Songwriting Conference and Workshop Highlights

During the summer months I usually take time away from writing to teach at various conferences and workshops around the country and abroad. Conferences such as those offered by Berklee College, NSAI, and other such opportunities are great ways to immerse yourself in the industry when you haven’t the time or resources to do so throughout the rest of the year. Many enlist music industry professionals to talk candidly about a certain side of the industry, or invite artists or songwriters to shed some light on how to break in. Others are focused on songwriting or vocalizing, concentrated 5-14 day experiences to step up your game in those areas. I’d like to tell you about a few of the conferences I taught recently, should you be interested in finding more about them. There are many opportunities out there, so I suggest pinpointing what you’re looking for and how much time and money you can commit before making any reservations.
For two weeks in July, the Grammy Foundation holds a camp for high school students, aptly named “Grammy Camp.” The camp is open to any student exhibiting exceptional skill in music and interested in pursuing a career in the industry. Held at the University of Southern California, students enroll in a specific stream: singer/songwriter, music production, music engineering, concert promotion, music journalism, or the study of their principal instrument: bass, drums, electric guitar, keyboard, saxophone, trumpet, or trombone in the scope of private study and ensembles. The camp culminates in a performance at the beautiful El Rey theater in Los Angeles by each singer/songwriter of an original song worked up with an ensemble. Select students also have the opportunity to record at the legendary Capitol Records.

Another camp I’d like to mention is Seth Rigg’s Speech Level Singing conference in Los Angeles. Prior to the conference I was only vaguely aware of Seth and his techniques. Over the last several decades Mr. Riggs has worked with some of the biggest names in contemporary music, and so naturally I was curious what makes his techniques so popular, revolutionary and even controversial to the world of singing. During our hands-on judging sessions (of which I was on staff to critique the original songs) I witnessed vocalist improve their pitch dramatically by applying simple feedback from certified instructors. I heard breaks diminish and ranges improve in literally 30 seconds of instruction. I realize I’m making it sound ridiculously simple, but I am ridiculously impressed by the simplicity of the techniques and how easily students are able to apply them from certified instructors. Should you be a singer/songwriter looking to improve your voice, you might check out more information on SLS and see if it’s right for you.

This past week I taught at Berklee College of Music’s Summer Songwriting Workshops. Held in mid-August each year, the workshops attract between 100 and 200 songwriters of all ages looking to improve their craft, play their songs for faculty and staff, and connect with other musicians. Leading the workshops are Chair of the Songwriting Department, Jack Perricone, Professor of Lyric Writing Pat Pattison, other faculty members Jon Aldrich, Henry Gaffney, Mark Simos, Susan Cattaneo, Sarah Brindell, songwriter Dana Calitri, and myself. The workshops are held on Berklee’s Back Bay Campus, from Wednesday through Saturday with a short closing ceremony Saturday afternoon. For anyone interested in boosting their creativity and songwriting chops while expanding your understanding of the industry, this is a great opportunity. Information is available on Berklee College’s website.

If conferences or workshops seem like a luxury to you, you might consider giving yourself a songwriting vacation – a holiday to write, that is. These conferences and many more (see NSAI.com) operate for the purpose of regenerating the creative fire within, connecting songwriters with experts in their craft, and facilitating professional relationships. Some workshops last for a day, some for 2 weeks, and can be a rejuvenating step in advancing our hobby or career. Teaching at them is a rare and special opportunity that I consider a privilege and a pleasure. I am glad to be able to learn from my students, and spread what I know to grow my own career and of those around me.

Happy writing,
Andrea Stolpe

Given how difficult it is to achieve even a modest degree of success as a songwriter or record producer, it’s not surprising that most songwriter/producers don’t give much thought about how to build their business beyond simply writing more songs and making more records. It’s hard to worry about expanding your business when it takes years just to create something that actually earns money. Unfortunately though, this lack of planning usually leads writer/producers who suddenly hit it big to make the worst possible decisions, once they are actually thrust into the limelight.

An example for further study: Ask yourself, whatever happened to Scott Storch? Remember the hip-hop whiz kid behind “Lean Back”, “Candy Shop” and “Run It”? Then check this out:

Jeff Shum Blog

Oh my. That was humbling, wasn’t it? As ugly as Storch’s story is– it’s not unusual. In fact, if one were to compile the Top 3 things that writer/producers do after their first big hit, they would be:

1. Buy a ridiculously large mansion, fill the garage with cars, and spend the next three years building an over the top, state of the art recording studio in the house. Bad idea.

2. Open a bar, restaurant, nightclub, or modeling agency. Even worse ideas.

3. Start a record label. Huh? Why? Does the world appear to need another record label?

Historically, none of these options have proven to be terribly effective strategies for a producer trying to expand his or her business. Some of the options are inefficient, some are self-indulgent, and some are overly ambitious. Strangely, very few producers have ever made an attempt to expand their operation into the one area where there is a clear need, a direct tie to the core business of making records, and in which they could actually provide some real expertise:

If you’re a producer looking to grow your business, why not expand into Artist Management?

Interestingly, this idea surfaced during a recent lunch with a publisher from Europe, as we discussed the transformation of the music industry into a business dominated by artist managers. If one looks at what companies like Live Nation are doing, it’s clear that the large artist management firms are quickly taking on power roles in the music industry in the same way that agencies like CAA and William Morris rule the movie business. This wouldn’t be a bad thing, if only there were more good managers to go around. Unfortunately, as anyone in the record business will attest, there is a dire shortage of high-quality, experienced artist managers, even for artists at the top-level of the industry. Don’t believe me? Check out the article below:

Where Have All The Good Managers Gone?

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where artist managers come from. Some emerge from out of the booking agent/tour manager/club booker netherworld, which is arguably the best training ground available. A few are former A&R or label promotion people– though not many. Some are former artists themselves. A fair number are mothers, fathers, cousins, or old neighborhood friends of the artist– which is rarely a good qualification.

But interestingly, in parts of Europe, the one most likely to offer management services to an artist is the record producer. It makes pretty good sense. Why not let the same person who actually discovered the artist, developed the project, and made the record take it all the way? From the producer’s standpoint, it allows him or her to keep the project properly focused, share in the long-term rewards of artist development, and avoid the risk of an outside party upsetting the delicate relationship between producer and artist. From the artist’s standpoint, it ensures that the producer will remain committed (and affordable) to the artist even if the project’s eventual success leads to the producer suddenly becoming the industry’s flavor of the month. For the record label, it means one less chef in the kitchen, fewer disputes, and probably a quicker response time from the producer when it comes to requests for remixes, special edits, bonus tracks and the like.

Now let me be very clear. I’m not suggesting that the producer should personally take on the additional job of managing the artists he or she develops. Most producers can barely manage to get themselves to a noon recording session by two in the afternoon. I certainly wouldn’t want to see them in charge of running a concert tour. Organization, discipline, and strategic thinking are not necessarily typical traits of record producers.

What I’m suggesting is that producers who are in the business of developing new artists should find a BUSINESS PARTNER, someone who is organized, disciplined and strategic, perhaps someone with a background in tour management, concert booking or A&R, and then encourage that Partner to open a management entity as a division of the production company. It’s called diversification, and it’s how
you expand your business in a controlled, sensible way.

Imagine if Scott Storch, upon completing “Run It”, had started a management company that signed Chris Brown. He would have had a stake far greater than his four or five producer points in a career that he helped to create. He would have had a source of income entirely separate from his own record productions, which could have sustained him when his production sound eventually fell out of favor. He wouldn’t have had to compete with the hot new producer of the moment for cuts on future Chris Brown albums. And he would have been at the forefront of where the music industry is going– with a stake in the branding, touring, and merchandising businesses that are the real sources of income in today’s entertainment economy.

This is a no-brainer. As music sales drop, producers need to expand beyond their core business of making records. It’s equally clear that managers and management companies are increasingly dominating the industry– they are taking the leadership position once held by the record labels. Finally, everyone in the business is bemoaning the lack of good, new managers. Put it all together and what do you get? You get the future business model: a production/management company hybrid, that allows producers to discover talent and make hit records, and then pass the artist to a separate division of the company, which provides the day to day management service.

Of course, it’s not quite as much fun as buying a big house and spending the next three years installing a studio. It means you won’t get to hold court in your very own restaurant or nightclub. It might also mean one less record label in a world that can hardly sustain the ones that already exist.
But if you’re a record producer making hit records or developing hit artists, putting together a management company just might mean that you have a long-term investment, in a notoriously short-term business.

