photo credit: iStockphoto

This is a guest post from Nathan Allen, head engineer at Last Drop Mastering in San Francisco, CA. He can be contacted at www.lastdropmastering.com/contact

We hear how important audio mastering is, but why? For any artist or label looking to make a career out of music, mastering is essential. In short, it’s the final (and in many ways most crucial) step of music production -the stage where dull, lifeless tracks are transformed into polished masterpieces.

The Benefits Of Using A Mastering Engineer

Being a mastering engineer requires a special ear—one that can carefully analyze a recording and make delicate adjustments to bring it to its full potential. A skilled mastering engineer is the key to creating commercially successful recordings. On the other hand, a poor mastering engineer can be responsible for diminishing the work of a quality artist. For this reason working with a seasoned mastering specialist is a necessity.

Think of mastering like cutting diamonds. Until a diamond is cut into shape, all it has is potential, and lots of it. The same is true for your music; until the right engineer polishes and finalizes your project, it’s only a fraction of what it could be.

If Your Song’s Not Mastered, Your Song’s Not Finished

These days, a lot of times either the recording studio bumps up the signal and does a quick “hot master” for artists, or the artists take care of the mastering themselves. While it is possible to achieve great results outside of a mastering facility, for the sake of your project reaching its full potential, it’s best to use the talents of a skilled mastering engineer.

The good news is that there are more super-affordable pro mastering options than ever. The proliferation of “do-it-yourself” mastering software and “budget facilities” has actually forced the old-school mastering houses to either cut their rates way back or call it quits altogether.

Gone are the days of spending $2,000-$10,000 on a stellar mastering job. You can get it done now for a fraction of that. Not only are there plenty of options, but many places will provide you with a free test song. You can’t beat a “try before you buy” offer.

Preparing Your Song For Mastering

When preparing your song for mastering, make sure you or your engineer know to leave any limiting or compression off the master track when bouncing out – basically anything that would boost the volume. What you need to provide the mastering engineer is a rough natural-dynamic mix, preferably in .WAV or .AIF format. 3 or 4dbs of headroom is ideal.

When selecting places to send a sample song to, try not to get too hung up on gear lists and even credits. While these things are definitely important, what really matters is the sample you get back.

All the gear in the world doesn’t mean a thing if you don’t know what to do with it. Hopefully their site has an upload form for easy song submission. If not, you can always safely deliver your song via www.yousendit.com.

Checking Your Mastered Track

When you receive your sample song back, compare it carefully to the original, and in a few different listening environments. Once you have made a decision on a facility, look for customer references and talk to people you know who may have worked with them previously. Pay close attention to customer service and turnaround times, as these aspects of the process should not be overlooked.

Find out their policy on revisions – it’s always good to make sure you have at least 2 included, so that you can get your project dialed in just right. Know that even with seemingly low rates, there is always room for negotiation. If you have a large project, or more on the way if all goes well, bring that to their attention during the negotiation process.

Then put together a list of notes for your project. Fade timings, song order, reference songs with a particular sound that you’re shooting for, etc. Also let them know if you need an actual red book master disc, as many bands these days just use digital downloads.

If you have a specific deadline let the facility know beforehand. Find out the best way to deliver your project to them. Many places allow you to zip up the whole thing and upload it directly to their server. Be prepared for a wait as it uploads…though hopefully it will be nothing compared to using the mail!

Finally, it’s always nice to credit the engineer and facility in your release notes. A link back to their site is always much appreciated as well.

Good luck!

photo credit: istockphoto

Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, session musician, engineer, author and owner of recording studios in Nashville, TN and Sonoma, CA. Cliff’s site, http://www.EducatedSongwriter.com, is full of resources for the aspiring songwriter and his company, http://www.NashvilleStudioLive.com, provides songwriters outside of Nashville with virtual access to Nashville’s best session musicians and singers for their songwriting demos.

You can download a FREE sample of Cliff’s eBook “The Songwriter’s Guide To Recording Professional Demos” by going to http://www.EducatedSongwriter.com/ebook.

Why do professional recordings sound, well…professional? There are a number of reasons, including high quality microphones, pre-amps, an experienced engineer and a well-designed studio space. One of the single most important elements in a great-sounding, professional recording is the performance of the session musicians. There is a reason that the job of the session musician exists. It’s these musicians whose talent and studio experience contribute in a major way to the polished sound of a recording. In this article I’ll show you how using session musicians specifically applies to songwriting demos.

Shouldn’t I Be Able To Do This Myself?

While I am a big proponent of wearing as many hats as you can in your musical career, there are certain areas where it makes much better sense to rely on experts. First of all, it’s extremely important that you take ego out of the equation. There is no shame in having someone else play on your demo.

Remember that a songwriting demo is supposed to put your song in the best possible light in order to “sell” it to prospective artists or place it in films and TV shows. It is not supposed to be proof of your studio musicianship. Recording your instrument in the studio requires an entirely different skill set than playing live.

For lack of a better description, studio recording is more like music surgery than a musical performance. While you might be comfortable playing guitar in your living room or even on a stage in front of hundreds of people, it’s an entirely different ballgame to sit in a four by six-foot booth wearing headphones and listening to a clicking sound. Giving a note-perfect, dynamic and in-time performance in this kind of unnatural setting requires a special set of skills.

Isn’t It Cheaper if I Do It Myself?

Given that we all have to keep an eye on the bottom line when it comes to our recording budget, there is the temptation to save money by playing on the demo yourself. The problem with this method is that often it will take an inexperienced musician twice as long to get a viable take as it would a pro. One of the many advantages of using session musicians is that they are not only good at what they do but fast.

In other words, the price you pay to hire a session musician translates into savings on studio time compared to playing the part yourself. Being fast in the studio is useful for another reason as well. When a session bogs down with take after take, it starts to feel a lot more like work. When things go quickly and smoothly, they stay musical and fun.

Don’t discount the need for a session to stay enjoyable. My experience has been that everyone does his or her best work when the atmosphere in the studio is light and productive.

Great Expectations

When it comes to recording a demo, it’s essential that you keep your listening audience in mind at all times. In the music industry, there is a certain level of “polish” that record labels, publishers, managers and producers have come to expect from the demos they listen to.

By bringing in the same musicians that play on hundreds of songwriting demos and major label record projects, you’ll be giving these industry types what they’re used to hearing. We’ve all heard from time to time industry professionals say that they can “hear through” your rough recordings.

