Introduction and request for basic pointers!

[JeSsiCaRaTz]

Hello everyone!
I just joined the forum. I hope to join Taxi soon but I'm not ready yet. I am hoping for some pointers to get me moving in the right direction.

I'm a new stay at home mom, I started writing songs over the past year to help keep me sane. I've written about 25 songs over the past year. Lyrics, melody, piano accompaniment. Folk, country, and just weird things that interest me. One techno and one hard rock song.

My first goal is to produce some recordings of my songs that I like. My other goal is to write for Taxi listings and send in high enough quality demos to be considered.

I have: a piano, a guitar (that I can't play!) Garageband and a cheap midi keyboard.

The hardest thing to work around is that I'm a terrible singer!!! Currently all my music is mostly hand annotated and I play and sing it myself on the piano, just for fun.

So... to make a recording I will have to hire a singer.

I'm wondering...should I learn to record at home, or use a studio? There is a cheap studio nearby run by high school students. (!)

I can spend a few hundred dollars once or twice a year but not thousands.

Should I start by learning Garageband, or is it too limited and a waste of my time?

Any pointers or advice are appreciated! Thank you!

--Jessica

[Robtoons]

Hi Jessica,
Welcome to the forum.
Learning garage band is probably a great way to start if you have no experience, it will get you into the basics of tracking, monitoring and mixing just as well as an expensive DAW.
(from what I hear, I've never actually used it!) Learning the recording process from the ground up is intimidating to a musician with no background in it, but it is also a great
teacher; listening to yourself critically is the first (and sometimes painful) lesson.
I'm pretty new here myself, but I have learned a great deal from the good folks around here.
You will find as you progress that this forum can be a great resource for collaboration (finding a singer for instance) as well as for advice.
Good luck on your journey!
-Rob

[andygabrys]

Welcome to the forum!

garage band is fine. so is a Shure SM57 mic. you can get a lot done. Garage band projects can also be opened up in Logic if you want to have somebody more experienced mix the song. So just a fine place to start.

http://www.bloggingmuses.com/songwriter ... d-my-life/

its more what goes into it thats the issue.

I would try and collaborate with producers (who could create the arrangement and recording from your rough demo) and singers, you can post on the forum to strike up relationships. You will likely end up sharing the ownership of your song in return for their services, but that can be a good way to get going.

later, you can hire singers from such places as www.studiopros.com - usually they are about $125 per track (work for hire, so you own the performance and don't owe any royalties). And you could record at the local studio.

But since you have some time besides caring for your child, I would work on the skills too. work with garageband. look at Youtube production videos.

Good luck!!

[coachdebra]

I also recommend that you spend time on peer to peer. Post lyrics, post recordings and give feedback on other people's work. Also listen to other people's work and read the feedback they receive. You can learn as much from someone else's pain as you can from your own!

With regard to the vocals - you'd be amazed the improvement you can make to your voice by working with a vocal coach and practicing daily. You can train your ear as well, which will serve you in creating and arranging melody. Even if you end up working with professional singers, being able to use your voice effectively to show them what you're after. And knowing how a singer works with phrasing and expression will all serve the final product.

Congratulations on moving forward and committing yourself to your music!

Your coach,
Debra

[cardell]

Welcome Jessica!

Your best bet may be to collaborate with someone else here.

Stuart

[JeSsiCaRaTz]

Thank you all for the excellent advice. I'm going to do these things.

[stevepurdie]

Morning Jessica,

Welcome to the forum... and yes, I agree with all the above. Really best to collaborate with others to get your feet wet and see what happens.

Stevo

[kclements]

Welcome.

Garageband will work just fine. I read somewhere recently about a commercial album being released done entirely in Garageband - so it is more than up to the task. And as Andy said, Logic can open GB files, so you can always send it to someone else for help/mixing/additions as needed.

If you have a local high school studio, maybe you could go in and take a couple of lessons from the advisor/teacher to get some basic production skills and understanding about things like EQ, Compression, Monitoring, Mic techniques. Just focus on the basics - no need to learn ProTools in and out at this point.

Other than that, use the peer-peer and post some lyrics and examples here on the forums. It's a very supportive group of people that are more than willing to lend an ear and help out. I look forward to hearing what you have.

cheers -
k

[Casey H]

Hi Jessica
From one bad singer to another ...

Definitely work with Garage Band at first, getting down some rough demos of your songs even if the singing is not great. It's important to remember that the SONG comes first before spending money on professional demos, singers, etc.

By laying down your songs with GB, you can get songwriting feedback here on the forum, from Taxi (if you are a member), and hone your songwriting craft.

Best of luck and welcome!
Casey

[JeSsiCaRaTz]

Thanks for the additional comments. I cringe in horror at the thought of posting a demo with me singing on it! I'll try to put something together, ug. I've posted the lyrics to one song on the lyrics lovers forum, if anyone has time to take a look. Thanks!