> This project has been great fun and I've learned a ton from doing it. It has even given me a lot of ideas for things to do after the project is over. I'm thinking of doing a pure electro-jazz album in the style of my third song in the project. I want to do some collaborations with a few of my friends. I've now proven to myself that I can make quality music quickly and efficiently, so there's no hesitation or wariness about getting started on a new project.<br /><br />I urge you, fellow makeshift musician, to start your own Song-A-Thon. It doesn't matter if all you have is a guitar and a tape recorder, just give it a try. Maybe bring some other musicians in to help. By the end of it you'll have a sweet album to give away or sell. It could just be the best thing you've ever done for your music writing career.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-69248268630562206542009-04-13T10:42:00.000-07:002009-04-14T11:49:34.478-07:00Microphones, Cables and Everything Else in Your StudioThis is the final part of <a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/makeshift-musicians-comprehensive-guide.html">the Makeshift Musician's Comprehensive Guide to Building Your Own Studio</a><br /><br />So, you've got your room for your studio, you've set up your computer, hooked up your audio interface and installed your recording software. What's next? Actually, a lot of stuff.<br /><b><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Microphones</span></b><br /><br />Unless you're an all-software kind of musician, you need a microphone or two. Entire books have been written on the subject of microphones and how they are used in different situations; it's a very large field. You can get specialized mics for any instrument you can think of for thousands of dollars and often they are purchased in pairs. If you're like me, though, and I know I am, you don't have those kinds of resources. I'll try to point you to some general-purpose mics instead.<br /><br /><b>AKG Perception 120 -</b> This is the one I use in my studio. It's a good general purpose mic that has a very crisp sound. It comes in a nice case with a shock mount. It usually goes for around $120.<br /><br /><b>Shure SM57 -</b> This is a classic mic that has been in use for something like 30 years. It generally goes for $70 to $100. It works great for guitar amps and drum kits, (just don't put it too close to the kick drum; that'll be too much for it) and if you get a decent <a title="preamp" href="http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TubeMP/" id="e695">preamp</a>, it works pretty well for vocals too.<br /><br />Wait, what is a preamp? What a great question! A good microphone needs power to sound good. Some microphones can work with very little power but they're not very sensitive, i.e. your computer microphone that comes with your webcam. The more power your microphone has, the better your overall recording quality will be. A preamp's job is to provide power to your microphone, which your mixer or audio interface may not be able to do. My M-Audio FireWire 1814 audio interface also acts as a preamp, but I'm thinking about picking up a separate one.<br /><br />Don't forget to check out my article <a title="How Microphones Work" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/02/how-microphones-work.html" id="qcz6">How Microphones Work</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><b>Cables</b></span><br /><br />You should get cables for each device you have. Don't scrimp here. A cable for each microphone you have, two 1/4 inch cables for each synthesizer or drum machine you have. Also, you may be tempted, as I was, to get shorter cables to save money. This really isn't a good idea. 3-foot cables are almost useless unless your device sits right on top of your audio interface. Get <i>at least</i> 6-foot cables for everything. You might consider getting a particularly long mic cable, as you never know how you might set up a mic and you may need some extra length to accommodate.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><b>Everything Else</b></span><br /><br />There are lots of other items you'll most likely want to round out your studio and make it more usable.<br /><br /><i>Mic stand</i> - If you have a microphone, you want a mic stand as well. What, are you going to hire someone to hold the mic in front of the guitarist while he plays?<br /><br /><i>Stools/chairs</i> - A musician needs to sit on something while they play, especially during long recording sessions. Simple, cheap stools or chairs do the trick.<br /><br /><i>Instrument stands</i> - for putting guitars and such on between records. A rack could work pretty well also.<br /><br /><i>Vocal booth</i> - If the room for your studio has a closet, this is a great opportunity to turn that into a vocal booth. You often want an intimate sound when recording vocals, and even in a padded studio room a voice can sound echoey in recordings. This is why professionals have separate recording booths. If you don't have a closet, try to find some other way to isolate a singer as best you can. Always experiment!<br /><br /><i>Mini-fridge/food</i> - Long studio sessions can lead to hunger. Always keep musicians happy and fed.<br /><br /><i>Couch</i> - for lounging. 'Nuff said.<br /><br />Now get in there and start making some music. Let me know how it goes!<br /><a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-speakers-should-i-get.html"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Go to part 5: What Speakers Should I Get?</span></a><br /><br /><a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/makeshift-musicians-comprehensive-guide.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">>>> Go back to the index</span></a>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-85395708810308950712009-03-30T10:23:00.000-07:002009-04-14T11:43:44.227-07:00Audio Recording Software for Your Studio<div><span style="font-style: italic;">This is Part 4 of <a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/makeshift-musicians-comprehensive-guide.html">the Makeshift Musician's Comprehensive Guide to Building Your Own Studio</a></span><br /><br />We're now down to the last big component of your beast of a studio. To add this last piece, we need to dive into the prickly, sometimes confusing realm of software. Luckily for you, though, there are a lot of easy options to work with. </div><div><br /></div><div>What does the software do? In the old days of recording, I'm talking, say, pre-Beatles era, audio-guys would just stick a microphone in front of a preforming band. The band would play, the mic would record onto a big reel of tape, and the audio-guy would call it a day and presumably get trashed afterward. Now, we've all listened to those old recordings and, well, they've got personality, but overall they sound pretty bad.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SdEAYhPjdtI/AAAAAAAAAGk/WrEoXDBdzCc/s1600-h/kristal.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 112px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SdEAYhPjdtI/AAAAAAAAAGk/WrEoXDBdzCc/s200/kristal.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319033056141735634" border="0" /></a><br />There's a misconception among folks that <b>modern stuff sounds great in comparison because our space-age microphones and recording media are simply better</b>, but that's actually only a very small part of the reason. Most engineers can't even tell the difference between a well-built microphone from the 1930's and a well built microphone just off the assembly-line.<br /><br />The real reason modern recordings sound so good is because of the multitrack recording technique. Essentially multitracking allows you to record and synchronize multiple tracks at the same time, drums on one track, guitar on another and your vocals on a third, for example. You can add effects and edit each of these tracks without affecting the others or destroying or really even changing the original audio, allowing you free reign to tweak the sound until it's perfect. Since the edits you make are <b>on top of the audio in a separate layer instead of </b><b>int</b><b>egrated into it</b>, if you mess up you don't need to rerecord -- you just take off the edit and you still have your pristine file. For a more in-depth explanation of how it works, read my very first article: <a title="An Introduction to Multitrack Recording" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/01/introduction-to-multitrack-recording.html" id="yprq">An Introduction to Multitrack Recording</a>. Back yet? Okay, now we can delve into software.<br /><br />There are several options at your disposal and in fact some of them happen to be free of charge. Lets take a look at the free ones first.<br /><br /><b><a title="GarageBand" href="http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/" id="tfef">GarageBand</a> </b> - If you're using an Apple computer for your studio, then, lucky you, you've already got software built-in. Professionals may scoff at it, but GarageBand is a true, honest-to-god multitrack system, that you can use to record real stuff. Like all Apple products, it's easy to use. This would be a great place to start, and it won't cost you a dime if you've already got a Mac.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SdEAifBX58I/AAAAAAAAAGs/fyZC-HMOLno/s1600-h/garageband-723027.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SdEAifBX58I/AAAAAAAAAGs/fyZC-HMOLno/s200/garageband-723027.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319033227344078786" border="0" /></a><br /><b><a title="Kristal" href="http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/index.php?section=details" id="d_.k">Kristal</a></b> - Another free bit of software, Kristal is so good they could charge $100 for it and people would be willing to pay it. 16 audio tracks, effects built in. VST support. This has everything. If you're just starting out, get this first. You can't beat free.<br /></div><br />Those are the nice free ones, and are probably good enough for anything you might need. If you really want to go pro, however, then following is the studio software that'll take big chunks out of your wallet. Keep in mind, all these are competing with each other for your business, but really, ask any professional and they'll tell you they all do the same thing. The important thing is that you take the time to learn to use your software effectively.<br /><br /><b><a title="ProTools" href="http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?navid=349&langid=100&itemid=33116" id="lmon">DigiDesign ProTools</a></b> - ProTools is usually the software choice for professionals. You can get the LE version for around <b>$150</b>. The high-end, HD version is much more, but seriously, you probably won't need it. The nice thing about ProTools is that there's a lot of specialized hardware, like mixing consoles and audio interfaces, that can accompany the software seamlessly. DigiDesign has built a whole, unified system around ProTools and supports it really well. I've used it some, and I believe it is geared more towards traditional studio recording, so it may have just slightly less support for purely electronic and MIDI setups.<br /><br /><b><a title="Steinberg Cubase" href="http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/musicproduction/cubasestudio5_product0.html" id="r9s6">Steinberg Cubase</a> </b> - This here is my software of choice. Steinberg invented the VST (Virtual Studio Technology) system, which is a platform, of sorts, for developers to create new systems that 'plug in' to Cubase, so you can add things like new effects processors or synthesizers. It has been so successful that other companies have added VST support to their systems. Anyway, Cubase is more geared towards electronic setups, but it can handle pure acoustic recording just fine, as I've used it for both. Cubase Studio 5, the current lower end version, goes for <b>$299</b>, which is pretty pricey.<br /><br /><b><a title="Cakewalk Sonar" href="http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SONARhs7/" id="kl.8">Cakewalk Sonar</a> </b> - To be honest I don't know a whole lot about Cakewalk, and their product line is a little convoluted, but I know there are some artists that swear by it. The Home Studio version goes for a paltry (by comparison) <b>$100</b>, so it may be the most cost-effective of the bunch.<br /><br />Remember to approach your software as you would an instrument: <b>This is something you need to practice with and learn the intricacies of before you can really be effective with it</b>. Find tutorials online and record and experiment as much as you can.<br /><br />You'll most likely be overwhelmed by all the stuff onscreen when you boot up your software of choice for the first time. Here are some items to help get you oriented:<br /><br /><b>1. Find out how to get your Audio Interface talking to your Software</b>. This is the first thing you need to do. You want to be able to hook up a microphone and start recording, so make sure it actually works when you do it. Go through the manuals for both products, and if all else fails ask the internet: search for both items in a single query on Google.<br /><br /><b>2. Figure out how to make new tracks</b>. Also, each track has a 'recording input.' This is how it decides where it gets it's sound, be it from the microphone or the synthesizer or the bass guitar. Find out how to set this.