So You’ve Got A New Song

Let’s begin at the beginning.  You’ve written a song and, hopefully, you’re thrilled with it.  So thrilled, in fact, that you want to record it right away and use every instrument in both the Western and Eastern musical traditions on the demo.  I don’t blame you one bit.  There’s nothing more fun than dressing up your songs to go to town.  But it might make sense to stop and ask yourself what your goals are for your demo.

Why Are You Demoing Your Song?

If the answer is that you’re a recording artist in your own right and you’re putting together a collection of demos that represent you and your sound, then, by all means, create a full-blown demo and best of luck.  But if the answer is that you’re hoping to represent your song in a way that highlights what is unique in your melody and lyric and you’re hoping to pitch it to publishers or recording artists in order to get a cut, you might want to put on the brakes before doing a full-blown demo.

Budget

Let’s start with the elephant in the room…the money.  Doing quality recordings of your songs is never inexpensive.  As a matter of fact, doing a full band productions of a song can be downright expensive.  As a result, you should have VERY good reasons for doing a full production of your song.  An example of a “very good reason” would be that you know a music supervisor who has come to you specifically looking for a song for a film or TV show and they’re looking for a full band production.  Another good reason would be that you’re working with a young artist and you want to do a version of the song that highlights not only the song but the singer as an artist.  However, if you’re hoping to have a long, successful career as a songwriter, you need to manage your demo budget carefully.  In terms of pitching possibilities and placement opportunities for your songs, I firmly believe that it is better to have a catalog of ten great sounding, professionally recorded guitar/vocal or piano/vocal demos than it is to have half that many full-band recordings.

What Is A “Stripped Down” Demo?

A stripped down demo is generally a recording of a single instrument (either acoustic guitar or piano) and a vocal including vocal harmony.  This is in contrast with what I’ll refer to as a full band demo which generally involves a rhythm section (drums and bass) as well as various “color” instruments like electric guitar, keyboards, fiddle (if it’s country) and any one of a variety of other instruments.  The trick to a well-recorded stripped down demo is that it implies something bigger without necessarily having to use a lot of instruments to do it.  For example, a piano/vocal recording where the singer adds harmony vocals on top of their lead vocal gives the impression of the chorus getting bigger more dramatic without having to use a big drum fill or electric guitar power chords to do it.  Stripped down demos are particularly effective on ballads but can also work well on uptempo songs.  Sometimes, it’s as simple as including a shaker, tambourine or even foot-stomps and hand claps on a recording to give it a sense of drive and motion.  Adding a slight percussive element like this still fits in the category of stripped down because it’s being done in exchange for what a full drum kit would do.  Give this snippet of a stripped down demo a listen to see what I mean.

Stripped Down Demo with Simple Percussion:
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Stripped Down Does NOT Mean Low Quality

Let me be perfectly clear.  Just because your demo is only one instrument and a vocal, this is not permission to do it yourself unless you’re an experienced studio musician or demo vocalist.  When a demo is boiled down to a single instrument and vocal, it is doubly important that the recording and performances be of the highest quality because every element of the recording will be exposed. Most importantly, trained studio musicians and vocalists bring an emotion, precision and energy to a recording that will make it stand out in a way that is essential for creating a positive first impression.  I suspect I don’t have to remind you how intense the competition is out there.  You’ve only got one chance to make a first impression with your music so make absolutely sure that your demos (whether stripped down or full band) are done by experts.  In other words, save your money by using fewer instruments and scaling back your production, not by using inexperienced players, singers and engineers.

Click the examples below to hear the difference between a guitar/vocal rough recording done on home recording equipment and the same song professionally recorded with a session piano player and professional vocalist.

Rough Recording:
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Final Stripped-Down Demo:
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When Less Is More

Beyond being easier on your budget, there are several additional reasons to consider stripping down your demos.  First of all, a simple guitar/vocal recording of a song shows that the song is strong in its most basic form.  If you find yourself thinking that your song will only work if it’s got a full-band production behind it, then you might want to re-investigate the song itself.  Another advantage of scaled down production is that it leaves room for the artist or producer on a project to explore production options instead of pegging the song to a particular style of production.  Along those same lines, a piano/vocal demo sung by a vocalist with a clean, contemporary sound would open up pitch opportunities across several genres.  In other words, it might be possible to pitch the same piano/vocal demo to a pop artist as well as a country artist.  If, however, you’ve created a full band recording of the same ballad, the session musicians would most likely have to commit to a particular style thus limiting your pitch opportunities.

