What's your biggest producing frustration?

[Casey H]

Oct 31, 2009, 8:02am, karlin wrote:Great thread -Question for anyone who cares to jump in... How would you recommend getting started in this area? Solo instrumentals? What kind of equipment? What is a smart approach?Thanks in advance for any feedback!What genre? What is your ultimate goal? What sort of things have you done so far? Songs? Instrumentals?

[hummingbird]

I agree that there are non-performing songwriters (lyricists) who play no instruments... and I agree that people will choose where to spend their time... however, when I hear lyricists/non-performers bemoaning that they are held back by their lack of skill... you know what my answer is -- figure out what you need to know and set out to learn it.In other words, a) you can move beyond where you are if you wish to (and are willing to do the work), b) you can pretty much learn anything if you set your mind to it.Even if you don't learn to play guitar well enough to record... it helps you understand chord progressions...Even if taking a drumming class doesn't help you play well enough to record a percussion track... it helps you feel rythm and understand grooveLife, and art, is a process. It is only in taking action that we grow beyond our limitations.

[ernstinen]

Oct 31, 2009, 8:02am, karlin wrote:Great thread -Question for anyone who cares to jump in... How would you recommend getting started in this area? Solo instrumentals? What kind of equipment? What is a smart approach?Thanks in advance for any feedback!Not sure by your post what instrument(s) you play, but I'd say if you're just starting out concentrate on the piano and/or synths. I've got a pop/rock background and a classical background, so all the years of playing and singing professionally (keys, guitar, oboe, saxophone etc.) has really helped me prepare for writing in lots of styles, as Matto does. I'm as comfortable writing in a rock/blues genre as I am in a symphonic genre. Experience in actually playing/singing in live ensembles has been invaluable to me, as well as listening, listening, listening! My tastes in music are so eclectic --- I like anything that's GOOD! It doesn't matter to me in what genre, I keep an open mind and listen to just about everything. There are a few styles that turn me off, such as the "new" country (which is really recycled rock) and "new age" jazz (which pales in comparison to "real" jazz). But those are only a couple exceptions, and I appreciate everything from Bach to Death Metal. --- Just as long as the emotion is there and you can tell the artist is really into what they're doing.My 2 cents,Ern

[mojobone]

Oct 31, 2009, 8:02am, karlin wrote:Great thread -Question for anyone who cares to jump in... How would you recommend getting started in this area? Solo instrumentals? What kind of equipment? What is a smart approach?Thanks in advance for any feedback!Hard to make recommendations without knowing what your current skills are, but a gal could get a lot of mileage out of a Korg, Roland or Yamaha workstation. With a little (or a lot) of tweaking, you can get 'em to sound like almost anything. I define workstation as a sampling keyboard with MIDI and audio sequencing built in, bonus points for having XLR mic inputs and onboard motorized faders. Something in the $2.5k-$3.5k range should have enough horsepower to let you avoid learning to use a computer at the same time-unnecessary frustration can be off-putting, and if something doesn't work you want to be able to know for sure whether it's your fault or the damnable machine.Of course, if you're a guitarist, the scenery changes. You'll still eventually want the workstation or its software equivalent, but you could just buy a bass, a drum machine and a standalone recorder with 8 or 16 tracks or so, and still avoid using a general-purpose computer while you learn how to track and mix.If you don't want to bother with learning any instruments and want to do purely electronic music, you could just get a laptop and Ableton Live.

[mazz]

I'll put a plug in for a Mac and Garageband, which comes free with the computer. Either an iMac or the 13" MacBook Pro, which is a very nice machine for the money.You can get a small MIDI controller with an audio interface built in and you would be ready to go for quite some time while learning the basics with Garageband. It has everything that a high end software package has, just in a more basic form, but starting there would allow you to learn the language of composing and recording and you can expand outward as you get better.Although I agree with mojo that you could get a lot of mileage out of a keyboard workstation, I think that those are "closed" systems which have limitations (on purpose) that computer systems don't necessarily have. The tradeoff with a computer system is that it's more prone to having "issues" just by the nature of what it is. A workstation is a computer that only does one thing, make and record sounds, where a computer is a general purpose device, which leaves it open to more things going wrong, but it offers much more expandability and flexibility in the long run.This is something that people have a lot of passion about so you'll get a lot of info by asking that question!It would be worth a trip to an Apple store if you live next to one, just to get a little demo of the capabilities of Garageband. You might decide you're a Windows after all!! Mazz

[yammer107]

TIME Just time.... Give me more time lord and I'll never complain about the other stuff. ~Chris

[devin]

Per the original question, I still have a ways to go in getting punchy drum and bass sounds to live together. Getting better though. At least this battle I have control over. And folks like Bruce keep leadin' the way (great job I-man!).My biggest external challenge (which brings more frustration) is working with singers that are pretty good, but not committed to follow through, even on their own projects. Might have something to do with the "time" element that Chris mentions above.Someday the income stream will support professional singers on the tracks that deserve it, then I guess this issue can go away.Here's an example: this singer did this in 50 minutes...and her friend was pressed into background vocals in another 25 (the original FlyLeaf tune didn't have any). Session was a huge success on every angle (IMHO)...and she hasn't even come back to grab the video she requested of her singing it. Took me 10 hours to decipher/track/mix this cover song she wanted...d'Oh!www.thepondstudio.ca/samples/RSfVT.mp3Dang...would like to write some originals to follow....

[jdstamper]

No matter what, it always takes twice as long as I think it will, except when it takes ten times longer.

[mojobone]

Easy fix, there, simply adjust your expectations. That'll be $5k for the consult, next patient, please....

[elser]

My biggest production frustration?......Zombies......woops, wrong thread! I better get the heck outta here!