<br /><br /><b>3. Automation</b>. It's generally fairly simple to see how to change the volume of a track manually, but what you really want is to have the volume change throughout the song automatically, such as when an instrument fades out. This is usually called automation. Automation can cover other things too, like panning the sound left and right, or mixing effect levels.<br /><br /><b>4. Find the keyboard shortcuts</b>. I can't emphasize this enough. <i>Learn the keyboard commands!</i> They will make your life easier.<br /><br /><b>5. Learn how to use Equalization and Effects</b>. Equalization (EQ) is your best friend. You can use it to cut or boost, with great precision, any range of frequencies in your individual audio tracks. You do this so that you can fit lots of different sounds together without it all sounding like mud. Fiddle around with EQ a lot to learn how it works. Also experiment with effects as much as you can.<br /><br /><a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/audio-interface-or-how-to-get-sound.html">Go to part 3: Audio Interface, or How to Get Sound into the Computer</a><br /><br /><a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-speakers-should-i-get.html">>>> Go to Part 5: What Speakers Should I Get?</a>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-75001309472800894952009-03-16T13:50:00.000-07:002009-04-14T11:41:59.230-07:00Audio Interface, or, How to Get Sound into Your Computer<span style="font-style: italic;">This is Part 3 of <a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/makeshift-musicians-comprehensive-guide.html">the Makeshift Musician's Comprehensive Guide to Building Your Own Studio</a></span><br /><div><br />Now that you've got a computer, it's entirely possible that you're now standing in front of it with your guitar or piano or whatever, your eyes slowly moving back and forth between the two objects in a confused manner, wondering how to get sound into machine. <b>At least, that's what I did</b>.<br /><br />You see, computers don't normally come with a usable audio interface. Sure, you've got a sound card, and it probably has a tiny microphone jack, but you're not actually thinking of using that, are you? Are you??<br /><br />So what is an audio interface? It's a box that hooks up to your computer, usually through FireWire (you did remember to get a computer that has FireWire capability, right?) On this box is a number of inputs, for taking in sound, and outputs for, uh, outputting sound. I've made a little diagram to show you how it all works. This is to give you an idea of roughly how your studio should be set up:</div><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/Sb68hAxgrqI/AAAAAAAAAGE/kSZisC5ypX8/s1600-h/studio_diagram.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/Sb68hAxgrqI/AAAAAAAAAGE/kSZisC5ypX8/s400/studio_diagram.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313891885673131682" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Click on the image to see it full-size.</span><br /></div></div><div><br />Now here are the different components that you want to look for in an audio interface:<br /><b><br />Mic inputs</b><br /><br /></div><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/Sb69HOrJs9I/AAAAAAAAAGM/GhLrhtqacp8/s1600-h/mic_input.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 91px; height: 69px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/Sb69HOrJs9I/AAAAAAAAAGM/GhLrhtqacp8/s200/mic_input.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313892542239585234" border="0" /></a></div> What can I say? These are for your microphones. If you do <b>any</b> acoustic stuff (guitars, drums, vocals, sound effects etc.) your audio interfac e should have at least two of these inputs on it. If you're recording a whole band, you'll want as many mic inputs as possible. </div><br /><div><b>1/4-inch Line inputs<br /></b><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/Sb69xGzFsAI/AAAAAAAAAGU/apWs1IQ-XKs/s1600-h/8th_inch_line_inputs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 107px; height: 71px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/Sb69xGzFsAI/AAAAAAAAAGU/apWs1IQ-XKs/s200/8th_inch_line_inputs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313893261679898626" border="0" /></a>These are for bass guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, drum machines, turntables or anything electronic. If you've got a rack full of synths, you'll want more of these. </div><div><br /></div><div><b><br />MIDI inputs<br /><br /></b></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/Sb6-JDY4lTI/AAAAAAAAAGc/Ij_odNaZRSY/s1600-h/MIDI_plug_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 104px; height: 79px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/Sb6-JDY4lTI/AAAAAAAAAGc/Ij_odNaZRSY/s200/MIDI_plug_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313893673081541938" border="0" /></a>It's hard to find an audio interface that <i>doesn't</i> have MIDI inputs and outputs, but make sure yours has these anyway, especially if you're planning an all-software electronic setup. </div><br />With all this in mind, here are a few interfaces I found with a little digging on Sweetwater.com:<br /><br /><a title="PreSonus Inspire 1394" href="http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Inspire1394/" id="xab-">PreSonus Inspire 1394</a> - This has two 1/4-inch inputs and two mic inputs for $200. No MIDI though.<br /><br /><a title="Roland Edirol FA-66" href="http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Inspire1394/" id="e:8y">Roland Edirol FA-66</a> - Now we're talkin'. 2 mic inputs, 4 1/4-inch inputs, RCA inputs (you know, those red-and-white cables on your DVD player?) MIDI in and out, this one looks pretty sweet. Not bad for $280.<br /><br /><a title="Alesis iO|26" href="http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/io26/" id="r.bs">Alesis iO|26</a> - If you've got a larger studio setup, or you just want to get fancy, this has more inputs than you'll ever need, plus you can use it to control your software. $430.<br /><br />In my studio, I use an <a title="M-Audio FireWire 1814" href="http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FireWire1814.html" id="e4cg">M-Audio FireWire 1814</a> , though these seem to be increasingly hard to find these days. It has eight 1/4-inch inputs, two mic inputs, MIDI and some other nice features. When it works, it works well, but it tends to crash a lot. Remember to do a lot of research before plunking down your cash for one of these devices. You can find reviews for just about any product by typing in the product name followed by the word 'review' on Google.<br /><br />Hopefully, this can get you started with choosing an interface. What you get depends on your needs as a musician and recording artist. For example, I have more synths and workstations, so my interface has more 1/4-inch inputs. Some of you might have an all software setup, so you may only need midi inputs, in which case you'll be spending very little on hardware and spending more on software.<br /><br />Speaking of software, that's our next issue to tackle. See you next week!<br /><br /><a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/get-computer-for-your-studio.html">Go to Part 2: Get a Computer for Your Studio</a><br /><br /><a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/audio-recording-software-for-your.html">>>> Go to Part 4: Audio Software</a>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-24879512936674692352009-03-02T11:32:00.000-08:002009-04-13T10:59:09.966-07:00The Makeshift Musician's Comprehensive Guide to Building Your Own StudioSo you have a great band or you're a composer and you really want to make a sweet album yourself, but you don't know where to start? How does someone even record music? How does one go about putting together a studio? Don't you need to go to school for that kind of thing?<br /><br />Fear not, gentle reader. Like the majestic albatross, I swoop down from the heavens and bestow upon you the greatest tool you'll ever receive, <b>The Makeshift Musician's Comprehensive Guide to Building Your Own Studio.</b><br /><br />My article <a title="Make Your Own Recording Studio" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/01/make-you-own-recording-studio.html" id="t8k0">Make Your Own Recording Studio</a> is the most popular piece on this site. I've always felt like it was a bit short and lacking, so I really wanted to make something, well, more comprehensive and valuable. I hope this guide can help you make the whole process of home recording a little less daunting and mysterious and more fun.<br /><br />Remember that there are roughly 5 million different ways to build a studio, and what I'm telling you covers just one way. The studio I've built for myself is a pretty good general purpose setup that is also highly portable and easily changeable, and that's about what you'll see in this guide.<br /><br /><ul><li><a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/08/do-it-yourself-sound-dampening.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Part 1: Do-It-Yourself Sound Dampening</span></a></li><li style="font-weight: bold;"><a title="Part 2: Get a Computer" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/get-computer-for-your-studio.html" id="a.nr">Part 2: Get a Computer</a> </li><li style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/audio-interface-or-how-to-get-sound.html">Part 3: Audio Interface, or Getting Sound into the Computer<span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /></a></li><li style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/audio-recording-software-for-your.html">Part 4: Software<br /></a></li><li style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-speakers-should-i-get.html">Part 5: What Speakers Should I Get?</a> <span style="font-style: italic;">(Older article recruited for the Guide)</span><br /></li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/04/microphones-cables-and-everything-else.html">Part 6: Microphones, Cables and Everything Else for Your Studio</a><br /></li></ul>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-20846727154622372902009-03-02T11:25:00.000-08:002009-04-14T11:40:02.546-07:00Get a Computer for Your Studio<div><i>This is Part 2 of <a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/makeshift-musicians-comprehensive-guide.html">the Makeshift Musician's Comprehensive Guide to Building Your Own Studio</a>.<br /></i><br />The computer is the most important part of your studio. It is the brain, the place where all the audio and data crunching happens. You can make a studio without one, using a dedicated mixing console, but I find it more useful and intuitive to just use a computer. You can use it for not only recording, but also mastering and manipulating your files. </div><div><br /></div><div>So what do you look for in a computer? The general rule of thumb is <b>the more powerful, the better</b>. You need RAM to manipulate multiple audio tracks at the same time; essential for multitrack studios. You need hard drive space to store all these recorded tracks. Again, that is essential. You need a speedy CPU so you can actually hear the audio while you're editing it, without delays. Jeez, it's starting to sound like you simply need the most expensive machine available, doesn't it? </div><div><br /></div><div>Here's the thing though. If you have a computer that was built in the last few years, then it can probably work with multitrack software, and you can use it for your studio, just fine. <b>You don't absolutely need the most powerful system money can buy</b>. Computer makers prey on people's desire to own the best product and will release new systems every few months to maximize their profits. You don't need to give in to their pressure. As long as you have a system that works fine for you, you have no need to upgrade. <a title="Wrap that thing in duct tape and write "NO UPGRADES EVER" on it" href="http://www.amazon.com/Fat-Man-Game-Audio-Goodness/dp/1592730094/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235436379&sr=8-1" id="y71-">Wrap that thing in duct tape and write "NO UPGRADES EVER" on it</a> . That'll keep it working for years.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm reluctant to write down precisely what you should get since standards do change over time and will potentially make this article out of date. It is good to have a reference though, so I'll put the minimum that you should have in order to have a seamless, trouble free experience. Hopefully, if you're an advanced space-musician from the future, my writing will help you get the gist of what you should get for your Infini-core DNA Supercomputer even if the numbers I list seem laughably out of date. </div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li><b>CPU:</b> Get something 1.5 Ghz or faster. This may sound a bit low to gamers or graphic designers but the fact is <i>people have done multitracking on computers since the 1980's</i><b> </b>with much, much slower CPU's than that. I've personally recorded professional-level audio using Cubase on machines that were 700 Mhz and 1.5 Ghz and it's always worked without a hitch. This is the one area where you can afford to cut costs a little. Right now my iMac is a 2.4 Ghz. Not the fastest but it's respectable. </li><li><b>RAM:</b> Simply get as much as you can afford. Again, I've recorded with as low as 512 megs and it worked out alright. <i>Each track you record and mix into a song uses a chunk of your RAM while you're working on it</i>. As you can imagine, it really starts to add up as you go and there is undeniably an upper limit to how many tracks you can have going at once. To guarantee a high number of tracks and a good comfort level for you, don't go below 1 gigabyte. </li><li><b>Hard Drive:</b> You're going to be recording lots of audio, probably more than you realize right now, and you need a place to store it all. Get a big hard drive. Hard drives are relatively cheap these days, and a hundred dollars can get you pretty high capacity. Get two and use one to back up the other. </li><li><b>FireWire Port:</b> Make sure your computer has a FireWire port or two. This will be necessary if you use an external device to plug in all your audio equipment. It will also be good if you use an external hard drive to backup your data. </li></ul></div><br /><div>Now, I'm going to break from my already feeble grasp of professionalism and give you some unofficial, personal, man-to-person advice, based on my experience. <b>Get a Mac.