Newbie looking advice please!

[jonny7373]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum.

I wrote my first song over 10 years ago, but have not done anything to pursue my dream until recently. I am a self-taught acoustic guitarist and only hope to get some of my songs published - i am in no way a performer!

My only concern is that, having listened to some of the songs by people on here, that they are the finshed article. My recordings, by comparison, are of myself and my acoustic guitar ( in a studio). They are as much as I can do at the moment, as I don't have the money or contacts to enhance them.

So my question is this before joining taxi- does it matter if i send this type of recording in? Surely if the song is strong enough, should it matter that the songs are stripped back? Will the people concerned look past this or will it affect my chances?

Thanks in advance!

Jonny

[eeoo]

I think no matter what your submitting to (tv/film or pitching to artists) your recordings have to be as good as you can make them. The days of publishers looking past the performance to hear a potentially great song I suspect are over. Everyone can potentially create top notch recordings in their home studios now so if you're serious about this pursuit you should treat your studio like you treat your instrument. Practice, practice, practice. That said, in listening to music on television one hears a lot of simple acoustic guitar based cues and songs, your productions don't have to be elaborate but the song and the performance have to be at least good but more likely great.

Good luck!

eo

[mojobone]

Welcome, Jonny! I think you should join Taxi if you want those things enough to work hard at it, and to accept constructive criticism and use it to advantage. We all have things we need to get better at, that's why we're here. (I'm honing my business and writing chops and trying to learn to be a better collaborator) If you intend to sell your songs, this forum is a great place to learn about how that's done; I'd recommend hanging out and reading in the various forums and asking questions whenever you get stuck. If you just want to know if you have the potential to do these things, it's still a great place; hang here 'til you know whether you need to join. Once you have the necessary info, it'll be clear, as you know yourself, your goals and interests better than we do.

[davewalton]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum.

I wrote my first song over 10 years ago, but have not done anything to pursue my dream until recently. I am a self-taught acoustic guitarist and only hope to get some of my songs published - i am in no way a performer!

My only concern is that, having listened to some of the songs by people on here, that they are the finshed article. My recordings, by comparison, are of myself and my acoustic guitar ( in a studio). They are as much as I can do at the moment, as I don't have the money or contacts to enhance them.

So my question is this before joining taxi- does it matter if i send this type of recording in? Surely if the song is strong enough, should it matter that the songs are stripped back? Will the people concerned look past this or will it affect my chances?

Thanks in advance!

Jonny

Well... there's definite success stories here on the forum where members took old recordings and made something useful, sometimes amazing out of them. Generally speaking, solo acoustic guitar has a definite usefulness, as does solo piano. For film/tv, they're using the music we send "as-is" so the recordings really have to be pretty good. They won't re-record anything. For submission to listings for songwriters for artists, they sometimes mention that simple recordings are fine (because the studio obviously will re-record for an artist). But... a lot of times they're wanting a fully-produced song. In the case of a vocal/guitar recording, one thing for sure... the vocal has to be AMAZING and REALLY sell the song. That was demonstrated at a Taxi seminar in Nashville one time. We got to hear the original piano/vocal demo for a song that was ultimately recorded by um... well, now I forgot who it was... big country group though. Anyway... the vocal on that demo gave everyone goosebumps (and the piano playing was very passionate as well). It REALLY stuck out it was so good.

So that's how I see it. Bedroom demos of just a vocal and instrument can be viable but the vocal has to just pretty much blow everyone away selling the song. If they (the decision makers) can't feel it, they'll never choose it.

As you decide, the listings are free... you can monitor them to see if what you do is represented enough in the listings. The forum here is free and lots of good people to help. Maybe post your track, get some feedback. Never hurts to do that.

Good luck!

Dave

[ottlukk]

Mojo & Dave gave you some good advice, but weren't specific enough. The major thread here to get feedback from your peers is "peer to peer". (how about that?!!). Post a link to your music on that thread, or even have a link to your music below your avatar. Ask for comments one song at a time on that thread. You will very quickly find out if what you are doing is professionally acceptable. Good luck to you, and welcome! Ott
p.s. You don't have to be a TAXI member to post on that thread.

[jonny7373]

Thanks everyone for the welcome and the advice!

The recordings i have done so far have just been on an 8 track, but after reading both your comments and your bios, i've decided to book some time in a professional studio!