My recommendation is NOT to take that chance. You’ve only got one opportunity to make a first impression and you should give yourself every advantage. Also, even if there is one industry professional willing and able to hear through a rough recording, you’ll hopefully be pitching this song to a number of industry people many of whom will be expecting a professional sounding demo.

The Care and Feeding of Session Musicians

When it comes to working with session musicians, there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, if you’re not comfortable writing out a chord chart, professional session musicians are perfectly capable of listening to your rough recording and writing out their own charts.

For session musicians, charting is quick process that should take no longer than 10-15 minutes at the most. Then, when it comes time for the them to play, always suggest that they try it their way first. There are two reasons for this. First, you’ve hired them to make your demo sound great so you should give them a chance to go with their instincts before you offer any direction.

Second, by letting them do what you’ve brought them in to do with a minimum of interference, you’ll create goodwill that will go a long way towards the overall vibe in the studio. In almost every case, what the session musicians come up with will be better than you ever expected.

However, if you’re still not getting what you want after they’ve tried it their way, you’re 100% entitled to politely ask them to try it the way you were hearing it. The ONLY appropriate response from a session musician to your request is “absolutely.”

Conclusion

It can be intimidating to work with such talented musicians, but remember, they’re working for you! One of my favorite expressions is “the best ones have nothing to prove.” In other words, when you hire pros not only will they be great at what they do but they should be a pleasure to work with as well.

There is no reason to hire even the best session musician if they have a bad attitude. This is extremely rare but if it happens, I’d recommend never using that musician again. There are way too many wonderful, friendly and talented session musicians out there to ever settle for one with a chip on their shoulder.

Finally, if you’ve never used a professional musician on your songwriting demo, do yourself a favor and try it out. You’re in for a treat and you’ll end up with a great demo.

Good luck!

Mary freezing on the beach, but loving the Traveler Guitar!

The Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light is the smallest, lightest full scale travel guitar around. It’s an ideal solution for the home studio songwriter/music producer who is pressed for space or needs an option for mobile recording. With its solid maple body and shadow piezo pickup, this tough little axe lets you write and record anywhere in the world. We took the steel version for a test drive and were very impressed with the results.

In Tune Out Of The Box

Besides their small size and sound, my biggest frustration with travel guitars has been keeping them in tune. This is no problem for the Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light. The guitar actually arrived in tune out of the box, which was quite an achievement. Like any new guitar, it took about a day for the new strings to settle into the icy New England climate where I live. That was over a week ago and the guitar has stayed in tune ever since.

When the guitar first arrived I was shocked by how small it is. I put it next to my Washburn concert acoustic and was floored by the difference between the two instruments. Despite its seemingly tiny size, the Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light is full scale at 24 3/4 inches and weighs less than 3 pounds. That said, it takes a little getting used to when you first play it. There’s no head stock or guitar body to hold against you as you play, so it feels a little weird even with the lap rest attachment.

The guitar also has a strap pin that doubles as the input for the piezo pickup so you can play standing up. But be careful. After a lot of playing, the strap pin can occasionally loosen and cause an annoying buzz. But it’s easy enough to tighten once you know the source of the noise.

Road Worthy and Travel-Friendly

The Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light comes with a high quality gig bag that stood up quite well to a weekend road trip with my family, including my 12 year-old Labrador retriever. I’ve never been comfortable cramming sensitive instruments into a fully packed car, so it was really nice not to worry about it for a change.

The Ultra-Light also fits in the standard overhead bin of most airlines. This is a huge benefit for traveling musicians who hate to put the fate of their beloved instruments into the hands of baggage claim personnel.

Recording With The Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light

When we arrived at our destination I broke out my backpack recording studio and set to work writing and producing a new song. The piezo pickup in the Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light is exactly like the one installed on my Guild D-25 acoustic guitar and does a great job. You will need to play with your recording system’s EQ settings to get the tone where you want it. I found it to be a little tinny without some help, but once I found the sweet spot everything sounded fine.

Even though this guitar is meant specifically for acoustic music, I wanted to see how it might sound with some stomp box effects and was very pleased with the results. It won’t replace your Fender Strat, but you can capture ideas quickly and easily. The two mp3s at the end of this post feature 1) a full song written, recorded and produced in my father-in-law’s guest room, and 2) a test recording using a few stomp box effects. Both were recorded using the Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light Steel, the Apogee One and GarageBand.

Playing Outside

Next, it was time to take the Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light out in the open air. The company proudly displays pictures of the guitar at the top of Mount Everest, so I wanted to see what it would be like to play it on a frozen Cape Cod beach, mostly because I’m nuts and should have written this review during the summer.

We drove out to one of our favorite spots and I grabbed the Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light. It was a surreal experience. I can’t count the number of times I’ve wished I had my guitar with me in a beautiful, inspiring place such as the beach or mountains. Now it’s a no brainer.

Great For Practice Anytime

With the Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light Steel I found myself practicing guitar more in the last week than I have in the last year. I don’t know if it’s because this guitar is just so easy to have around, I wasn’t afraid of waking up the family late at night or I was just struck by its novelty factor. It doesn’t matter. My hands are sore and my pentatonics rip again!

Kids Like It Too

Another plus is how kid-friendly this Traveler Guitar is. My seven year-old wanted to play it immediately, which was a shock since she hasn’t touched her own half-size guitar in over a year. She had a blast playing this full-scale instrument and may now actually ask me to teach her to play for real. I can hardly contain my joy.

Summary

Overall, the Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light Steel is an excellent songwriting, recording and traveling companion. Learn more about their entire line of travel guitars at www.travelerguitar.com.

Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light Steel test recordings:

Going Sane

Traveler Test

photo credit: iStockphoto

This is a guest post by Cliff Goldmacher. Cliff is a songwriter/engineer/producer/author and owner of recording studios in Nashville, TN and Sonoma, CA.

Cliff’s eBook “The Songwriter’s Guide To Recording Professional Demos” is available as a free download from his site at http://www.cliffgoldmacher.com/ebook.

Cliff is also the owner/founder of www.NashvilleStudioLive.com, a website that provides songwriters outside of Nashville with virtual access to Nashville’s best session musicians and singers for their songwriting demos.

Working as a producer for the last ten years, I’ve recorded with all kinds of artists from “fresh off the boat” newbies to artists whose experience in the world of music doubles or even triples my own. In every case, my role as a producer stays essentially the same. It’s that role that I’m going to describe in this article.

What Is A Producer?

The best way I know to describe what a producer does comes in the form of this analogy: A producer is to a recording as a director is to a film. When it comes to making a film, the buck essentially stops with the director.