</b> I've used Windows-based PC's for lots of things, including recording. They generally work fine, but man, nothing is easier to use than a Mac. They're built for this kind of thing. You plug stuff into it and it works. A Mac works so well, in fact, that it is invisible. I never even have to think about it when I'm writing music or recording or backing up files or whatever. It's like using a reliable appliance: you turn it on and forget about it. Though I can't give up Windows on my sweet gaming rig, I'll probably never go back to PC for recording.</div><br /><div>That said, there's nothing wrong with using a PC for recording. In some cases it may be better because any given piece of software is more likely to be written for Windows rather than Mac. And of course, PCs are cheap, and Apple has never understood the meaning of 'affordable', so that's not in their favor either.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>What about a display?</b> When working with software like ProTools or Cubase it's nice to have a big display with high resolution. A lot of data is displayed at once and can things go quicker when you don't have to keep closing some windows to make room for others. Many studios employ a dual-monitor setup (or duel-monitor setup, if they're badass.) For me, this is a luxury that I simply can't afford at the moment. It's nice, but not really necessary. Again, the general rule of thumb is the bigger the better, but even if you can only afford a 15-inch monitor, you'll still get by.<br /></div><br /><div>So, you've got your sweet computer, now how should you take care of it once you set it up for your studio? </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The setup:</b> The computer keyboard should always be placed in a way that makes it readily accessible. This may sound obvious, but it's always tempting, when working with limited space, to have your musical keyboard in front of you and push the computer keyboard to the side. This isn't going to be like web browsing where you only need your mouse, however. You will want to learn all the keyboard commands, or better yet, set them yourself, so that you can operate this beast with maximum efficiency. I've used a studio setup where the keyboard was mostly out of reach, and without having every function at the push of a button it can be almost crippling.<br /><br /><b>Backups:</b> If you're the tech-savvy type, then you probably can come up with some sort of fancy automated system for regularly backing up your data. Even if you're like the rest of us, however, you can still backup your files pretty easily. Whatever kind of operating system you choose, Mac or Windows, learn the basics of how the filesystem works: know how to create folders, copy files and move them around. You bought two hard drives, right? On a regular basis, copy all your important music files over to this second drive.<br /><br />Now that you've got your computer, it's time to start making some music on it. Check out the rest of the articles in the series, including getting an audio interface and software for your machine.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This is part 2 of the Studio Guide</span><br /><a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/08/do-it-yourself-sound-dampening.html"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></a><a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/08/do-it-yourself-sound-dampening.html"> Go to part 1: Do-It-Yourself Sound Dampening</a><br /><br /><a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/audio-interface-or-how-to-get-sound.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">>>> Go to part 3: Audio Interface, or, How to Get Sound Into Your Computer</span></a><br /></div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-9608866471650312122009-02-09T12:08:00.000-08:002009-02-09T12:26:25.521-08:00Anniversaganza! Free Music! Wizards!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">Well, the <a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/01/be-part-of-makeshift-musicians.html">Anniversaganzathon</a> is over, and although I didn't get as many submissions as I would've liked, the ones that I did get were pretty awesome. These are songs from regular folks like you or me, readers of The Makeshift Musician who wanted to make something cool. Click on the title of each song to download it. </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">First up we have <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Jettison Jo</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">e</span> from California, with the, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">ahem</span>, creatively titled <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://jupiterman.net/MakeshiftMusician/songs2009/makeshift.m4a">Makeshift</a></span></span>. He says:</div></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial; "><i>"I composed this piece in four or five short sittings at the piano. I recorded it in Garage Band on my Powerbook laptop, which I connect to my Roland FP-7 keyboard with a normal USB cable. The only instrument sound used is Garage Band's default Grand Piano."</i></span><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial; "><br /></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial; ">It's a very fun piano piece with an absolutely awesome twist about two-thirds the way through the song. It totally changes the feel of the song without changing it's spirit. Very clean overall, the piano sounds great, which shows you that you don't need a studio full of professional equipment to make something sound good. GarageBand is truly a great tool for the Makeshift Musician. Thanks Joe!</span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial; "><br /></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial; ">Next up is <b>my own</b> piece. It's surf rock mixed with 8-bit chip elements and it's called <a id="r8jh" href="http://jupiterman.net/MakeshiftMusician/songs2009/JM_Wizard_Battle.mp3" title="Mighty Surf Wizard Battle" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); "><b><i>Mighty Surf Wizard Battle</i></b></a>, because wizard battles are totally sweet. I got the 'acoustic' instruments from my Yamaha Motif ES6 and the chip-sounding elements from my Novation XioSynth. I recorded it all in Cubase on a Mac and mastered it in WaveLab on a PC. It started out as a pure rock piece, but, as is the case with most of my songs, it didn't stay that way for long. The chip elements were an experiment, but they sounded cool as a back-and-forth contrast to the acoustic elements so I decided to keep them in. Also, it's quite a process to get an electronic guitar to sound realistic. I hope you enjoy it, dear reader; my credibility as a music writer is at stake. </span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial; "><br /></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial; ">Lastly, we have <b>Jim Hickcox Heartbreaker</b> from either Texas or Tennessee (?) with our only song with lyrics, titled <a id="y1tl" href="http://jupiterman.net/MakeshiftMusician/songs2009/heartbreaker.mp3" title="Heartbreaker" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139); "><b><i>Heartbreaker</i></b></a><b><i> </i></b>. In his writeup he weaves technical and personal issues into a classic tale of the troubles of a Makeshift Musician:</span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial; "><br /></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial; "><i>"When I saw that the Makeshift Musician was looking for submissions for the Anniversaganathon I decided immediately that I would make not only a pop song, but a second (perhaps less poppy) song using only free software. Two songs. That was my goal. Unfortunately, this goal could not have come at a worse time, as I was in the process of moving from Austin, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee. In addition to my being in process, most of my instruments (including my midi controller) are in a guy's garage in Los Angeles right now (remind me to take care of that, would you?). This leaves me with just what's on my computer and a stunning lack of inspiration.</i></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial; "><br /><i>I have been into pop songs lately, so I wanted to go in that direction, even though I am a rapper by trade. My options for music were as follows: Pd, Max/MSP, Reason, or playing real instruments into either Garageband or Acid. My first attempt was to build a drum machine and synthesizer in Pd. I didn't get very far. It's hard. To just program in one song didn't seem worth it. Perhaps I'll get back to that. My next try was to program some drum beats in Reason, and then use Acid to record me playing an actual piano (the only instrument I have access to at the moment) and put them together. I kept getting pretty insipid results, though. I'm not a piano player, much though I may wish for it. I ended up working almost entirely in Reason. I had a new restriction this way, because I don't have my midi keyboard I could only program melodies in Reason's pattern sequencer, which is fine, but not awesome. Lucky for me, I have a thing for the basic chord playing features on your average fifteen dollar keyboard, so I emulated that. I took the (relatively minimal) track that I made and stuck it in Acid so I could record me singing on it. For whatever reason, I decided to record my singing slow so it would be high-pitched. Sometimes I do that. I also did the opposite, and if you listen closely you can hear what sounds like a retarded bear singing along in the background. I think I needed to do that to fight back against the crispness of the track."</i><br /></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial; "><br /></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial;"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">Seriously, this is a hilarious song. Is it just goofy or is it wry satire? It's hard to say, but it's great that he can pull something like this together against difficult odds, some of which he places against himself intentionally. Now I got that chorus stuck in my head. </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">Thanks for the submissions, guys. Here's to another awesome year of making music any way we can!</div></span></div></div><br /></span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-89194302623481312782009-01-26T19:12:00.000-08:002009-01-26T19:16:31.828-08:00Two Weeks till the Anniversaganzathon!So if you haven't started your song yet, you've got only two weeks to finish it. February 7th, fools. Remember to send the file or <span style="font-style: italic;">a link to the file</span> to <span style="font-weight: bold;">makeshiftmusician@gmail.com</span>. Send it in before I add a few more syllables to the event's name!Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-11093797389118945392009-01-12T12:14:00.001-08:002009-01-12T12:17:52.142-08:00Be a Part of The Makeshift Musician's AnniversaryThat's right, reader. The Makeshift Musician has now been around for a year! It is now old enough to walk around clumsily and can eat mostly solid foods! I've written a little over 40 articles in the last 12 months, and <a title="some" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/02/importance-of-music-to-humankind.html" id="dox4">some</a> of my <a title="favorites" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/01/gain-confidence-to-compose-music.html" id="e.7e">favorites</a> turned out to be yours too, and some articles I'd just <a title="rather forget about" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/09/5-reasons-why-you-should-be-musician.html" id="a:t4">rather forget about</a>. Anyway, for the anniversary I thought we would do something a little different. I present to you<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" ><b><br />The Makeshift Musician's Music Anniversaganzathon!</b></span><br /></div><br />I challenge <span style="font-style: italic;">you</span>, reader, to make a song in ONE MONTH. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece. Just make it, put together a short writeup about how you made it and what equipment you used, and then send it to The Makeshift Musician via <b>makeshiftmusician@gmail.com</b>. I'd prefer that you sent a link rather than the actual file, but do what you need to do. I'll post the submissions on here for everyone to hear, along with the writeup and whatever lame comments I'd like to add myself.