Then people will just speak about how they feel. No-one knows what to do. How do you become a better guitarist? - I don't know but I want to share my feelings on being one.
To me this video is good but it doesn't quite hit the nail on the head. The bottom line is, if you practice, you will get better. It's not a case of "I suck at the drums, therefore someone else needs to play the drums". You likely suck at the drums because you don't like playing the drums, or don't have much experience playing. If you do not like playing the drums, you probably won't practice and you probably won't get any better. If you enjoy playing the drums, you will practice, and you will get better. Genius is not inherited or blessed upon you by the gods of talent. Genius is simply a love of something and a willingness to work hard at it and improve. If you love the drums, or you love singing or songwriting or any other craft. Continue to do it, and if you do not like writing songs or singing or drumming, that's when you need to collaborate with someone who's passion lies elsewhere.
I get annoyed when people talk about talent- there;s very little talent involved. It's mostly about passion, dedication and hard work as you've said. Talent is what people who don't recognise the work you've put into it call it and assume it's because of some divine gift you've been given that made you good at something. Usain Bolt has some genetic advantages but he wouldn't be the fastest sprinter in the world if he just sat on his arse all day eating junk food. The same applies to any discipline.
I've got a fairly decent innate talent for hearing (pitch, timbre, picking things out, critical listening, etc.), and melody. Since I was a wee lad, too wee to even remember. I've used that to great advantage as I've worked very hard to get good at commercial music writing and, to some degree, mixing and mastering and other audio things. I think inborn talent plays a significant part a lot of times, maybe sometimes only to spark someone's interest and passion in something that they recognize they're good at. Actual success I think does involve great talent sometimes, and is not 100% hard work. Although it's probably 50% hard work and 45% time spent. If you've got no talent at something, you're at a huge disadvantage.
You can love something and try as hard as you want and not get better tho Some People love music but no matter how hard people try they can't keep rhythm
Without brutal honesty, there is no improvement possible. Ever. I am so thankful for yours Graham. 100% truth. It hits close to home, i often find myself contemplating my DAW, playing a song back and thinking : hmm, this .... is ... just ok. No this sucks, i shouldn't share this with anyone. From time to time, i am really satisfied and proud and i know deep down i've succeeded in making a cool song. But i think i'm just not as good as i think i am as a songwriter.
+Chris Martin Yea. Hard to tell without listening to a sample, but it's definitely true that a lot of great songs shine due to arrangement. If you only play the melody and chords, it's thoroughly unimpressive.
Keep songwriting, and keep listening to your subconscious. Little by little you will get better and will end up making amazing songs. It's all practice!
I've been working as a composer, singer/songwriter, arranger and producer since 1998, but even to this day my weakest area is arranging. Even with a record deal and working with major labels, I've always had issues figuring out how my songs should be arranged. That's not as easy as people think it is.
Thank you, Graham. Thank you for having the courage to say what many of us don't want to say to our fans sometimes. It's hard to convey this in a way that is still motivating to people and you nailed it.
I love this kind of humility and honesty. The reality is that in my church all of us are in need of improvement but if I were to say this I would be considered ungodly, hurtful or critical. I find human nature so difficult to deal with.
Don't overlook the option of finding good singers in your area, or even long distance via some of the online resources out there nowadays. Collaboration sometimes gives you something even better you never expected.
Online gives you a big hunting ground. Might not be a good singer living on your street. The question then is to get the talented singer interested. Then you need good work to present.
thank's for the honesty, I've made the choice of working on my craft 6 months ago and I'm seing great results! It all comes down to being honest with yourself and work at it, if you love it you'll find a way to get through the tough times, don't give up
I remember myself a few years back. Had no idea how to do a decent guitar recording, both as far as technique and gear is concerned. Did not even have an audio interface :D After making a total catastrophe recording, I tried to look up tricks how to "transform" it into something better, something you can hear on records. You can guess the results... :D I'm glad I found and started following and learning from channels like yours Graham. No exaggeration there, *90%* of the tricks I'm using today I learned from you. Funniest thing is, that I have all my recordings and mixes from the last ca. 10 years. Sometimes I listen to them year by year, and the development there is HUGE! :O It always cheers me up, it always tells me, I'm on the right path :) Thanks ;)
Between your videos and being new to the recording world I’ve come to learn I have a lot of work ahead of me. Thank you for what you do with these videos. They have been a great help for me personally.
one thing i need to disagree with... something about tracks. you say that sometimes people record tracks that are boring. it's your perspective. every musician do what he feels best for him, not what he feels best for money. many of most known musicians through the centuries wrote down what they wanted to write and most of them died anonymously. now they're great composers. i hope you know what i was saying. some minor tweaks between tone and overall build of track - yes. saying that this guy should set the tone like we like and build the track like we like? this is killing a musicianship in people and putting them into pop scheme
He never said to write "pop" music. He said that you have to write a song that compels the listener, and for that matter, you are the one that decides if the song is good enough, not the mainstream population. He made it pretty clear that HE was the one that said the song wasn't "good enough" to release. There are other listeners other than "Mainstream Pop Rock" people. So.... ya kinda just wasted a little time there didn't you?@_@
There is one fundamental difference between amateur and professional musicians. The amateur understands that art is subjective. The professional understands subjectivity but also knows that doesn't mean there are no standards.
+calohtar If you don't measure your music up to some kind of metrics within a coherent and compelling artistic vision, you will never make music that gets any further than being "weird" or "annoying." You're free to develop your own sense of aesthetics, but there has to be some sort of reason to the madnesses. I swear a ton of people just do some random knob tweaking and expect others to enjoy it. That's not how humans work.
It still baffles me why people love formulaic pop music, some new songs I hear on the radio have literally nothing original in them and they still sell millions... I guess image is half of music and people love patterns. I enjoy rougher mixes though, super polished productions are a turn off! Thanks for the vids Graeme!
I'm so happy to see this comment because, I went through the same thing. What I think I found out gave me a whole different perspective on music. If someone says a sentence to you, your mind breaks down the sentence sound by sound and makes sense of it. I think we do the same thing with music. I was studying the original musicians until now and If you look at most of the songs that really stuck, they are super simple. There were a lot of legends that had songs that no one really paid attention too because they were really complex. And when you play music, there are certain sounds that go together and others that just don't. But, the complexity plays a huge role in how easy feeling it is to take in a song. I don't know if the way I said this makes any sense but, it was one of those rabbit hole type things you start looking into. If I am right then, it is pretty interesting and like a map on how to make songs specifically for fame and fortune instead of actual content and skill. *Cough* Nickelback, Justin Beiber, a ton of rap and R&b songs, almost all pop *cough*
One of my friends at Sony blessed me with some great advice. "There is no such thing as a hit or a great song. It is the marketing force that makes the song hot. Some songs are so dumb, once it is played over and over on the right platforms then it becomes popular." Many of these songs show truth in that.....
If you keep frowning upon Pop music then I'm afraid you are only stunting your success. Sure you can create music that you enjoy, however, if you trying to impress the listener then you have to know what sounds good a casual listener. There is a reason why the most popular songs are so popular. And no. It's not marketing. Those who say marketing is the biggest factor are just kidding themselves and won't admit the truth- their music is crap. I've listened to countless people give me that "it's just marketing or repetition or some bullshit in order to create a good song" but whenever I listen to their song its complete rubbish. Sorry to burst your bubble. If you want to create music that people listen to then learn to make good music. And stop kidding yourselves that music is subjective. You are only stunting your growth.
After much toiling, I have realized that paying a professional audio engineer to mix my music was the best route. May be there are some folks who can mix their own songs, but after attempting to mix music on my own, I have just ran into too many issues and I would rather focus my time on playing the piano and synthesizers and becoming a better composer. I have utmost respect for you Graham, and other mix engineers and it truly is a separate unique skill like say, learning to play an instrument. I make music as a serious hobby and I want my music to sound good and not be an ugly harsh experience because I tried mixing my own song and I didn't know what I was doing. One really needs good training, experience and proper equipment to mix music correctly. I also looked at all the cds from my favorite bands like Orbital, Juno Reactor, Underworld etc., they all had professionals who were not in the group mix their music. So if people who are a 1,000 times more talented than me work with an audio engineer, then I probably should. I don't mean to ramble, but mixing is really tough and and it is deciptively simple. Every song is a unique challenge, so I'd rather pay $500 per song and get the job done right and plus I can sleep well at night lol.
Being a musician for the past 15 years of my life (since I was 12), I know that I'm nowhere near where I'm supposed to be. Mostly due to laziness (I accept this lol), but now that I'm headed into graduate school and realize that yes music is going to be apart of my life, this video definitely hits home. I subscribed to you because I wanted to put my college degree to use and get started setting up a small studio when I move out. This video though, it's humbling. I am terrible working in groups. Either the atmosphere is bad or the people don't care. I tend to do everything myself. However, finally growing up, I'm accepting my limitations and breaking them lol I know what I need to do and where I need to go, and I have you to thank for turning on that light!
There are a lot of components to this that ring true... there is also another scenario that Graham has only touched on briefly and that is some song come together like the snap of your fingers, other songs seem to take forever to get right. Some songs from inception to mixdown and mastering, the energy is there, the performance was natural and unforced and very little editing is required... Other songs, and these songs can be right before or right after that song that came together like the snap of your fingers... those other songs can sometimes seem like pushing against the ocean just to get one particular track laid down in a manner at gives you something to work with. That's why some songs, even some of the best work I have done came out from inception to mixdown and master in less than a week. And there are some that even right now, sit incomplete because of the one track that has so far taken 150+ takes and still the magic isn't there. You can practice all you want, you can prepare all you want and you can have all the talent you want but you still have to nail the performance and induce that energy into the song. Without it.... static noise becomes more entertaining to listen to....
it's actually a little bit of both, I have seen it happen with my own material as well as with others. whether or not I am in the role of musician, engineer or post production... I have seen projects where the energy was prevalent and captured quickly and I have seen projects where everything was a struggle to match up and even projects where everything was laid down just right except the lead vocal or the guitar solo or keyboard break just didn't get that "hit the nail on the head" type of performance. I have also found that when you don't have a built up level of trust between performer and engineer, if for no other reason than they just don't know each other... it makes it rather difficult for the engineer to act like a producer... the way a movie director would tell an actor "okay, that was great... now try that line with this kind of emphasis" When you don't have that kind of exchange going... its hard to hammer the music into the proper shape. The artist after all must be as open to the interpretation of that specific phrase or riff as the engineer and/or producer has to be open to the type of sound or imagery the artist is trying to lay down. The problem is, many of the typical DIY musician who has an interface and a daw doesn't have that kind of objective feedback or perspective. Which is why that arrangement or performance or recording can and most often time does in fact suck! :P
This is so true! I'm working on a project now and I thought the songs were too weak. I took them to an independent producer and they magically came to life. I recorded what I do well, guitars, vocal and occassional bass and then let him do the rest. What a transformation!
