Produced and unpublished

He spent a lot of time listening to his inspiring music genre and artists, watching their videos and browsing the net following their activities and hoping one day he’ll be like them. He saves some money for recording and writes a couple of lyrics but he is so desperate for fame that he just longs to get into the studio immediately.

From my observation, that’s what I have seen in upcoming artists today. Many keep coming with that burning hunger for the music as some get in and find their sweet spot immediately, while others struggle to hit the airwaves. Some even rush to video production for faster fame while their music is still way too unacceptable. Some have what it takes but, for lack better terms, they worst their time trying to perfect their own music from their own opinions and keep saying  ‘my time is coming’.

Well, I guess my observation could add a couple of little tips to some of you folks going through it hard. Firstly, the music industry has widened progressively over the years and is changing or upgrading in various ways so one has to know about what he/she is getting into. The genre (the type of music) you are interested in should be the priority objective to focus on. This will help you to comfortably survey about people in those circles, how they handle their business, what or who are their audience, is it the type of audience you expect in your music, is your genre attractive enough to capture a wider audience etc. Another aspect you should consider is whether you want to do music for fun or you have a business orientation attached to it. If you intend to make music for fun only then I guess these tips are not for you.

Obviously, if you were an upcoming musician or recording artist you would want to earn some sort of income or reward to your artistic works so lets cut to the chase. If you are a ‘do it yourself’ type of person you might need to start from the scratch:

1. Develop writing skills of a song; everyone loves music, which has harmony and catchy melodies or something people would sing along to. That should be your objective 1. Secondly, in your sing along tune find words, which would uniquely define the main objective of the song in your chorus especially. Creatively or poetically compose your wordplay such that your listener follows your introduction to conclusion of every verse to chorus. Also learn to time the lengths of your verses and choruses such that they wouldn’t be too long or too short. It should be the massage that would make the listener enjoy every bit of the song and each transition i.e. from intro 1st verse to chorus, 2^nd verse, chorus, 3^rd verse, bridge, etc.

2. When you are comfortable with your song, learn to memorize it, perfect your notes and build an imaginary beat in your head as reference to the tempo or speed of the song as this would help you in the recording session. If there are areas which would require other voices to back you up its advisable that you find someone to help you sweeten your song if need be.

3. Recording. If you have never recorded before, it’s advisable to find a renowned recording studio with professional equipment with good quality output. Explain to the producer what kind of music you are into and also learn to listen to advise from the producers as they have more experience as far as production is concerned. If there is no chemistry between you and the producer its hard to work on a project. So, you have to find a producer who would understand you and advise you accordingly. At times you might feel that you are ready to record while you are not. E.g. when you are presented with a beat that is new to your ear, you like it and it suits your song but you can’t hit the notes right or you keep missing the beat, its advisable to get a sample of the beat and rehearse it at home until you are comfortable enough to sing or rap on it. Have an imaginary vision as if you are already a star performing on stage confidently. Usually that spirit or motivation is noticeable in recording session so, if you are going to sound like you are just talking, no emotions are attached in your song or you sound like you are reading what you’re singing, people will notice that and that’s not what listeners want to hear. Be confident and ask for suggestions if you are not confortable in some areas because not everything you have written may sound right in you kind of music or type of song. Be original and try never to sound like anybody but yourself.

4. After Recording, its advisable to have opinions of people close to you, who can give you honest opinions about your song before you can take it to the public. Judge their opinions based on the majority of their responses either positively or negatively and learn highs and lows from your recorded project. If there is need to improve on some areas in the song, be free to get back to the studio even if it means paying the studio addition money for it. Otherwise, it’s better to have your song rightly done and delayed than roughly done and already hitting the club, the radio or the general public. You wouldn’t want the DJ to ask you to go back to the studio and do your homework because the recording was poor or the beat is alright but the vocals are weak, or find yourself in a situation were DJ’s only play your song once, halfway or promise to play your jam but never play at all.

This is the end of part 1 of the MCL tips – Produced and unpublished.