I love drum machines. This particular infatuation began when I got my the original Roland Dr Rhythm as an antidote for the hours I spent playing with drummers who had more interest in fills and rolls than keeping time. It kept me honest. There’s something hypnotic about the unrelenting dependability of drum machines, and the best of them have very intuitive ways of programming rhythm patterns that inspire exploration and even performance. As I got more into using computers, sequencing programs and samplers replaced Dr Rhythm, offering a near infinite pallet of sounds and programming flexibility, but somehow they lacking the immediacy and convenience.

Enter the iPhone. I got mine the day after it was first released (2007 – iPhone Classic). When version 2 of the operating system was released earlier this year, the most intriguing new feature was support for 3rd party applications. While I didn’t expect to see versions or Reason or Live on my phone – yet, I was curious to see if music applications would be toys or useful mobile tools. So, what are the coolest apps I’ve found? Drum machines, and there are three winners I’ve come across so far.

Some of my all-time favorite drum machines were made by Roland. Dr Rhythm’s big brothers all turned out to be classics. While the TR-808 has developed the most cache, The TR-707, and TR-909 were more than worthy successors. The IR-909 from Roventskij literally puts a TR-909 on your iPhone. This first version does a great job of capturing most of the features from the original, while adding five additional sample sets from classics like the TR-606, and the TR-808. So how does a classic drum machine take advantage of some of the iPhone’s unique features? Try changing tempo. You hold the tempo button and tilt the phone forward to raise the tempo, tilt back to slow it down. Cool… With this, I’ve re-kindled my drum machine flame, and the coolest thing is that anywhere I can bring my guitar, I can practice with a minimum of effort, just pull out my phone.

 
The IR-909

While the IR-909 can store four patterns, there’s no provision for chaining them together to lay out a song form. This was a powerful feature of the original and essential if you were a songwriter. The iDrum from iZotope has the answer with a really cool system of colorful squares that represent patterns. These are easily chained and rearranged by touching and dragging these icons. Tap a square, and you’ll be able to edit the pattern with each instrument represented by it’s own square, each with sixteen steps with programmable dynamics. The iDrum was originally a desktop Mac application that designed to offer an intuitive drum programming tool for GarageBand, or any other Audio Unit compatible sequencer. iZotope has done a great job porting the original app to the iPhone, taking advantage of the multi-touch interface. Both the desktop and mobile versions of the iDrum can work together, sharing data, and saving songs as ringtones. Given iZotope’s track record of developing powerful DSP applications, we should see some interesting things for the iPhone from them in the future.

iDrum for iPhone

While both IR-909 and iDrum are drum machines in the strict sense of the word, Beatmaker, the "mobile music creation studio" from Intua, is a surprisingly full-featured application. Here, there are pages that allow the user to design their own kits, sequence and chain patterns, and even add a limited pallet of effects. Beatmaker is designed from the ground up to be integrated into the process of producing music by allowing the user to freely import and export data and samples. At 180 MB, the install itself is quite large for a mobile application, but includes a sizable collection of factory sample content, including signature kits from artists like Richard Devine. Both Beatmaker and iDrum come with on-screen help as well as PDF manuals.

Beatmaker

What these mobile apps really bring the to table is the ease with which you can do useful musical tasks. Part of the charm of a drum machine is that it’s a completely self contained device that does one thing, and does it really well. Drum machines were one of the first of a generation of electronic instruments, and likewise, it looks like they are leading the pack of mobile music applications.

At the AES convention in NYC last year I had a great conversation with a friend of mine at M-Audio. We were talking about what would be the killer lifestyle device for a musician. Gary, the iPhone is it.

Hi again everyone!

I just wanted everyone to know that I have been writing a new course for Berkleemusic.com that is going to go live at the end of September. It is part of the online school’s arranging series and is called, “Arranging: Woodwinds and Strings.”

For many years I have worked with and known many musicians that wanted to add woodwinds and/or strings to their writing but weren’t confident about how to go about it. This course addresses this very issue by first introducing fundamental concepts such as range, general sound characteristics and transposition for the most common woodwind and string combinations. In addition, the course addresses more recent applications of these instruments and also applies them as “sweetening” to the rhythm section or small band. Electric bassoon (Paula Hanson), jazz bass clarinet (Henry Bok) and improvising strings (Turtle Island String Quartet and Casey Driessen/Sparrow Quartet) are just a few of the instruments that will be explored.

Currently Berkleemusic.com has a very cool course called, “Orchestration” by Ben Newhouse. Since this course deals with woodwinds and strings as well, you may be wondering what the differences are with my new course. The main difference is that Ben approaches his material from the perspective of the complete orchestra and goes into great depth about samples as well. My course focuses mainly on two instrument families (woodwinds & strings) and looks at applications of these instruments beyond traditional paths including the use with the rhythm section. Additionally, I talk a little bit about my approach to composition and writing in general.

If you see any advertising for it, feel free to check it out!

Until next time….

Jerry

This summer I spent a lot of time teaching workshops (both live and online) to teachers, composers and arrangers using Finale and Sibelius. One of the most common questions I receive is how to address the page layout of a piece.

Here is my short list of page layout steps for Finale 2008 and Sibelius 5.

First, I don’t typically address the page layout until the entire piece is entered. I like to use Scroll View in Finale and Panorama View in Sibelius 5 so I first focus on getting the notation and markings entered. Then, when the entire score is entered, I address the page layout. Sure, there may be times when this must be addressed ahead of time, for example, adding space between certain staves for lyrics, but I try to wait as long as possible to address the page layout whenever possible.

Finale 2008/2009 Page Layout steps – the short list:

1. Set the number of measures per line for the entire piece or a portion of the piece: Utilities > Fit Measures

2. To move a bar up or down a system: choose the Selection Tool (press Escape up to three time). Select the bar and press the up or down arrow key to move the selected bar or bars up or down a system.

3. Select the Page Layout Tool. From the Page Layout menu, choose “Space Systems Evenly.” Set the number of systems per page.

4. Use the Resize tool (looks like a percent sign) and click at the very top of the first page to change the size of the print out. Be aware that scores are reduced in size. A choral score could be 75% reduced and a band or orchestra full score 45% reduced. Setting the page percentage is important.

5. Understand how the Page Layout tool works to move individual systems. The handles on the left and right of each system control the space above or below that system. To move just one system, click anywhere inside the system box except on the handles.

After the short list, you can dive into the Page Layout tool and adjust margins, and just about every aspect of a score.

Do watch the series of videos on Page Layout. In Finale, from the Help Menu, choose Help > QuickStart Videos. From the main menu of videos, click on Wrapping Up Your Project and then the Page Layout options. There are several videos addressing page layout.

Sibelius 5 Page Layout Steps – the short list:

1. Open House Style > Engraving Rules and click on the Staves tab. Set the distance between staves and systems for the entire piece. I also change the justify amount to 95% for most scores. Do this before dragging staves manually. If a staff is manually adjusted, the Engraving Rules settings are ignored.

2. Set the number of bars per line using Plug-ins > Other > Make Layout Uniform.

3. Move bars down to the next system be selecting the barline and pressing the return/enter key.

4. Make custom systems by selecting a group of bars on different systems and choosing Layout > Format > Make
into a System.

5. Open the Document Setup window (Layout > Document Setup) and adjust the staff size. Scores will often need the staff size reduced to fit the staves and bars per line.

6. After making these changes, drag systems to make more room or to indent system: triple-click inside any bar of a system to select it for the entire piece. Drag the staff with the mouse.

I recommend watching the Sibelius tutorial video for Sib. 5 # 10: Layout and House Style. The tutorial videos are available from the help menu.

Remember, once you start dragging staves in Sibelius, it overrides the settings in the Engraving Rules window. You can deselect the manual changes by selecting the staff and choosing.

Page Layout can be one of the most difficult tasks to master in notation software. What tips for Finale or Sibelius have you found helpful?

A great profile by Paul Resnikoff.

Get past the street-tough imagery and braggadocio, and 50 Cent is actually one of the most well-run, well-conceived business entities in music. And like Jay-Z, he also one of the most wealthy.

Spawned by Dr. Dre and Eminem and one the highest-selling rappers of all time, 50 Cent is actually less a rapper, and more a company. In fact, he is one of the most highly-successful examples of a 360-degree artist today, and a template for future artist business models.

In an earlier era, artists would shy away from advertising and sponsorship deals. A tie-in with a major company was usually viewed as a sellout, and often resulted in a major credibility hit. That has changed dramatically, though rappers were never haunted by that sellout demon.