Thank you Graham, your videos are amazing. After the last webinar class we had, my mixing techniques have being amazingly outstanding. I was a complete novice to mixing, but now I just mixed a song for a friend that had 500 downloads in less than 24hours. For me that's a great achievement. Thank you Graham, you are my brother from another mother. All the way from Nigeria, peace
Absolutely correct. It all starts with the song. If the song sucks, the project is destined for failure. If its a good song, make sure you record it properly. Good gain staging (critical), and make sure the performance(s) and/or programming is exceptional. Well recorded audio practically mixes itself. That's not an exaggeration. Know what to cut out of the mix and what to leave in, also. To make room for a vocal line, you may have to completely omit from the song that cool synth bed that isn't NECESSARY for the track. Shit like this is important. When you're cooking you can't just empty your fridge and cupboards into the pot. In my experience, knowing what to cut out of a song to make room for other stuff is almost as important as being able to use an equalizer.
Thank you for making this video. I found myself trying to explain this same thing to endless friends who don't seem to get that truth, next time I'll send them here. :D
How dare you to tell me I'm a bad guitar player? I reported this for hate speech and now tell me which plugin I need to make my beats sound lit. Just kidding, thanks for the video. I'll try to collaborate with other musicians
You are sooooooo right. I am a 70 y/o musician from Argentina. My parents saw my talent at a very young age and sent me to learn how to play piano and guitar, I was 6 y/o then. At 12 I jump into bass and drums. I wasn't a virtuoso, but good enough to play with local bands. I've started my humble home studio experience in 1985 doing sequences (tracks) for single vocalist and bands with low budgets to be able to afford a pro recording studio. Back then there were no computers or Daw's, plugins etc, and because of my budget I only have a four track stereo cassette recorder where I have to bounce tracks like crazy. I thought my recordings were horrible but my "clients" like them, then I met a local recording engineer and show him my stuff, he told me, to my surprise, that my rec wasn't as bad as I thought, EQ and mixing was good enough considering the gear I was using, the problem was because of everything you spoke about in this video so, thank you again my friend from all of us. Chic Corea said: The moment you think you know everything and you are the best, at that moment you are done, you just stop growing.
Hello, thanks for all the hard work!! I am one of those Jack of all trades kinda guy, but I have been severely lyrically challenged since the beginning. I've been doing this for a long time and have never become a virtuoso of anything, I do hold my own and have played with many a great musician. I am glad that I have been able to have many awesome peers and have been a little surprised that they have enjoyed playing with me. todays messages is so valuable and not only do I appreciate it, i really hope many listeners take it to heart as so much time can be waisted. Thanks so much Recording Revolution.
I was thinking about this last couple weeks and understood that I need to stop watching "How to mix a song" videos until I'll records something really good. Because I can watch all those videos about mixing, but I have nothing to mix. I can strongly recommend Duelling Mixes project for a great reason (and it's not mixing): you can listen to each track separately and understand, what do you need. So you can hear: OK, here's just 2 guitars and a bass, then drums starts, then everything without the bass, then some solo without riffs. And maybe some other resources (I won't make any ad here) where you can look at raw tracks and understand, that actually you don't need to much to make a song. Just write songs, records them, again, again, again and some day your mixes/songs would be great. Thanks a lot, Graham. This video is just perfect (and I really watched it up to the end) :)
He's speaking gospel here & he's actually holding back from being more honest: the most of you will get no better & will always suck or at least remain in the sucky regions.
Hey Graham, great video! This channel has helped me quite a bit. Being, sometimes brutally, honest with ourselves is the only way to learn. I can say that where my strengths as a musician is in writing. I love writing riffs and then turning them into songs. I mean I'm still working on it but I love that part. However, when it comes to engineering, I'm still struggling. Especially since the amount of programs and plug-ins now has grown so much. I love tweeking things after recording them but getting it to sound "professional" has been a weakness of mine. I have a little makeshift studio in my apartment. It's my laptop, Logic Pro X, some keyboards, and my guitars. I have always used headphones and have never owned a set of speakers for music recording. Right now, I'm working on learning compression. It's really frustrating because I don't yet have an ear for it. I really don't understand or hear the difference. Another weakness is singing for me. I have songs and lyrics but am reluctant to sing. I've never recorded my voice in any professional way. I am now looking at microphones though. Anyway, I guess I'm just curious what other people's experiences are.
I agree and disagree with his sediment because music and art. It I s a matter of preference one mans trash is another mans treasure. There are many pop singers on the radio who voices and songs put me to sleep or make me want to cover my ears. It comes down to taste. I can play an animals as leaders track to a room full of pop fans and I guarantee most of them will walk out of the room because the song has complex instrumentation and no Singing. I personally enjoy progressive metal and simple generic Deathcore and Metalcore. Just think if we all had generic cookie cutter sound that everyone wants there we would need only one band. Look I'm glade we have weird vocalist like that lead singer from smashing pumpkins. It makes the music experience exciting.
Hey Graham, first of all, I love what you are doing, what you are offering to us/to the world and the way you teach. Even though I might have to catch up at times (like now) because I don't have enough time for music lately, I still read every single email you send out and watch every video trying to learn as much as I can from you. And the fact that you encourage us to answer your questions, forces us to think critically about ourselves and reflect on what we are doing. You are a natural teacher and you are inspiring me to keep making music, to pursue my dreams and to keep working on my skills. Thanks a lot for these true words. You're right, we gotta be critical with ourselves and, most importantly, we gotta be honest! As much as we don't wanna hear where we suck at, we gotta face it eventually. So imma reflected on my flaws: 1. I'm a little too much of a perfectionist and stand in my own way with this sometimes. I never get my stuff out, because I'm never satisfied. There is always a little thing that "needs to be fixed". If it isn't fixed, I keep hearing this "mistake" everytime I hear my recording and even though it may be just a little intonation, it drives me nuts. I always want things to be perfect, but the truth is it will never be perfect. I think you and Joe talked about this too on the Simply Recording Podcast. --> I need to learn to let go of some things, like you said, finish it and move on! That's the only way to improve yourself. Learn from your mistakes, but MOVE ON! 2. On top of that, I'm really too lazy to go back to the recording and "fix" things, so I keep postponing it in fear of it being too much work (like almost everything in my life). --> I gotta kick my ass and get things done instead of postponing it (advise for life). 3. My performance is not at the level I want it to be. I'm a singer, songwriter and a "wanna-be-rapper" (for now) and not too long ago I started to make my own instrumental beats. My goal is to get my songs recorded without depending on others (that's the reason I started home recording). I'm really satisfied with my lyrics, my arrangements, and I love my choirs, these are things I'm good at. But I'm still struggling with my lead performances and at times my rap performances as well. Sometimes I'm not on point when I'm recording, I tend to be too quick. Sometimes I just didn't practice enough and I don't have the lyrics in my head, so I struggle with reading them rather than focusing on the performance and feeling of the song. And honestly, sometimes I'm afraid to perform a certain way (the way I hear it in my head) like belting loud, or shout or something, although it would fit the song (I guess I'm afraid my neighbors are going to hear it, lol). --> I need to improve my performance skillz and be more confident. 4. I have to admit that I'm not entirely familiar with my DAW (logic 9) yet and this can be a pain in the ass. Sometimes I even struggle at the recording phase, cause I can't get the voice loud enough on my headphones without turning up the track fader to the point where it starts clipping (really gotta figure that out in my DAW). And I still have to look up things, if I want a certain effect for example, and this is time consuming and sometimes frustrating if you can't find what you are looking for. --> As you said over and over again, I need to know my DAW. So I gotta invest more time to learn how it works. 5. Plus I'm also that kind of person that gets lost on youtube and after watching a bunch of videos I remember that initially I wanted to look for something totally different (like you and Joe said on the Simply Recording Podcast, getting lost on the net, it reminded me of myself). --> I have to focus more on what I need to get my song forward and stop when I realize I'm distracting myself. 6. I spend too much time alone in the studio. Usually it's only me in the home studio. When I think back to when I collaborated with others, this was awesome. You are inspiring each other, giving each other input and new ideas, and having a lot of fun. And at the end of the day you feel you really accomplished and created something together. --> You mentioned it in this video, I gotta collaborate more with others cause this means new inspiration, valuable experiences, building new relationships, expanding your music network - all very critical things that make you more professional. And here's what I started to do in order to help me get better performances, maybe it can help others who read this too: I try to make a pre-recording of the song I have in my head. Usually, I record the lead vocals, so I record the melody/the flow and the words to get the basic of how the song goes. Then I focus on the choir more until I'm satisfied with it. So I basically treat the choir part as an instrument and embed it in the instrumental, making a quick raw mix of this recording session. I export it as an mp3 and put it on my phone. Whenever I'm heading out somewhere, I listen to the songs over and over again. By doing that, I'm not only recognizing what needs to be "fixed" in the track, but I learn the lyrics by heart and I get to figure out how to perform which part of the song. And sometimes I get some additional ideas of add lips or a certain effect I want to put in etc. And then I just need to get back to the song for the lead part and can focus on the performance (instead of reading the lyrics). And since the choir is also recorded already, I get more into the song and I can dive in. Other than that, I try to constantly improve my performance skills, so I'll sing every chance I get to train my voice. I'm lead singer of a band, I'm in a gospel choir, and recently I joined a musical production just to expand my horizon and practice, practice, practice. But I haven't figured out how I can improve my rap skills, other than just practicing my raps over and over again. Maybe somebody has an advice for that. Well, that's a looooong comment, but as detailed as I could be. Sorry for the long post tho. And thanks again for all your content, teaching, tipps, tricks, inspirations and all of that! You are awesome!
Yo, I was an "atheist" when I started music production and the incompetent tracks I had made were the worst electronic music I've heard during that time. During my journey into becoming a born again Catholic, God helped me with my music and He set me on the right path. Praise the Lord. I could have never imagined to get where I am now back in 2011 if it weren't for God's help. So this is one crucial, most important advice I can give you. Do you not think the Maker who created sound waves would give you the ability of music production? Go pray and repent before the year of #DivineMercy ends this 20th. Make music to glorify Him and don't create abominations like the mainstream shill cockroaches.