Conclusion

Hopefully, your career as a songwriter will be a long and prosperous one.  Having great songs is the first and without a doubt the most important place to put your time and effort.  But, if you want to make a living as a songwriter, then creating quality demos and getting those recordings into the hands of those who can do something with them comes a close second.  By stripping down your demos, you’ll be able to stretch your demo budget and highlight what’s unique in your songs without compromising on the non-negotiables like a quality recording studio, professional musicians and experienced demo singers.

Good luck!

This is a guest post by Tom Kimmel.

For some of us, a lyric rushes out into the world before we can think much about it and sometimes it’s a fine lyric, just as it is. Other times, even if we feel a strong personal connection with the lyric, it could be strengthened with a little work.

On the other hand, often a lyric comes in dribs and drabs, and once we have a complete draft we might be so relieved that we declare it finished prematurely.

In both cases, a lyric might benefit from a fresh perspective and a willingness to tinker a little.

Ted Kooser, one of my favorite poets, says that even when one of his poems comes out in one piece he still plays with it a bit to see if it might be improved. He hastens to add, however, that no matter how much or how little re-writing the poem requires, he wants it to read as if it flowed from the pen.

We songwriters have a similar goal. We want our songs to slide by easily without calling too much attention to themselves even if the lyric has real content and depth. To that end, there are a couple of references I return to.

When I’m re-writing a lyric I first ask myself if the song has what I call a strong through the door factor. In other words, I want the words to sound good and to sing well, so well, in fact, that if someone heard the song through the door they’d enjoy it!

In order to achieve that, I may record a working version of the song-in-progress and listen to it softly or from a distance, not analyzing the words, but listening for the sound and flow of the words. Do the words seem to roll off the tongue or do I stumble over certain sounds, words or phrases?

Chances are that if a lyric doesn’t sound good from the other side of the door, it won’t sound good up close either. So, in my book, it’s very important that a lyric sound and feel good. If it doesn’t, I can begin my re-write by asking these questions:

1.     Do the syllables I emphasize when singing my lyric coincide with the notes emphasized in my melody? If not, I’ll try to adjust.

2.     Do the number or words or syllables I’m placing in my lines and phrases make it easy for me to sing the song? If I’m cramming in too many syllables in a line or phrase, I can experiment with simplifying by making my phrasing less busy.

3.     Likewise, I may need to add words or syllables to more closely coincide with notes of melody that I’m emphasizing.

4.     Are most of the vowel sounds in my words easy to sing? For example, I’m probably going to avoid placing the words hat or it over a very high note!

Of course, strong lyrical content is extremely important to most songwriters, so the second way I approach a re-write or edit is by examining how the lyric unfolds as the song develops. I may ask myself, “Does my lyric and song unfold in a way that is satisfying, that holds the listener’s attention as well as my own?”

To consider this when I coach songwriters and lead workshops, I suggest that a song is very much like a three act play. Some of the story, be it a literal tale or an emotional or spiritual narrative, is revealed in the first act, which most often is the song’s first verse and chorus. The second act, usually the second verse and chorus is a new beginning; more of the story is introduced and then summed up in the second chorus. The remainder of the story is then told in the third act often the bridge and final chorus.

In my own work, if I then see that I reveal too much, too soon in my song I make changes. One technique espoused by a friend of mine is to take the first verse and make it the second verse… and to write a new first verse that is more of a prologue… so that the story has somewhere to go! Likewise if the song is slow to develop, I have the option of trying my second verse as the first verse. Experiment!

Bottom line: a song is not a painting. It doesn’t exist all at once. It has a beginning, middle and end, and it needs to flow, rise and fall throughout its lifespan. (In filmmaking they call this advancing the narrative.)

So let’s say I’ve got my song sounding good and I’ve got my story unfolding in a nice way. There’s still one question I ask about my lyric and that is, “Are all the lines in my lyric relevant to my theme?” In other words, does my whole lyric support the point or theme of my song? If I have some filler lines or phrases I’ll probably want to work on the song a bit more.

Finally, I have found that considering the above questions gives me a context for my writing. There are numerous details I can attend to, but if I don’t place the work of re-writing into this larger context, then all my work on the details likely won’t bring about the hoped for result.

In closing, I’ll share a technique I use over and over in the process of finishing or re-writing. If I’ve come to feel that I’ve been trying too hard to complete something, that I’m using too much mental muscle because I’ve lost the creative thread, then it’s important that I step away from the song, let it rest and come back to it fresh.

The single most helpful way I know to do this is to make a rough recording of the song, singing only the words I’m happy with and humming in places that might need a stronger lyric. It’s important that I don’t force words that don’t sound right or make sufficient sense. Then, and this is key, I listen to my rough recording at bedtime. (And by that I mean listen last thing before I turn off the light.)

It’s amazing how often the right words will bubble up from the subconscious the next day… or soon thereafter.

