Hello there!
I’m very excited to share what I’ve been up to. I’m even a bit scared of writing about it. I’m working on my first collection of songs. What?! yes, my very first musical babies coming out into the world. The songs came to my imagination last fall 2019 and just kept them in my voice app until I took an Intro to Theology class. This class had a 50 hour creative project that we had to turn in and do a presentation for the class at the end of the semester.
What this project did was to help me write and complete my first songs ever!( I have written music with others before) It felt so good to share! I never recorded them though up until now, when I had my first recording of the guitar and voice parts. This act gave me a ton of information on what’s needed to do next, so that the songs will be at their best.
First, it made me realize that I’m looking for a specific production of the audio part in itself. I know what I want the vocals to sound like but I have knowledge to acquire in terms of all things audio. Learning what EQ, Compression, Phantom power and the like is very important in this journey and it’s just a starting point. Exploring my mic’s capabilities as well as my Zoom H6 is part of my homework this week. There is a lot of detail in music production in order to get the audio to match the sounds that I hear in my head. Fortunately, my husband Mark is a good guide in these sort of situation. Thanks honey!
Second, by reading up a bunch, the next thing that would be wise to invest time in will be in understanding drums. As I started playing with them in my daw, I realize how much of an impact they made in my songs; each one giving them a completely different feel. I know what I want my drums to sound; now is a matter of learning how to get them to sound the way I envision them.
This first collection of songs’ production is mostly acoustic in nature and I’m looking for an overall organic sound, if that makes sense. The arrangements I hear in my head so far are like dainty jewelry, just enough ornamentation and keeping it clean.
Recording vocals in my closet.
I’m taking an online class to understand beats and how they work in a composition. Timbaland is an excellent teacher because he gives you some guidelines yet encourages you to explore for yourself and do lots of experimentation. In other words, he encourages one to play.
Third, by listening to my first demo recording I realize there are adjustments to be made to the tempos of each song. I wasn’t quite happy with the choice of tempo, since in some of my songs, going from the different sections, the tempo goes up quite a bit and then slows down again. I literally spend a couple of evenings experimenting with this, and I think I found the tempos (metronome markings) I’m happy with.
Last but not least, by doing this first recording, I decided to alter some of the lyrics slightly and edit a bridge length in one of my songs.
That’s it for now, and I gotta express it. The process is lovely; the search is a thrill.