Just came across this channel, and y'know I've had a lot of sage advice over the years. One being that, if you see someone come at you claiming to help saying "you are the problem" your helper is most usually the ones that are the problems themselves. A bit of the pot calling the kettle black so to speak. The truth is recording/engineering/mixing is a steep climb for some people, for others not so much and it just comes quicker. But as a engineer/mixer usually you can't tell a musician "The song sucks, theirs no helping it." your role is to get the best mix and sound that can be squeezed out of it as much as possible. Any and every song ever written can be improved some how or some way. And one mans piece of trash is another man's pearl. I've heard songs on the radio many in recent years actually, that I've felt had no business ever being recorded, yet there they are with top notch pristine production values. And even though in my opinion the song might "suck" and there is nothing that can be done to save it. Obviously, some people out there like it. If a band or a musician isn't happy with the songs they will work on it until they are content with it. And if they don't care, you probably shouldn't care either because they don't want it bad enough and won't be in the business long anyway. Those are the same people that want or will be holding down a job at Walmart,over their band or music career because the fire for their music isn't happening. And thats their free will and choice to make. So next time somebody comes at you asking for advice on mixing because the song in question happens to be Slipknot 2.0 and maybe thats not your thing. Maybe you should speak up about areas of the recording you'd improve instead of saying the song sucks. Because while brutal honesty is welcome. Negativity framed as honesty or otherwise is poison to your soul. And not only will you find yourself happier for rejecting those thoughts. You will be a better mixer/engineer AND musician for it. The best musicians are the most tolerant of other peoples work.
Graham, thanks for this absolutely killer post! As bedroom producers, we often spend way too long struggling with trying to make amazing music right out of the gate and completely solo! Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate. Keep making new music! Excellent and much needed advice!
Hey Graham, great video! A month or two ago I realised that I was letting out the tonal stuff from my tracks. Not intentionally, just because I was diving into designing, shaping and mangling sounds. And I realised that most of the music I like had some kind of melodic or tonal interesting content, and I've always known that my weakest point was my melodies and harmonies. So I dedicated the last 1½ week of June to just getting better at playing my keys, programming nice synths that were interesting instruments to play with, and I really gained a lot from that process. I'll definitely work more on improving my weaknesses. If you realise that you could improve on an aspect, then the only way to get better is to use the time to practice it. When you know that you're not where you want to be with it, it can be hard to start working on it. Just get going and experiment, play, find the fun in it and it will be worth every hour you put into getting better.
As far as I can tell, Graham gives the best advice and he's incredibly knowledgeable about mixing/mastering. I've taken a couple of his courses and I've improved a lot, but I am NOWHERE near where I want to be. In a year or two I should be close. This video has REALLY solid advice. I know I will improve over time and I plan on eventually turning making music into a career.
An old friend of mine named Harlan Howard once said, "Country music is just three chords and the truth." (To me, the most important part is the truth.) You have told the truth here, sir. I'm new to digital recording at home and I will be seeking your sage advice through your videos. Thank you, so much. - Donnie B.
Thank you! This is something that just needed to be said and told to me and many of my friends who are musicians, artist, bands, engineers, hobbyist. I truly appreciate your honesty, it means a lot As for me, I grew up as a drummer, dabbled in guitar, bass, and keys. I got into a car accident and always blamed my injuries on my poor playing, but I realized that I just don't want to be a musician, I don't want to play drums or anything else though it has given me so many opportunities and awards and allowed me to experience the world. I am not a good instrumentalist, but I love recording and mixing. So now I fix instruments, I help my clients arrange better parts for their songs, but I barely play, and that's okay. I'll always get someone else who loves playing and is way better than me to join me and work on a track or an album together. It's a better experience and always way more fun and beautiful to create with others. But again, as always, thank you for all that you do!
Oh man, I'm glad someone spoke the truth! We live in a world where you're only supposed to say good things because someone's feelings might get hurt, but it's hard to improve that way. I applaud you for your total honestly. That being said, equipment does also make a difference in your recordings, if you want to start reaching pro quality levels. In fact, mixing becomes a lot easier when you record good sources with good equipment, as I've recently found out. I recently built a new mic and bought a good preamp (Tonebeast) and my vocals sit much better in the mix and approach that pro quality level we're all reaching for. Oh, and good sound treatment is also very important. So yeah, good songwriting, good performances and good recordings with good equipment is the key to getting that pro sound. Easier said than done :)
The best video I've ever watched in 2016. I got my head over how bad my mix sounded and now it all make sense. I'm ready to have a great mix for many reasons. Thanks for every word and thats means a lot cuz you put it in a way that makes me improve my "everything".
Well put. I'm a staff songwriter, I've been with Warner Chappell for close to 30 years. I knew my voice was mediocre at best, and knew if i wasn't honest with myself, I'd be living in a dream world, like most creative people who want to succeed in their creative endeavors. If your not clear, and honest about your skills, your, your own worst enemy. I debated starting with home recording, I'm not a producer, nor am I an engineer, I'm a songwriter. At times when Im working, I'm tempted to play producer, but, it's ridiculous, I'm a songwriter, and thats it. I appreciate your honesty. If your lucky enough to have honed and developed any one skill, say as an Engineer, Producer, Guitar player, Songwriter, Singer, consider yourself lucky and blessed. Do what you do best, focus on that, and you'll have a better shot at working. Good Luck!! Your honesty is refreshing
I really dig your approach here Graham. I also wanna thank you for your approach in general. Ive learned a lot from you over the past year through DM and just your free content. You're a true educator and I believe you do it because you have a strong passion for it, which keeps me coming back.
I respect and understand this bc I've actually just recently taken a step back myself and reconsidered how unsatisfied I was with my skills as an actual songwriter rather than just a player/singer, I decided if there's any specific aspect I want to be best at, it's the songwriting itself. Now I believe production should just be the icing to the cake.
It's true. You can create recordings all by yourself now. One of the most powerful lessons I learned was when I pieced together a great guitar solo from a variety of takes. I liked the end result but it sounded "flat" to me. Not intonation, just flat. I spent a couple of days practicing the "edited" solo, then re-recorded the whole thing. Result was MUCH better! The lesson: machines can get you 80% the way there, but that last 20% really matters!
It is! The real "trick" to get the best sound, is the most basic of all: good songs, well arranged, played by wonderful musicians. I had this "discovery" several years ago and completely changed my life. It was a difficult process of acceptance when I realized that I was better sound engineer than a musician! Once I realized the benefits of partnerships, I was glad to have found my place. Since then, I was fortunate to work with extremely talented musicians. Today is my profession, music production and live sound engineering. Thanks for clear and honest way you passed that message.
Ive Been playing drums for 5 years as a hobby and i do know quite alot of programming drums and then ive trained My ears to find out what keys go great together
100% agreed. I eventually learned it the hard way, but these things take time. Started doing audio in 2012, and started writing and recording music around 2013. I was awful at writing, and eventually got too busy learning how to properly record while in college. Once I nailed the recording and mixing process, I transitioned back into writing again (around 2016ish). I still need work on transitions and singing, but the quality in everything is phenomenal! It took years to get here, but it's well worth it and I LOVE being able to create and being happy with the sound.
Hi Graham, It's great to be back on UA-cam after being away for approximately two years. I'm glad that I checked out your channel. You are giving some good, solid advice my friend. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your videos. Cheers!
I am already collaborating with my wife and it seems we would need a bassist and a drummer because let's face it, eventhough you can write a decent midimap for vst it will never sound as musical as a real performance. It is a huge step for me to admit that I can't make a song I want only with my wife. Graham I have enjoyed your videos and admired your teaching skills and philosophy behind making a song(I have even tried to apply it in to my everyday life) :) My mixes are getting better and I'm now getting more positive feedback thanks to you. Keep up the good work!
Yesterday I have found my old mp3 player with my old songs on it (2010ish era). At the time I didn't play any instruments, most of the stuff is either sampled or performed by a keyboardist and what I can see, the quality of the songs has risen as I got better at arranging and communicating to my fellow musicians how they should play the stuff. Today, I still suck at playing any instrument and I don't even bother playing/learning to play anymore, because I have some awesome musicians at disposal. I'm still not even 50% confident in my song-writing but I definitely see progress with time...
Spot on Graham !!!! I had the opposite experience of yours. I listened to my old recordings (70s) and I was so much better then. After being out of the music scene for 30 years, my voice is lackluster, my guitar playing is sloppy and I forgot how to be an "entertainer". Yes, I am leaning the new digital recording methods BUT I am also taking vocal training, guitar training and practicing a lot. I suck at songwriting (I mostly do covers of old country and folk music) so I am going to New Zealand for two weeks with a gifted poet and singer to collaborate on (and learn from) her songs. You are right, if you record junk, nothing will fix it. Thanks, Brother !
Thank you so much for this video. People need to hear this for clarity. This just helped me focus on my shortcomings. Ive been the musician in projects but never really the arranger or mixer and Ive been chipping away and learning everything I could. Your channel and many others have given me so much faith and encouragement. Keep on keepin' on! Peace and Blessings!
Graham, you sir, are the man! It has taken me 10 years to figure this out. I hope your video help those aspiring musicians and engineers! This video is 100% true. A great song should sound great without plugins or effects.Thanks again Graham!
My production techniques vastly improved after I dumped all those VST's I didn't really understand. I exchanged them all for 2 VST's I now repeatedly use throughout my songs and they're all different and sound a lot better than what I used to do. It's not perfect yet, not even close, but I'm improving vastly. Thanks for pointing this all out!
This looks like videoresponse to mail, which I've sent to Graham last week ;D I was writing, that It took me almost 3 years to realize that I suck in playing guitars and singing. Collaborations and looking outside my comfort zone saved my music life and brought back my love for making music.
I'm starting to apreciate you as a brother. Thank you for your honesty, charisma and of course your Knowledge. I'm a professional guitar player with more than 2 decades of experience and if someone needs guitar tracking I'm also your brother and I'm here to help!