Instead, the opposite is true - rappers are often unabashed capitalist warriors beating the system, and rapping about their exploits. And 50 Cent - who famously survived nine gunshots at close range - recently entered a monetary stratosphere that few enjoy.

Sure, 50 is a mega-platinum seller, and a staple of popular culture. But the rapper, and those orchestrating his career, are mostly focused on pursuing revenues through any channel, instead of simply maximizing record sales. And the moneymaking possibilities are only limited by the creativity of the entrepreneurs involved.

In fact, during the past twelve months, 50 Cent netted $150 million, according to a Forbes estimate. A major percentage of that payout came from an interesting deal with VitaminWater owner Glaceau, purchased by Coca-Cola for $4.1 billion. 50, as part of a broader sponsorship deal, cashed Glaceau shares for an estimated $100 million after taxes.

That adds to an existing stable of other business divisions, including a G-Unit clothing line, a boutique recording label, and even a stab into gaming. “The financials of the music business have changed to the point that we have to find ways to make money in other places,” 50 Cent brand manager Barry Williams recently told Forbes. “I didn’t think six years ago when we started trying to sell music that we’d be selling VitaminWater and shoes and clothes. Now we’re moving into other directions, and four or five years from now, it’s exciting to think about us looking at natural resources and raw materials and other businesses.”

The natural resources discussion could potentially produce a 50-branded series of platinum jewels. The rapper is now entertaining a deal with South African mining billionaire Patrice Motsepe, another creative exploitation of the 50 Cent image that goes way beyond a simple album release.

Of course, 50 Cent is unique entrepreneur and performer, and an extreme example of success. And every successful, 360-degree artist forges a unique business model, one that plays into the strengths of the artist and considers the target audience carefully. But in the modern music industry, the ultra-successful artist is one that successfully exploits a broad portfolio of revenue generators, and approaches the situation like a diversified business. That is the reality of the modern music industry, one that demands just as much business ingenuity as artist creativity.

More here at Digital Music News.

Discussions of imaginary barlines tend to get very mathematical. It’s easier to think of them in terms of clarifying syncopation.

An imaginary barline is a notation convention designed to help the music reader know what’s syncopated—off the beat—and what’s not. It’s not an actual notation mark; it is an understanding and a notation convention.

In 4/4, the imaginary barline separates beats 1 and 2 from beats 3 and 4. Only whole notes and non-syncopated half and dotted half notes can be notated as “crossing the imaginary barline.” No other note durations can cross them. Rather, they must be rewritten as pairs of tied notes, with beat 3 being shown. This makes the notation much easier to read.

So, these are acceptable:

The ones below are not acceptable. Again, the reason is that the notes crossing the imaginary barline disguise the fact that the music is syncopated.

Much easier to follow are the following revisions. The notes are tied, and the target note of the tie re-articulates beat 3, and thus clarifies where the syncopation lies.

In some Latin music, there is a notable notation exception to this convention: bass lines with the following syncopated rhythm. But this is a rare acceptable exception to the general rule.

Beams never cross imaginary barlines. Some publishers group beats on each side of it together, while others begin new beam groups on every beat. These are other ways to clarify the metric organization.

These are correct:

These are incorrect:

Similarly, beams are used to clarify other meters besides 4/4, and the other rules of imaginary barlines also apply to them. Many of these signatures can be interpreted in a variety of ways, and thoughtful beaming can greatly clarify how the music is to be performed. Again, it’s about clarifying subdivisions and which beats are emphasized. Meters have subdivisions every two or three beats, and more complex time signatures (e.g., 7/8, 12/8) might have multiple imaginary barlines to consider. Below, the beams show how some other meters are commonly organized. Other options are available.

This concept of clarifying syncopations also applies when you drill down deeper, into smaller divisions of the measure. For example, this notation clarifies beat 2, and thus the fact that the notation is off the beat. This is a clear way to write that rhythm because the relationship between the sounding notes and the meter is clarified, via the tie.

Here, however, the syncopation is more difficult to figure out, and thus, to be avoided.

These “rules” of notation help make music as easy to read, and thus, interpret. When the notation follows the music’s intent, it becomes much easier for the reader to understand, especially at a glance.

Derek is the musician who started CD Baby, the world’s largest online music store for independent musicians. Here are some current stats from the site:

- 242,846 artists sell their music at CD Baby
- 4,574,622 CDs sold online to customers
- $83,590,381 paid directly to the artists

With more than 2 million digitized tracks under management, CD Baby is also the largest provider of independent music for iTunes… and it all started as a hobby. A lot to learn here.

Here is a recent interview between Derek and Tim Ferris, author of the hugely popular book The Four Hour Workweek.

Here is another presentation by my co-author Gerd Leonhard on “The Future”. It is a little long (63 mins) but very interesting and inspiring. Anyone seeking to understand how to make money in the face of free music should watch this very carefully, and learn.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

That’s the motto that’s inspired the current hot trend in music publishing (and in the record business as well). Since none of the experts in the industry can seem to figure out a way to actually sell music to the public, the savvy players are now looking for help, and the people they’re reaching out to are not music business experts, or even others in the entertainment world. Instead, they’re going to those who do know how to sell products effectively: the marketing and advertising whiz kids behind successful consumer brands and retail stores. Given our meager success recently in selling music as music, or even music as entertainment, it’s probably only natural that now we try to sell music as a brand.

Having been at Zomba Music Publishing and Jive Records during the reign of the teen pop trinity of Backstreet Boys, Britney, and *NSYNC, I had the opportunity to witness some of the early forays into cross-marketing efforts between music and consumer brands– in those glory days, we put music in cereal boxes, made special CD’s for McDonalds and Burger King, and partnered with everyone from Coca-Cola to Nickelodeon. I remember doing A&R for a teen girl group and receiving the news that we had just obtained a partnership with Ragu (the tomato sauce). Never did figure out how that tied together.

But today, publishers are pushing it even further. The latest move is a the idea of the branded CD, with publishing companies creating special collections of music in partnership with a variety of consumer brands, to be sold either along with the product itself, or in specific retail outlets. A recent Billboard article, “Publish or Perish” describes a wild array of ideas:

Cherry Lane is releasing a disc of music around “Hello Kitty”.
Primary Wave is partnering with Lancôme at cosmetic counters.
SonyATV France joined with Ben & Jerry’s (do you think the writers got paid in free ice cream?)

The motivating factor here is the desire to get music to the right target audience, by drawing on the expertise of companies that are experts in reaching that particular group of people. If your music appeals to trendy teenage females of a particular demographic, you could expend great effort and expense to get a song on the radio and a record in the stores, and then hope that your advertising campaign drives those coveted young girls toward your product. Or you could join with Hello Kitty, who clearly has a direct line to the trendy teen female market.

It’s all a pretty good theory, although to be fair, it’s not foolproof. I remember another young girl group, when I was with Sony Music that was placed into a partnership with the company that made Troll dolls– those weird little furry-haired plastic men. Not exactly a match made in heaven. The trick in making these branding efforts work is the same trick that usually makes an act or song successful at radio or anywhere else. In order to brand your music effectively, you have to accurately identify your target audience. For most songwriter/publishers, this is a challenge all by itself.

Here’s a quick exercise to jump-start your own songwriter/publisher branding campaign:

Do your own audience analysis. Start with some homework– read Radio & Records, Hits, or an advertising magazine like Adweek to get a clear idea of the demographics of the target audience your music will appeal to. Then take it a step further. What kinds of magazines does your target audience read? What TV shows do they watch? What clothing brands do they wear? Where do they eat? Who are the celebrity trendsetters that your audience tends to follow?

The reason that Lancôme, Hello Kitty and other brands can so successfully reach their consumer is largely because of endless, incessant research. I remember having a meeting with representatives of the Barbie brand (who strangely enough, all bore a remarkable and rather eerie resemblance to the doll itself) as they explained quite confidently that they knew and could predict changes in every aspect of the lifestyle of a girl between the ages of 5-10. How? By studying them with the same intensity that the guy in the white coat watches his lab rats.

It stands to reason that a songwriter/publisher should have that same knowledge. You are never writing songs for a general audience. Whether you’re writing for urban, AC, country, or smooth jazz, you need to understand specifically who the audience for that particular music is. If your songs aren’t relevant to that target market, they won’t stand a chance in the branding world.