In a film, the director steers the ship, working with everyone from the technical editors to the actors in order to achieve his or her overall vision of the movie. It is exactly that way with a producer when it comes to making a recording.

The producer have the experience to work with the studio engineer (often possessing the technical expertise to engineer the project themselves) and the musical understanding to help the artist with everything from song choice, structure and arrangement to the all-important vocal performances that are vital in giving a recording its personality. In short, a producer provides the experience and necessary perspective to guide a recording from start to finish.

Producer Backgrounds

Producers can come from a variety of backgrounds. I’m listing the four most common and what each brings to the process, but, typically, producers have experience in more than one of these areas.

1. The Songwriter – Since at it’s essence, a recording is dependent on the quality of the song, the songwriter/producer is heavily involved in the song selection process. Not only does this type of producer have experience in knowing what does and doesn’t work when it comes to pre-existing songs, but often this producer will co-write songs with the artist for a given project.
2. The Musician – Here, it’s often an instrumental and music theory background that gives this type of producer their experience. They have first hand knowledge when it comes to working with musicians and knowing what instrumental approach will work best in a given situation.
3. The Engineer – In this case, the producer’s primary experience comes from actual recording (i.e., placing microphones on drum kits, recording vocals and mixing albums). By becoming an expert in the nuts and bolts of the recording process, an engineer/producer can make the recording process a smooth one for the artist.
4. The Music Fan – This is someone who lives and breathes music and has the instincts to guide artists and session musicians through the recording process without necessarily having had the “hands on” experience of being a songwriter, musician or engineer themselves. They often bring great perspective to a situation where being too close to any one part of the process might compromise the overall recording.

What Do Producers Do?

As I’ve mentioned, producers can be involved in many different aspects of a recording. Some producers are very “hands off” acting mostly as the voice of experience and perspective for artists who already have a fairly clear idea of who they are and where they’re headed.

On the other end of the spectrum are the producers who are involved in every element of the recording from co-writing the songs, to engineering to playing one or even all of the instruments. In some, but certainly not all of these cases, the resulting recordings have such a distinctive sound that the producer becomes as associated with the recording as the artist themselves.

For the record, no one way takes precedence over any other for producing a recording. The only measure of a producer that matters is whether or not the resulting recording is satisfying to everyone involved. As most producers operate somewhere in between minimal and complete involvement, here are the main areas where most producers do their work.

1. Pre-production – This includes working with the artist to decide if the songs are as good as they can be and, ultimately, which songs would work best as a group for an album release. It also includes deciding on the overall sound of a recording which involves deciding which session musicians/instruments would be best suited to achieve the sound and feel of a particular song.
2. Instrumental Recording/Arrangement – At this point, the producer works with the assembled musicians and helps direct their performances in the studio in order to achieve a cohesive sound for the recording.
3. Vocals – Finally, because the typical music listener responds first to the voice of the singer, one of the most important roles of the producer is working with the vocalist to help them give their best, most sincere performance of their material. It is extremely difficult for even the most experienced vocalists to have any perspective on their performance while it’s happening. For this reason, a producer is the voice of reason and experience who knows how to encourage a vocalist to do one more vocal pass or helps them realize that it would be better to take a break and come back to fight another day.

How Do I Find A Producer?

For those who are new to the process of recording, whether it’s an album project or even a song demo, it is unclear where to look to find a producer for your project. Generally speaking, word of mouth in your music community serves as the best, most organic way to find a producer right for your project. Another effective way to find a producer, particularly if you’re interested in doing a whole recording project, would be to look at the liner notes on some of your favorite independent CD projects made in the city where you plan to record. Often, those producers are available for hire and it’s just a matter of getting their contact information which the artists themselves usually have. Finally, there’s no rule that says you can’t contact a well-known/successful producer whose work you admire. Maybe they will be too busy or too expensive to work with, but you never know and if you’re respectful in your request there’s no reason not to try.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, it’s a good working relationship and the trust between artist and producer that makes for the best results. So, be sure that you not only like a producer’s work but feel comfortable working with them as well. You’ll be spending a lot of time with this person and trusting them with your art, so make sure that you feel like the producer you choose is willing to give you and your music the attention necessary to get a great recording.

Good luck!

The Apogee One may indeed be a songwriter’s best friend, but only if you have a Mac. If you’re a Mac user and only need one input at a time it is an ideal recording device. In this review we put the Apogee One through its paces and give it a big Serve The Song thumbs up.

The Apogee One is a pocket-sized audio interface that is a little bit bigger than an iPhone. What sets it apart from other audio interfaces is its ease of use, built-in microphone and high quality AD/DA converters. While it’s made of plastic, it has an elegant form factor and the multi-selector switch is quite easy to use once you play with it for a few minutes.

Easy Software Installation/Integration

This thing is truly amazing. After installing the enclosed Maestro software and selecting One as both input and output audio on my Mac Preferences I was ready to go. One works with any Core Audio-compliant software, so when I launched GarageBand a new control interface window was available to select the microphone and levels I wanted.

Built-In Condenser Mic and Other Inputs

The built-in condenser mic hears anything and everything, so it’s best to use it with an extension cable and a regular mic stand. When I tried it alone or with the table top mic stand it was too close to the computer and picked up the fan noise.

The One is outstanding for headphone monitoring and mixing. It is crisp, clean and clear. They are not over-hyping this. It really is a pleasure to both listen to and mix through headphones. I just wish it had a 1/4-inch headphone jack instead of the 1/8-inch mini.

The built-in mic is excellent for recording demos or podcasts. I used it for a recent USTREAM online concert and my husband, a television broadcast engineer, asked me how I made the audio so crisp and clear. All I did was plug in the One and select it for mic input and output in Mac OSX preferences. You can check out the recording here.

Besides the internal microphone, you can also hook up external microphones or high-impedance instruments like electric guitars/basses using the included breakout cables.

Apogee One Mic Tests

I put the Apogee One through its microphone paces by performing a comparison test of the built-in internal condenser mic, external condenser mic, and a dynamic mic. I used two external mics, old Electro-voice 857b dynamic, and a new Audio-Technica AT 2020 condenser. One provides 48v phantom power for condenser mics, so microphone setup was a snap.

I wanted to simulate most home studio situations, so I recorded everything dry (no EQ or effects) in GarageBand using my “baffles and blankets” home recording setup in a spare bedroom. I used the breakout cables that come with the One to hook up the external microphones.

