Is Taxi for me ?

[homemadehitshow]

Hi there, I'm sure you get this question a lot but I'll try and lay it all out.I've been looking at Taxi on and off for over a year. My story: I'm a 40yo family man, who really only learned to play and record a couple of years ago. However I think I produce some decent tracks and write good songs and my "support" group (who we can all trust right ) thinks I do well.The main reasons I'd join are * To give some purpose to my hobby* To add some discipline to my songwriting and recording, including forcing me to spend the time to fix minor flaws etc.* realistically looking to get into some music catalogs not to be a star or write songs for stars (though that would be nice)Musically I'm a mix, I have relatively weak playing skills but I make up for this with strong technical skills allowing for solid mixes and the ability to fix mistakes. I tend to make "fully produced" songs. My vocals vary between average and solid depending upon the time I put in to really finishing a song out.You can hear my music here http://www.soundclick.com/pro/view/01/d ... ID=314739I also have a couple of specific questions:* For library music I assume they are going to take your track "as-is" and not rerecord it - is that correct ?* For library music it would seem that sometimes a track with vocals is good, sometimes without. Does it make any sense to submit vocal and non vocal versions ?* Watching some of the videos on youtube Michael talks about "partial songs" - is that really true, does it make sense to submit a chorus only track or a verse-chorus only with no second verse etc.I realize I'm asking a lot so many many thanks in advance for any comments. I'm not under any illusions and can handle the truth so let me know. I'm willing to take a flyer and give it a shot but I'm wondering how far off base I am.Thanks so much.Tony

[gitarrero]

hi tony,just listening to your soundclick-demo - uuuuhhm.... either your midi-stuff or you guitar (I guess it's the guitar...) are out of tune, I'd strongly recommend to change that.from the production I think you'd be able to produce stuff for libraries provided you're willing to work on your production-skills and improve them.to your questions:* For library music I assume they are going to take your track "as-is" and not rerecord it - is that correct ?yes, they want finished "broadcast" master. there are several resources from micheal laskow (youtube, taxi.com) what broadcast quality means - it doesn't has to come from a expensive studio.* For library music it would seem that sometimes a track with vocals is good, sometimes without. Does it make any sense to submit vocal and non vocal versions ?depends on the listing - you could do an instr. version of a song. often some melody-elements are good.* Watching some of the videos on youtube Michael talks about "partial songs" - is that really true, does it make sense to submit a chorus only track or a verse-chorus only with no second verse etc.uuuhm - agian, I'd say this depends on the listing. my own tracks are either instrumentals or songs in commercial, complete forms (intro, vers, chorus, vers...) or shorter pieces - like world music, and they don't follow the usual songforms.cheers,martin

[homemadehitshow]

Thanks a lot for your answers. I don't have any MIDI stuff just a Korg and Yamaha keyboards. It's plausible that my guitar could be out of tune though, this is where the attention to detail in quality is an issue because currently the songs have no purpose so I don't spend that extra time necessary (+ I have zero natural ear).Thanks again.

[booker]

I wouldn't waste any money on TAXI until I was ready to actually pitch something. And I mean something very good, and well produced, even if you produced it yourself. You can lean tons of stuff just hanging out here. Now... if you want to join just to go to the Rally, then that's up to you. You can learn a lot there too. For most of us struggling musicians with family, and not located near the music hubs, TAXI is helpful IF you have something you really think is worth a shot.

[gitarrero]

Quote:Thanks a lot for your answers. I don't have any MIDI stuff just a Korg and Yamaha keyboards. .well that IS midi stuff the sounds just sound too much "midi" in my ears. I use a lot of midi ("midi" is not a sound itself) - it depends on the SOUNDS you use.

[homemadehitshow]

Nope. not MIDI, it's live sounds recorded through an amp (or direct through a stereo cable). Both have built in sounds.rockinthebox, your answer is intriguing. I'm not looking to be a top songwriter overall so I'm not clear why living near a hub is that important ( I do live nr San Francisco which is a mini hub). I'm interested in throwing my stuff out there, with some great effort, and seeing what might get picked up in the right places for TV, commercials etc.

[gitarrero]

Quote:Nope. not MIDI, it's live sounds recorded through an amp (or direct through a stereo cable). Both have built in sounds.well it simply doesn't matter from a sonically point if you record the output of your keyboard as audio or if you trigger it by midi. what get's HEARD are the sounds you use, and I heard that they're from a keyboard-workstation or similar. if I was you I would just exchange them with better, higher quality sounds.

[homemadehitshow]

Holy jeepers batman, these are not sampled keyboard or midi controllers, it's a Korg synth and a Yamaha electric piano

[gitarrero]

Quote:Holy jeepers batman, these are not sampled keyboard or midi controllers, it's a Korg synth and a Yamaha electric piano ok, so from where do you think are the sounds of your yamaha electric piano coming..? you guessed it: they're sampled.all I'm saying is that the sounds could be better. if you don't agree with this, have another opinion or your already satifsfied with your sound - that's fine; (though not the best conditions to improve your skills and bring your music to the next level, but that's your business).cheers,martin

[johnnydean1]

Quote:Holy jeepers batman, these are not sampled keyboard or midi controllers, it's a Korg synth and a Yamaha electric piano Martin was trying to help you!If you listen to his stuff you will hear he is well qualified.If you can't take the time to tune your guitar I doubt Taxi is for you but then again if it helps raise your game maybe it is.I would describe your work as having some potential but potential for what I couldn't say!HTH!