Once you know exactly who your market is, it’s not that hard to begin to identify opportunities. Just look at who advertises in those magazines or on the TV shows that your audience favors. Look at what stores sell the clothes that your audience wears. What restaurants serve the food that your fans eat? These are your potential branding partners. It can be anyone from a top Vegas casino to Cracker Barrel restaurants, from a pricey perfume to a Troll doll. The key is in the fit.

Are you a purist? Does the very thought of connecting that closely to a major brand send shivers down your spine? I get it. To be honest, it’s not my favorite thing either– which probably says more about my age than my scruples. But let me put it in perspective. When Britney Spears did a special CD with McDonalds, the label (and the publishers involved) were guaranteed sales of 2 million units. How many other times in the music business can you count on selling 2 million units? A songwriter friend of mine, Steve Diamond recently placed a song on a Reba McEntire album done specifically for Hallmark– the guarantee was very similar, with all songs earning the full mechanical rate. That’s hard to beat in the current music market.

Most of us didn’t get into music because we were expert salesmen. So maybe it’s not such a bad idea to partner with the people who are. Business is business. If you can’t beat ‘em, join the brand.

‘Publish’ is a word we often throw around without really clarifying what it means. We might say ‘I’d like to get this song published’, but really what we mean is that we’d like to get the song recorded by an artist selling records, or placed in TV or Film or other media situation. As a songwriter, if we’re ‘published’ it can mean that the songwriter has a contract with a company whose job is to market his/her songs to the people who have a need for those songs – basically artists or other companies looking to use the music for various media purposes. Or, ‘published’ can also refer to just one song, a single-song-contract between a writer and a company interested in getting that one song placed in a film or TV show, or recorded by an artist.

Being ‘published’ may seem like a goal, but it’s actually just a means to an end. Whether we’re backed by a publishing company or not, we still need to bust our butts to continue to push our own music. It is in the publisher’s interest to push our music down the various avenues they have access to, but it’s our job as the writers to manage our careers in the direction we want. Sometimes acting as our own publisher is the best decision we can make for ourselves. If we’re making connections by attending industry functions, getting to know other artists and writers in our area, and working to circulate our own music by playing clubs, house concerts, benefits, our best-friend’s brother’s son’s Bar Mitzvah, and so on, we are doing the business of a label and publisher. The end result is that our songs are out there in the mix, floating upon the ears of those who need the music we create.

When I first started, I got my songs into the hands of other songwriters by handing them a cassette tape. Back then Myspace wasn’t around, and people didn’t rely on MP3’s sent over email instead of a tangible CD or cassette. I hung out in music stores, I met anyone I could at restaurants and clubs who performed or wrote music, handing out my business card and a few tunes everywhere I went. As a result of those initial meetings, my network grew and soon I was co-writing with friends of friends, with some unsigned writers and some signed writers. My goal was to get hired at a publishing company. Since I had no direct contacts with the Faith Hills and Tim McGraws of the world, I believed I needed a publisher to bridge that sizable gap. It’s true that a publisher can get you through some doors previously unapproachable to you. But, it’s also true that with determination and creativity, and a shining personality, you can begin to connect the dots yourself. Don’t let a publishing deal or a label deal hold you back from the true goal – getting your songs to the artists who want to record them and the listeners who want to enjoy them. Assess the contacts you have and start there, building up. Even if you have practically no contacts, start by taking a course in songwriting online, or taking a few vocal or guitar lessons at your local community college. Get involved in your greater metropolitan songwriting community. Get in the mindset that you have something valuable to offer, and you’ll be amazed how those who need your gift emerge from your corner of the world.

Daniel Levitin, author of “This is Your Brain on Music” has a new book entitled “The World in Six Songs.” In it, he says there are just six types of song in all music throughout the ages, and they help tell a story of music and human evolution.

Those six types are:

- Friendship/Social bonding
- Joy
- Comfort
- Knowledge
- Religion
- Love

To hear more about his findings, including some interesting studies on the body’s chemical reaction to music, listen to this ON POINT interview on NPR online. In it, Daniel Levitin shares findings about music and the brain.

I’m not big on television. As a matter of fact, about the only screen time I get is when I’m captive in a hotel room on family trips. As I’m now headed home after twelve days in Scotland, there one TV image that keeps coming back… a Samsung cellphone commercial where a DJ captures the sound of different sporting events, loads them in a beat box and loops them, making a very cool groove with these "found" sounds. See below:

At the beginning of the twentieth century a composer named Luigi Russolo authored a manifesto called The Art of Noises, where he called for a new pallet of sounds for music that would reflect a more modern time. The early 20th century way of pulling this off was to bring bells, sirens, and motorized gadgets on stage with an orchestra –check out George Antheil’s Ballet Mecanique. While this served as the inspiration for a minor musical movement in the 1920’s, the whole idea soon faded away. That is until samplers came along in the 1980’s. Once the sample genie was let out of the bottle, everyone from rappers to synth poppers made music out of any sound you could imagine.

So what makes this Samsung commercial so compelling to me? It’s really remarkable that an idea that was so radical in the last century can now be put front and center before a prime-time, mass market audience on mainstream TV. The idea that you can grab just about any sound, loop it and make music may be familiar to electronic musicians, but putting in front of the summer’s biggest ad market is pretty darn cool.

Has anyone else seen this?

Student’s who are not in my Remixing with Pro Tools and Reason course often ask me where they can find material to download for remixing. Below is a list of my favorite sites. Most of the sites require you to sign up, but it’s well worth the effort.

For a cappellas (vocals only versions):
Acapellas4u.co.uk (One of the best free a cappella sites on the Web.)
Beastieboys.com/remixer (All the Beastie Boys acas you’ll ever need!)
Vocalsonly.com (If you want something original, not a commercially released aca, you’ll find it here.)

For contests and breakout tracks (short stereo loops):
Acidplanet.com/contests (An oldie but a goodie.)
Beatport.com (Both independent and name artists regularly offer breakout tracks for remixing, some are for free and some will cost you.)
Peaceloveproductions.com (Mostly indie artists offering breakout tracks for free.)
Realworldremixed.com (A personal favorite. Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records offers select artist tracks for your remixing pleasure. Talk about having the opportunity to get in on the ground floor!)

Of course, there are many other sites with tasty tracks to download for remixing too. If you know of one, or more, please share them. And, of course, don’t forget about my book, The Complete Guide to Remixing.

Learning that’s fun is impactful and lasting. For years, Beethoven’s Wig has provided a fun path to learning about classical music for children.

Today, Beethoven’s Wig 4 was released and once again, it is where humor, classical music, and music education come together as one. And this time, to the delight of children and families everywhere, the collection is based on famous dance pieces.

The previous three Beethoven’s Wig CDs have won 40 national awards, and garnered Grammy® Award nominations in 2003, 2005 and 2007. The Sing Along Symphonies were featured on NBC’s Today show and National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

Beethoven’s Wig 4 is sure to follow similar acclaim… the music is wonderful, the lyrics are so clever, funny and inventive, and the cover art is incredible: Saturday Night Fever meets Beethoven… Great stuff! Beethoven’s Wig 4 is simply wonderful and should be part of every family’s music collection and every music educator’s classroom. Highly recommended.

When it’s time to record a few tunes, it can be a daunting task to decide how to go about it. Over the years I’ve learned a few hard lessons, and I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned from the perspective of an artist and songwriter recording her own material. To make sure I’ve got my facts straight, I’ve asked my long-term recording engineer Jan Teddy to help me out.

Major facilities are appealing in that they offer the gear and the service we’d like, but can place somewhat of a strain on our budget. Home studios are great if the system is working and we’re well versed in how to achieve the sound we need from production to engineering. But as anyone who has built a home studio knows, it often takes a huge time investment with a long learning curve to come to the point we’re recording our music without too much resistance from technology and the process.

In my most frustrated moments, I’ll admit I’ve wished technology had stopped growing with the introduction of the 4-track tape. Fortunately for me and many other artists and songwriters recording their material, my wishes don’t come true and we can get close to the sound of a major facility right in our basement or office, at least in terms of the equipment. The know-how of an experienced engineer/producer is unfortunately not duplicated quite as easily. I have a few opinions based on personal experience and the experience of colleagues that I’d like to share on choosing and building a recording process. However, as with everything you read, do your own research and learn from those around you as well as take into account your own experiences. My thoughts here are only guidelines, and so please use this information to strengthen your craft and business rather than limit it.

