Appreciate reviews for a new song

[53mph]

I'd appreciate reviews for a song I recently finished.It's called 'So Long, Shalom'It's the first song on my Broadjam site.www.broadjam.com/53mphI'd really appreciate peoples thoughts on what genre this song falls into. I usually find myself in the Beck/Ben Kweller style of music but this ones a bit different.Thanks

[superflux]

I don't know how to wrap my head around it other than to say it sounds likeBelle and Sebastion collaborated with Seal.Cool combinations of colors, always love chimes.Sounds like some of the percussion was quantized to different note valuesat times, like something's not quite in the pocket.Just my 2 centsSteve

[53mph]

Thanks for listening Superflux.Hmmm, A Seal and Belle and Sebastian collaboration....and which catagory of music does that fall under? Indie/Soul? Lo-Fi/Pop?I'm going to go back to the masters today to find the source of the the conflict. I haven't used quantizing or Looping on this track...everything is played either on real instruments or East West Sampled Libraries so there shouldn't be this problem. I do find though that when I compress the MP3 lower that the woodblock gives off some wierd noises....perhaps I need to cut some frequencies from that instrument?All good stuff!

[superflux]

Quote:Thanks for listening Superflux.Hmmm, A Seal and Belle and Sebastian collaboration....and which catagory of music does that fall under? Indie/Soul? Lo-Fi/Pop?I'm going to go back to the masters today to find the source of the the conflict. I haven't used quantizing or Looping on this track...everything is played either on real instruments or East West Sampled Libraries so there shouldn't be this problem. I do find though that when I compress the MP3 lower that the woodblock gives off some wierd noises....perhaps I need to cut some frequencies from that instrument?All good stuff! Don't know what the sound really is, but I think theculprit sounds sorta like a TR-808 kick or some other"house" sounding kick drum.I can't help on the genre, I'm too new to writing andthinking about that stuff to even catagorize correctly our own tunes. All we seem to get is "not right for the listing" responses.Good luck!Steve

[53mph]

If you want some help catagorising your songs post up a link on here and I can give my opinion.I find it's always easier to describe other peoples music.

[superflux]

Quote:If you want some help catagorising your songs post up a link on here and I can give my opinion.I find it's always easier to describe other peoples music. Not only would we love your opinion about genrestuff, but would also greatly appreciate any constructivecriticism we can get. We've played a ton of cover tunesat a whole lot of gigs, but we're really new to writing. "Broken" and "Nobody's Fool" are the two newest andmaybe the most indicative of where we're trying to take things.www.broadjam.com/CaraHaysThanks,Steve

[53mph]

Hi Steve,I enjoyed listening to Drawn to You. It's got a good groove and suits the singers voice better than some of the others. I think the chorus could do with beefing up though. It seems to lose some of the energy and sonic size of the verses. The chorus starts to rock at about 3.00. I think it could be a case of boosting the keyboard/Wurlitzer during the chorus.Broken is an ok tune but I don't like the guitar sound...I don't know what it is. The accoustic sounds out of tune (or lined in) and the other instruments are too quiet. Caras voice is definately too high in the mix which also highlights when she goes out of tune. Sorry to say it but at 00.30 & 00.45 she hit's the wrong notes. Throughout the song when she sings "I've been [broken] by [Somebody]" the highlighted word are usually too flat. I'd suggest getting a pitch correcter on the vocal...it's not cheating. I certainly can't boast being a pitch perfect singer (more of the Lou Reed dangerous side of off-key), so what I sometimes do is record my vocal then put a pitch correcter on it and visually watch all the places I go out of tune....it really helps me to see where I'm making the mistakes. Then I re-record the vocal, this time hitting those notes correctly. I can't afford vocal coaching so I use this technique as my teacher. I'm guessing you aren't the singer (unless you have an identity crisis) and probably know singers can be a bit touchy about their vocal ability. If you use a pitch correcter during sessions or jams just to illustrate that they do (occassionally) go out of tune then they'll probably be more willing to accept the proof of a machine than a fellow band member.....You know the arguements "You're singing out of tune"..."Well, you can't play the F^ckin' guitar" etc... In Nobody'sFool I liked the George Harrison intro guitar sound...very nice.Similar problems to 'Broken' though. Bad recording / Vocal's too high and hitting some bad notes.I would take Drawn to You as your model song. The recording is much better Ie: done in a studio and Cara's delivery is better. My ear tells me the engineer put some pitch correction on the vocal Organise your song list and put the best ones at the top so they come up first on your splash page. The badly recorded ones should be last. This is not slatting the quality of the song writing, but the production gets in the way of listening. In terms of the genre: Pop/Rock is spot on. Personal note: I prefer the second picture where Cara is in a red dress