The results were pretty impressive (see links below). Although a little bit tinny, the One’s built-in condenser mic sounded remarkably close to my Audio-Technica AT 2020 condenser microphone, and totally blew away my old EV 857B condenser mic.

48k Sampling Rate Sounds Great

Next I did a comparison of the Apogee One with an M-Audio Firewire Solo unit. I wanted to see if I could tell the difference between the 48k and 98k sampling rates on my Audio-Technica 2020.

For what I’m doing, which is basic singer-songwriter stuff, One sounds much better and is far easier to use despite the differences in sampling rates. My guess is the Apogee mic pre-amp and AD/DA converters make the difference.

Summary

So there you have it. For $249, you get:

• High quality Apogee AD/DA converters
• A built-in condenser mic
• A high quality audio interface
• Support for any Core-Audio compliant software
• The equivalent of a bag of recording gear in your pocket.

Keep in mind that the standard USB cable that comes in the box is a bit short. If you record vocals you will want to opt for the USB extension cord and mic stand mount, both of which sell for an additional $19 each.

I love the Apogee One and plan to make it my go-to audio interface from now on. It is just so easy to use I can’t stand the thought of putting it back in the box. One of my biggest home studio headaches, broadcast-quality acoustic guitar/vocal recording, has finally been solved thanks to the One.

If you’re a songwriter who has a Mac and is ok with just one input, get the Apogee One as soon as you can. There is simply no easier way to write and record broadcast-quality music on a Mac.

Microphone test files:

Electro-Voice EV 857B
Audio-Technica AT 2020 Condenser Mic
Apogee Built-In Internal Mic

My current backpack recording studio.

Fifteen years ago when the Internet was young (and so was I), I dreamed of the day when DIY musicians and songwriters could truly make affordable quality recordings from anywhere. That day is finally here. In this post I’m going to show you how to assemble a backpack recording studio that is a joy to travel with and use.

In a nutshell, here are the components of my current backpack studio:

- Laptop computer with lots of RAM
- Audio recording and editing software
- Audio interface
- Microphone
- MIDI Keyboard Controller
- Headphones
- External hard drive or USB flash drive for backup/storage (optional)
- Cables to hook everything up

The one thing I’m missing is a travel guitar. Since I’m primarily an acoustic guitarist, I’m looking at the Traveler Ultra Light. If I get it I’ll review it in another post. For now I use a small Washburn concert size guitar on trips, which is obviously too big for the backpack but suits my purposes at the moment.

Computer and Software

The heart and soul of the backpack studio is your computer. I have an older 13-inch black MacBook. At the time I couldn’t afford a MacBook Pro, so I suped up my little black laptop with 4 GB of RAM and use GarageBand for all my travel recordings. GarageBand is part of Apple’s iLife 11 suite and ships free with every new Mac. Even though Macs are pricey, I believe they are superior creative tools for musicians and worth every penny. Even if you can’t get it new, there’s a decent used laptop market out there and using GarageBand is an awesome way to get started if you’re on a budget.

Windows users may want to check out Mixcraft by Acoustica, which retails for $69.00. I have not used it, but it has received many positive reviews on Amazon and in popular electronic music magazines such as Recording, Keyboard, Sound on Sound and EQ. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Besides GarageBand, last year I loaded up my laptop with Logic and a bunch of sound libraries from Big Fish Audio. If you can’t afford a DAW like Logic, you can still make plenty of progress with GarageBand or Mixcraft. I still do all of my preliminary song sketches and demos in GarageBand. And, if I’m doing a simple arrangement that doesn’t need much fine tuning, I can do the whole project from start to finish in GarageBand.

Audio Interface

Next you need a way to get your live sounds into your computer with a digital audio interface. There are plenty of these on the market, but I believe the best choice right now for Mac users is the Apogee ONE.

The most important aspect of a digital audio interface is the D/A converters, and this is where the little Apogee ONE really shines. While it’s made of plastic, it’s a tough little nugget and sounds amazing. If you are only recording one track at a time it doesn’t make sense to pay for multiple channels made with cheaper hardware.

The Apogee ONE is the perfect mobile recording tool. This audio interface has both a high impedance input for electric guitar and bass and a high-quality built-in condenser mic. You’ll also want to monitor your mix through this device, as the clarity is far superior to the built-in sound cards found on most laptops.

Windows users have a choice of many fine quality audio interfaces, such as the M-Audio Fast Track Pro or Tascam US-100 USB.

Microphone

When I’m traveling with recording gear, my purpose is usually to get a change of scene so I can get a fresh songwriting perspective. I rarely get finished guitar and vocal tracks on the road, but sometimes the magic happens. Because of that I don’t worry so much about traveling with an expensive condenser microphone and instead rely on my Apogee ONE to deliver the goods.

A big benefit to using a combo device like the Apogee ONE is that you will not need a separate microphone unless you want to do serious remote recording, in which case you’ll also need good sound proofing wherever you travel. Believe me, you don’t want to schlep around an expensive sensitive condenser mic and XLR cables in a backpack. The wear and tear from constant travel will likely damage the delicate electronics.

However, if you are a Windows user and need a separate microphone, a Shure SM-57 or SM-58 will do a fine job. These mics can take a pounding on the road and still sound great.

MIDI Keyboard Controller

The Akai Pro LPK25 Laptop Performance Keyboard is my controller of choice when it comes to ease of use while traveling. This little gizmo looks more like a kid’s toy than a real keyboard controller, but it does a great job with its 25 mini-keys. You can increase or decrease octaves and use the built-in arpeggiator. It does not have good velocity sensitivity, pitch-bend/modulation wheels or after-touch. These are some of the tradeoffs you’ll need to think about as you weigh function vs. convenience. I’m not much of a keyboardist, so for me it’s a great tool for writing simple bass lines, playing piano chord comps and programming drums.

Headphones

A standard pair of earbuds will work just fine, but after a while my ears tend to get sore. If you plan to be spending any extended periods of time recording or mixing you may want to consider using a pair of decent travel headphones. I use an old pair of folding Sony MDR-V400s. They sound great and don’t take up too much space in my pack.

Separate Hard Drive

Over time multitrack audio files take up a lot of space, so I prefer to keep mine on a separate FireWire hard drive. While many pro musicians rely on Glyph drives, I decided to go with the sleek Iomega eGo drive for Mac. This little drive tucks neatly into my pack and gives my sample libraries and production tracks plenty of space.