One mistake I have made myself and watch other songwriters make is going out and buying a recording system that requires more of an investment than the buyer is willing to make. I’m not only talking about money but rather time and energy into the art itself of recording. Recording, arranging, editing and mixing as well as production are arts that are as deeply complex as writing great songs time after time, and so it can be very wise to get real about your expectations. As many years as you’ve dedicated to becoming a better writer is how many years someone skilled in mix engineering has dedicated to being a good mixer. Now, that’s not to say you can’t be both a decent songwriter and producer, or songwriter and mix engineer. However, being great in more than one of these disciplines is unusual. Also, you are depriving yourself of the second or outside opinion which is part of the producer’s job description. Particularly with songs you have lived with and played for a long time, your objectivity in terms of quality control and emotional impact will most likely be limited. And if your approach to the recording arts is not as intuitive as your writing, there is a good chance you will experience the frustration of having sunk a hefty down-payment into a system that left you screaming into your pillow at night, unable to make music for lack of an understanding of the gear.

The degree to which you outfit your studio can depend a lot on budget as well. There is a wide range of hardwares and softwares out there that all offer the same basic service, but to varying degrees of financial investment. Technology is constantly changing, and what was cutting edge one year may be old news 6 months later. The important thing to remember is that trying to stay current with the latest gear may only leave your pockets empty and your studio constantly under renovation. Don’t let your gear determine what you want to create with your music, but let your music determine what you need from your gear. In the end, the best studio for you is one that allows you to create the music you want to create. For some, that’s a more serious personal studio, and for others, it’s just the bare bones.

Below are some options you might consider when researching a studio setup that’s right for you. I’ve listed some prices next to the options as ballpark figures.

Personal Studio Option 1 (about $1500)
-Apple iMac ($1000)
-Digidesign Mbox Mini ($250)
-Rode NT1-A ($250)

Personal Studio Option 2 (about $3,000)
-Apple MacBook ($1500)
-Firewire Hard Drive such as Gtech ($300)
-Digidesign Mbox 2 or M-Powered ($400)
-Shure SM58 ($150)
-Rode NT2000 ($600)
-Headphones ($50)

Serious Personal Studio (about $6,500)
-Apple MacBook Pro ($2000)
-Firewire Hard Drive such as Gtech ($300)
-Less “High Performance) Firewire Hard Drive for backup ($100)
-Digidesign 002 or 003 ($1200)
-API LunchBox w/API 512c x 2 ($2,000)
-Rode NT2000 ($600)
-Rode NT4 ($500)
-Headphones x 2 ($100)
-Pop Filter ($25)
-Mic Stand ($25)

As you can see above, some of the elements of a personal studio are:
-Computer (Mac or PC)
-Computer Performance (RAM, Hard Drive)
-Audio Interface (Motu, RME, Frontier Designs, M-audio, Presonus, Apogee)
-Optional Pre-Amp (API, Manley, Universal Audio, Focusrite)
-Microphones (Neumann, Shure/AKG, Rode, Peluso, Studio Projects, etc.)
-Accessories (Pop Filter, DI, Mic Stand, Headphones, etc.)

Then there are software options to consider:

Softwares include Apple Garage Band, Fruity Loops for starters, and Ableton Live or Propellerheads Reason for a little more well-rounded approach. You may have heard of DigiDesign Pro Tools LE/M/HD, which is the industry standard, proprietary. Steinberg Cubase and Nuendo, Apple Logic (which is mac only), and MOTU Digital Performer are all softwares used by professionals in major facilities, as well as more serious home or project studios. The main point of having specifically Protools in your studio is a matter of compatibility, since they have been the guys that have been there from the very beginning, and are therefore the most widely distributed software/hardware solution. Many great records have been made on Logic, Cubase, Digital Performer, etc. These software solutions are quite comparable to ProTools, especially the LE version, but there is something to be said for the ability to go back and forth between your home studio and a world class facility without compatibility headaches. The other consideration to be made are driver conflicts … it just doesn’t matter how good the software feels, and your hardware sounds if they don’t play well together. Yet again a point for Digidesign’s ProTools, since hardware and software are specifically created for each other.
Frequently, audio interfaces will actually come with a lite version (really a teaser) of a particular software. Play with that and see if it appeals to the way you think, work, and create. After spending about 100 hours with it and things still feel awkward, maybe it’s time to try something else.

If all this seems a little overwhelming to you, (and there’s no shame in simply being a great songwriter), I encourage you to become familiar with the most basic recording setups, read a couple books, and stay clear of too many radical commentaries in online recording newsgroups/blog sites. Most of the guys that I really want to hear opinions from are busy …making records Whether you find yourself at your friend’s house recording, or at a major facility, you’ll be glad you took the time to understand a little about signal flow, patchbays, compression, microphone basics, etc. You’ll be able to empathize a bit more with the engineer tracking your session as well.

If you do choose to go the way of a major facility, consider your options here, too. How much you shell out for those gleaming platinum-record lined hallways depends on how much time you spend there. The more you rehearse before the studio, the more money you’ll save. Studios charge by the day, sometimes by the hour, whichever you’ve working out with them, and the cost can range from $50 - $250 per hour. Many times day rates are less expensive. My advice would be hiring and engineer that works in that particular room all the time. For one, it will ensure that the engineer frequently works in high end facilities, and at the same time this person will know the ins and outs of that particular room. That will save time and save you money. Most larger studios will be able to connect you with an engineer like this.

You might decide to record a solo demo if you’re a singer/songwriter, thus cutting out the cost of hiring a full band. You might decide to use a full band but only record an EP instead of a full album. Fewer songs mean less time investment and less money.

In my experience, I’m happier with the final product when I’ve done adequate pre-production, over-budgeted the time it will take to record, and hired musicians capable of achieving the sound I want. I would personally rather record two songs with musicians and an engineer I can count on in a decent facility, than record 4 songs in an expensive facility with buddies of mine who mean well but can’t execute what I need them to get on tape. For you, the situation may be different, but I encourage you to give it some thought. The more you know going into the recording process, the better your experiences throughout this exciting leap into the next phase of your music career.

Enroll in any Berkleemusic certificate program by this Friday (August 15th) and one lucky student will be eligible to receive the Home Studio Package from M-Audio and Digidesign!

Home Studio Package Includes:

• Nova - Large Capsule Cardioid Microphone
• Oxygen 49 - 49-Key USB MIDI Controller
• Studiophile BX5a - 70 Watt Bi-Amplified Studio Reference Monitors
• Digidesign Mbox 2 - USB Audio/MIDI Pro Tools LE Interface

Total Retail Value of More Than $1,250!

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So you thought the record business was bad?

Turns out that the record label’s best friend/worst enemy is doing as bad or worse— these are tough times in radio-land. News came out this week that CBS, the number 2 operator in the country, is selling 50 of its mid-market radio stations. This comes on the heels of a mass of lay-offs across the radio industry and news of continuing declines in audience. If you think that this is just a natural shift from the old and stodgy commercial radio format to the more progressive, forward-thinking world of satellite and Internet radio, don’t be so sure– Sirius and XM are desperate to merge, as they’re barely surviving as well.

For record labels, songwriters, artists, producers, and others who rely on broadcasters to get their music out to the public, the decline of the radio industry brings on a strange mix of conflicting emotions: it’s hard not to enjoy seeing Clear Channel and their likes getting their comeuppance; it’s hard not to think that the rampant corruption in the radio biz has at least something to do with its current condition; it’s difficult to imagine how declining revenues and tighter budgets could do anything but squeeze playlists even tighter and make risk-taking more unlikely; and it’s unfortunately still impossible to offer up any solutions for alternative ways to expose new music that has the power to create a superstar overnight in the way that radio does. For the music industry, radio is the ally that you can’t live with or without. As frustrating as it is, nothing sells music more effectively than radio play.

The truth is, radio is not much different than any other declining industry. Whether it’s a Big Three automaker, a major record label, or a radio conglomerate, there are three inescapable observations:

1. Despite any number of outside factors affecting the business, most industries in decline have no one to blame but themselves for the bulk of their problems. Corporate arrogance, malfeasance, blindness to future trends, an unwillingness to give the consumer what he or she wants– not surprisingly, all of these factors usually lead to disaster, whether you’re in the business of making mortgage loans, recording music, or running a Top 40 station in Boise.

2. While acknowledging that most declining businesses are reaping their own just rewards, it’s impossible not to notice that a huge number of good, honest, smart, hard-working and devoted people are being dragged down in the process. In fact, those most likely to lose their job or even their career in an industry downturn are rarely those who are actually responsible for orchestrating the disaster. It seems like the guy who drives the bus off the cliff is rarely aboard when it’s going into a free-fall.