[superflux]

53mph,Thanks for all the helpful tips! You've hit the nail on the head production-wise. "Broken"and "Nobody's Fool" were recorded here in our littlerehearsal room. The others were done in a local studio.I'm having a heck of a time learning to record live vocals(among other things). I can't get any clarity, and Isuppose I end up mixing the vocal too hot in an effort tounderstand the words.No split personality here, I do the instruments, Cara's thesinger. We write together, but she's the primary writer.I'm doing my best to learn the technical stuff.Can you make a suggestion about a pitch correcter? I'mjust recording using a stereo sound card and Sonar.Are you suggesting a hardware or software solution?Cara is on outstanding live singer of cover tunes and evenrecords well she's in front of an audience, seldom getttingthe least bit pitchy. We're still trying to find our way withthe writing of originals and getting good recordedperformances out of the more "clinical" environmentof the dreaded studio.I agree about the guitar on "Broken", I wanted to use a mic, but my dog wouldn't shut up, so I hadto run it direct from the pickup. Gotta love thehome studio. Again thanks for taking the time to listenand for the suggestions. We're gonna keep atthis it until we get it right. Thanks!!Steve

[53mph]

Steve,I use an early version of Antares Auto-tune. It's not great at correcting vocals to sound normal (it tends to make them sound like Cher singing 'if you believe in love') but I know that the new version of Sonar Producers Edition has a kick ass collection of vocal processing tools including pitch correcter. As I said, I use mine solely to learn where I'm hitting notes flat or sharp in an effort to improve my voice.To make the vocals sound better you don't need to mix them higher, you need to give them more room in the mix. Use the stereo fieldd better. Perhaps do two guitar tracks and pan them hard left and right which then leaves the vocals room in the middle of the mix. Also listen to what frequencies are similar between instruments. For exampe, female vocals can often hit similar frequencies to guitars and if they're both hitting the same frequencies that can make the mix muddy...or lacking clarity. Try taking some treble or mid out of the guitar and adding some bass to the vocal. Also, a nice bit of compression can do wonders, but don't forget to eq after compression. I like to use a little program called BBE Sonic maximiser on the vocals. It can do alot of that work for you.Mixing drums is an art in itself, but when in doubt think back to old motown records...drums and bass in one ear, piano and guitars in the other and vocals straight down the middle. I love that classic sound.The best way to learn mixing techniques is to listen to the music you love and analyse why it works.I often sit down with a diagram of a stereo field and whilst listening to my favourite tracks draw in where all the instruments are and at what points during the mix they come in and out. That can often help you understand the dynamics issue.Hell, I'm no expert....I'm not even a studio engineer. I'm sure there are experts on this board who will rip me apart (see my post about metronomes in the Technology threads) but I like to share what I've learnt if it can help someone else in any way.Luckily for me my dog sleeps whilst I do music

[superflux]

Thanks for the great insight! Forget the disclaimers;we're all learning and there's always someonebehind you and always someone in front of you.There are things to be learned from both of them.I'm a little phobic about upgrading my Sonar rigbecause we use it for the cover band, but itlooks like they've packed a whole lot into anupgrade that will only cost me $250. GuessI'll give it a shot.I'm so not an engineer that I've not evenstarted mixing our little home recordingsin stereo. Man, I've got a lot of growingto do...I'm looking forward to trying your tips thisweekend Thanks a million!!Steve