what to do

[john dawson]

If i am gonna stick to label and publisher listing's for country and a/c type music, if i do a really clean acoustic track and vocal track to get the song across is that good enough? ive been doin this about 3 month's and have gotten some pretty good feedback on my crtiques but all returns, which i understand right now is a trial period and i am cleaning up my recording, just need to know if from now on if i am gonna stick to the label and publisher listing's, will it be sufficient to do a clean vocal and an acoustic track.

[orest]

Absolutely!
If you're pitching to an artist they will re-record the song with other musicians.
So, if the song and the lyrics are good enough, you will be forwarded.
The best advice I can give.
Listen to any alas given and really study the song(s) in detail.
Verse chorus melody chord-progression lyrics and so on.

Best of luck!

[Kolstad]

I hear a bunch of guitar/vocal demos being pitched in Nashville (also from very established songwriters), and some producers even prefer a simple demo like that, so that's absolutely viable. I don't know first hand if Taxi screeners will forward those simple demos (as I've not submitted any), but it's a fact that simple demos (especially of ballads) are viable to submit to publishers in Nashville and other country markets. I think the screeners are very eligible (and Taxi recently added additional country screeners!), so I have absolute confidence they will forward simple demos, if the song is ready, though.

When that is said, you need the absolutely best guitar/vocal you can possible come up with or get, to be competitive. Be aware "guitar/vocal" or "piano/vocal" demos, usually also include the addition of one or two other instruments to support the song with a little more color and interest (very easy to do with multitracking at home). For mid- and uptempo songs, you normally need more arrangement to show the song at it's best. I don't know too much about AC, so I'll pass on that one.

It all depends on your talent and skill, but that's how it should be, right

[orest]

If the song is good enough, Taxi will forward it even if it's only guitar/vocals or piano/vocals.
Make the performance strong, especially the vocals.

[bigbluebarry]

Hey John,

A quality piano/vocal or guitar/vocal could definitely get forwarded IF it really sells the song. A couple weeks ago during the TAXI TV segment that Michael has been doing on Monday nights, they played an actual demo of a Rascal Flatts song that was submitted in Nashville. Here's a link to the video, the demo starts around the 51:00 mark. This will give you an idea of what the bar is for piano/vocal demos in Nashville.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/7962423

hth,
- Big Blue

[fret17]

Thanks Bigblue... I haven't made the time to go into the archives yet to view the monthly shows ....that cut right to what a lot of us want to know on those type demos..

[mojobone]

Gotta mention, though, that that particular demo is a bit of a special case, in one respect; some publishers/artists don't want a demo they can't beat, (wusses) and my humble opinion is, Rascal Flatts didn't beat the demo for Here Comes Goodbye. Ralph Murphy played it at the Nashville mini-Rally (was it only last summer?) and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Even through a tinny computer microphone, that thing still gives me the chicken skin; I wish the track were commercially available. Still a good example of what WILL make it over the bar, but I suspect it's on the high end of the spectrum.

[jonathanm]

Yep. All demos sent in, whether simple instrumentation or not, should be fantastic. Don't fool yourself into thinking an A&R person will "hear past" a mediocre performance. They have lots of really, really great songs sent to them everyday with top notch performances and recording quality. Yours has to compete. The demo must sell the song.

[mojobone]

From another era, perhaps, but here's a 'not too strenuous' rendition of Wichita Lineman by the author, that includes all the necessary parts, using only two instruments and vocal: http://s0.ilike.com/play#Jimmy+Webb:Wic ... 8dcb306267

You could check out James Taylor, Carole King, Jackson Browne or any number of more modern and also successful singer-songwriters (such as Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, James Blunt, etc.) for examples of where the bar is set for songs with minimal instrumentation. Point being, you don't necessarily need full orchestration and four-part harmony, but the performance has to be top-notch, jes' like the song.

[bfl]

the rascal flatts song blew me away. That is very very high bar, imo.