Another inspiring vid - and It's true... After 20 years+ of persistence, learning and developing my craft, I still feel there's much to learn as a songwriter/arranger/producer in practice and I'm still not 'there' yet, despite having all the tools and studio I need. I suspect lack of collaboration in recent years has been a factor. All my (limited) successes in the past have been collaborations with talented musicians. Left to my own devices, I tend to begin lots of projects but rarely finish them. Sometimes I get close but often 'overdo' it and then lose focus and motivation. With partnerships and collaborators you feel a lot more motivated and don't want to let them down. So you have no choice but to do the work and get the job done! I tend to spend far too much time playing with tech and plugins (and learning more and more...) and not disciplining myself to actually crack on and make the music! Actual practice is key. Your recent video re. mindset and setting a deadline was also helpful advice. With family and a busy job it gets hard to find the time... I'm now finding that setting a deadline and spending even just an hour or so every other day helps make real progress. Thanks again and really enjoying the channel!
It's true Graham! I'm glad that you talked about the hurdle of pride, but that it always leads to better satisfaction in the end! I love working with others, because truly a good song written out of collaboration is greater than the sum of its parts! keep up the great work! 👍
Right on with your comments, for me it is a little different I have been playing with some of the greatest players, my main problems was to understand how to make a studio ot live recording sound as good as what we sounded live or recording. Many Radio shows or studio recordings made our instruments sound very different. Today I have learn and still learning how to prepare a Mix for mastering. I have to thank Bob Katz for his contribution to help people like me. I really did appreciate your comments because it is true, I still wish to find out more about what meters do you recommend to help not only listen and ear but to have a double precision visual knowledge of a good Pre-master Mix. ie: Bx-meter - Vu-Meter - Spectrum meter - Frequencies meter and so On still slowly learning how to use these tools. I use PC 64x Win 7 Sonar Platinum with RME UFX - waiting to hear from you. Thank You
I find this video to be in perfect time- as I was banging my head against the wall with a current project - everything was tight guitars and drums sounded magical but my vocal performance sucked- and even before watching this video I had already pushed out my project for collaboration with a actual vocalist. Thanks boss, the hard truth is better than feel good back rubs.
Hi, I'm Ankit. Raised and bred in a place where taking Music seriously was laughed at and still is. I've grown upto be 29 yrs old and when I look back I think why did I never make extra efforts out of my regular job time to hon a skill like Vocal/Songwriting/Producing! Now when I think of how soon all these years went by, and how little knowledge I have on songwriting and how naïve I sound as a vocalist or how novice I am as a music producer(I just got started with basics, recently) I think wow, now this is going to take about good 10 years (by the time I'll be 39!) before I could even showcase or release any of my tracks on international level! But then I also look at other artists who made it late in life so maybe sooner or later, but I want to be able to deliver that pro quality out from my track, but just don't know how to manage it all while in a job, living with 5-6 roomies in 1 small house! Any thoughts/suggestions on this would be much appreciated! Love, Ankieth
This was a great, necessary and HONEST commentary on those wishing to get better. I think you hit the nail right on the head with this one. For me, I've come a long with my songwriting (probably what I would say is my greatest strength), and after listening to your advice, I would say my greatest area(s) of improvement are my vocal performance, and my instrumentation arrangements. Thank you for making this video! I feel it will help a lot of people approach their craft with a little bit more insight and confidence! Thanks!
Brutal honesty is the way to go.. plus an advantage of being a recording hobbyist is that when we are honest with ourselves, we have the living proof right there in our recordings. We have the opportunity to pick it apart and realize exactly what we need to improve on!
Great insight Graham, Ive found that same feeling at times. I m a skilled tradesman but have played piano for many years and love to write. My budget is cheap only using a laptop and interface. What I do with my boards is very inspiring and its fun to just play. I use cakewalk pro for recording and have written many many tunes and some are just par and some are very good. I get it....on my page I just play what I feel at times and other times I do a little homework and practice my material. with that said youre spot on...the truth is you really know what you have to. Jazz pianist Kenny Werner would say the same thing "you know what you need to work on". You wouldnt try something new at a gig until its been executed and polished at home. Thanks again.
Such an honest video. I love it! I'm a multi-musician, drums, bass, guitar, keyboard, singing, not necessarily in that order, but my HUGE weakness is arranging and songwriting. I can play instruments all day long but songwriting is where I fall majorly short, big time lol!
You're right.. I realized it to myself before. That is why I am always asking my friends to collaborate ☺️ and it worked. I am not really good in techniques on mixing, but I could say that my music covers are getting better because I'm practicing too much in playing my instruments, and ask someone to sing for my covers. Yes, it gets easier, simpler, and better.
I thought the problem was me, but after watching your video i realized that i have been saying the same thing to the people that come record at my home studio. Every time i tell them that they need to perform better and work on their timing, they get angry and start blaming my engineering/mixing. Thank You for pointing this out, now i feel more confident about my work.
you know what man, let me tell you something, you nailed it. it is very very very true all what you said. it is the reality that a lot of people ignore and they go buy more plugins and more stuff. The song is what really really essential, mixing and mastering come easy after. I just wanna write this to thank you for your honesty, good bless you and good luck man
100% agreed. I have learnt a lot from your tutorials. And after 8 years I firmly believe the same what you taught here Graham. Song and musicianship are the main ingredients for a good recording and mixes. Still learning my crafts
Hello. I'm just starting out with recording and I'm very thankful that I discovered your videos. I am sure this is going to help me in the long run. I'm a drummer myself but I really love recording, mixing for my friends and other people. Thank you for the great advice brother :)
Good message! I never regretted the occasions where I invited friends into a project, be it drummers, singers, guitarists. They do a better job than me :-)
Graham is right, it makes me feel so much better about my decision this year. I've stepped down from writing and working on new songs in the DAW and instead I've been just training singing and working on the live sound of the mediocre stuff I already had. Last demo I recorderd after more than 8 monhts of break was just that much easier to record and sounded that much better. Just train. Devote time to it. You can learn anything if you really want to. Just be patient, don't give up, keep on working hard. If you can do something great live, everything just comes together when you recorded, like ranch sauce in a salad.
I love to see things like this, taking the courage to say things people don't like to hear. Music today sucks. All I hear and see is "I want my music to be punchier", "I have a rock attitude", "Thant's so cool!", "I AM A BEATMAKER, YOU KNOW", and fashion, and pose, and loudness competition and so on.... and behind all that I don't see people making any effort for achieveing actual composition skills, for cultivating a personal expression.
Well said, Graham. Songwriting and arranging are my strengths. I learned enough about mixing (largely thanks to your channel) to make my own showcase demo, with the intent to collaborate with others.
I really appreciate you Graham. Little by little i am learning how to mix and record correctly and you have really helped me do start my musician journey. I am still trying to learn how to properly write a song but now i will be definitely collaborating to take someone's song and record it and do what i can with it.
Great tough love delivered in a kind way. Thanks, it made me reflect on my current weaknesses (vocal performance in particular). There's no shame in it - when we signed up to be musicians, we signed up for continual improvement. Love your videos :)
Ah I such a great truth. Thank You from the soul I just never figured what's going on even using great emulated plugins, parallal compression, spending days, weeks on mixing just now realized you really really need to focus on good tune, vocal, instrumentation, music pieces, the whole arrangement. It really helped Graham Thank You.
As an amateur classical musician (oboe) I find it funny that you even need to say this! Acoustic instrumentalists live for practicing and working towards goals that seem ever elusive! I only started blaming the microphone when every other option was exhausted, and I only began to work with EQ after I realized that it's OK for the microphone to be less than perfect for my instrument.
That is true what Graham said. It is important to master your craft and develop yourself as musician. Live the life as one and improve. No one is ever gonna learn everything that's out there. Everyone excels at different things and everyone prefers one thing over the other. Some love songwriting, some love designing sounds, some love performing with an instrument. Find what interests you the most. Learn it, practice it, master it.
I agree about the 'sucky' songs, but I have found tremendous value in them over the years. As an artist there are times when you create material that you're not proud of or that isnt up to your standards. But music is art, and art must be fleshed out. And its in this 'fleshing out' process that a lot is learned about songwriting, arranging, etc. So over time I have learned to finish all of my songs, each one is a unique piece of art and each offers lessons to be learned about creating music and songwriting. Thanks for your videos!
Awesome video Graham! I've branched off from mixing and am learning sound design and composing for film/games. One of my teachers (I'm a music tech student in college) has been very encouraging and suggested that I might collaborate with another composer. I wasn't quite sure how to take that advice but after watching this video, it makes total sense. After all, before virtual instruments and DAW's you learned these things by working with other human beings. Thanks for reminding me that music is something that has to be shared and that art is a form of communication!
THANKS FOR THIS. I got so obsessed for a while with plugins, and EQ and trying to make it sound great, that I forgot about the song writing. The mixing, plugins, etc should serve the song...not the other way around. gave me a fresh perspective. cheers!
Ok, ill go first. My name is John, I am an alcoholic and my mixes suck
oh well,shit happens
I laughed out loud. Awesome.
LMAO
"Hi, my name is Cris, and I SUCK at arranging." "Hiiiii Criiiiis".
The RecordingRevolution terrible musicians support group. Sounds like a great event. Where do I sign up?
Then people will just speak about how they feel. No-one knows what to do. How do you become a better guitarist? - I don't know but I want to share my feelings on being one.
Lol. That's the first step to getting better Chris. You have hope!!
Cris
Hi I'm Storm and I suck at being a human being.....and I can't spell!
Fantastic video my friend! I really enjoyed this so much!! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
Ishiki haha thanks very much!! 'Holy Cow' haha have a marvellous time recording and mixing many thanks Warren
Ishiki you're very welcome! I'm extremely grateful to be able to help in any way I can! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing many thanks Warren
Hi Choby Choby glad to see you're having a marvellous time recording and mixing many thanks Warren
I really wish you had said, "This is your brother...from another mother..." at around 12:30 ;)
Ahaha Joe Gilder.. I see you. ☺ yea he should have
Man, you´re still watching Grahams stuff, great. You are his true brother, although from another mother ;-)
+TheMusicMan Lol!
To me this video is good but it doesn't quite hit the nail on the head. The bottom line is, if you practice, you will get better. It's not a case of "I suck at the drums, therefore someone else needs to play the drums". You likely suck at the drums because you don't like playing the drums, or don't have much experience playing. If you do not like playing the drums, you probably won't practice and you probably won't get any better. If you enjoy playing the drums, you will practice, and you will get better. Genius is not inherited or blessed upon you by the gods of talent. Genius is simply a love of something and a willingness to work hard at it and improve. If you love the drums, or you love singing or songwriting or any other craft. Continue to do it, and if you do not like writing songs or singing or drumming, that's when you need to collaborate with someone who's passion lies elsewhere.
Very well said :) Couldn't agree more!