<br /><br />I don't care what genre the song is, or how you made it. You could take a Fischer-Price tape recorder and record yourself throwing plastic cups at your Grandma, as long as you did it <i>musically</i>. <b>The due date is February 7th</b>. Also, it would be <b>cooler</b> if this song was something that you started <i>after</i> you read this post, but obviously I can't regulate that.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size:130%;">Send your ridiculous, awesome, or ridiculously awesome song to makeshiftmusician@gmail.com by February 7th. </span><br /><br /></b>What are you waiting for? Why are you still reading this? There's nothing left here of value. This sentence doesn't tell you anything useful. Make some music!<b><br /></b>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-51386544604959358722009-01-12T11:42:00.000-08:002009-01-12T11:48:01.432-08:00Learning Music TheoryHey folks, I hope you all had a good holiday. I went to Maine and discovered that I don't necessarily enjoy snow as much as I thought I did. Shoveling snow out of a boat will do that to you. Anyway, onto the article!<br /><br />Wait, what is music theory? I get this very question from a lot of folks. The phrase 'music theory' isn't exactly self-explanatory. Let's see if I can give it an understandable definition. When you study or practice music theory, you are breaking down music into it's individual elements, defining them, fitting them together and seeing how they work. Pitch, melody, chords, notation, rhythm, notes, these are all different elements of music theory. By understanding every aspect of music and how all the pieces fit together, you can easily figure out how to make melodies and songs that will move the listener in the exact way you intended.<br /><div><br />Why is that some songs sound sad? Or triumphant? Mysterious? How is that a song can build tension and release it? If you learn music theory, you will understand how all of that works, and you'll know how to do it yourself when you write your own songs. Sure, some people can get away with not learning any of it formally. They have managed to figure it out intuitively. I'm not one of those people. For the most part, I can't listen to a chord and be able to guess what notes it's made out of, for example. At least, not yet. <b>This is why I learn theory</b>.<br /><br />After you've gotten started playing your instrument of choice for a while, you've got a good base for learning theory, and you probably already know a lot of it already and don't even realize it yet. I don't recommend studying theory before you've played any music.<br /><br />The first thing you should learn is how to read sheet music. This doesn't necessarily have to come first, but it will make your life ten times easier, by my extensive calculations. Though you <i>could</i>, theoretically, learn music theory without knowing how to read music on a staff, I don't know of anyone <i>who has</i>. Theory is usually expressed <i>using</i> the staff. Learn what the staff is, how to read notes and rhythms and by the end of it you should be able to sight-read at least some really simple tunes. If you want to be a composer, then you should learn some piano too. I've covered that in a couple of other articles. By taking up piano you can get the triple-benefit of piano-playing skills, the ability to read sheet music, and some basic music theory all at once.<br /><br />Now we get to the meat of this. While the Makeshift Musician usually recommends that you learn things on your own, perhaps in this case it might be good to get a lesson or two from someone else. Music theory is both complicated and abstract, like math or a language, so it can be difficult to learn without someone there to make things clear for you. You don't have to get a Bachelor's in Theory or anything, maybe just a couple of classes to get you started, or find a mentor to help you out. Check local colleges and adult education programs and see if they offer some sort of basic music theory course.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SWudx6_tYbI/AAAAAAAAAFs/jc9ypdeG2Jg/s1600-h/edlys_music_theory.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SWudx6_tYbI/AAAAAAAAAFs/jc9ypdeG2Jg/s320/edlys_music_theory.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290495668252402098" border="0" /></a><br />If, on the other hand, you're like me and want to slog through it all by yourself, then I have a great book to recommend. In fact, I recommend it even if you <i>are </i> getting lessons:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Edlys-Music-Theory-Practical-People/dp/0966161602" id="ddwo" title="Edly's Music Theory for Practical People">Edly's Music Theory for Practical People</a><br /><br />This books starts from the basics and goes all the way through up to the most complicated chords and unusual concepts. It is taught in a clear, linear way (don't you hate it when books tell you to skip ahead and back just to get everything?) It's written in a conversational style so as to not be confusing and it has a goofy sense of humor, which I like. If you read this book while you're learning an instrument, it'll all come together pretty intuitively.<br /></div><br />There are several other books that will teach you music theory, this is just the one that I've been using and I like it a lot. If you have any questions about learning theory just shoot me an email: makeshiftmusician@gmail.com.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-3718281975679348142008-12-08T10:35:00.000-08:002008-12-08T11:08:32.868-08:00Podcast: The Process of Making a SongThis week I'm doing something a little different. You can now<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span>listen to me provide a running commentary on <span style="font-style: italic;">one of my own songs</span></span>. I talk about the <span>chords, working with MIDI, EQ, robots, and how stuff comes together</span> to make a cohesive whole. It's like having the Makeshift Musician come over to your house! In a non-creepy kind of way. You can <a href="http://jupiterdynamica.com/music/JM_Ashur.mp3">download the original, non-commentizated track, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ashur, the Sky God</span> here</a>. Then,<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><a href="http://jupiterdynamica.com/podcasts/makeshiftmusician_podcast_ep1.mp3">download the podcast here</a>.</span><br /><p></p>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-44874854106695881322008-12-01T10:34:00.000-08:002008-12-01T10:41:11.753-08:00Music AppreciationOften I've found myself in social situations like a date or a party where someone asks me "what kind of music do you listen to?" This question usually confounds me. I like <i id="blr4">good</i> music. How do I convey this to others without sounding like a jerk? I haven't quite figured that out yet, so I usually just end up haphazardly listing several different musical genres and artists that I'm into at the time. Something like "Oh, I like classic rock like Queen and Kansas, I also listen to a lot of scores for videogames since that's what inspires me in my career. I love bluegrass. Camille Saint-Saens is my favorite composer, and I love all the folks at OCRemix. Oh yeah, and some punk and electronic stuff as well. Oh and I just started getting into modern funk. Er... What about you?"<br /><br />At this point I've just about killed the conversation. Anyone else have this happen to them?<br /><br />There are many folks out there who are dedicated to a particular genre . They are the type who will have hundreds of CD's, possibly alphabetized. They can name all of the obscure sub-grenres within their genre of choice, and they'll know the vast differences between two different bands when, to us outsiders, they all sound the same.<br /><br />Then there are those who will just say that they listen to a little of everything. Other music fans tend to look down on these people. The devoted fans will say that those who claim to like any type of music aren't really listening and don't appreciate music on a deeper level.<b><br /><br />This is bull</b>. <a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/01/introduce-yourself-to-new-musical.html" id="o1mc" title="You should spend some time and learn to appreciate any type of music you can find.">You should spend some time and learn to appreciate any type of music you can find</a>.<br /><br />Let's go back to my original point. I like good music. I think we can all agree that this covers a wide variety of genres. I like anything that has these elements, in order of importance:<b><br /><br />1. Strong Melody<br />2. Interesting Rhythm<br />3. Compelling Atmosphere</b><br /><br />Having only these three simple requirements means that I can enjoy just about every genre imaginable. I do tend to have a hard time with rap music since there is usually no emphasis on melody, but there are still <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run-D.M.C." id="zefc" title="a">a</a> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/teamheartbreaker" id="i:d-" title="few">few</a> in the genre that I enjoy.<b><br /><br />Do not be too afraid, embarrassed or ashamed to enjoy music outside of your usual comfort zone</b>. Our appreciation for music comes almost entirely from our experience of it, meaning our appreciation doesn't actually come from some built-in musical part of our brain. For instance, if you were to raise a child exposing her to only music in the minor scale, and then as an adult she heard a major scale for the first time, it would sound completely alien to her, with half-step and whole-step changes that didn't make sense. You can try this on yourself by simply making up a completely arbitrary scale that doesn't match any known ones and then playing it. What <i>is</i> built in is a sense of rhythm and the ability to recognize the space between notes. Everything else is piled on by the music you listen to.<br /><br />We will appreciate a song if it has, in our subconscious minds, an equal balance of familiarity and surprise. Too much familiarity and the song becomes boring, like listening to an old children's song. This is why I hate slogging through most beginner piano books. On the other hand, if the song has too many unfamiliar elements it will sound grating and generally unpleasant. This is why many folks don't like jazz or metal: they break too many conventions of music that other genres adhere to.<br /><div><br />As we age, it seems that our definition of 'unfamiliarity' grows wider, and our perception of what is familiar becomes more narrow. By the time we are adults, we've pretty much decided what music we like and what we don't. But remember that these concepts of familiarity are not built in genetically; they are slowly constructed, song by song, out of what you've listened to your whole life.<br /><br />So engineer your own music appreciation. Challenge yourself, and your understanding of music will grow, as well as the music you enjoy. And great new music is always a good thing.<br /></div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-5719277184774323242008-11-03T10:27:00.000-08:002008-11-03T10:45:43.440-08:00My Journey Through MusicHow did I get to where I am now? What cosmic sculptor shaped my life to get me from a dork who knew nothing about music to one who is writing articles about composing and engineering? How does one get from a layman to a master? Okay, I can't answer that one, since the distance between my skills and 'master' is about equal to distance between me and Saturn. But I can at least tell you how I got to where I am, which is a pretty good place to be, let me tell you. What follows is a brief autobiographical account of my musical history. If you're like me, and I know I am, you'll be able to extrapolate some of this information to apply to your own life.<br /><br />When I was a kid I didn't show much interest in music. Music on the radio tended to bore me. I can't even begin to describe how little popular music moved me at the time. Now I can look back and appreciate a lot of it, but it sure didn't affect me then. As I got older, and other kids were listening to snore-fests (at least to me) Nirvana and Green Day, I discovered an obscure branch of music that actually did hold my interest: <b>videogame soundtracks</b>. While the popular grunge movement generally stuck with a couple of chords per song, games like Chrono Trigger, The Dig and EarthBound were showing an absolute stunning variety in musical styles. My emotions were finally being manipulated.<br /><br />I had a mini tape recorder, the kind used for dictation, and I would hold it up in front of my TV or computer and record the soundtracks of King's Quest or Castlevania. I would play Mega Man to get to a certain level, then pause it just to listen to the song. I was hooked, though I didn't understand the full implications of what was happening.