An alternative to a separate hard drive is a USB flash drive or DVD. Whichever you choose, be sure and and make backups of everything. As convenient and portable as these solutions are, no piece of hardware is 100% reliable. So make backups for peace of mind.

Cables to hook everything up

Finally, make sure you’ve got enough cables to connect all the pieces together. For me this is pretty simple. I use one USB extension cable for the Apogee One, another USB for my keyboard controller, one FireWire cable for my external hard drive, a breakout cable and a quarter inch guitar cord. This relatively simple setup is all I need to get up and running quickly.

Over To You

What’s your experience with a portable recording setup? Do you think it’s worth it to have a backpack studio? How would you do things differently? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.

photo credit: istockphoto

This is a guest post by Cliff Goldmacher. Cliff is a songwriter/engineer/producer/author and owner of recording studios in Nashville, TN and Sonoma, CA. Cliff’s eBook “The Songwriter’s Guide To Recording Professional Demos” is available as a free download from his site at http://www.cliffgoldmacher.com/ebook. Cliff is also the owner/founder of www.NashvilleStudioLive.com, a website that provides songwriters outside of Nashville with virtual access to Nashville’s best session musicians and singers for their songwriting demos.

Who’s the Expert?

You’re a songwriter. It’s what you do. It’s what you’ve trained yourself to do through countless hours of study, practice and effort. Your songs are yours and no one can write them for you. In other words, you’ve become an expert at writing your songs. That’s how it should be.

However, if you’re going to treat your songwriting as a business that you hope to profit from, then it’s in your best interest to employ experts at every level. In other words, unless you’re also a recording expert, I’d advise you to employ the people who are.

While writing a great song is the first and most important part of the process, a high quality, well-performed demo of your song comes a very close second. Unless you’ve devoted as much time to learning the art and craft of recording as you have to your songwriting, you will be doing your songs and your career a disservice by attempting to record your demo yourself.

Why You Need A First Rate Recording

We’ve all heard the argument that a great song is a great song and anyone with ears should be able to “hear through” any recording no matter how rough. To my way of thinking, this is the music industry equivalent of being set up on a blind date with a person who may have a heart of gold but doesn’t bother to shower.

In other words, you’ve only got one chance to make a first impression with your song and, given the competition out there, it had better be a great one. And, while you might meet a music industry person who can genuinely hear through a rough recording, it may be true for just that one individual.

If you’re planning on showing your song to a variety of artists, managers, producers and A&R reps, it’s never safe to assume that anything less than a first-rate recording will do. By “first rate” I don’t mean full-band or elaborately produced. I simply mean your song should be recorded and produced by professionals.

How to Find a Good Recording Studio

One of the most daunting aspects of the recording process for most songwriters is simply finding the studio that is right for them. Word of mouth in the songwriting community and the recommendations of your performing rights organizations (BMI, ASCAP & SESAC) are great places to start.

My recommendation is that you should treat this part of the process just like you would any business decision. Gather as much information as you can and base your decision on where you think you’ll get the best service and, of course, the best results.

The Studio

With the advent of improved recording technology and affordable, high-quality equipment, professional recordings can be made almost anywhere. Recording is no longer the exclusive domain of the big, multi-room complex. That being said, there are a few things you should consider before choosing a studio for your project.

First and foremost is sound quality. Ask the studio owner/engineer for a demo of something that’s been recorded in their studio. Be sure and ask for music on the demo that is in the style of the music you plan to record. For example, if you’re making a country demo, it doesn’t matter if the studio has a great sounding R&B demo because that won’t necessarily translate into a great sounding country recording.

Secondly, make sure you’re comfortable in the space where you’ll be working. Although working in a big, beautiful studio can be inspiring for some, it can be intimidating for others. You’re going to be spending a lot of time in this place, make sure you feel at ease there so that you can relax, work effectively and enjoy the process.

The Engineer/Producer

It’s not only the studio you’ll be spending time in but also the engineer/producer (often the same person) you’ll be spending time with that matters. You want to make sure you’re comfortable working with this person as you’ll be entrusting them with your music.

A few things to look for in an engineer/producer include organization, patience and focus. The more experienced and professional they are, the more you should feel like they have your best interests at heart and want nothing more than to give you the best product you can possibly have.

There should be no ego whatsoever involved no matter how accomplished/experienced this person may be. A simple reminder for those of you who are new to the game…it’s not the engineer/producer’s role to judge whether the song is good or bad. The assumption is-and should always be-that you’re there recording your song because you know it’s good and ready to be recorded. It’s their job to take that song and make a great demo so that it’s ready to be heard. So don’t be disappointed if you don’t get comments about whether your song is good or not. It’s not the engineer/producer’s place to comment.

The Money

Beware of being penny-wise and pound foolish. Remember that you’re running a business, and investing in your business is an essential part of helping that business grow and ultimately bring you a return on your investment. This does not mean, however, that you shouldn’t have a crystal clear understanding of what the costs of your demo will be.

When it comes time to discuss price with the studio, remember to ask for an itemization of all fees. The obvious fee would be the hourly rate but it’s important to ask what other charges you might incur. This can be anything from a separate engineer charge, costs for burning CDs and even separate charges for certain pieces of studio equipment.

A studio using an hourly rate system ought to be able to give you a fairly accurate estimate for what your overall project will cost. Some studios simplify the process even further by giving you an all-in project fee that is decided up front. It’s always better to know all of this at the beginning of a project so there are no unpleasant surprises when it comes time to pay.

Know Your Strengths

There are only so many hours in the day. If you’re early in your career as a songwriter, you should be spending those hours working on your songwriting and devising every means possible (networking anyone?) to get your songs heard.

However, if you’re truly fascinated by the recording process itself and are willing to invest the time, then by all means learn to engineer and produce as well. There’s never been a better time to get involved in recording due to all of the innovations and improvements in recording technology.

If, however, you think you’ll save money by doing your own recordings without investing an equal amount of time to learn how to engineer, the end results will hurt your cause more than any amount of money you might save by recording yourself. As I’ve heard said, cheap can be expensive.

Conclusion

Let me be clear. I’m not recommending that you go out and spend your hard-earned cash on a professional recording every time you write a song. If you’re planning on having a career in music you have to be judicious in how/when you invest your demo budget. But, when you’ve got a song or songs that are ready for prime time, I’m simply suggesting you treat them that way.

Good luck!

Photo: Tyler Clinton

In part 2 of our telephone interview with Wayne Wilkins, Wayne talks about his co-writing process, mobile recording setup, producing finished tracks, and his advice for up and coming songwriters.