I get annoyed when people talk about talent- there;s very little talent involved. It's mostly about passion, dedication and hard work as you've said. Talent is what people who don't recognise the work you've put into it call it and assume it's because of some divine gift you've been given that made you good at something. Usain Bolt has some genetic advantages but he wouldn't be the fastest sprinter in the world if he just sat on his arse all day eating junk food. The same applies to any discipline.
I've got a fairly decent innate talent for hearing (pitch, timbre, picking things out, critical listening, etc.), and melody. Since I was a wee lad, too wee to even remember. I've used that to great advantage as I've worked very hard to get good at commercial music writing and, to some degree, mixing and mastering and other audio things. I think inborn talent plays a significant part a lot of times, maybe sometimes only to spark someone's interest and passion in something that they recognize they're good at. Actual success I think does involve great talent sometimes, and is not 100% hard work. Although it's probably 50% hard work and 45% time spent. If you've got no talent at something, you're at a huge disadvantage.
You can love something and try as hard as you want and not get better tho
Some People love music but no matter how hard people try they can't keep rhythm
+lambd01d Yep yup! As with anything, the dreaded "D" word (Disapline) is the main difference between good and great.
Without brutal honesty, there is no improvement possible. Ever. I am so thankful for yours Graham. 100% truth. It hits close to home, i often find myself contemplating my DAW, playing a song back and thinking : hmm, this .... is ... just ok. No this sucks, i shouldn't share this with anyone. From time to time, i am really satisfied and proud and i know deep down i've succeeded in making a cool song. But i think i'm just not as good as i think i am as a songwriter.
Try letting someone else provide some production/arrangement, you might be surprised at how good your songs really sound.
+Chris Martin Yea. Hard to tell without listening to a sample, but it's definitely true that a lot of great songs shine due to arrangement. If you only play the melody and chords, it's thoroughly unimpressive.
Keep songwriting, and keep listening to your subconscious. Little by little you will get better and will end up making amazing songs. It's all practice!
+Chris Martin is that what you do with all the songs you write for coldplay?
Always try to learn from your mistakes and you'll always keep improving
"Just get better"
Haha love it!
The only correct awnser is "ok" ;)
Just work at getting better.
emphasis on the "work" part. It takes a lot of work to get good at anything
Git gud scrub!
I've been working as a composer, singer/songwriter, arranger and producer since 1998, but even to this day my weakest area is arranging. Even with a record deal and working with major labels, I've always had issues figuring out how my songs should be arranged. That's not as easy as people think it is.
Thank you, Graham. Thank you for having the courage to say what many of us don't want to say to our fans sometimes. It's hard to convey this in a way that is still motivating to people and you nailed it.
I love this kind of humility and honesty. The reality is that in my church all of us are in need of improvement but if I were to say this I would be considered ungodly, hurtful or critical. I find human nature so difficult to deal with.
I know I'm not a good singer. That's why I write and record instrumentals.
Don't overlook the option of finding good singers in your area, or even long distance via some of the online resources out there nowadays. Collaboration sometimes gives you something even better you never expected.
Online gives you a big hunting ground. Might not be a good singer living on your street. The question then is to get the talented singer interested. Then you need good work to present.
Or... you could hire a singer and make an investment in your work. ^_^
Singers that can't or wont play need musicians who do so it's mutual, just ask.
Delandon Drake That's fresh.
I was really struggling to get the guitars right in a song but now I think should call a friend.
it's funny that you're talking about this now cause I'm just reading this in "Zen and the art of recording" by Mixerman. He says the exact same thing.
I just picked up a copy! Is it insightful?
+jgilmer it's more than insightful.
awesome! i cant wait to start it!
+jgilmer get his other 2 books too, they go hand in hand. The art of mixing and the art of producing
thank's for the honesty, I've made the choice of working on my craft 6 months ago and I'm seing great results! It all comes down to being honest with yourself and work at it, if you love it you'll find a way to get through the tough times, don't give up
I remember myself a few years back. Had no idea how to do a decent guitar recording, both as far as technique and gear is concerned. Did not even have an audio interface :D After making a total catastrophe recording, I tried to look up tricks how to "transform" it into something better, something you can hear on records. You can guess the results... :D
I'm glad I found and started following and learning from channels like yours Graham. No exaggeration there, *90%* of the tricks I'm using today I learned from you.
Funniest thing is, that I have all my recordings and mixes from the last ca. 10 years. Sometimes I listen to them year by year, and the development there is HUGE! :O It always cheers me up, it always tells me, I'm on the right path :) Thanks ;)
Between your videos and being new to the recording world I’ve come to learn I have a lot of work ahead of me. Thank you for what you do with these videos. They have been a great help for me personally.
one thing i need to disagree with... something about tracks. you say that sometimes people record tracks that are boring. it's your perspective. every musician do what he feels best for him, not what he feels best for money. many of most known musicians through the centuries wrote down what they wanted to write and most of them died anonymously. now they're great composers. i hope you know what i was saying. some minor tweaks between tone and overall build of track - yes. saying that this guy should set the tone like we like and build the track like we like? this is killing a musicianship in people and putting them into pop scheme
If the song sucks in Graham's opinion...the song is probably not good; a song is supposed sound good
He never said to write "pop" music. He said that you have to write a song that compels the listener, and for that matter, you are the one that decides if the song is good enough, not the mainstream population. He made it pretty clear that HE was the one that said the song wasn't "good enough" to release. There are other listeners other than "Mainstream Pop Rock" people.
So.... ya kinda just wasted a little time there didn't you?@_@
That's also your opinion
There is one fundamental difference between amateur and professional musicians. The amateur understands that art is subjective. The professional understands subjectivity but also knows that doesn't mean there are no standards.
+calohtar If you don't measure your music up to some kind of metrics within a coherent and compelling artistic vision, you will never make music that gets any further than being "weird" or "annoying." You're free to develop your own sense of aesthetics, but there has to be some sort of reason to the madnesses. I swear a ton of people just do some random knob tweaking and expect others to enjoy it. That's not how humans work.
Such an accurate reality check - watched it again today after first watching a year ago and once again got me motivated to keep working hard.
It still baffles me why people love formulaic pop music, some new songs I hear on the radio have literally nothing original in them and they still sell millions... I guess image is half of music and people love patterns. I enjoy rougher mixes though, super polished productions are a turn off! Thanks for the vids Graeme!
I'm so happy to see this comment because, I went through the same thing. What I think I found out gave me a whole different perspective on music.
If someone says a sentence to you, your mind breaks down the sentence sound by sound and makes sense of it. I think we do the same thing with music. I was studying the original musicians until now and If you look at most of the songs that really stuck, they are super simple. There were a lot of legends that had songs that no one really paid attention too because they were really complex. And when you play music, there are certain sounds that go together and others that just don't. But, the complexity plays a huge role in how easy feeling it is to take in a song. I don't know if the way I said this makes any sense but, it was one of those rabbit hole type things you start looking into. If I am right then, it is pretty interesting and like a map on how to make songs specifically for fame and fortune instead of actual content and skill. *Cough* Nickelback, Justin Beiber, a ton of rap and R&b songs, almost all pop *cough*
You simply will NEVER get it.
What about Dire Straits or the Police?
One of my friends at Sony blessed me with some great advice. "There is no such thing as a hit or a great song. It is the marketing force that makes the song hot. Some songs are so dumb, once it is played over and over on the right platforms then it becomes popular."
Many of these songs show truth in that.....
If you keep frowning upon Pop music then I'm afraid you are only stunting your success. Sure you can create music that you enjoy, however, if you trying to impress the listener then you have to know what sounds good a casual listener. There is a reason why the most popular songs are so popular. And no. It's not marketing. Those who say marketing is the biggest factor are just kidding themselves and won't admit the truth- their music is crap.
I've listened to countless people give me that "it's just marketing or repetition or some bullshit in order to create a good song" but whenever I listen to their song its complete rubbish. Sorry to burst your bubble. If you want to create music that people listen to then learn to make good music. And stop kidding yourselves that music is subjective. You are only stunting your growth.
After much toiling, I have realized that paying a professional audio engineer to mix my music was the best route. May be there are some folks who can mix their own songs, but after attempting to mix music on my own, I have just ran into too many issues and I would rather focus my time on playing the piano and synthesizers and becoming a better composer. I have utmost respect for you Graham, and other mix engineers and it truly is a separate unique skill like say, learning to play an instrument.
I make music as a serious hobby and I want my music to sound good and not be an ugly harsh experience because I tried mixing my own song and I didn't know what I was doing. One really needs good training, experience and proper equipment to mix music correctly. I also looked at all the cds from my favorite bands like Orbital, Juno Reactor, Underworld etc., they all had professionals who were not in the group mix their music. So if people who are a 1,000 times more talented than me work with an audio engineer, then I probably should. I don't mean to ramble, but mixing is really tough and and it is deciptively simple. Every song is a unique challenge, so I'd rather pay $500 per song and get the job done right and plus I can sleep well at night lol.
"Collaborate with people"
That moment when no one wants to collab
Facts.
Yep almost nobody is reliable
Being a musician for the past 15 years of my life (since I was 12), I know that I'm nowhere near where I'm supposed to be. Mostly due to laziness (I accept this lol), but now that I'm headed into graduate school and realize that yes music is going to be apart of my life, this video definitely hits home. I subscribed to you because I wanted to put my college degree to use and get started setting up a small studio when I move out.
This video though, it's humbling. I am terrible working in groups. Either the atmosphere is bad or the people don't care. I tend to do everything myself. However, finally growing up, I'm accepting my limitations and breaking them lol I know what I need to do and where I need to go, and I have you to thank for turning on that light!
There are a lot of components to this that ring true... there is also another scenario that Graham has only touched on briefly and that is some song come together like the snap of your fingers, other songs seem to take forever to get right. Some songs from inception to mixdown and mastering, the energy is there, the performance was natural and unforced and very little editing is required... Other songs, and these songs can be right before or right after that song that came together like the snap of your fingers... those other songs can sometimes seem like pushing against the ocean just to get one particular track laid down in a manner at gives you something to work with.
That's why some songs, even some of the best work I have done came out from inception to mixdown and master in less than a week. And there are some that even right now, sit incomplete because of the one track that has so far taken 150+ takes and still the magic isn't there. You can practice all you want, you can prepare all you want and you can have all the talent you want but you still have to nail the performance and induce that energy into the song. Without it.... static noise becomes more entertaining to listen to....