<br /><br />At the same time, I was learning to play trumpet in the school band. I was n<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SQ9DrxoL-NI/AAAAAAAAAFU/MSBfGiticU4/s1600-h/2002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 188px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SQ9DrxoL-NI/AAAAAAAAAFU/MSBfGiticU4/s320/2002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264500908754729170" border="0" /></a>ot particularly good at it, and the only real information I retained from that was reading music from a scale. I eventually quit the band in high school. But around the same time I started gaining an interest in making my own music. I had this image of myself in a room full of blinking machines, building an entire song from scratch. <b>Rich, multilayered compositions would come straight from my brain, through the electronics and onto a CD</b>. It all seemed very romantic and incredible, and I felt like it would be a worthy use of my time and energy. Of course, I had absolutely no idea where to start.<br /><br />How does one even make music electronically? I knew there were musicians out there who made whole songs and entire albums by themselves, but how did they do it? It was a mystery to me. Did they have special machines? Computers? My family didn't have a computer more modern than a Commodore 64 until I was much older, and I didn't quite understand the role of the PC in music making at the time. My sister encouraged me to get turntables, because after all, her favorite DJ's like Bad Boy Bill and Tiesto spun records, and it all sounded electronc-y, right? I didn't know, but I was pretty sure that wasn't it and held off.<br /><br />Even by the time we got a computer, <b>'the internet', </b>that great modern tool for getting information<b>, </b>at the time<b> was nothing more than a curious novelty for rich people</b>, so our machine was offline. I didn't know anyone who made music, so it seemed like this dream of being a great music maker, admired by all, would not be fulfilled.<br /><br />Then one day I was looking through one of those massive computer catalogs that occasionally came in the mail, (remember those?) ogling over the amazingly advanced laptops: Several-color monitor? Less than 15 pounds? <i>CD-ROM??</i> Anyway I found something in the software section that caught my eye: <b>Sonic Foundry ACID</b>. It was billed as a "loop-based music production tool." The concept of stringing loops together to make music was a concept that I could grasp, and it was only a hundred bucks. My journey had started.<br /><br />I ordered it (by <i>mail</i>; who does that anymore?) waited a painstakingly long time for it to arrive, then immediately installed it when it came. It was, in fact, pretty easy to use, and I was stringing together all sorts of loops that came with the program. It was fun, and <b>I learned a lot about putting together music on a computer</b>. I never quite felt truly proud of what I was making, however. These were, after all, just ready-made loops, composed by someone else, and then included with every single copy of ACID. I wanted to write<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SQ9D3KBS2-I/AAAAAAAAAFc/54xJ3TH0eiU/s1600-h/2004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 248px; height: 186px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SQ9D3KBS2-I/AAAAAAAAAFc/54xJ3TH0eiU/s320/2004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264501104281050082" border="0" /></a> my own music.<br /><br />I didn't know a thing about composing, but I went to Best Buy and bought one of those home keyboards and plugged it into my computer through the microphone jack (I know, I know) and started playing little melodies along with the loops that I put together. I started to feel a little better about what I was doing.<br /><br />Around the same time I was thinking about what I wanted to do for my college career. When the time came to talk to my career counselor, I told him <b>'sound engineer'</b>. Composing music just didn't seem to have career potential at the time, but someone who recorded and made sound effects did. <b>As long as I could be in that room full of machines and blinking lights</b>. This unusual request kind of surprised him, but after a moment's thought he shuffled over to a filing cabinet and dug up an <i>a</i><i>ncient</i> brochure from a New England School of Broadcasting in Bangor, Maine, which had an Audio Engineering program, supposedly one of the finest on the east coast. I was a little wary because this pamphlet looked like it was from 1975, and in fact the school had changed its name from Broadcasting to Communications since then, but I learned more about it and eventually ended up going there.<br /><br />Though in my classes I learned to record other people, like actors or a band, I utilized the knowledge I gained for myself. By the time I was finished, <b>I had a complete understanding of how to make music using computers and recording equipment</b>. Actually getting the money to acquire this equipment was a different story, but it was empowering to <span style="font-weight: bold;">finally</span> have this knowledge. I now understood that making music as a career was a possibility. There was just one problem.<b><br /><br />I still did not understand music theory, so at this point I could on</b><b>ly make bad music with technical excellence</b>. (This is at least better than bad music with technical sloppiness.) During the next few years I moved and got a job at a major tech company somehow, gradually building a nice studio and making music occasionally. Because of my lack of knowledge I was never quite confident that I could make <i>valuable</i> music, however. Then one day, feeling unfulfilled, I quit my job and decided to work for myself.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SQ9EANh3PuI/AAAAAAAAAFk/Uz3v_mDhAVw/s1600-h/2008.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 303px; height: 228px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SQ9EANh3PuI/AAAAAAAAAFk/Uz3v_mDhAVw/s320/2008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264501259841781474" border="0" /></a><br />Since then I've made it a personal quest to teach myself music theory. I picked up the banjo while in college and started formally teaching myself piano a couple years ago. I've been leveraging the internet to it's fullest potential to assist in my learning and have gotten at least good enough for people to want to pay me to make music for their games. This, of course, was the goal the whole time, though maybe I didn't always know it.<br /><br />The journey so far has happened over the course of roughly ten years and I am far from finished. I still only perceive it as beginning, and I'm excited for what is to come. Come back in another ten years and I'll tell you where I've gone.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-84348163702501995632008-10-20T17:31:00.000-07:002009-05-11T15:23:14.443-07:00The Beginner's Guide to Becoming a Musician<i>If you're looking to learn about playing, writing or recording music in some way, <span style="font-weight: bold;">any way</span>, but don't quite know where to start, this is for you</i>. <span style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /></b></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SP0rmiIfGTI/AAAAAAAAAFM/IjIwcfiUM4M/s1600-h/behold_the_power_of_music_small+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SP0rmiIfGTI/AAAAAAAAAFM/IjIwcfiUM4M/s320/behold_the_power_of_music_small+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259407880836028722" border="0" /></a><br />So you want to start making music? You want to be the next Bach? Have lots of ideas and want to make a CD? Perhaps you just have a serious deficiency of groupies in your life and you want to change that? Whatever brought you here, you want to make music in some way, <span style="font-weight: bold;">and doing that may not be as hard as you think</span>. This guide will act as your starting point on your new path. Regardless of what instrument you want to play, or what kind of music you want to get into, this guide will show you how to get started, from choosing an instrument and learning to play it to composing and eventually recording. <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><b>Before you start</b></span><br /><br />If you're completely convinced of your own ineptitude, or you think it is too late for you to take up the difficult task of making music, then I've got something to say to you:<br /><br /><a title="You Don't Need Musical Talent to Make Music" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/09/you-dont-need-musical-talent-to-make.html" id="n5ms">You Don't Need Musical Talent to Make Music</a> <b><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Getting an instrument</span></span></b><br /><br />The most popular instruments in Western society are the rock staples (guitar, bass guitar and drums) and piano. There are plenty of other instruments out there to choose from though, if you feel like doing something different. If you haven't decided yet, take a look at this article for advice on choosing and buying an instrument:<br /><br /><a title="Picking up an Instrument" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/01/picking-up-instrument.html" id="d6r-">Picking up an Instrument</a><br /><br />If you've picked piano, here are couple of other articles that you should check out:<br /><br /><a title="Starting out with Piano" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/05/starting-out-with-piano.html" id="u2wh">Starting out with Piano</a><br /><a title="Piano Playing Tips for Beginners" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/03/piano-playing-tips-for-beginners.html" id="ugf2">Piano Playing Tips for Beginners</a> - (note: while this article was technically written for pianists, the lessons generally apply to all instruments)<b><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Becoming a better listener</span></span></b><br /><br />As you start to play music, you'll discover an interesting phenomenon: you'll notice more about the musical world around you. After a while, you'll gain the ability to de-construct all the different music that you've been listening to. This is a wonderful experience and will make you a more observant person in general. Now is a good time to take the initiative and start actively becoming a more deliberate listener. Try the techniques listed in these articles and discover new dimensions in music that you never understood before:<br /><br /><a title="Introduce Yourself to New Musical Genres" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/01/introduce-yourself-to-new-musical.html" id="avd7">Introduce Yourself to New Musical Genres</a><br /><a title="Listening to Music Intelligently" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/02/listening-to-music-intelligently.html" id="chum">Listening to Music Intelligently</a> <span style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Composing music</span></b></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><br />I have two things to say here about composing music, whether it's a short rock song or a 20-minute symphony. <b>1.</b> All music, and I mean <i>all</i> of it, is made of of the same basic components, which means that if you can write a bluegrass song, you can also make a disco song, a dirge, a traditional Japanese folk song or anything else you could imagine with the same basic techniques. <b>2.</b> There's no special talent or magical skill needed to write music. If you have the ability to make pleasing sounds on your instrument of choice, then you also have the capability to compose your own songs. Once you've learned some music theory, even just a little, you'll realize how simple it is. If you can take a pile of colored blocks and arrange them in an interesting pattern, then you'll be pleased to know that while writing music is a bit more complicated, it's still pretty much the same basic concept. If you're still not convinced, this might change your mind:<br /><br /><a title="Gain the Confidence to Compose Music" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/01/gain-confidence-to-compose-music.html" id="p0qw">Gain the Confidence to Compose Music</a><br /><br />Then look over these once you've decided to take the plunge:<br /><br /><a title="Don't Find Inspiration: Create It" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/01/dont-find-inspiration-create-it.html" id="annz">Don't Find Inspiration: Create It</a><br /><a title="Daily Songwriting Exercise" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/06/daily-songwriting-exercise.html" id="e7cy">Daily Songwriting Exercise</a> <b><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Making a studio and recording music</span></span></b><br /><br />This is possibly the most complicated part of being a musician, but it can also be the most fun overall. Recording is also most likely the most mysterious aspect of music creation for beginners. Years ago, the recording realm belonged solely to the professionals with expensive studios. Now that computers have changed literally everything in our society, anyone can make a studio of their own and even make their music sound fairly professional with minimal equipment.