3. The way out of an industry slide is not more conservative corporate thinking, number crunching, and centralization. The only hope for reversing a business gone bad is risk-taking, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit. Doing more of what got you into the mess in the first place is generally not a sound strategy– although it seems to be a very popular one.

When it comes to the broadcast business, it’s clear that it wasn’t the Internet, or satellite radio, or anything else that killed the radio-star. The wounds have largely been self-inflicted. The destruction of the radio business began more than a decade ago, with the move toward consolidation championed by Clear Channel and others, and signed off on by the US government, which transformed the radio business from one of small local fiefdoms controlled by small to mid-size companies, into a national media business at the mercy of a few massive corporate conglomerates. Like most of these kinds of moves, cheered on by the investment banking community, the plan looked better on paper than it played out.

If you want to understand why it didn’t work, check out Jerry Del Colliano’s blog, “Inside Music Media”, and his Friday, August 1 posting “The CBS Radio Firesale”. In it, he points out bluntly:

“Playing by Wall Street rules has nailed the coffin shut… Too much consolidation and not enough operation has led to a once vigorous industry too bloated to take advantage of opportunities in the new media. Consolidation failed for too many reasons to get into here. But can we agree on that? If it had worked, the industry would either be more vibrant now or it would be aggressively present in the world of new media. Instead, it’s MIA.”

Or if you want a more visceral explanation of what happened, just turn on the dial. If you’re hearing a lot of generic, personality-free programming that sounds like it was dreamed up by a computer in some central office, that’s because it was. Corporate consolidation has exorcised much of the regional, quirky, unpredictable charm right out of radio, and created something only a corporate control-freak could love. Radio programmers that were once crucial creative players in the music industry, willing to use their own personal taste and a knowledge of their local market to take chances on new music, have now been hamstrung by a corporate environment that relies on endless audience testing, centralized decision-making, and rigid playlists.

I was out to dinner last week with several people still alive and thriving in the radio biz, and the conversation was enough to terrify anyone who loves music or radio, or at least recognizes the vital role that radio plays in the music industry. Tales were swapped about how in today’s environment, major Top 40 channels in markets as large as Miami are actually being programmed out of Los Angeles. Lists were compiled of groundbreaking Music Directors now hunting for jobs. A dire inside news scoop was shared that Clear Channel is soon planning to eliminate Music Directors entirely, and program everything based on one national playlist– a decision that would be in direct violation of commitments made at the time that permission for consolidation was granted.

Certainly, it doesn’t take much foresight to see how the scenario of a national playlist passed down to all Clear Channel stations would limit the opportunities for new music, particularly from indie labels. But that’s not that worst part of the picture.

The worst thing is that it won’t work. Just as Guy Hands at EMI is already starting to see that creating and selling music is not the same as marketing household cleaning products, the corporate radio operators will learn (as they already should have) that creating engaging radio entertainment is not done in a rigidly controlled, number-crunching, risk-averse environment. You don’t succeed in a creative business by being un-creative. You succeed by being more creative– as messy and unruly and unpredictable as that process is. Just as with the rest of the music industry, the hope of the future lies with the little guys, not the big ones. Let’s just hope that there’s something left of the industry for those creative entrepreneurs to work with, by the time the big operators get bored enough or broke enough to finally walk away.

I recently received an email from a songwriter bringing up a very important idea in the world of songwriting called ‘write what you know.’ It sounds so obvious, but in fact it’s one of the most difficult ideas when trying to make a living writing songs.

I’d like to describe this idea of ‘writing what you know’ in terms of my own experiences. As an unsigned writer in a new town trying to establish a career as a songwriter, my ears were keenly perked to the styles of music and lyric that rode the radio waves in my industry. Back then it was Nashville, and so I my plan was to dive right into the types of songs that were making it as singles and basically write my version of them. This was always a frustrating endeavor. Just when I’d think I’d get the groove down, acceptable lyric material, and some good melodic ideas, I’d realize I’d be writing too close to the original. Even if I managed to draw a clear line between my tune and the one that inspired it, I was left with something that was an excellent caricature rather than an innovative trend-setter. Another problem was that the songs I’d be attempting to write like were old by the time they were released. I was always 9 months to a year behind the trends. The final blow was realizing that while an artist may have had a hit single with a song, they wouldn’t necessarily want to release another a year later with the same message and sound. It was a good exercise in capturing the essence of a song, but a poor direction for writing truly believable and innovative tunes.

As is often the case with new writers, it took me awhile to figure out that the key to my success as a songwriter would be in writing music and lyric that moved me. When I wrote what was important or significant to me, I ended up with a product I was happy with and an experience that moved my listeners. Understanding how my songs could fit within the commercial market took time and intense listening and study. Sometimes my writing would sway on the side of art songs, expressing my own artist’s voice but falling short of any commercial potential. Sometimes I’d flip-flop the other way, hitting the commercial elements but losing a bit of my own artistry. The process of hitting both the commercial market and expressing my own voice as an artist took many songs to grasp, and I’m still faced with the challenge each time I sit down to write. My most successful songs are those where I become the character, I step into the emotions of the singer. The topics though not always a frame from my own life, are deeply personal. I project how I would feel, move, think, and be in the situation I present in the song. That’s quite a vulnerable expression and takes some level of guts. More than that, it takes a level of honesty, revealing some intimate emotions I might only share with close friends. But that’s the power of music, isn’t it? It connects us at our deepest fibers where we may be uncomfortable connecting any other way.

This is where the idea of ‘write what you know’ comes into play. I may not know much about tractors, ex-husbands, or dive bars, and if I attempt to write country music from any of those perspectives, I may wind up with a fairly watered down idea. It’s not the theme that makes a song settle into a particular genre. It’s the artist/writer who draws from his/her own experiences giving that theme believability. At least that’s how I see it.

When I write, lyrics are a very important part of my songs. Relationships are a common theme in my tunes. That’s not to say that I often write love songs or break-up songs, but to say that the themes I tend to know about revolve around personal connection. It is an extension of what I value in life. In this sense, every song I write is deeply personal whether it’s an expression of an actual event or something imagined.

Think about your own life and what you hold close to you. What do you know a lot about? If you work a day-job, immerse yourself in a hobby, give your time, money, your resources to campaigns you care about, how do those feed into the perspective with which you see the world? What if you write from that perspective, creating connection from where you are now? Recognizing the extraordinary in the ordinary has sent thousands of songs to the tops of the charts – and the bottoms of people’s hearts.

I hope you find the courage to write what you know. I truly believe that as writers we share the most valuable part of ourselves when we write from a place of true experience. The audience can feel our honesty - just as they can feel us withholding the truth. Begin to believe that you don’t need to become someone else to the audience than who you are now. Write what you know, because no one knows it better than you.

In an industry where CD sales are tanking, the Children’s Music genre is up 38% over last year. Sales went from 12.3 million to 17.1 million units, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Here’s a link to the article by Sam Wood from the July 27th issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer entitled “A Fine-Tuning for Kids’ Music: Something to Sing About.”

Last week I participated in Berklee’s annual Music Technology Weekend Workshop…. basically an MTEC lovefest. This year’s group was the best in recent memory, with lots of enthusiasm and great questions. My sessions this year included a basic sound design workshop using Native Instruments Reaktor, a session on remix techniques using Pro Tools, and one on various and sundry plug-ins I call "Plug-ins You Never Heard About in School." While many of the participants at these sessions are up on the current crop of music technology products, I’m always surprised to see that there is little knowledge of what’s available outside of the mainstream industry. So, every year I scout out interesting plug-ins, that for many are off the radar, and come up with a collection of things that are unique, providing capabilities and twists that you might not see in higher profile commercial products.

One of my big points when talking to anyone about plug-ins is that anyone can build a well-stocked collection without breaking the bank, and most of the plugs on my annual list are either free or cost a nominal amount. There’s a perception that since the cost of commercial software can really add up, mere mortals have to make do with a limited pallet or, god forbid, use cracks. Not true. You just have to do a little digging and be prepared to put up with a few bumps in the road.

Now, before you get ready to load up you plug-ins folder, there’s a few things to keep in mind. Some of these plugs are beta, works in progress, or shall we say, etudes… As such, you have to adjust your expectations, and perhaps do a little head-scratching to understand what they are doing. With some of these, that might not be entirely clear to the developer. In some cases, these may not work with current operating systems, and some may just crash inexplicably. But, the rewards here are sound possibilities you won’t find elsewhere, and to a sound designer, secret weapons are everything.