I wonder if it's not the musician speaking here?
it's actually a little bit of both, I have seen it happen with my own material as well as with others. whether or not I am in the role of musician, engineer or post production... I have seen projects where the energy was prevalent and captured quickly and I have seen projects where everything was a struggle to match up and even projects where everything was laid down just right except the lead vocal or the guitar solo or keyboard break just didn't get that "hit the nail on the head" type of performance.
I have also found that when you don't have a built up level of trust between performer and engineer, if for no other reason than they just don't know each other... it makes it rather difficult for the engineer to act like a producer... the way a movie director would tell an actor "okay, that was great... now try that line with this kind of emphasis"
When you don't have that kind of exchange going... its hard to hammer the music into the proper shape.
The artist after all must be as open to the interpretation of that specific phrase or riff as the engineer and/or producer has to be open to the type of sound or imagery the artist is trying to lay down.
The problem is, many of the typical DIY musician who has an interface and a daw doesn't have that kind of objective feedback or perspective. Which is why that arrangement or performance or recording can and most often time does in fact suck! :P
Thomas Ferraro Agree that DIY need feedback and not to be offended by complementary criticism.
This is so true! I'm working on a project now and I thought the songs were too weak. I took them to an independent producer and they magically came to life. I recorded what I do well, guitars, vocal and occassional bass and then let him do the rest. What a transformation!
Success requires humility.
A mandatory lecture which needs to be heard, over and over again (including myself). So many thanks for this video.
I 100% agree with this video.
Thank you Graham, your videos are amazing. After the last webinar class we had, my mixing techniques have being amazingly outstanding. I was a complete novice to mixing, but now I just mixed a song for a friend that had 500 downloads in less than 24hours. For me that's a great achievement. Thank you Graham, you are my brother from another mother. All the way from Nigeria, peace
Absolutely correct. It all starts with the song. If the song sucks, the project is destined for failure. If its a good song, make sure you record it properly. Good gain staging (critical), and make sure the performance(s) and/or programming is exceptional. Well recorded audio practically mixes itself. That's not an exaggeration. Know what to cut out of the mix and what to leave in, also. To make room for a vocal line, you may have to completely omit from the song that cool synth bed that isn't NECESSARY for the track. Shit like this is important. When you're cooking you can't just empty your fridge and cupboards into the pot. In my experience, knowing what to cut out of a song to make room for other stuff is almost as important as being able to use an equalizer.
Thank you for making this video. I found myself trying to explain this same thing to endless friends who don't seem to get that truth, next time I'll send them here. :D
How dare you to tell me I'm a bad guitar player? I reported this for hate speech and now tell me which plugin I need to make my beats sound lit.
Just kidding, thanks for the video. I'll try to collaborate with other musicians
You are sooooooo right.
I am a 70 y/o musician from Argentina. My parents saw my talent at a very young age and sent me to learn how to play piano and guitar, I was 6 y/o then. At 12 I jump into bass and drums. I wasn't a virtuoso, but good enough to play with local bands. I've started my humble home studio experience in 1985 doing sequences (tracks) for single vocalist and bands with low budgets to be able to afford a pro recording studio. Back then there were no computers or Daw's, plugins etc, and because of my budget I only have a four track stereo cassette recorder where I have to bounce tracks like crazy. I thought my recordings were horrible but my "clients" like them, then I met a local recording engineer and show him my stuff, he told me, to my surprise, that my rec wasn't as bad as I thought, EQ and mixing was good enough considering the gear I was using, the problem was because of everything you spoke about in this video so, thank you again my friend from all of us.
Chic Corea said: The moment you think you know everything and you are the best, at that moment you are done, you just stop growing.
Ooooh is that a new intro?
Hello, thanks for all the hard work!! I am one of those Jack of all trades kinda guy, but I have been severely lyrically challenged since the beginning. I've been doing this for a long time and have never become a virtuoso of anything, I do hold my own and have played with many a great musician. I am glad that I have been able to have many awesome peers and have been a little surprised that they have enjoyed playing with me. todays messages is so valuable and not only do I appreciate it, i really hope many listeners take it to heart as so much time can be waisted.
Thanks so much Recording Revolution.
You sir, are a brutal brotha
I was thinking about this last couple weeks and understood that I need to stop watching "How to mix a song" videos until I'll records something really good. Because I can watch all those videos about mixing, but I have nothing to mix.
I can strongly recommend Duelling Mixes project for a great reason (and it's not mixing): you can listen to each track separately and understand, what do you need. So you can hear: OK, here's just 2 guitars and a bass, then drums starts, then everything without the bass, then some solo without riffs. And maybe some other resources (I won't make any ad here) where you can look at raw tracks and understand, that actually you don't need to much to make a song. Just write songs, records them, again, again, again and some day your mixes/songs would be great.
Thanks a lot, Graham. This video is just perfect (and I really watched it up to the end) :)
He's speaking gospel here & he's actually holding back from being more honest: the most of you will get no better & will always suck or at least remain in the sucky regions.
Hey Graham, great video! This channel has helped me quite a bit. Being, sometimes brutally, honest with ourselves is the only way to learn.
I can say that where my strengths as a musician is in writing. I love writing riffs and then turning them into songs. I mean I'm still working on it but I love that part. However, when it comes to engineering, I'm still struggling. Especially since the amount of programs and plug-ins now has grown so much. I love tweeking things after recording them but getting it to sound "professional" has been a weakness of mine.
I have a little makeshift studio in my apartment. It's my laptop, Logic Pro X, some keyboards, and my guitars. I have always used headphones and have never owned a set of speakers for music recording.
Right now, I'm working on learning compression. It's really frustrating because I don't yet have an ear for it. I really don't understand or hear the difference.
Another weakness is singing for me. I have songs and lyrics but am reluctant to sing. I've never recorded my voice in any professional way. I am now looking at microphones though.
Anyway, I guess I'm just curious what other people's experiences are.
I agree and disagree with his sediment because music and art. It I s a matter of preference one mans trash is another mans treasure. There are many pop singers on the radio who voices and songs put me to sleep or make me want to cover my ears. It comes down to taste. I can play an animals as leaders track to a room full of pop fans and I guarantee most of them will walk out of the room because the song has complex instrumentation and no Singing. I personally enjoy progressive metal and simple generic Deathcore and Metalcore. Just think if we all had generic cookie cutter sound that everyone wants there we would need only one band. Look I'm glade we have weird vocalist like that lead singer from smashing pumpkins. It makes the music experience exciting.
Hey Graham,
first of all, I love what you are doing, what you are offering to us/to the world and the way you teach. Even though I might have to catch up at times (like now) because I don't have enough time for music lately, I still read every single email you send out and watch every video trying to learn as much as I can from you. And the fact that you encourage us to answer your questions, forces us to think critically about ourselves and reflect on what we are doing. You are a natural teacher and you are inspiring me to keep making music, to pursue my dreams and to keep working on my skills.
Thanks a lot for these true words. You're right, we gotta be critical with ourselves and, most importantly, we gotta be honest! As much as we don't wanna hear where we suck at, we gotta face it eventually.
So imma reflected on my flaws:
1. I'm a little too much of a perfectionist and stand in my own way with this sometimes. I never get my stuff out, because I'm never satisfied. There is always a little thing that "needs to be fixed". If it isn't fixed, I keep hearing this "mistake" everytime I hear my recording and even though it may be just a little intonation, it drives me nuts. I always want things to be perfect, but the truth is it will never be perfect. I think you and Joe talked about this too on the Simply Recording Podcast.
--> I need to learn to let go of some things, like you said, finish it and move on! That's the only way to improve yourself. Learn from your mistakes, but MOVE ON!
2. On top of that, I'm really too lazy to go back to the recording and "fix" things, so I keep postponing it in fear of it being too much work (like almost everything in my life).
--> I gotta kick my ass and get things done instead of postponing it (advise for life).
3. My performance is not at the level I want it to be. I'm a singer, songwriter and a "wanna-be-rapper" (for now) and not too long ago I started to make my own instrumental beats. My goal is to get my songs recorded without depending on others (that's the reason I started home recording). I'm really satisfied with my lyrics, my arrangements, and I love my choirs, these are things I'm good at. But I'm still struggling with my lead performances and at times my rap performances as well. Sometimes I'm not on point when I'm recording, I tend to be too quick. Sometimes I just didn't practice enough and I don't have the lyrics in my head, so I struggle with reading them rather than focusing on the performance and feeling of the song. And honestly, sometimes I'm afraid to perform a certain way (the way I hear it in my head) like belting loud, or shout or something, although it would fit the song (I guess I'm afraid my neighbors are going to hear it, lol).
--> I need to improve my performance skillz and be more confident.
4. I have to admit that I'm not entirely familiar with my DAW (logic 9) yet and this can be a pain in the ass. Sometimes I even struggle at the recording phase, cause I can't get the voice loud enough on my headphones without turning up the track fader to the point where it starts clipping (really gotta figure that out in my DAW). And I still have to look up things, if I want a certain effect for example, and this is time consuming and sometimes frustrating if you can't find what you are looking for.
--> As you said over and over again, I need to know my DAW. So I gotta invest more time to learn how it works.
5. Plus I'm also that kind of person that gets lost on youtube and after watching a bunch of videos I remember that initially I wanted to look for something totally different (like you and Joe said on the Simply Recording Podcast, getting lost on the net, it reminded me of myself).
--> I have to focus more on what I need to get my song forward and stop when I realize I'm distracting myself.
6. I spend too much time alone in the studio. Usually it's only me in the home studio. When I think back to when I collaborated with others, this was awesome. You are inspiring each other, giving each other input and new ideas, and having a lot of fun. And at the end of the day you feel you really accomplished and created something together.
--> You mentioned it in this video, I gotta collaborate more with others cause this means new inspiration, valuable experiences, building new relationships, expanding your music network - all very critical things that make you more professional.
And here's what I started to do in order to help me get better performances, maybe it can help others who read this too:
I try to make a pre-recording of the song I have in my head. Usually, I record the lead vocals, so I record the melody/the flow and the words to get the basic of how the song goes. Then I focus on the choir more until I'm satisfied with it. So I basically treat the choir part as an instrument and embed it in the instrumental, making a quick raw mix of this recording session. I export it as an mp3 and put it on my phone. Whenever I'm heading out somewhere, I listen to the songs over and over again. By doing that, I'm not only recognizing what needs to be "fixed" in the track, but I learn the lyrics by heart and I get to figure out how to perform which part of the song. And sometimes I get some additional ideas of add lips or a certain effect I want to put in etc.