<br /><br />There are a couple of things you need to know when delving into the recording world. First is the concept of multitracking. You need to understand how that works before you can understand how a studio works:<br /><br /><a title="An Introduction to Multitrack Recording" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/01/introduction-to-multitrack-recording.html" id="rft5">An Introduction to Multitrack Recording</a><br /><br />Knowing and understanding the components of a studio and how they relate to each other make up the second important part of what you need to know. You can learn this and how to build your own studio on a minimal budget in the Makeshift Musician's most popular article, short and snappy:<br /><br /><a title="Make Your Own Recording Studio" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/01/make-you-own-recording-studio.html" id="jrm3">Make Your Own Recording Studio</a><br /><br />or go in depth with the ultimate resource:<br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/makeshift-musicians-comprehensive-guide.html">The Makeshift Musician's Comprehensive Guide to Building Your Own Studio</a><br /><br />Read these too:<br /><br /><a title="What Speakers Should I Get?" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-speakers-should-i-get.html" id="u5.3">What Speakers Should I Get?</a><br /><a title="Do-It-Yourself Sound Dampening" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/08/do-it-yourself-sound-dampening.html" id="wi2e">Do-It-Yourself Sound Dampening</a><br /><br />Once you've got your studio up and running, this would be a good read:<br /><br /><a title="How to Make the Best Recordings on Earth" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-to-make-best-recordings-on-earth.html" id="rn3i">How to Make the Best Recordings on Earth</a><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Beyond</span></b></span><br /><br />What is left to learn, now that you've become a prolific, multi-talented musician? Believe it or not, there's still a lot we don't know about music and how it affects us. There's much to learn, and you could devote your whole life to music and still not learn everything there is to know about it. Here are a couple of articles that may help guide you towards a deeper understanding of the mysterious phenomenon that is 'organized sound':<i><br /><br />The second most popular article on the site:</i> <a title="The Importance of Music to Humankind" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/02/importance-of-music-to-humankind.html" id="h7kj">The Importance of Music to Humankind</a><br /><a title="This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/10/book-review-this-is-your-brain-on-music.html" id="nzbb">Book Review: This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin</a><br /><a title="The Origins of American Music" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/04/origins-of-american-music.html" id="pr9l">The Origins of American Music</a>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-70933091110762592562008-10-13T12:48:00.000-07:002008-10-13T13:03:29.204-07:00Some Interesting StuffSorry, loyal reader, no new article this week. Here, however, are some books that might interest you:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Indie-Band-Survival-Guide-Yourself/dp/0312377681/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=IWB6E8SWOKMXW&colid=3R98EBIU9M35K">The Indie Band Survival Guide by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan</a> - A neat book on how to best prepare yourself for being an independent musician. Being very modern and hip and such, it includes information on how to best make your website and utilizing social networking sites to further your band.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Home-Recording-Book-digital-all/dp/1593371381/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3C5NYK9R4EC0V&colid=3R98EBIU9M35K">The Everything Home Recording Book by Marc Schonbrun</a> - There are lots of these books, but this one seems to be the best one geared towards beginners<span style="font-weight: bold;">.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Leonard-Pocket-Music-Theory-Comprehensive/dp/063404771X/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=IH1L5L5Q6YPX4&colid=3R98EBIU9M35K">Hal Leonard Pocket Music Theory by Keith Wyatt and Carl Schroeder</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span>- It won't teach you music theory, but it would be a great complement to your learning it. Tons of information packed into the tiniest book. <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span>And here's <a href="http://www.chordbook.com/guitarchords.php">a great, free web program for guitarists</a>: you give it a chord and it shows you the fingering, complete with strumming so you can tell if you sound right. <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><br />Rest assured, there are several great articles and some new surprises on the way.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>See you next week!<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-37619075564483505982008-10-06T13:04:00.000-07:002008-10-06T13:09:31.512-07:00Book Review: This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitin<i>Music communicates to us emotionally through systematic violations of expectations. These violations can occur in any domain - the domain of pitch, timbre, contour, rhythm tempo, and so on - but occur they must. Music is organized sound, but the organization has to involve some element of the unexpected or it is emotionally flat and robotic. Too much organization may technically still be music, but it would be music that no one wants to listen to. Scales, for example, are organized, but most parents get sick of hearing their children play them after five minutes.</i><br /><br />-Daniel Levitin, <i id="ik801">This is Your Brain on Music</i><i><br /><br /><a title="This is Your Brain on Music" href="http://www.amazon.com/This-Your-Brain-Music-Obsession/dp/0452288525/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223323133&sr=1-1" id="t:sd">This is Your Brain on Music</a> </i>by Daniel Levitin was recommended to me by a reader after I wrote one of my most popular articles, <a title="The Importance of Music to Humankind" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/02/importance-of-music-to-humankind.html" id="q5wt">The Importance of Music to Humankind</a>. I recently finished the book and I decided to share my thoughts on it with you.<br /><br /><a title="Daniel Levitin" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_levitin" id="efhf">Daniel Levitin</a> is a record producer turned neuroscientist, driven by a great curiosity and passion for the world of music. He knows many famous people in both the music industry (such as the Grateful Dead) and the field of human biology (like Francis Crick). Because of all this I consider him to be a great asset to the world, as he helps us a get a little bit closer to understanding why music is a part of us.<br /><br />What about the book though? He starts off with telling us about each of the basic components of music, like rhythm, melody and so on. Even if you already know music theory it's presented in such a unique way, from the angle of a scientist, that it is still compelling to read. He tells us what parts of the brain are at work for each aspect of music, and what it might tell us about ourselves.<br /><br />He goes on to discuss how music manipulates our emotions, how hours of practice, rather than talent, makes good musicians (score one for makeshift musicians!), and how culture and evolution both affect our music in different ways.<br /><br />One problem that I had with this book was that Levitin wanders a lot in the course of each chapter. He breaks the well-established convention of letting the reader know where the author is going with a particular tangent. He'll start a topic, then veer off with some anecdotal story without telling the reader how it ties in to his point, sometimes for several pages, until he's done. Occasionally he won't even bother tying it in at all. This makes it a somewhat more difficult read than it should be, but the information is so fascinating that I didn't mind too much.<br /><br />Every musician will benefit greatly from reading this book. It will help you understand what it is you are doing when you write and perform music. Levitin's insight will give you focus on your purpose as a musician, and the powerful and strange things that happen to your consciousness when you listen to music will seem just a little less ethereal. <b><br /><br />Most Interesting Piece of Information:</b> The fact that inside your brain is an honest-to-god synthesizer. It's so complete that if you were to wire up that particular part of your brain to a speaker, you could produce simple tones <i>just by thinking about them</i>. We don't actually do this because poking wires into a human brain is <i>generally</i> considered to be a bad idea. We're not entirely sure how this evolved.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-51797115437178231772008-09-29T10:31:00.000-07:002008-09-29T10:42:11.878-07:00How to Make the Best Recordings on Earth<i>Thanks to Jade from <a title="OffBeatLove" href="http://offbeatlove.com/" id="l7i3">OffBeatLove</a> for the article idea</i><br /><br />I recently went to see a great funk band perform at a big event. I've been into funk music lately and I really liked their sound; enough that I decided to buy their CD after the show. I was pleased to learn that the album contained pretty much the same set that the band played at the show, and since their set was fantastic I was excited when I put it in the CD player in my car a few days later.<br /><br />Well... It was clear that it was the same band. The talent showed through, but... it was just so dull! I kept skipping tracks, ready for the next one to blow me away with some badass funkiness. Instead I got that disappointing feeling of being underwhelmed. (Now you know why I don't name the band itself!)<br /><br />Why does this happen? How does a great band make such a stunningly mediocre album? The answer, good reader, is what I call <b>conservative recording</b>.<br /><br />Let's say you're just learning how to record. You've learned all the rules of proper recording, like avoiding overloading and conventional EQ techniques. For example, you are supposed to record with a loudness threshold at just below the point of overloading (overloading causes distortion) and you are expected to keep the entire mix that way. When using EQ you are told to dampen tracks instead of boosting them whenever possible. Reverb is only for room ambiance. These and many other techniques make up what is considered 'correct' recording: methods for making music that is pleasing to listen to.<br /><br />It is vitally important that you learn these rules and implement them. Understanding why these guidelines and practices have been established will make you a better recording artist. <b>What I'm getting at though may involve a fundamental rethinking of the recording and mixing act itself</b>.<br /><br />In both the visual and musical arts, the great, respected masters have spent years learning the rules of their craft. A master painter has learned perspective, light and shadow, and anatomy techniques. A master musician and composer has a deep understanding of music theory, like chord progressions, rhythm and melody. Their status of 'master' however, was not achieved by their technical skill alone, but also from the skillful way that they bent and broke conventions in ways that surprise and move us and allow us to see the world from a new perspective. Yet they could not have achieved any of that without first learning the rules. One who has no technical skill and who simply breaks conventions will likely end up producing ugly art, and one who has great technical skill but doesn't surprise us will end up boring us to tears. <b>Both trained skill and the creative violation of expectations are necessary to make great art</b>.<br /><br />How does this all apply to recording? Instead of viewing recording as a means of getting your live performance on tape, you should instead be looking at your recorded music as a separate kind of performance, in a way unrelated to your live one. <b>The recording act should be seen as an integral part of the performance, rather than a means to an end</b>. How you mix your music <i>will</i> affect how people enjoy it, so it should be given just as much care and attention as your playing.<br /><br />Let your drums overload a bit. Crank the midrange equalizer on your guitar track in a way you've never heard before. Use effects in unconventional ways. Never be afraid to break the rules of recording to see how it sounds. The beauty of digital recording is that you can simply change it back if you don't like it.<br /><br />Give your recordings some life! Do everything you can to make the recording as breathtaking as the live performance. You and I both know that this is possible, but as long as you keep viewing recording as an obstacle in the way of your music, then you'll never be able to achieve true studio greatness. The problem with the funk band was that they recorded and mixed their music very well, with great technical proficiency, but they didn't take advantage of the opportunities available to them with producing an album. <b><br /><br />The sound made by musical instruments and human voices are fundamentally altered and weakened when recorded and played back</b>. You can easily tell the difference between a real guitar playing and one playing through a speaker. This is why we have studios in the first place; you can't just put a microphone in front of a band and expect the recording to sound great. You need to use the recording and mixing tools at your disposal to make that band sound incredible.