This one took me a while to get.  But I was always wondering how come it took so long to get the song sounding “right”.  I’m the bass player usually for the music projects that I do with my friends, and it always seemed like it wasn’t “locked in” when we played songs and stuff.  As a guitar player turned bass player, I never had the in depth study that a bassist thinks about all the time.   Or maybe not even.  Again this is one of those posts where

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So, you’re making a demo…

You’ve rehearsed a lot, and are ready to lay down some tracks at a nice, or not so nice recording studio.  You’ve probably like I did, paid a bunch of money to have someone engineer the demo and are really wanting things to go well.

Here are just some thoughts about what things to think about once you are ready to go and get everyone together to play.  I recorded some pop songs, and so these are the things that I had to keep in mind, but I guess that the process would be slightly different say if you were recording a hip hop track, or classical concerto, or anything in between.  But for us, it was all about planning…

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I’m not a singer, but I have played in bands and have tried to sing.  Most of the time, it sounded bad.  It wasn’t that I am a bad singer, although that probably contributed to the situation.  It’s because singing at a club in front of loud instruments calls for some adjustment of technique.  For the first year of playing out at bars, I would sing backup, but it wasn’t really being heard in the room.  Then there were the times, that I felt I was on key and in tune, and yet, stuck out too much.  I think that at the core of it, the technique of singing into a microphone in a band situation is different from say singing in a choir, or in the shower.  Microphones accentuate certain aspects of the sound, and reward for crispness of the sound coming out of your mouth, rather than the tone coming out.  Like I said, I’m not a singer, but I have noticed some things here and there about singing backup that might be good to keep in mind…. Continue Reading

Hmmm, hummm, hmmmm, hummmm, da da da da! You know what? I gots myself a song or a melody or a chorus!!!!  That is the thought that comes to mind when I embark on the task or writing a song. Songwriting is a unique experience for everyone,  and for me the initial melody comes from the ether. My job now is to use my craft to tame that wild burst of creativity into something I can perform.

IDEAS

When I get an idea for a part of a song. I jump onto my instrument of choice:

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So, this is a simple one.  You’re ready to play with your friends, or a new person, and maybe you have a new original song to try.  So, this involves teaching a new song.  You can do it section by section and show your bass player, backup singer, and drummer how to play your song.  But if you got them all there at the same time, and are rehearsing in a loud rehearsal space and you’re paying by the hour… then you’ll want to keep things efficient.

I find that these days, people need to keep things moving and use their time wisely.  Sometimes, it’s tough to get that many people together in the same space.

So, here are some thoughts on how to get some paperwork together for your indie band.  Two things to get ready.  Lyric sheet and Chord Chart. Continue Reading

When I was a kid, I was very regimented about the way that I practiced music.  I was break it up in to sections, and train my fingers to do endless scales and such.  And in those years sitting in my basement, I gave up a lot of my high school years.  Now that I am older and have been playing music for years, and briefly went to music school, and then dropped out of music school, been in bands, and played with lots of different people (no one famous), I feel that I was a little misguided back then.

Scales and practicing are definitely needed, but I was way too anal about it, and I feel a little too regimented.  And the net result was that when I went to music school I needed to unlearn stuff so as not to sound stiff.  I guess we got to remember that I grew up in the eighties when “shredding” was king.   Maybe I could have used my practice time as a kid better.  Continue Reading

Playing music with another person is like dating.  It can be bliss or extremely uncomfortable and sad. But maybe it’s the first step in forming a new music project, or band, or you just want to play with a live person.  But along that path, there are times when you’ll be able to make great music together, and then, not so much.

Along with people’s playing level, there are different styles of playing, and (just like in dating), you have to figure out what to play.  That’s why it’s best if possible to go and see someone play at an open mic to get a sense of what kind of music that they play.

Of course, that’s probably not going to happen if you are going to craigslist it and find someone off of there.  I’ve done craigslist a couple of times, and I feel like there are some ways to prepare to get a good result.  Here are just some ideas that it might help to think about when trying to find a new person to play with… Continue Reading

If you are like me and picked up playing bass guitar from playing regular guitar, then there may be some new things to learn about as you try to lay down the perfect bass line.  It took me a little while to focus on certain things that have helped my playing down low.  Coaxing different sounds to create a mood for a song has made me open up to the instrument and stop thinking about chord changes, and theory.  It has made me focus on feel, and ambience, and drama.

In my experience in indie-type rock, the bass is the dark heart of the music, creating a landscape that the rest of the music plays in.  But technically it took me a little while to see that world.

FINGERTIPS or PICKS

Every instrument has a language that it speaks in.  If you were playing violin, you could bow it, pluck it, legato, or staccato, etc.  The same goes for the electric bass, but perhaps it isn’t so obvious if you are picking up the bass after playing guitar.  There is the finger sound using the meaty part of your fingertips… Continue Reading