And then I just need to get back to the song for the lead part and can focus on the performance (instead of reading the lyrics). And since the choir is also recorded already, I get more into the song and I can dive in.
Other than that, I try to constantly improve my performance skills, so I'll sing every chance I get to train my voice. I'm lead singer of a band, I'm in a gospel choir, and recently I joined a musical production just to expand my horizon and practice, practice, practice.
But I haven't figured out how I can improve my rap skills, other than just practicing my raps over and over again. Maybe somebody has an advice for that.
Well, that's a looooong comment, but as detailed as I could be. Sorry for the long post tho. And thanks again for all your content, teaching, tipps, tricks, inspirations and all of that! You are awesome!
Yo, I was an "atheist" when I started music production and the incompetent tracks I had made were the worst electronic music I've heard during that time. During my journey into becoming a born again Catholic, God helped me with my music and He set me on the right path. Praise the Lord. I could have never imagined to get where I am now back in 2011 if it weren't for God's help. So this is one crucial, most important advice I can give you. Do you not think the Maker who created sound waves would give you the ability of music production? Go pray and repent before the year of #DivineMercy ends this 20th. Make music to glorify Him and don't create abominations like the mainstream shill cockroaches.
To Christ Be The Glory is this a joke?
Just came across this channel, and y'know I've had a lot of sage advice over the years. One being that, if you see someone come at you claiming to help saying "you are the problem" your helper is most usually the ones that are the problems themselves. A bit of the pot calling the kettle black so to speak.
The truth is recording/engineering/mixing is a steep climb for some people, for others not so much and it just comes quicker. But as a engineer/mixer usually you can't tell a musician "The song sucks, theirs no helping it." your role is to get the best mix and sound that can be squeezed out of it as much as possible. Any and every song ever written can be improved some how or some way. And one mans piece of trash is another man's pearl.
I've heard songs on the radio many in recent years actually, that I've felt had no business ever being recorded, yet there they are with top notch pristine production values. And even though in my opinion the song might "suck" and there is nothing that can be done to save it. Obviously, some people out there like it.
If a band or a musician isn't happy with the songs they will work on it until they are content with it. And if they don't care, you probably shouldn't care either because they don't want it bad enough and won't be in the business long anyway. Those are the same people that want or will be holding down a job at Walmart,over their band or music career because the fire for their music isn't happening. And thats their free will and choice to make.
So next time somebody comes at you asking for advice on mixing because the song in question happens to be Slipknot 2.0 and maybe thats not your thing. Maybe you should speak up about areas of the recording you'd improve instead of saying the song sucks.
Because while brutal honesty is welcome. Negativity framed as honesty or otherwise is poison to your soul.
And not only will you find yourself happier for rejecting those thoughts. You will be a better mixer/engineer AND musician for it.
The best musicians are the most tolerant of other peoples work.
Graham, thanks for this absolutely killer post! As bedroom producers, we often spend way too long struggling with trying to make amazing music right out of the gate and completely solo! Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate. Keep making new music! Excellent and much needed advice!
Hey Graham, great video!
A month or two ago I realised that I was letting out the tonal stuff from my tracks. Not intentionally, just because I was diving into designing, shaping and mangling sounds. And I realised that most of the music I like had some kind of melodic or tonal interesting content, and I've always known that my weakest point was my melodies and harmonies.
So I dedicated the last 1½ week of June to just getting better at playing my keys, programming nice synths that were interesting instruments to play with, and I really gained a lot from that process. I'll definitely work more on improving my weaknesses.
If you realise that you could improve on an aspect, then the only way to get better is to use the time to practice it.
When you know that you're not where you want to be with it, it can be hard to start working on it. Just get going and experiment, play, find the fun in it and it will be worth every hour you put into getting better.
As far as I can tell, Graham gives the best advice and he's incredibly knowledgeable about mixing/mastering. I've taken a couple of his courses and I've improved a lot, but I am NOWHERE near where I want to be. In a year or two I should be close. This video has REALLY solid advice. I know I will improve over time and I plan on eventually turning making music into a career.
An old friend of mine named Harlan Howard once said, "Country music is just three chords and the truth." (To me, the most important part is the truth.) You have told the truth here, sir. I'm new to digital recording at home and I will be seeking your sage advice through your videos. Thank you, so much. - Donnie B.
Thank you! This is something that just needed to be said and told to me and many of my friends who are musicians, artist, bands, engineers, hobbyist. I truly appreciate your honesty, it means a lot
As for me, I grew up as a drummer, dabbled in guitar, bass, and keys. I got into a car accident and always blamed my injuries on my poor playing, but I realized that I just don't want to be a musician, I don't want to play drums or anything else though it has given me so many opportunities and awards and allowed me to experience the world. I am not a good instrumentalist, but I love recording and mixing. So now I fix instruments, I help my clients arrange better parts for their songs, but I barely play, and that's okay. I'll always get someone else who loves playing and is way better than me to join me and work on a track or an album together. It's a better experience and always way more fun and beautiful to create with others.
But again, as always, thank you for all that you do!
Oh man, I'm glad someone spoke the truth! We live in a world where you're only supposed to say good things because someone's feelings might get hurt, but it's hard to improve that way. I applaud you for your total honestly. That being said, equipment does also make a difference in your recordings, if you want to start reaching pro quality levels. In fact, mixing becomes a lot easier when you record good sources with good equipment, as I've recently found out. I recently built a new mic and bought a good preamp (Tonebeast) and my vocals sit much better in the mix and approach that pro quality level we're all reaching for. Oh, and good sound treatment is also very important. So yeah, good songwriting, good performances and good recordings with good equipment is the key to getting that pro sound. Easier said than done :)
The best video I've ever watched in 2016. I got my head over how bad my mix sounded and now it all make sense. I'm ready to have a great mix for many reasons. Thanks for every word and thats means a lot cuz you put it in a way that makes me improve my "everything".
Well put. I'm a staff songwriter, I've been with Warner Chappell for close to 30 years. I knew my voice was mediocre at best, and knew if i wasn't honest with myself, I'd be living in a dream world, like most creative people who want to succeed in their creative endeavors. If your not clear, and honest about your skills, your, your own worst enemy. I debated starting with home recording, I'm not a producer, nor am I an engineer, I'm a songwriter. At times when Im working, I'm tempted to play producer, but, it's ridiculous, I'm a songwriter, and thats it. I appreciate your honesty.
If your lucky enough to have honed and developed any one skill, say as an Engineer, Producer, Guitar player, Songwriter, Singer, consider yourself lucky and blessed.
Do what you do best, focus on that, and you'll have a better shot at working. Good Luck!!
Your honesty is refreshing
Great video Graham! Really like how you got to the root of issue rather than applying a quick fix.
I really dig your approach here Graham. I also wanna thank you for your approach in general. Ive learned a lot from you over the past year through DM and just your free content. You're a true educator and I believe you do it because you have a strong passion for it, which keeps me coming back.
Glad someone with a big audience is finally saying this shit so a ton can people can hear it. Thank you lord.
I respect and understand this bc I've actually just recently taken a step back myself and reconsidered how unsatisfied I was with my skills as an actual songwriter rather than just a player/singer, I decided if there's any specific aspect I want to be best at, it's the songwriting itself. Now I believe production should just be the icing to the cake.
It's true. You can create recordings all by yourself now. One of the most powerful lessons I learned was when I pieced together a great guitar solo from a variety of takes. I liked the end result but it sounded "flat" to me. Not intonation, just flat. I spent a couple of days practicing the "edited" solo, then re-recorded the whole thing. Result was MUCH better! The lesson: machines can get you 80% the way there, but that last 20% really matters!
It is! The real "trick" to get the best sound, is the most basic of all: good songs, well arranged, played by wonderful musicians. I had this "discovery" several years ago and completely changed my life. It was a difficult process of acceptance when I realized that I was better sound engineer than a musician! Once I realized the benefits of partnerships, I was glad to have found my place. Since then, I was fortunate to work with extremely talented musicians. Today is my profession, music production and live sound engineering. Thanks for clear and honest way you passed that message.
This is the best most honest and necessary video I've seen in my search for advice as I write and record. Lots of good ideas here. Thanks!
Ive Been playing drums for 5 years as a hobby and i do know quite alot of programming drums and then ive trained My ears to find out what keys go great together
100% agreed. I eventually learned it the hard way, but these things take time.
Started doing audio in 2012, and started writing and recording music around 2013. I was awful at writing, and eventually got too busy learning how to properly record while in college.
Once I nailed the recording and mixing process, I transitioned back into writing again (around 2016ish). I still need work on transitions and singing, but the quality in everything is phenomenal! It took years to get here, but it's well worth it and I LOVE being able to create and being happy with the sound.
Hi Graham,
It's great to be back on UA-cam after being away for approximately two years. I'm glad that I checked out your channel. You are giving some good, solid advice my friend. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your videos. Cheers!
I am already collaborating with my wife and it seems we would need a bassist and a drummer because let's face it, eventhough you can write a decent midimap for vst it will never sound as musical as a real performance. It is a huge step for me to admit that I can't make a song I want only with my wife. Graham I have enjoyed your videos and admired your teaching skills and philosophy behind making a song(I have even tried to apply it in to my everyday life) :) My mixes are getting better and I'm now getting more positive feedback thanks to you. Keep up the good work!
Yesterday I have found my old mp3 player with my old songs on it (2010ish era). At the time I didn't play any instruments, most of the stuff is either sampled or performed by a keyboardist and what I can see, the quality of the songs has risen as I got better at arranging and communicating to my fellow musicians how they should play the stuff.
Today, I still suck at playing any instrument and I don't even bother playing/learning to play anymore, because I have some awesome musicians at disposal. I'm still not even 50% confident in my song-writing but I definitely see progress with time...
Spot on Graham !!!! I had the opposite experience of yours. I listened to my old recordings (70s) and I was so much better then. After being out of the music scene for 30 years, my voice is lackluster, my guitar playing is sloppy and I forgot how to be an "entertainer". Yes, I am leaning the new digital recording methods BUT I am also taking vocal training, guitar training and practicing a lot. I suck at songwriting (I mostly do covers of old country and folk music) so I am going to New Zealand for two weeks with a gifted poet and singer to collaborate on (and learn from) her songs.
You are right, if you record junk, nothing will fix it.
Thanks, Brother !
Easily the most important Recording Rev video out there. Thank you, Graham.