<br /><br />So do it. Learn the essentials of good recording, and then add the same level of passion and creativity to your studio work as you would anything else that you love do. Don't play it conservatively. Do it like you mean it, and your album will be something you're proud about.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-85375104364428844812008-09-22T10:14:00.000-07:002008-09-22T15:34:20.846-07:005 Reasons Why You Should be a Musician Instead of Working in IT<script type="text/javascript"><br />digg_url = 'http://digg.com/odd_stuff/5_Reasons_Why_You_Should_be_in_Music_Instead_of_Being_in_IT';<br /></script><br /><script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br />Whenever some bloated media company makes a list of the best jobs available, 'Information Technology' or 'Software Engineer' is invariably on it. Popping up like some <b>wretched leprechaun</b>, it promises you good pay, exciting challenges and opportunities for long-term growth. This must be a lie, as someone clearly tripped, fell on a keyboard and <a title="accidentally published jobs like 'Product Brand Manager' and 'Paralegal' on the same list" href="http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0703/gallery.bestjobs_young.moneymag/index.html" id="a9x2">accidentally published jobs like 'Product Brand Manager' and 'Paralegal' on the same list</a>. Don't fall for it. <b>You should become a musician and make people pay you for your music instead</b>. You don't have to worry about 'job stability' when you're unemployed. Here are five reasons why you should give up the corporate hamster-wheel and start making noise:<span style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /><br /><br />1. Women</b></span> - There's no question: rock stars attract the opposite sex. Look at Keith Richards (or better yet, don't), a man who could probably <b>frighten babies</b> just by <i>thinking</i> about them. If women can somehow overlook his terrifying fossilized-magma-face, then they can cer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SNfTCsPKUmI/AAAAAAAAAEs/F0MLk3krifw/s1600-h/mick_make_you_sick_3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SNfTCsPKUmI/AAAAAAAAAEs/F0MLk3krifw/s320/mick_make_you_sick_3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248895933911552610" border="0" /></a>tainly find the strength to ignore your pasty complexion and <b>never-lifted-anything-heavier-than-a-paycheck</b> body, just as long as you're holding a guitar. Some anthropologists believe music performance evolved as a method to attract potential mates. If this is true, then ghouls like Steven Tyler and dorks like John Mayer so far represent the <b>pinnacle of human evolution</b>. Be afraid.<br /><br />And if you happen to <b>be</b> a member of the fairer sex, well, if you're not yet tired of having every guy you meet <b>slobber all over you</b>, how about meeting a few <b>more</b> of them by becoming a musician? <b><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></b><br /><b><span style="font-size:100%;">2. No Money Problems</span> -</b> Really, how can you have money problems when you have no money? Only the most successful rock gods have to think about nerve-wracking stuff like <i>'which dollar-bill denomination should I roll up and smoke tonight?'</i> All you'll have to worry about is gas money, Taco Bell and where you can crash after a gig. You get to have the Zen-like existence of a traveling monk, except with burritos and more hair.<b><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></b><br /><b><span style="font-size:100%;">3. Better Self-Image</span></b> - Actually, you don't have to change much here. Instead of being a muscled barbarian warrior with a sweet ax on your D&D character sheet, you get to be a muscled barbarian warrior with a sweet ax on your album cover. <b>What coul</b><b>d be better?</b><b><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></b><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SNfTWUHF3FI/AAAAAAAAAE8/NxEa6Lv4di8/s1600-h/dnd_vs_bouldergeist_3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SNfTWUHF3FI/AAAAAAAAAE8/NxEa6Lv4di8/s400/dnd_vs_bouldergeist_3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248896271032638546" border="0" /></a><br /><b><span style="font-size:100%;">4. No More Corporate Butt-Monkey</span></b> - Corporate life is rough. If people don't like you at your job, you pretty much have to just bend over and take it like a champ. For instance: <i><b><br /><br />Boss:</b> Your code for the donkey level is messed up. The QA testers couldn't even get 3 donkeys in the bed before the whole game crashed. And I know you logged 150 hours of overtime last week to make it, but we decided to put those fu</i><i>nds towards gold-plating the inside of the CEO's pockets, so now they're <b>always</b> full of money. Oh yeah, and you're fired.</i><i>"<b><br /><br />You:</b> Oh no, who will crush my spirits and make me want to dig my eyes out with pistols now? </i><br /><br />No one can really say 'You're fired' to a musician. <span style="font-size:100%;"><b><br /><br /><br />5. Fulfill Your Childhood Dream</b></span> - When you were a kid, did you say, <i>"When I grow up, I want to work hard at my job so that each day I can be propelled a little bit further up the corporate anus"</i>? You probably said something more like <b>"When I'm older, I'm going to play a song so ridiculously awesome that John Lennon himself will have no choice but to crawl his fetid corpse out of the grave and throw up the horns."</b><br /><br />Maybe not in so many words. <b><br /></b><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SNfTiwX6Y8I/AAAAAAAAAFE/EGyuCsD3cgo/s1600-h/you_crushed_my_dreams_3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4nV8ojndC3c/SNfTiwX6Y8I/AAAAAAAAAFE/EGyuCsD3cgo/s320/you_crushed_my_dreams_3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248896484777812930" border="0" /></a><br /><b>Though children crying have to be one of the funniest things on this green Earth</b> (see Fig.3), if you think that your child-self would have cried at the sight of your current-self, then you need to snatch up a guitar <i>right now</i> faster than Fat-Elvis would grab a peanut-butter-&-'nana sammich.<br /><br />After you read this, you'll probably go back to pretending to write an SSH script and when you get home you'll strap on that <i>ever</i>-dignified <b>plastic Guitar Hero toy</b> for your nightly session and think to yourself "I can't make music. I have no talent!" This will be your excuse. Well, I've <a title="beaten" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/09/you-dont-need-musical-talent-to-make.html" id="izl:">beaten</a> that argument <a title="to death" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/01/gain-confidence-to-compose-music.html" id="z:tl">to death</a> with a bloody wrench already, and I'm <i>still</i> not done talking about it. <b>I challenge you to <a title="take up an instrument" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/01/picking-up-instrument.html" id="u5l1">take up an instrument</a>, quit your job, and start looking for gigs</b>. Give Lennon's corpse an awkward, grimy high-five for me when you get to the top.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-75384553338212652652008-09-15T13:08:00.000-07:002008-09-16T11:28:52.323-07:00You Don't Need Musical Talent to Make MusicYou know why I believe in this so much? I'll tell you why.<br /><br />I joined the school band when I was in fifth grade. I played trumpet. <b>I didn't particularly like playing the trumpet</b> and I only mildly enjoyed class. When, in high school, we had to learn music theory, I was almost completely mystified by things like the Circle of Fifths, chords and other musical concepts. I never did particularly well and and mostly languished in the beginner level classes while my classmates moved on to the advanced ones.<br /><br />I never showed any real musical talent; indeed, folks around me probably thought I didn't enjoy music at all. I didn't listen to popular bands like other kids my age listened to and I was very vocal about my disappointment in the music on the radio. <b>I appeared to be a pretty un-musical young person</b>.<br /><br />You know what though? Now I play piano and the banjo. I've learned and understand a great deal about music theory. I've made several hours worth of music. I went to school for Audio Engineering and got an A- on my final independent study (writing and producing a six-song album.) Someone thought my music was good enough to ask me to write music for their game. I write <i>about</i> music, <a title="for a site you may have heard of" href="http://makeshiftmusician.com/" id="vjbm">for a site you may have heard of</a>, and actually have people writing to me, <i>me</i> for answers about making music. <b>This is the guy who could barely stay afloat in band class!</b> If those poor folks only knew!<br /><br />Am I writing just to praise myself? Well, after putting all that together I have to admit it does sound pretty awesome, but that wasn't my point. My point is that if I could do all that without <i>any</i> 'inborn' musical ability, then anyone else can do it too. I don't see myself as a particularly self-motivated guy either, so I'm sure anyone out there can probably do better than me.<br /><br />I've heard many people say that they won't pick up an instrument simply because they think it is too late for them to learn. There are a lot of scientific studies that say people can't learn as effectively past their teenage years and after age 17 your neural pathways are pretty much do<b>-blah blah blah</b>. Forget that crap. Maybe my neural pathways aren't as flexible as they once were, but I have many other skills and traits that come with age that make up for that problem, like self-discipline, good time management, big-picture thinking, and the prospect of getting paid for what I do. I had none of these things when I was a kid, and my learning was probably much slower because of it.<br /><br />The only reason you might think that you are aren't a musical person is because <b>society tells you that you aren't</b>. But the fact that you can enjoy music scientifically proves that you can also make it, since you use much of the same parts of your brain for both listening and performing. In many hunter-gatherer cultures, the concept of musical talent <b>doesn't even exist</b>. Everyone is taught how to make music and dance from a young age. This is how our own cultures were until relatively recent times. Why the change? Different values? Elitism? Who knows? You shouldn't let it hold you back.<br /><br />So what are you waiting for? <b>Angels to come fluttering down, bestowing upon you a golden guitar?</b> You definitely have no excuse now. If you <i>do</i> still have an excuse of some sort, you can bet that the Makeshift Musician will do it's best to unceremoniously <b>blast that one out of the water too</b>. <a title="Go pick up an instrument" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/01/picking-up-instrument.html" id="q8xb">Go pick up an instrument</a> and start playing!Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-7607296602270754062008-09-10T15:56:00.000-07:002008-09-10T16:06:58.949-07:00Electronic Musicians: Use Some Acoustic Stuff!I have a challenge for all you purely electronic musicians out there: <b>incorporate some sort of acoustic instrumentation into your songs</b>. Here are some ideas to get you started: <b><br /><br />Sing!</b> You've got a voice, and even if you don't, you probably have a friend who does. Throw in some lyrics. If you're no poet, just write some stuff that doesn't make sense. It wouldn't be the first time an artist did that.<br /><br />A <b>decent pair of bongos</b> or some other percussion instrument only costs around fifty bucks or more. Go ahead an add some fun drumming. Record multiple takes of the same part for a cool, dense multi-layered effect. <b><br /><br />Grab your guitar or steal a friend's</b>. Learn a couple of basic chords or simply learn the exact chords that you're already using and then strum along with your own music. Something as basic as strumming can be very effective. For an example, see Pink Floyd's 'Welcome to the Machine'.<br /><br />If you are absolutely clumsy with real-world instruments, <b>find a friend</b> who can play something and record them. Recording with other folks is really fun anyway, and it could lead to fantastic collaborations in the future.<br /><br />Why am I challenging you to do this? There are <b>three</b> interrelated reasons. One is that acoustic instruments not only sound great by themselves, they will also add real gravity to the electronic ones. Synthesizers just sound more legitimate when performing next to physical instruments, and having them mixed together makes for a profoundly rich sound pallete.<br /><br />The second reason is that by being purely electronic, you are limiting yourself. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a mostly electronic musician myself, but I've still found the time to recorded banjo, guitar, bongos, random percussion, sound effects, my own voice and the voices of others. I see these as challenges. I'm always looking for ways to record real stuff in with my electronics. By getting a microphone and adding some acoustic elements, you are expanding your own potential as a musician, and that can't be a bad thing, right?