Do you co-write on a lot of tunes or do you prefer to write solo?

I know what my strengths are – the musical concept and the musical identity. Music should be the most fun thing you can do. For me having people around and getting ideas helps the magic happen. I tend to co-write for that reason. And when you get to a certain level you get access to such brilliant people.

A lot of it is the energy in the room and the vibe between the people. As soon as you stop having fun doing it you should stop altogether.

The business is a bigger word and drags you down a bit. You’ve got to get as far away from that stuff as possible. You fundamentally have to want to do the best music you can do, and all the rest follows as a result of doing amazing songs. That’s really how it’s worked for me. The business can’t drive me. That’s how you get the best songs.

How do you get from initial idea to finished track?

In my studio now I use a 17-inch MacBook Pro and and I use Apogee Symphony Mobile and a Duet to record the best quality you can get. You can get the same quality as you can get in a big studio using tape machines. So I can travel to Miami, Atlanta, New York or wherever I need to go. I can do songs anywhere in the world and I have the best quality. I can run about three stereo synths into it and run a mike into it. I use Logic Pro to create all my music on my laptop.

It’s so easy to get your ideas down. When I’m writing I get a good vibe down in terms of feeling and then I’ll go into the studio later for the details. 99% of the time the vocals get used – since I can capture the vocals when the magic happens.

That lets me capture the vocal exactly the way I need to for the record.

The most important thing is to get the feeling down. When you get the energy and you’ve recorded it the best way you can it’s the best feeling.

Is everything done in the studio, or do you go away to write for a while and then come back to sculpt a track in the studio?

I always try to capture the essence of the song the day we do it, wherever we do it.

Sometimes I have to come back to it later due to time constraints. The unknown factor is always the vocals. I can keep coming back to the other stuff, but capturing the magic from the artist is always a grey area.

So that’s why I travel – I want to record in an environment where the artist is as comfortable as they can be. That’s another key reason why I use my laptop.

Are you still under contract to Sony/ATV?

Yes. The way that’s working for me is absolutely great. When you start off you have to learn a certain amount about selling your songs. You haven’t got a choice, since that’s just as important as writing a great song. Sony/ATV offered me a great publishing deal and it felt like the right thing for me to do with the team of people who are there. Marty Bandeer and Jody Louis used to work at the Brill Building. I was excited and wanted to be part of an up and coming company that would be the best.

I love the idea that we can build this thing together.

There’s 5 of us producers who all work together. We’ve got a really close knit circle of people we work with. We’ve got a very focused way of doing business.

Do you spend much time looking for new talent?

I haven’t up until now, but I’m looking a lot more on YouTube and My Space because I have to be sourcing new talent.

I want to keep producing current artists, but want to develop something that I can do myself. I’d like to do a body of work that really helps build someone’s career.

I think the music industry is becoming more that way. Producers are really becoming more like A&R people, doing development of artists and doing a joint venture deal with a major label for distribution.

I’ve been really fortunate to have the songs out I have, so I want to use that as an opportunity to do my own thing. I want to build a really great stable of artists. It’s really important to have a really great group of poeple with really good energy.

What advice would you pass along to our readers who want to succeed as independent songwriters and producers?

In terms of the music – listen to the records that you’re most touched by. Like it or not, you have to listen to what’s being played on the radio. Look for the ones you like and really take them apart. When I was starting I would put my own versions together so I could see how everything worked. That worked on both a production and a songwriting level. Always question why people did what they did. Emulate other people’s work that you love.

Have the belief that you can get all the way there. It’s definitely not a job for someone who doesn’t have a belief in themselves.

I’ve worked with so many talented people who haven’t got the extra bit. It’s a ton of hours. You have to make that decision. Do I really want to do it? There’s so much competition.

What do you think is going to be the next big thing in music?

With film and TV placements, that’s where a company like Sony/ATV can come into play since they know which movies are there and where the opportunities are. With more TV stations and cable channels, there’s more opportunities to place your songs.

If you’re really focused on doing great songs, then people will want to put them in the movie. A song I did with Natasha called “Strip Me” just got placed in an upcoming movie.

In terms of Music Videos – something called “click throughs” has just come out. They encode all the stuff the artist is wearing and you can point your mouse on whatever product you like, and that in turn clicks to the ecommerce site so you can buy it. This means big opportunities for advertisers, who pay for the video before it’s made.

What are your personal goals for the next few years?

I want to develop my own stable of artists and a large body of work that can support multiple albums.

I want to be writing the best songs possible and I want them to get on the best things. I’m one of the lucky ones getting singles placed. I want to make sure there is an avenue to build a proper brand and fan base together who actually wants to buy an album.

I’d like to thank Wayne once again for his generosity and time in sharing his insights with Serve The Song. Be sure and check out Part 1 of this interview and leave your thoughts in the comments.

Photo: Tyler Clinton

Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Wayne Wilkins is one of the most successful musicians working today. His discography over the last 5 years alone includes over 50 songs – many of them top-10 singles from recording artists like Beyonce, Natasha Bedingfield, Jordin Sparks, and dozens of others. Wayne graciously agreed to the following 2-part telephone interview with Serve The Song. Wayne’s energy and drive is a testimony to his ongoing success and an excellent lesson for all working songwriters and producers.

You’ve got a tremendous discography – over 50 songs in the last five years alone  - how have you maintained such consistent output over time?

I’m always listening to music – I work with a lot of collaborators so there’s always a lot of input. Now that I’ve moved to America I find there’s so many opportunities out here and it’s great.

If I’m working with an artist and I have an idea in my mind of what I’d like to hear them sing, I listen to those kinds of influences, so by the time I come into a session I’ve already got an idea of what I want.

I work with great lyricists – my strength is the music and melody, and the concept of the song. So I’ll always have someone to great to write lyrics with.

Do you think record production in general has returned to the hit single machine of the 60′s because of iTunes and other digital downloading services?

It’s been a singles market for a few years since the kids are only picking out the songs that they hear on the radio vs. buying full albums. So there’s no doubt right now that producers are fighting for the 3-4 slots on someone’s album. Because it’s so radio driven, there’s a lot more pressure on songwriters to get hit records. But it kind of evens out in terms of airplay. If you’ve got enough singles out there one thing is going down while another is going up.

There’s also a lot more opportunities for ringtones, licensed music, advertising and other opportunities to give a song exposure.

From a songwriter’s point of view, it’s nice to be able to build an artist. But because of the demand for singles it’s very hard to actually to build an album’s worth of work on a whole record. That’s one of the things I want to do.