Thank you so much for this video. People need to hear this for clarity. This just helped me focus on my shortcomings. Ive been the musician in projects but never really the arranger or mixer and Ive been chipping away and learning everything I could. Your channel and many others have given me so much faith and encouragement. Keep on keepin' on! Peace and Blessings!
Graham, you sir, are the man! It has taken me 10 years to figure this out. I hope your video help those aspiring musicians and engineers! This video is 100% true. A great song should sound great without plugins or effects.Thanks again Graham!
My production techniques vastly improved after I dumped all those VST's I didn't really understand. I exchanged them all for 2 VST's I now repeatedly use throughout my songs and they're all different and sound a lot better than what I used to do. It's not perfect yet, not even close, but I'm improving vastly. Thanks for pointing this all out!
This looks like videoresponse to mail, which I've sent to Graham last week ;D
I was writing, that It took me almost 3 years to realize that I suck in playing guitars and singing. Collaborations and looking outside my comfort zone saved my music life and brought back my love for making music.
I'm starting to apreciate you as a brother. Thank you for your honesty, charisma and of course your Knowledge.
I'm a professional guitar player with more than 2 decades of experience and if someone needs guitar tracking I'm also your brother and I'm here to help!
Old Vid... but still relevant. Most of us need to hear this in one form or another. Thank you my Brotha
Another inspiring vid - and It's true... After 20 years+ of persistence, learning and developing my craft, I still feel there's much to learn as a songwriter/arranger/producer in practice and I'm still not 'there' yet, despite having all the tools and studio I need. I suspect lack of collaboration in recent years has been a factor. All my (limited) successes in the past have been collaborations with talented musicians. Left to my own devices, I tend to begin lots of projects but rarely finish them. Sometimes I get close but often 'overdo' it and then lose focus and motivation. With partnerships and collaborators you feel a lot more motivated and don't want to let them down. So you have no choice but to do the work and get the job done! I tend to spend far too much time playing with tech and plugins (and learning more and more...) and not disciplining myself to actually crack on and make the music! Actual practice is key. Your recent video re. mindset and setting a deadline was also helpful advice. With family and a busy job it gets hard to find the time... I'm now finding that setting a deadline and spending even just an hour or so every other day helps make real progress. Thanks again and really enjoying the channel!
It's true Graham! I'm glad that you talked about the hurdle of pride, but that it always leads to better satisfaction in the end! I love working with others, because truly a good song written out of collaboration is greater than the sum of its parts! keep up the great work! 👍
Right on with your comments, for me it is a little different I have been playing with some of the greatest players, my main problems was to understand how to make a studio ot live recording sound as good as what we sounded live or recording. Many Radio shows or studio recordings made our instruments sound very different. Today I have learn and still learning how to prepare a Mix for mastering. I have to thank Bob Katz for his contribution to help people like me. I really did appreciate your comments because it is true, I still wish to find out more about what meters do you recommend to help not only listen and ear but to have a double precision visual knowledge of a good Pre-master Mix. ie: Bx-meter - Vu-Meter - Spectrum meter - Frequencies meter and so On still slowly learning how to use these tools. I use PC 64x Win 7 Sonar Platinum with RME UFX - waiting to hear from you. Thank You
I find this video to be in perfect time- as I was banging my head against the wall with a current project - everything was tight guitars and drums sounded magical but my vocal performance sucked- and even before watching this video I had already pushed out my project for collaboration with a actual vocalist. Thanks boss, the hard truth is better than feel good back rubs.
Hi, I'm Ankit. Raised and bred in a place where taking Music seriously was laughed at and still is. I've grown upto be 29 yrs old and when I look back I think why did I never make extra efforts out of my regular job time to hon a skill like Vocal/Songwriting/Producing! Now when I think of how soon all these years went by, and how little knowledge I have on songwriting and how naïve I sound as a vocalist or how novice I am as a music producer(I just got started with basics, recently) I think wow, now this is going to take about good 10 years (by the time I'll be 39!) before I could even showcase or release any of my tracks on international level!
But then I also look at other artists who made it late in life so maybe sooner or later, but I want to be able to deliver that pro quality out from my track, but just don't know how to manage it all while in a job, living with 5-6 roomies in 1 small house!
Any thoughts/suggestions on this would be much appreciated!
Love,
Ankieth
This was a great, necessary and HONEST commentary on those wishing to get better. I think you hit the nail right on the head with this one. For me, I've come a long with my songwriting (probably what I would say is my greatest strength), and after listening to your advice, I would say my greatest area(s) of improvement are my vocal performance, and my instrumentation arrangements. Thank you for making this video! I feel it will help a lot of people approach their craft with a little bit more insight and confidence! Thanks!
This is the the BEST and most helpful recording advise I've yet heard on YT!
Brutal honesty is the way to go.. plus an advantage of being a recording hobbyist is that when we are honest with ourselves, we have the living proof right there in our recordings. We have the opportunity to pick it apart and realize exactly what we need to improve on!
Great insight Graham, Ive found that same feeling at times. I m a skilled tradesman but have played piano for many years and love to write. My budget is cheap only using a laptop and interface. What I do with my boards is very inspiring and its fun to just play. I use cakewalk pro for recording and have written many many tunes and some are just par and some are very good. I get it....on my page I just play what I feel at times and other times I do a little homework and practice my material. with that said youre spot on...the truth is you really know what you have to. Jazz pianist Kenny Werner would say the same thing "you know what you need to work on". You wouldnt try something new at a gig until its been executed and polished at home. Thanks again.
Such an honest video. I love it! I'm a multi-musician, drums, bass, guitar, keyboard, singing, not necessarily in that order, but my HUGE weakness is arranging and songwriting. I can play instruments all day long but songwriting is where I fall majorly short, big time lol!
You're right.. I realized it to myself before. That is why I am always asking my friends to collaborate ☺️ and it worked. I am not really good in techniques on mixing, but I could say that my music covers are getting better because I'm practicing too much in playing my instruments, and ask someone to sing for my covers. Yes, it gets easier, simpler, and better.
I thought the problem was me, but after watching your video i realized that i have been saying the same thing to the people that come record at my home studio. Every time i tell them that they need to perform better and work on their timing, they get angry and start blaming my engineering/mixing. Thank You for pointing this out, now i feel more confident about my work.
you know what man, let me tell you something, you nailed it. it is very very very true all what you said. it is the reality that a lot of people ignore and they go buy more plugins and more stuff. The song is what really really essential, mixing and mastering come easy after. I just wanna write this to thank you for your honesty, good bless you and good luck man
100% agreed. I have learnt a lot from your tutorials. And after 8 years I firmly believe the same what you taught here Graham. Song and musicianship are the main ingredients for a good recording and mixes. Still learning my crafts
Getting SO many golden nuggets from your channel..You are a god send...
Hello. I'm just starting out with recording and I'm very thankful that I discovered your videos. I am sure this is going to help me in the long run. I'm a drummer myself but I really love recording, mixing for my friends and other people. Thank you for the great advice brother :)
Good message! I never regretted the occasions where I invited friends into a project, be it drummers, singers, guitarists. They do a better job than me :-)
Gosh I love that intro. Smoother than butter-smeared jazz.
Graham is right, it makes me feel so much better about my decision this year. I've stepped down from writing and working on new songs in the DAW and instead I've been just training singing and working on the live sound of the mediocre stuff I already had. Last demo I recorderd after more than 8 monhts of break was just that much easier to record and sounded that much better. Just train. Devote time to it. You can learn anything if you really want to. Just be patient, don't give up, keep on working hard. If you can do something great live, everything just comes together when you recorded, like ranch sauce in a salad.
Thanks for sharing Graham. A little painful at first, but I found it inspiring as well. I'm definitely going to seek our more collaboration.
I love to see things like this, taking the courage to say things people don't like to hear. Music today sucks. All I hear and see is "I want my music to be punchier", "I have a rock attitude", "Thant's so cool!", "I AM A BEATMAKER, YOU KNOW", and fashion, and pose, and loudness competition and so on.... and behind all that I don't see people making any effort for achieveing actual composition skills, for cultivating a personal expression.
Well said, Graham. Songwriting and arranging are my strengths. I learned enough about mixing (largely thanks to your channel) to make my own showcase demo, with the intent to collaborate with others.
I really appreciate you Graham. Little by little i am learning how to mix and record correctly and you have really helped me do start my musician journey. I am still trying to learn how to properly write a song but now i will be definitely collaborating to take someone's song and record it and do what i can with it.
Great tough love delivered in a kind way. Thanks, it made me reflect on my current weaknesses (vocal performance in particular). There's no shame in it - when we signed up to be musicians, we signed up for continual improvement. Love your videos :)
Ah I such a great truth. Thank You from the soul I just never figured what's going on even using great emulated plugins, parallal compression, spending days, weeks on mixing just now realized you really really need to focus on good tune, vocal, instrumentation, music pieces, the whole arrangement. It really helped Graham Thank You.
As an amateur classical musician (oboe) I find it funny that you even need to say this! Acoustic instrumentalists live for practicing and working towards goals that seem ever elusive! I only started blaming the microphone when every other option was exhausted, and I only began to work with EQ after I realized that it's OK for the microphone to be less than perfect for my instrument.
That is true what Graham said. It is important to master your craft and develop yourself as musician. Live the life as one and improve. No one is ever gonna learn everything that's out there. Everyone excels at different things and everyone prefers one thing over the other. Some love songwriting, some love designing sounds, some love performing with an instrument. Find what interests you the most. Learn it, practice it, master it.
I agree about the 'sucky' songs, but I have found tremendous value in them over the years.
As an artist there are times when you create material that you're not proud of or that isnt up to your standards. But music is art, and art must be fleshed out. And its in this 'fleshing out' process that a lot is learned about songwriting, arranging, etc. So over time I have learned to finish all of my songs, each one is a unique piece of art and each offers lessons to be learned about creating music and songwriting.
Thanks for your videos!
Awesome video Graham!
I've branched off from mixing and am learning sound design and composing for film/games.
One of my teachers (I'm a music tech student in college) has been very encouraging and suggested that I might collaborate with another composer.
I wasn't quite sure how to take that advice but after watching this video, it makes total sense. After all, before virtual instruments and DAW's you learned these things by working with other human beings.
Thanks for reminding me that music is something that has to be shared and that art is a form of communication!
THANKS FOR THIS. I got so obsessed for a while with plugins, and EQ and trying to make it sound great, that I forgot about the song writing. The mixing, plugins, etc should serve the song...not the other way around. gave me a fresh perspective. cheers!