<br /><br />The third reason comes from the motto of the old <b>LucasArts Audio Stooges</b> (Michael Land, Clint Bajakian and Pete McConnel), the geniuses behind some of the best music in the game industry: <b>"Music travels through air. If it's not going through air, there's a problem somewhere."</b> Just as it is good to get out of the house and play sometimes, it's good to step out of the computer occasionally and just make some noise. It will enrich your life.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-91917175794749745862008-08-21T10:46:00.001-07:002009-12-13T14:53:49.395-08:00Do-It-Yourself Sound Dampening<span style="font-style: italic;">This is part 1 of <a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/makeshift-musicians-comprehensive-guide.html">the Makeshift Musician's Comprehensive Guide to Building Your Own Studio</a></span><br /><br />Maybe if you're just starting out with your studio you haven't given it much thought, but do you realize what professionals do when they build a studio? They design the entire place from the ground up, making walls with crazy angles and covering them with different materials. Then they make a separate room for a drum kit and another separate room for vocalists. They cover the walls with either unusually-shaped wood or this unbelievably expensive foam padding with tons of little pyramids cut into it.<br /><br />Obviously, we at home can't recreate this stuff, but we can throw together our own acoustic dampening setup without giving up thousands of dollars and our first-born.<br /><br />Most of us don't really get to choose where our studio is, we just have to deal with whatever room we can fit the studio in. I've had, as a studio, my childhood bedroom, a college dorm room, the single-bedroom in a single-bedroom apartment, and the one-car garage of a much nicer apartment. If, however, by some stroke of good fortune you <i id="ecp5">can</i> choose where your studio is, try to choose a room that is somewhat isolated from everything else. You want to be loud and not have to worry about neighbors or roommates attempting to bludgeon you to death after you've played the same guitar solo eighty times just to get it right.<br /><br />Once you've got your place, what can we do to make it less echo-y? Here are some of my suggestions:<div><br /></div><div><b id="nm6x"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF0000;">EDIT:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> My astute readers have suggested that the things I mention the upcoming paragraphs tend to do very little for acoustic dampening, and that the difference between cheap foam and expensive foam is a lot more than pretentiousness. After just a little bit of research, I have to agree with them. Take a look at some of their fantastic advice in the comments section.<br /></span><br />Rugs:</b> Go to Goodwill or Wal-Mart and get some big, ugly shaggy carpets like your Aunt has in her living room and nail them to your wall. The more hideous the color, the more fun you'll have putting them up.<b id="nm6x0"><br /><br />Pictures:</b> Since they have flat, non-porous surfaces, pictures would seem like a bad choice for acoustic dampening. However, anyone who's ever moved knows that a room sounds really obnoxious until you put some pictures up on the walls. Get some pictures that you know will inspire creativity. <b id="nm6x1"><br /><br />Egg-crate-style mattress pads:</b> For the true faux-professional look, get some of these while you're at Wal-Mart. Remember, the only difference between expensive acoustic foam and cheap mattress foam is pretentiousness. <b id="nm6x2"><br /><br />Furniture:</b> You'd be surprised at how well furniture can not only scatter sound waves, but also make the studio more comfortable for everyone. Get an old couch or easy chair and see how it changes the feel of the place.<br /><br />Just remember that the more angles you have in the studio, the more sound gets bounced away harmlessly from your microphones, which is what you want. You don't want the place stark and hospital-like, but you don't want it overly cluttered either. Try to make your studio into something cozy and comfortable and inspiring. I hang huge wall-hangings full of weird geometric patterns in my studio, which have the double-effect of dampening sound and looking awesome at the same time. Experiment a lot and you'll likely find some combination of things that works perfect for you.<br /><br />This is part 1 of the Studio Guide<br /><br /><a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/makeshift-musicians-comprehensive-guide.html"><<<><br /><br /></a><a href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2009/03/get-computer-for-your-studio.html">>>> Go to Part 2: Get a Computer For Your Studio</a></div>Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-3345930768582901952008-08-20T13:00:00.001-07:002008-09-01T16:46:36.985-07:00Random Music Making Techniques, Volume 1There are lots of cool hints and techniques I've wanted to share, but I couldn't think of a good context in which to deliver them. So decided to just put them together in a series of articles. Enjoy!<b id="ze6-"><br /><br />Stealth Chords:</b> So you have an interesting chord progression in your song. Instead of just leaving your chords as basic triads or whatever, try to change them up a little to make them unique. Take out some of the notes, or arppegiate it occasionally. This may help make the chords blend better with the rest of the music, and it will keep surprising the listener. <b id="ze6-0"><br /><br />Fadeouts:</b> Many folks hate fadeouts. I think they're pretty cool, if done well. If you're doing a fadeout at the end of your song, try introducing a new element just seconds before the song fades out completely. Something like a new melody or maybe a new melody played by a new instrument. This makes the fade out more interesting and will make the song feel like its part of something larger. <b id="ze6-1"><br /><br />Hard Panning:</b> If you have an element in your song that's in the center channel but you want it to have a nice, big presence, try doubling the track and then panning one hard left and one hard right. Sometimes this can give the sound a large enveloping feel. <b id="ze6-2"><br /><br />Key Changes:</b> You've seen Jeopardy right? You know the Jeopardy song? Halfway through it they do a key change, but they don't change anything in the song! It's the exact same music, just transposed up a few steps. I hate this with the fire of a thousand suns. I call that 'technique' artificial lengthening. There's nothing wrong with key changes; they can add so much life to your piece, but for the love of Mike, at least change the melody, if not everything else. Okay, rant over. <b id="g95w"><br /><br />Orchestras Play in Concert Halls:</b> remember that if you are making orchestral/symphonic sounding stuff, reverb is very important! Listen to any orchestral recording and you'll hear lots of beautiful reverberation. Spend a lot of time tweaking your settings until it sounds like a real concert hall, and consider simply putting a reverb effect over the entire mix. Whichever works best. <b id="g95w0"><br /><br />Radio Voice:</b> When recording vocals, for whatever purpose, I've found that a lot of amateurs won't mess with equalization much and leave the voice as is. It's a good idea to play around with the vocals, for instance try cutting out some of the low end. This will often give it a more realistic sound, allow it to mix better, and avoid that deep, booming 'radio voice'. Pay attention to some of your favorite albums and you'll see that the singer doesn't have a lot of deep low-end in his or her voice.<br /><br />That's all for this edition! Feel free to add your own writing or production techniques in the comments section.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-2490303042378624242008-08-01T14:31:00.001-07:002008-08-03T22:56:16.200-07:00Make Music on Your Computer Right Now for NothingEven the studio in my <a title="article about building one" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/01/make-you-own-recording-studio.html" id="m_h_">article about building one</a> cost a few hundred dollars at minimum. If the words "a few hundred dollars" make you run for your food stamps, you might need to start with something a little cheaper, like perhaps in the no dollar range. I've listed three options that I've found on the internet over the years, and each one is for a different kind of musician or composer. If you're like me and you're a little bit of all three types, then try all of them:<i id="rn5m"><br /><br />For those who play an instrument or have a band and want to record it:</i> <b id="zl5f"><br /><a title="Kristal Audio Engine" href="http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/index.php?section=details" id="eu5g">Kristal Audio Engine</a></b><br /><br />This could be Window's answer to the Mac's GarageBand. You get 16 tracks and a professional-grade interface. This is a great way to get yourself acquainted with multitrack software. <i id="zl5f0"><br /><br />For you electronic/software nerds:</i><b id="zl5f1"><br /><a title="Jeskola Buzz" href="http://www.buzzmachines.com/whatisbuzz.php" id="bqaa">Jeskola Buzz</a></b><br /><br />They call it 'the first free soft-studio'. The idea is that it's an entire studio's worth of gear running on your computer. It has low system requirements and it's fun to use once you get the hang of it. <b id="dlco">Note that there's quite a learning curve to get past</b>, and your music is strictly electronic-based. If that's what you're going for and you have some patience then this is for you. <i id="zl5f2"><br /><br />For you of the ruffled shirt, powdered wig and real music training:</i><b id="zl5f3"><br /><a title="Finale Notepad" href="http://www.finalemusic.com/notepad/" id="lgg_">Finale Notepad</a></b><br /><br />If you know how to write music on a staff and enjoy doing so, then this is perfect. It's so easy to use that a one-armed dyslexic monkey could do it. You select your time- and key-signatures when you start a new piece and then it automatically calculates the structure of each measure for you as you place notes. Without ever using it before, I was able to fire it up and transcribe 8 measures of a piano song I've been working on in about 15 minutes.<br /><br />I was just kidding about the ruffled shirt and powdered wig thing. Although if you <i id="pl05">do</i> wear these items, please send me a picture.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8636445975594467756.post-86194306044775810272008-06-18T11:12:00.000-07:002008-06-18T11:16:19.736-07:00Daily Songwriting ExerciseA great exercise that I mentioned in my <a title="article on finding and maintaining creativity" href="http://makeshiftmusician.blogspot.com/2008/01/dont-find-inspiration-create-it.html" id="qkx8">article on finding and maintaining creativity</a> was writing music every day. What does this entail? Does this mean you should start and finish a new song every day? Work on just one song over a long period of time?<br /><br />The mindset you should have is that you will <i id="d4ei">sit down</i> in front of your keyboard, sheet music, studio, guitar, jug or whatever you have to <i id="d4ei0">make music every day</i> regardless of what ideas you have. <b id="vbg6">It is important to remember that what you actually make is irrelevant</b>. You could be working on one polished song, making a different little sketch each day, or just recording weird stuff that comes to your mind. <b id="vbg60">Just as long as you sit down and <i id="rjh5">do something</i> every day</b>.<br /><br />As soon as you stop thinking about <i id="fqfx">results</i>, you can start thinking about <i id="fqfx0">making something</i>. Think of it like daily exercise. When you go for a jog, you don't really care about the destination, you are simply doing it to condition your muscles and heart. You do daily <i id="fqfx1">creative</i> exercise to condition your creative abilities and your neural pathways. You should not be worried about the result of your efforts. No one is embarrassed about running in a loop every day and getting nowhere. So too, you shouldn't be embarrassed about the random crap you make every day. No one has to hear it but you.<br /><br />I have often paralyzed my music output because I would worry too much about making something professional and polished. I felt that anything I started wasn't good enough, and soon I would just get in a rut, making pretty much nothing. Finally I decided that <b id="d3gs">this was lame</b> and making <i id="d3gs0">somewhat unpolished music</i> is better than making <b id="d3gs1">no music at all</b>.<br /><br />It is particularly fun to simply try to make something <b id="z64n">new</b> every day. Sure, a lot of it will be crap, but it will keep forcing you to come up with new stuff, which means <i id="kco2">new neural pathways</i> for you and more creative energy. Plus, you'll quite often stumble on something awesome and you'll want to expand it into something more complete. <b id="j16g"><br /><br />So here's my challenge for you:</b> sit down with your music making equipment for at least an hour every day and make sure you have at least <b id="j662">something</b> by the end of your session. I don't care what it is, and neither should you. You will discover all sorts of new stuff this way. In fact, go do it <i id="d6sb">right now</i>.Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17952138923856731688noreply@blogger.com3