Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

When You Know the Project Is Done


Recommended Posts

I know we've talked about finishing projects before, but...I'm finishing up my next album, and assembled the songs. The song that was done second, although I thought it was done, now didn't seem up to the same level as the ones that were done later. Although I felt it was fine from a sonic standpoint, there was something...well, I couldn't put my finger on it, but it needed one more...something.

 

So I asked Amanda from the Nashville QTs if she could please come on over (she's done vocals on my other projects, she's great), and she sang a harmony in just the right places to emphasize the song title in the places where it appeared. Her total appearance in the song was about 15 seconds, and yet, it set in motion a chain of events. I reduced the level on the bass part, added another harmony with my voice, and made a few other tweaks, particularly with respect to the rhythm guitars. At least to my ears (and Amanda's), now it really does seem finished.

 

We all know lesson #1...it's good to collaborate. But lesson #2 for me was just because it sounds finished, doesn't mean it is finished. If a song has something to say, it will want to say it...ignore what the song wants at your own peril.

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Replies 11
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

I've learned to trust "intuition" regarding creativity.

I let things go, they can evolve to an infinite degree but I am not responsible for that. At least I hope not.

I've been an artist of one sort or another all my life, I started drawing in earnest when I was 2 or so and the groove has always absorbed me.

Sometimes, it doesn't mean shit to a tree. Try to make it real, compared to what?

 

When you smile and the indescribable tension just flows away, it is done.

 

Not there yet with my current meanderings but I am intent on "letting things happen."

 

I guess that's my version of "If you build it, they will come."

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's never finished. There just comes a time when you need to let it go. Then later you will think, "I could have added this, subtracted that, changed the other", and so on. :D

 

Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's never finished. There just comes a time when you need to let it go. Then later you will think, "I could have added this, subtracted that, changed the other", and so on. :D

 

Notes

 

Agreed. I have +70 songs on my SoundCloud.

 

I am good or am satisfied that I can finish a song or several songs. Its a mindset.

 

However, I do review my songs from 2-3 years ago, and make plans to " curate " some songs.

 

This is typical with some musicians who have a large catalog- they revisit older material

and re-master, make changes.

Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ?

My Soundcloud with many originals:

[70's Songwriter]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's never finished. There just comes a time when you need to let it go. Then later you will think, "I could have added this, subtracted that, changed the other", and so on. :D

:yeahthat:

 

My version of is I'm never done with a tune...more like I just decide it's time to move on to a different one.

 

dB

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's never finished. There just comes a time when you need to let it go. Then later you will think, "I could have added this, subtracted that, changed the other", and so on. :D

 

Amazingly, I really don't have that issue. I can listen to material I did as far back as 2012 and I'm still happy with it. But that may have to do with what I do before signing off on something. Like right now, all the songs for my next album were mixed and mastered a while ago. But I listen to the album in the car, on headphones, while walking, etc. many times over, with a detached and highly critical attitude. I keep making tweaks until after repeated listenings, there's nothing left that I want to change. Once I reach that point, it seems to hold. I think part of this may be that I usually have a specific idea of what I want the song to sound like, so when what I hear with my ears is congruent with what I hear in my head, that's probably the cutoff point.

 

However, this is only true of material where I had unlimited time to get things right, and the technology needed to make the desired changes. Anything done before then, I'd like to do over :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's never finished. There just comes a time when you need to let it go. Then later you will think, "I could have added this, subtracted that, changed the other", and so on. :D

 

Amazingly, I really don't have that issue. I can listen to material I did as far back as 2012 and I'm still happy with it.

I can get into that space, but usually the album or track needs to be out for awhile and I need to have some space from it before I can listen and just appreciate it for what it is. Mix and master time comes around, and at a certain point I have to identify when I"m making tiny improvements and when I"ve started to chase my tail. I definitely start to lose objectivity after working in something for too long, and it can be hard to see the forest for the trees. I have to find the sweet spot to take my hands off the wheel, and trust that it"s good enough to be appreciated for what it is, and not all the versions of what it could be that cloud my judgment.

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I listen to some of the backing tracks I made for my duo in the 1980s and although I'm still happy with them I think, "I've learned a lot since then and a few tweaks might make it better". If it's a song we play a lot, I'll go back and tweak it. If I play it on stage and think there is something I can do to make it better that I didn't do, it'll bug me. I've done several versions of some tracks, the audience can't tell the difference between the oldest and the newest, but I can.

 

I listen to some of the styles I wrote for Band-in-a-Box in the 1990s and although I'm still happy with them, I think, "The capabilities of the BiaB StyleMaker app have improved quite a bit plus I've learned a lot since then, and a few tweaks might make it better".

 

For me music is a never ending learning experience. Even the sax, which is the instrument I am most comfortable with gets its share of practice, and guitar which is my newest has the biggest potential for growth. It's one thing I like about music, there is always something new to learn, something new to explore, something new to accomplish.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton

Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com

Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box

The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My wife asked me what I wanted played at my funeral. I said "My album." She said, "What album?" "The one I'm working on." "The same one you've been working on for 18 years?" "Yeah, that one."

9 Moog things, 3 Roland things, 2 Hammond things and a computer with stuff on it

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mix and master time comes around, and at a certain point I have to identify when I"m making tiny improvements and when I"ve started to chase my tail. I definitely start to lose objectivity after working in something for too long, and it can be hard to see the forest for the trees

 

This is why I really recommend listening to something over long periods of time, and taking breaks that can last days or even weeks between listens. Although in the immortal words of the late Herman Cain "I don't have facts to back this up," I'd swear that your ears hear differently on different days, and I don't just mean minor changes. Our ears are merely input devices, it's the brain that does the interpretation and DSP. So averaging out listening over a period of time will help differentiate what's really a problem that could cause regrets, and what isn't.

 

If I had to mix and master a song in 15 hours, I would probably have regrets listening to it in the future. But if I spend 2 hours mixing or mastering one day, wait a few days, spend another 2 hours, wait, etc. then at the end of accumulating 15 hours of mix and master time, I think it's likely I'd have something where I wouldn't have regrets later on.

 

This applies to mastering too. I think you can master your own music, but only if you divorce yourself enough from the creation process to hear it more objectively.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Although in the immortal words of the late Herman Cain "I don't have facts to back this up," I'd swear that your ears hear differently on different days, and I don't just mean minor changes.
I agree 100%. Eric'Mixerman' Serafin talks about the difference between (and I"m paraphrasing) the end of the day playback and the next morning playback, and the before lunch and after lunch playback. Our mood does affect how we hear material that"s meant to make us feel things, which is why trusting our ears is so damn hard, and such a refined skill!

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...