Working as a producer for the past dozen years, I’ve recorded with all kinds of artists from “fresh off the boat” newbies to artists whose experience in the world of music doubles or even triples my own. In every case, my role as a producer stays essentially the same. It’s that role that I’m going to describe in this article.

What Is A Producer?

The best way I know to describe what a producer does comes in the form of this analogy: A producer is to a recording as a director is to a film. When it comes to making a film, the buck essentially stops with the director. It’s the director who steers the ship working with everyone from the technical editors to the actors in order to achieve his or her overall vision of the movie. It is exactly that way with a producer when it comes to making a recording. Not only must the producer have the experience to work with the studio engineer (often possessing the technical expertise to engineer the project themselves) but the musical understanding to help the artist with everything from song choice, structure and arrangement to the all-important vocal performances that are vital in giving a recording its personality. In short, a producer provides the experience and necessary perspective to guide a recording from start to finish.

Producer Backgrounds

Producers can come from a variety of backgrounds. I’m listing the four most common and what each brings to the process, but, typically, producers have experience in more than one of these areas.

1) The Songwriter – Since at its essence, a recording is dependent on the quality of the song, the songwriter/producer is heavily involved in the song selection process. Not only does this type of producer have experience in knowing what does and doesn’t work when it comes to pre-existing songs, but often this producer will co-write songs with the artist for a given project.

2) The Musician – Here, it’s often an instrumental and music theory background that gives this type of producer their experience. They have first hand knowledge when it comes to working with musicians and knowing what instrumental approach will work best in a given situation.

3) The Engineer – In this case, the producer’s primary experience comes from actual recording (i.e., placing microphones on drum kits, recording vocals and mixing albums). By becoming an expert in the nuts and bolts of the recording process, an engineer/producer can make the recording process a smooth one for the artist.

4) The Music Fan – This is someone who lives and breathes music and has the instincts to guide artists and session musicians through the recording process without necessarily having had the “hands on” experience of being a songwriter, musician or engineer themselves. They often bring great perspective to a situation where being too close to any one part of the process might compromise the overall recording.

What Do Producers Do?

As I’ve mentioned, producers can be involved in many different aspects of a recording. Some producers are very “hands off” acting mostly as the voice of experience and perspective for artists who already have a fairly clear idea of who they are and where they’re headed. On the other end of the spectrum are the producers who are involved in every element of the recording from co-writing the songs, to engineering to playing one or even all of the instruments. In some, but certainly not all of these cases, the resulting recordings have such a distinctive sound that the producer becomes as associated with the recording as the artist themselves. For the record, no one way takes precedence over any other for producing a recording. The only measure of a producer that matters is whether or not the resulting recording is satisfying to everyone involved. As most producers operate somewhere in between minimal and complete involvement, here are the main areas where most producers do their work.

1) Pre-production – This includes working with the artist to decide if the songs are as good as they can be and, ultimately, which songs would work best as a group for an album release. It also includes deciding on the overall sound of a recording which involves deciding which session musicians/instruments would be best suited to achieve the sound and feel of a particular song.

2) Instrumental Recording/Arrangement – At this point, the producer works with the assembled musicians and helps direct their performances in the studio in order to achieve a cohesive sound for the recording.

3) Vocals - Finally, because the typical music listener responds first to the voice of the singer, one of the most important roles of the producer is working with the vocalist to help them give their best, most sincere performance of their material. It is extremely difficult for even the most experienced vocalists to have any perspective on their performance while it’s happening. For this reason, a producer is the voice of reason and experience who knows how to encourage a vocalist to do one more vocal pass or helps them realize that it would be better to take a break and come back to fight another day.

How Do I Find A Producer?

For those who are new to the process of recording, whether it’s an album project or even a song demo, it is unclear where to look to find a producer for your project. Generally speaking, word of mouth in your music community serves as the best, most organic way to find a producer right for your project. Another effective way to find a producer, particularly if you’re interested in doing a whole recording project, would be to look at the liner notes on some of your favorite independent CD projects made in the city where you plan to record. Often, those producers are available for hire and it’s just a matter of getting their contact information that the artists themselves usually have. Finally, there’s no rule that says you can’t contact a well-known/successful producer whose work you admire. Maybe they will be too busy or too expensive to work with, but you never know and if you’re respectful in your request there’s no reason not to try.

At the end of the day, it’s a good working relationship and the trust between artist and producer that makes for the best results. So, be sure that you not only like a producer’s work but also feel comfortable working with them as well. You’ll be spending a lot of time with this person and trusting them with your art, so make sure that you feel like the producer you choose is willing to give you and your music the attention necessary to get a great recording.