What you’ll find below is a listing of the plug-ins we had a look at during my MTEC Summer Workshop presentation. As luck would have it, the August edition of Electronic Musician magazine has its own listing of cool plug-ins put together by their staff editors. You’ll see some overlap here, as well as a few things from the Windows world that I haven’t mentioned.

I’d like to do something a bit different with this blog entry. Instead of me giving you a rundown of these or let on to which happen to be my favorites, I’d like you to download some of these on your own and post a reply to this blog entry with reviews of your favorites.

In addition to the plug-ins listed here, check out the comprehensive listing found at: www.dontcrack.com.

And most of all, have fun!

The deadline for our fall term Celebrity Online Scholarship Program is this Friday, August 1st. Learn more and apply today.

Designed to reward and assist outstanding online students who demonstrate superior performance studying in Certificate Programs at Berkleemusic, these quarterly scholarships are awarded in the name of renowned music education champions. This term’s scholarships are named in honor of Alf Clausen, BT, Juan Luis Guerra, and Patty Larkin.

The student recipients of each Celebrity Online Scholarship will receive an award of $1,250 to be used towards paying their tuition and helping them achieve their goals.

The Summer 2008 scholarship honorees were:

• The Glen Ballard Award: Cindy Nelson, Vincent Russo, Frederico Oliveira, and Ronald Berard
• The Gloria Estefan Award: Alberto Ramirez, Ileana Palmieri, Stephanie Rosario, and Evangelos D. Karageorgelis
• The Mark Mothersbaugh Award: Bob Strenger, Tyler Erlandson, Jiri Janis, and Michael Paduano
• The Steve Vai Award: Andrew Bonica, Kathleen O’Halloran, Michael MacDonald, and Shane Flail

Are you the next to join this talented group of winners? Apply now.

I had a flurry of responses to a variety of recent blogs all arrive in my inbox this week. I’m not sure if everyone just suddenly decided to throw in their two cents, or whether it all happened to show up at once. It’s always great to hear from those of you who follow “Music Publishing and Songwriting”. Whether you agree, disagree, like the blog or hate it, it’s engaging to hear your thoughts and reactions.

One of the most interesting responses I received was from Mark Simos, a songwriting teacher at Berkleemusic– he wrote to share a different point of view in regards to the blog called “Hits Only, Please”. I’m excerpting here– but I’d encourage you to go back and read his comments in full, as they’re very perceptive and full of useful insight. Mark writes:

It’s absolutely true that successful hit songwriters are thinking about communication and not mere self-expression, in the sense of just “emoting” or venting emotion through their songs. But it’s important to acknowledge that this attitude is also true of great songwriters in many genres and many styles, from traditional folk, to acoustic singer-songwriters, to political songwriters, to children’s music writers, to musical theater writing. Writing radio-friendly “hit format” songs is one kind of stylistic and audience focus and choice. Writers of equal discipline, craft and integrity may also choose to write for other, admittedly smaller audiences, and in other styles and genres - yet still must think about the experience of the listener, still be thinking about communication and not just self-expression.

I make this point because I work with lots of talented young writers - and not all of them have the goal of writing, “hit songs” in current pop or country formats. I like to encourage diversity and innovation in music and songwriting. But you can also critique a narrative folk song or a jazz ballad from the standpoint of the experience created for the listener. Good writers - in any genre - study great model songs and explore why they work so well. Good writers - in any style - seek feedback on their songs, and revise them with patience and dedication.

Mark makes a great point here– and certainly, I didn’t mean to imply that the only communicators are those who write for Top Forty success. In every genre or sector of music, from musical theater to jazz to children’s music, there are those writers who bring the discipline of craftsmanship to bear on their personal expression. The point here is really how you judge your success as a songwriter, regardless of which area of music you choose to work in. The “hit” writers judge success, at least in part, by whether or not their song reaches and communicates with their target audience. The other writers are interested only in whether they have “expressed themselves” and feel good about their own song.

But where Mark is really on to something is when he points out that “writing radio-friendly, hit format songs is one kind of stylistic and audience focus and choice. Writers of equal discipline, craft and integrity may also choose to write for other, admittedly smaller audiences…and yet still must think about the experience of the listener, still be thinking about communication and not just self-expression.” The key here is that little phrase “audience focus”. If you want to identify what separates the successful songwriter from the struggling one, here’s a place to start:

Successful songwriters know their audience.

Not personally, of course. But successful songwriters in any genre have learned the same lesson that everyone else in the media and entertainment industry has learned: There is no general audience. In our increasingly fragmented world, there is very, very little that everyone likes. Even a basic newscast is right-leaning or left-leaning, hip and irreverent, or slow and wonkish, and clearly aimed at a particular age, gender, political persuasion or marketing angle.

When a songwriter tells me that his or her work “appeals to everyone”, or “crosses a lot of different genres”, or “doesn’t really fit into any category”, the songwriter is not convincing me as to the potentially universal appeal his or her music could have. The songwriter is in fact telling me that he or she has no idea who the audience for his or her songs is– and doesn’t much care. If you write musical theater songs, you are not aiming for the kids that buy rap records. If you’re writing children’s songs, 20-year-old alternative fans are not your crowd. In today’s entertainment industry, anyone that sets out to appeal to everyone will very likely reach no one at all.

If you don’t believe that, take a look at every media and entertainment company, from magazines to television networks to radio stations. Notice how precisely they target their product to a very specific audience. They don’t do it by accident. Radio stations, advertisers, movie studios and everyone else study the public constantly– watching demographic shifts, seeing how different markets are changing, monitoring how well they are reaching their target audience. If a radio station is targeted to a young, urban audience, that station will study everything about that particular lifestyle. They want to know what movies that audience watches, which stars are rising and which are fading, what clothes are in and out of style, and what cars are being bought and sold.

If it works for every other entity in the entertainment business, why would it not work for songwriters as well?

One of the first steps to success as a songwriter is to define and understand your market. For many, it’s a relatively simple process. If you’re in a band in Williamsburg that’s aimed at appealing to the Williamsburg hipster crowd, you should be able to follow your instincts about what would appeal to you and your friends. As long as you’re reasonably representative of the audience that you write for, you shouldn’t have to engage in much of a research project. Your job is simply to make sure that you stay up on what’s happening in your particular scene– so that you see trends coming and sense fashions changing before anyone else.

On the other hand, if you’re a 40-year-old guy in Nashville trying to write songs for Avril Lavigne, you’ve got a bit more of a challenge. You’re going to have to invest some time and effort in understanding the teen market, and the female demographic in particular, if you’re going to come up with something that will entertain that audience. It’s not impossible– trust me, Dr. Luke or the Matrix are well outside of Avril’s core fanbase. But when they write for her, they are focused on targeting ideas that appeal to that particular demographic and communicate on that audience’s terms. Alternatively, one of my favorite country writers, George Teren, who’s written songs like “Ladies Love Country Boys” and “Homewrecker”, is a long way from a typical country music listener. But he understands that audience, and when he writes for them, he speaks in their language.

Defining your target audience doesn’t mean that those are the only people that will like your music. There are thousands of exceptions to every demographic description– 70-year-old grandmothers that have a peculiar fondness for hip-hop, or 17-year-old Hispanic kids that love musical theater. But you don’t write for those exceptions. You begin by drawing a reasonable, defined picture of those at the heart of your market, and write for them. Perhaps you’ll draw in a few people you never expected. Perhaps your song will become such a success in your core market, which it will begin to crossover to a larger audience. But you start by aiming at a specific, core audience that will become your fanbase. You can’t start from everywhere. You have to start from somewhere specific.

There’s a wonderful new musical that just opened on Broadway, called “title of show”. If you’re in NYC this summer, be sure to check it out. In “title of show”, there’s a great song called “Nine People’s Favorite Thing”, in which the characters writing a musical agree that they’d rather be “Nine people’s favorite thing than 100 people’s ninth favorite thing”. The truth is, that’s the goal of most successful entertainment today. Whether you’re shooting at mass success, or working in a more specialized field, you still have to hit a very specific target. The first step in doing that is to take aim.

One of the lessons in my Intro to Game Audio course uses pre-existing music as the basis for some music edits. I provide links to both an audio file and a midi file of the same music. Frequently students will want to use the midi file and then re-realize the instruments for the edits. That can be a much cleaner way of making an edit because you don’t have to worry about reverb tails hanging around or pickup notes or other very musical moments that are captured permanently in audio.