I want my songs to sound as good as I can and then i'll post them on peer to peer to see what I need to do next!

Thanks again for your guidance everyone - this a great forum for people who are just starting out and are driving blind!


Jonny.

[mojobone]

But... a lot of times they're wanting a fully-produced song. In the case of a vocal/guitar recording, one thing for sure... the vocal has to be AMAZING and REALLY sell the song. That was demonstrated at a Taxi seminar in Nashville one time. We got to hear the original piano/vocal demo for a song that was ultimately recorded by um... well, now I forgot who it was... big country group though. Anyway... the vocal on that demo gave everyone goosebumps (and the piano playing was very passionate as well). It REALLY stuck out it was so good.

That was Here Comes Goodbye; you can hear the original piano/vocal demo in an episode of Taxi TV, as well. I wish it were commercially available because I preferred it to the version Rascal Flatts cut. Not sure which TTV episode that was....

[Cruciform]

Hi Jonny,

Welcome!

I do instrumentals, not songs. But I suspect you would get better bang for your buck by sharing your songs in P2P, getting feedback on the lyrics, singing and arrangement before spending the money on studio time.

[mojobone]

I agree. With a little extra care and good technique, it's fairly easy to get broadcast quality results when recording at home, particularly if you can access a few virtual instruments in place of the hard to record stuff like drums and piano.

[sedge]

Hi Jonny, welcome!
my add to the posts here.

My only concern is that, having listened to some of the songs by people on here, that they are the finshed article. My recordings, by comparison, are of myself and my acoustic guitar ( in a studio). They are as much as I can do at the moment, as I don't have the money or contacts to enhance them.

I hear that!
I recon, If the recordings are clean and your performance is real, sincere and well played then your set! Taxi and the forum (Peer2Peer like Ott and others say) can help you decide on the recording quality.

Joined Taxi for the same reasons (Singer Songwriter here looking into the possibility) and found much more, the members help here, the honest feedback from songs sent in, the encouragement vibe of the company, the learning, enjoying. Couldn't recommend Taxi enough as a place for all that. If you welcome feedback and enjoy the journey just as much as the possibilities you'll love it

As for current listings from Taxi,
Taxi just put out a listing asking for exactly that - singer songwriter, basic recordings (have to be good, clean), can't remember exactly the detail, was referencing "powerful stuff" - sorry can't remember the artist either !! : S anyways! .. it was for exactly the kind of thing your are talking about (guitar/vocal simple) and seems very common right now. There are at least 2 listings a month that grab my eye, things change of course. But right now, spot on for the singer songwriter with simple arrangements(1/3 parts). Another good one is getting a buzz out of writing for listings as they arrive, if you enjoy that challenge your going to increase your chances tons.

which was the main the main reason for this post and recording in relation to Taxi (not having to fork out everytime you want to record)...

A listing might arrive saying, for eg, "Needed in 2 days, singer/songwriter song , must be positive etc, and have lyrics around 'arriving home' etc" - you might have a song in you think fits and with some minor lyric changes it looks to be right. BUT they need it in a 2 days.

So I advise, Deffo take a dive into home recording to get the most out of your membership. If you have to make a choice, might be worth spending the Taxi fee on this setup FIRST (good mic and an interface for your PC), + using the forum and the Peer to Peer. Don't bust your balls though trying to achieving the holy grail!, I did that, pretty much wasted the first year of my membership not submitting because I doubted my recordings, let Taxi and the Peer2Peer forum be the ones to tell you, not your doubt maker, if it is anything like mine I would be 80yrs old still not sending anything in! My guess is your recordings already are clean, you must like something about them to be here at all. Post up in Peer2Peer and see. Nature of the humble beast is self doubt hey! Good quality to have but a pain too, fine line!
I recon, do your best and then let go / hand that side of crit to the members and Taxi

Would be worth an ask in the 'tech recording' section, state your budget, your goal again and folks will help recommend gear and setup with the least learning curve I'm sure !

My suggestions
This Mic - ECM 87 ($150)- http://web.me.com/finalmix/Gauge_Microp ... ducts.html (I just asked about getting one of these - rivals the classic AKG414 apparently!)

Any decent audio interface with USB out (hope others can suggest one in the $150+ range)

and Reaper DAW ($50 ( free unlimited trial) - http://www.reaper.fm/- to record the tracks on your PC/add a little reverb, master down and all that techy stuff.


HtH
Sedge