I’m in talks with a label right now and really excited about doing that. It means I can build an in-depth body of work.

I saw in your biography that you started studying piano at age 4. When did you get your start in pop music and what led you there?

We always had a piano at home. We had this real old beat up upright. My dad said “would you be interested in learning this?”

You see how much luck was involved? It was probably because my parents were pretty encouraged by my interest – and now that I have a 4 year-old and a 9-month old I totally understand where they were coming from.

Who are your biggest influences?

I listen to absolutely everything. I started off doing classical and jazz.
As I grew up, people like Michael Jackson, David Foster, and Whitney Houston were big influences. When I would hear that coming on it really got my attention.

At that age I was really paying attention to the way the song felt, especially artists like Chicago.

I would look at the back of albums I loved and noticed David Foster was doing a lot of stuff I liked. Later on I started listening to hip hop. I liked it when it was a lot more song-based, more towards having a strong melody, probably as a result of my early classical training. I listen to a lot of urban music now.

I always gravitated to how the melody worked over the chords. It always intrigued me why things worked a certain way. I also listened to a lot of scores by John Williams. Those things were amazing to me.

There isn’t anyone who even comes close for me. There are always these themes that you remember. I think that’s why I was also always drawn to Oscar Peterson. That’s a key thing I’ve carried into the music – if you don’t have a simple, memorable melody that’s gonna go around their heads – if you haven’t got a melody you haven’t got anything.

What works best for me is 1) having a melody that you can remember and sing back, and 2) adding some depth to that with some words that connect for people.

The music has to have an amazing feel to it, but it has to back up the song.

When did you know writing songs was what you wanted to do for a living?

I always knew I wanted to do music as a kid. When I was about 22-23 working at Olympic Studios I’d be surrounded by people in the live room of the studio coming up with concepts. There as a whole other dimension to the song besides melody and lyrics.

You can get goose bumps listening to music. I was always attracted to that. Then if someone says words to you can also get goose bumps. You can really touch people in a certain way when you later hear those words set to a great piece of music with a good melody.

I want to do songs with that kind of appeal.

Tell us about working for Mark “Spike” Spent, one of the biggest mixing engineers in England, and how that helped launch your career.

When I started off at Olympic, I actually graduated from Royal College of Music and was doing a physics degree. I knew at that point I didn’t want to do physics, so I got a job at Olympic, which was part of EMI studios at the time.

During my period at Olympic I got to meet a lot of the big producers who were working on all the major productions at the time. I was lucky enough to program for Spike and work on a lot of big records for him.

Spike was always working with the top producers. We’d get drums from Whitney Jerkins and be able to see how the songs were put together. I got to learn how to make those kinds of records. That was really my training as a producer.

I think with hit songs, there are certain progressions and combinations of guitars to get a certain feeling.

What I got from Spike was the opportunity to work on a lot of different styles of music. There’s probably not even 10 people who work on that level now. Since I do my music on a laptop now, there’s not an opportunity to put stuff up “on the desk”.

All the big studios in London are shutting down. Olympic shut down last year. And people aren’t getting taught to engineer properly anymore, which is a shame.

When did you start working with major acts like Beyonce, Jordin Sparks and Natasha Bedingfield?

I worked on the No Doubt Rock Steady record with Spike and that opened up quite a few doors for me. It was a natural progression from the work I’d already done.

I started working on my own in 2000. The first band I started working with was the Corrs. They happened to be in the studio I was working in and needed some demos. When the demos were finished they said, “We love what you’ve done so let’s just put that out”. And that made me realize I could do it myself.

There was another song called “These Words” by NB that was my first #1 in England and that opened up a lot of doors too.

Most of your songs are recorded by popular female vocalists. Do you consider yourself a specialist in female pop tunes?

When you get to a certain level, there’s more opportunity to record female singers, especially when you’ve got good songs.

I work with the best lyricists and whenever we get together there’s a very good shot we’ll end up with something good. When you hit the magic song, that’s what they want to do. Just write the best song you can and not worry about the business at all. Because if it’s good people will respond to it.

What’s your writing process like? For example, do you start with a title and fill in the blanks, or start with a beat or musical phrase?

It depends on the type of song we’re doing. For example, when we wrote “Battlefield” for Jordin Sparks, we had a rough idea of what we wanted the music to be. We were in Denver with a great melody, but we had nothing to say.

Once I said “Battlefield” the whole thing started happening, so that’s one way of doing it. Battlefield was a great way of expressing a relationship.

So that song started off with a concept.

Then Ryan Tedder said “you’ve got to go and get your armor”, and the rest of the song came together.

With Beyonce I was working with Jim Johnson in Miami, and it was our first time working together. We had the piece of music for Sweet Dreams first, and then Rico Love had the topline for that. When Beyonce heard it she said “Beautiful Nightmare” was the first title, and then switched it to “Sweet Dreams”.

There’s other songs I’ll do where we’ll just sit at the piano and sing stuff.

There’s all sorts of ways to do it. The most important thing is to capture the vibe.

Be sure and catch Part 2 of our interview, where Wayne talks about co-writing, mobile recording, producing finished tracks, and his advice for up and coming songwriters.

In part 2 of our interview with game composer Aaron Marks, Aaron shares his insights on a typical day as a game composer, how songwriters can break into the game industry, how they get paid, and the skills they need to be competitive. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out part 1. Learn more about Aaron Marks at OnYourMarkMusic.com.

Do songwriters need to understand how to write full midi orchestrations to be competitive?

It doesn’t hurt, but it’s not a deal breaker. If you plan to create a believable orchestral score, that’s one thing but who’s to say your ‘uneducated’ orchestration methods wouldn’t be fresh and unique? There are rules in music but you can’t be confined by them and you shouldn’t be afraid of trying because you don’t feel you have the right background. There are several games with orchestral scores written by composers using heavy rock influences – God of War for example.

The good news is that orchestral music only makes up a portion of music in games so skilled composers in other genres are also needed. Composers who are proficient in many different styles are probably the most competitive, since games often cover a variety of time and places – ancient to the future and every continent or planet.

Please describe a typical day in the life of a game composer.

Ha! If you ever come across one, you have to let me know what it looks like!

Really, it all depends on the project, your work habits and the deadline. If you’re lucky enough to have casual milestones, you can compose and record at a leisurely pace. But most of the time the established deadlines aren’t as realistic as we’d like so it’s a bit more frantic with less sleep and more coffee to get you there.