How do you know you are using a MIDI file as opposed to audio? You can tell you are using a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) file because in most cases the file will have an extension of “.mid” or “.smf”. That last one stands for Standard Midi File. You can find out all you ever wanted to know about MIDI from the organization that invented it, The MIDI Manufacturers Association. *As a side note the musical pieces are from the Grim Fandango score which I spoke of in an earlier blog (of course!). A MIDI file only contains  a set of instructions. These instructions relay information to a sound producing device, like a synthesizer or sampler, about playing notes. We sometimes forget this because most modern computers will actually create sound automatically from a MIDI file. Click on this link and your browser likely will start playing music! In my browser I get the familiar QuickTime transport bar and if I click on the info triangle at the right I get this :

What exactly is happening? A few things are at play here. Yes, I was correct when I said a MIDI file only contains a set of instructions. It isn’t the MIDI file, per say, making those sounds but rather it is the browser plug-in that is creating the sound. I just happened to set QT as the default helper application for playing MIDI files from my browser. Let’s take a look at how that happens. If I go to my QuickTime settings in the System Preferences pane and click on Advanced, this is what I see:

Notice it states that the default synthesizer is found in QuickTime. What that means is that, when a MIDI file is played, from within any standard operating system procedure, the instructional notes/information will be translated to audio via this thing called a QuickTime Music Synthesizer. This is a key point and it explains just how a MIDI file can make sound from a browser. I apologize to those of you that do not have much experience working with MIDI, I’ll tackle that at another time, as this is really meant to provide answers on how to play these files in a DAW/Sequencer. So we know we can play a MIDI file  in a browser, yippee! but how do we use those darn things in Logic?!@# ?@#$^ or DP or PT or any other sequencer application?

First, perhaps, we should consider that when I play that MIDI file in my browser, I hear sounds that make sense for the piece of music. I hear strings, I hear clarinet, I hear an acoustic bass. It is not a coincidence that the correct sounds are played by the correct MIDI track. Just how is that possible? The magic of a MIDI file is that it is meant to be transportable to many systems, it includes not only the note on/off information, but it can also include an indication of what “sound” or “instrument” should be playing those sounds. This is known as the General MIDI spec. When I grab a MIDI file that has been written with the General MIDI spec in mind, it not only has the note on, note off information expected in the file, but it also includes which instruments should be playing each track. Here is a look at a Logic Pro session after dragging and dropping the Grim Fandango MIDI file onto it.

Notice that each track within the MIDI file includes an indication of the “instrument/sound” that should play the notes indicated in the track. The top track, called “Grim Fandango” has “45″ as a program change. If you look at the General MIDI specification that defines soundsets you will see that any MIDI file written to follow the GM spec has 128 named instrument sounds that the file can use. That is to say, by following the GM guidelines the composer understands that the above file will play the instrument type associated with program change “45″. If we go into our event list we can also see that Logic has associated a PROGRAM CHANGE 45 with pizzicato strings. Make sure you are not filtering the view to exclude program changes, in this screen shot, “Additional Info” is toggled to be hidden, everything else is seen. ***please see the footnote on GM program change number formatting at the bottom

The nice thing about embedding the Program Change into a track is that any GM compatible device playing it will produce the sound of pizzicato strings. This is wonderful if you are developing games for mobile devices etc. that can not play audio files directly. For the assignment though, that program change can really mess things up! Why? Simply because no matter what the device you point that MIDI track to, the first thing that will happen is the device will switch to Program number 45! That’s fine on a GM patch bank, but it you are using Kontakt or Reason or any other MIDI instrument, program 45 may not be the sound you want, and indeed, chances are you already picked a great pizzicato string sound and every single time you hit play on your sequencer it takes your patch away!

This happens to many of my students both on campus and online. So, back to the reason for this blog. How do you use MIDI files with these program changes in your sequencer? If you are intending to trigger a GM device you only need to make sure to use a GM bank of sounds. Almost every synthesizer I’ve ever used has at least one bank that states it is GM compliant. If you want to play around with unique sounds for each track, ones that you pick from your thousands of patches, then you need to delete the program change at the beginning of every single MIDI track.

That’s it. So if you’ve ever experienced your sound modules/synthesizers, etc. “acting crazy” and selecting weird sounds, my guess is there were embedded program changes. Once my students start to understand that, believe it or not,  they also start to understand MIDI a lot better. MIDI is still a powerful tool in your productions…. but that is also for another blog…

***Why did I tag the above statement about the program change numbers?  Well, as is true in most facets of life, not everyone agrees on things that seem straightforward and obvious. In the case of MIDI numbers there is a debate about what numbers to use to indicate the program number to the user, some applications use 0..127 while others use 1..128. If you look at the GM sound list I linked to it is numbered starting at 1 and says that number “46″ should trigger a pizzicato sound. The Logic session starts the “decimal system indication” at 0, thus it is “45″ that triggers the pizz sound. For the end user, you need to know which numbering system your DAW uses. DP numbers from 1..128, PT numbers from 0..127. Realize that the sequencers have it figured out from the true binary that is used, only us humans have these competing ways of representing it!

I’m certainly no Alex Lifeson on the guitar, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t find it frustrating that after playing “terrestrial” guitar for years I can’t seem to get past the beginning stages of Rock Band. But after watching this hilarious video from the Colbert Report, I feel a little better. Check out Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, and Alex Lifeson stumbling through “Tom Sawyer” on Rock Band. Fantastic!

When enabled, the Elastic Time plug-in analyzes two dimensions of your audio in order to calculate the recorded performance’s tempo. It looks at the audio region’s duration in bars and beats, and it looks for transients that represent a regular periodic rhythm in the recording. In theory, if the rhythmic content of your recording is clear, with distinct transients, Elastic Time can figure out a performance’s tempo regardless of whether the audio region is trimmed to a perfect loop or not. This is really neat when it works, but it doesn’t perform miracles (nor should you expect it to, that’s not producing your own music).

Instead of relying blindly on Elastic Time to perform your beat matching (as in, crossing your fingers and hoping for the best), there are several simple steps that you can take ahead of time to prepare the audio and ensure perfect results every time. Performing this pre-processing, even though it’s a tedious task, helps to preserve the audio quality and the groove of the original performance after your tempo change.

The easiest way to demonstrate my pre-processing approach is to take you step by step through the process. This is the best way to understand not only the steps in the process but the logic behind my approach. (Try it a different way and you’ll find out just how quickly you can end up with a train wreck.) The DRM (Digital Rights Management) free stems being offered for your remixing pleasure by Radiohead, of their song “Nude”, on iTunes is perfect for this example. The stems are $0.99 each and you only really need two of the five available, the “Drum Stem” and the “Voice Stem”. But, it’s nice to have all of the stems in your session, even if you don’t use the “Bass Stem” and “Guitar Stem” they’re handy for finding the key of the original, and the “String FX Etc. Stem” contains several sounds that are perfect for a remix.

Remixing Radiohead

1. Create a new Pro Tools session and import all of the “Nude” stems. When prompted, select the import Destination as New Track with a Location of Session Start.


2. Arrange the tracks in the Edit window with the Drum Stem on top and the Voice Stem just below.


3. Mute all of the tracks except the Drum Stem. Use Tab to Transient to locate the very first downbeat in front of the vocals (approximately 1946229 samples in from the session’s start) and separate the regions.


4. Select the Edit Group, double click on the latter Drum Stem region and separate all of the regions.


5. Select the Shuffle Edit Mode and delete the first set of regions so that the downbeat of the second set of regions scoots to the beginning of the session.


6. Disable the Edit Group and using Tab to Transient find the downbeat every two bars in the Drum Stem and separate the regions. (The only region that I left as 4 bars is the drum break, having 2 bars before the break itself.) In some instances, you can make the separations every 4 bars, but with “Nude” there’s a lot of human tempo variation and every 2 bars will produce the most precise overall beat match.


7. Select the Edit Group and double click on each 2 bar Drum Stem section and separate the sections.


8. Select each 2 bar section and apply Identify Beat to generate a tempo map for each section. This will beat match and lock each 2 bar section to your session’s tempo grid. (You could use Beat Detective to generate a tempo map, but my method preserves the original performance’s groove every two bars, while simultaneously guaranteeing that the original’s downbeat is locked exactly to the grid every two bars. This way, your beat match never drifts.) At this stage, it’s also helpful to create a Click track in order to audition your tempo lock.