I typically take the first couple of days on a project to plan my attack – how much music needs to be created and how much time do I have? Once I see it on paper, I know how long I’ve got to work on each cue and I stick to it. Sometimes it takes a little longer to get organized, find samples and get everything set up. But after the initial housekeeping, it’s nice to be able to focus on the music.

For me, a ‘normal’ day starts in the studio about 10am where I make the daily plan, write emails, make phone calls and do ‘non-creative’ tasks such as reviewing past work or mixing the previous day’s tracks. I’ll break for lunch around 2pm and then head back in around 3pm for a big creative push. Depending on family needs or dinner, that could be an hour or several hours. If there is a looming deadline, I’ll break for dinner when I get hungry then work until it becomes unproductive, usually around midnight.

If not, I’ll noodle around a little in the evening, get some ideas floating around in my head to sleep on and come in the next day with them more developed. Of course, some days are spent entirely in front of an instrument composing when I’m on a roll, other times I get as far from the studio as I can to clear any lingering writer’s block – but most of the time it’s a fairly predictable schedule for me.

Is there a specific formula to success as a game music composer?

Be passionate about your craft, first and foremost. Potential clients feed off your enthusiasm and will want to be around it. Be passionate about games, specifically the game the potential client is creating. Network, network, network – not only with the folks you want to work for but with fellow composers. I’ve gotten a surprising number of jobs from my own competition either because they were busy, on vacation or needed a hand with a large project.

Market yourself every chance you get.  By simply tapping into your friends and family network, chances are somebody knows someone who works at a game company. Start local and with smaller companies, then work further out to larger developers. Don’t expect to get a AAA game title right out of the gate. Get the experience and work your way up to it. Learn everything you can about the industry, how a game development company is structured and how a game is developed, the role of the composer, how music is implemented into a game – anything that will make a potential client feel comfortable so they won’t have to hold your hand through the process.

Really, anything goes and the more you have ‘skin in the game’, the better your chances are of getting work and making a career out of it.

How do you get paid? Is there a standard deal between a game developer and a music composer?

For the most part, creating music for a game is done as a ‘work for hire’ – you compose it and they own it once the check clears. Composers can charge either on a ‘per finished minute’ basis or set a fee for the entire project. Fees can vary depending on your experience, their budget and the project scope. Obviously, if you’re composing for and recording a full orchestra, the fees would be higher than if you were in your home studio using samples.

More and more composers are able to negotiate other revenue streams from a single project’s music. Work for Hire agreements don’t have to be so short-sided that the composer sells the music and loses total ownership of it. If a game’s music appears in a film or on television or is released as a soundtrack, it’s fair to request appropriate compensation. A game which will be released as multiple SKUs (stock keeping unit – a unique identifier for each distinct product) and in multiple languages, there is no reason why the composer can’t also be compensated for that. Royalties can be also negotiated if you anticipate the game could be a huge success – why shouldn’t the composer share in the success since their work helped get it there? Remember, if you don’t ask for it, you’re not going to get it.

How do you juggle outside responsibilities along with your music career?

I’ve always just done what I’ve needed to do. If I have an upcoming deadline, I put my head down and work until it’s done. If one of my animals needs to go to the vet, I toss them in the car and go. Sometimes it’s as simple as that.

I’m really big on keeping schedules, making a plan and getting it done. I’ve got checklists for each project, whether it’s yard work or an audio contract. I use the calendar feature on my smartphone religiously, one on the wall for the family to see my firm commitments, detailed checklists in the studio for the complex tasks and sticky notes for priorities. Somehow it all seems to work, even if it comes down to just trying to keep several balloons in the air at the same time – the one about to hit the ground gets the attention!

And it doesn’t hurt that I have the support of my family, friends and neighbors when things really get crazy!

What’s the best advice you can pass along to songwriters who want to break into the industry?

If it’s what you want to do – then do it! You can read about it, study it, make connections but if you don’t ever decide to do anything with the knowledge, then it’s not going to happen. Breaking into games is just like any other business endeavor – it’s going to take some focused effort, a little luck and the persistence to make it happen.

I know a composer who got a game job with his very first phone call and I know composers who after a couple years are still hopeful, so there’s no magic bullet. Love what you do, let people feel your enthusiasm and stay positive. There are plenty of opportunities out there.

For self-taught musicians without any formal music training, what’s the best way to learn how to compose orchestral music?

Not having formal training composing orchestral music isn’t an excuse to not do it. Originality is huge in any musical endeavor and who’s to say what you do with an orchestra or orchestral samples can’t be unique and fresh.

For me, the ability to listen and learn has been my greatest asset. I learned chords and fingering initially but that all went out the window pretty quick. It wasn’t until I realized that I could take what I was hearing and duplicate notes and chords on my instrument that it started making sense.

I’ve never learned how to read or write music so my ability to recall what I’ve heard before and my muscle memory have contributed to how I process and compose. Am I limited by that? Some would argue that I break a lot of ‘rules’ and I’m occasionally frustrated by my lack of knowledge of a particular style but for the most part, I’m OK with that and ‘cope’ accordingly.

If you are really interested in composing orchestral music, critically listen to a variety of orchestral pieces from classical symphonies to movie soundtracks and get to know them. Pay attention to the types of instruments and how they are utilized, get a feel for how melodies, counter-melodies, dynamics and percussion all evoke a certain mood – then start writing short pieces of your own to test out your theories and ideas.

Chat with other composers, read books, ‘listen’ to movies, go to concerts – anything to get the exposure you’ll need to do it justice when the time comes. Practice is a big part of self teaching, so be prepared to write a lot of ‘trash can’ music – the stuff you expect to throw away until you get a solid grasp on it. And after that, continuously improve your skills and understanding of articulations, musician and instrument capabilities, song construction and other subtleties which will make you sound like an expert.

Is scoring music for game trailers a good way to break into the biz?

It wouldn’t be a bad thing but it’s not a definite ‘foot in the door’. Unless it’s the actual game developer you’re working with to score the trailer, the publisher or advertising agency who is creating it might not have any influence with the developer per se, plus they’re not really looking outside of their needs.

Trailers, as far as structure, are linear and scoring one is a different skill set than say, creating adaptive or interactive music for a game. If you are lucky enough to be working with a developer and they like your work, it’s possible it could turn into a fruitful relationship. But, most of the time, music for a game is well underway or completed by the time a trailer is considered and the games composer is usually their first call for music.

Was this post helpful? Do you plan to write music for games? Please leave your thoughts in the comments.