Over half way there

On the basis that I probably need 10 songs for an authentic debut CD, I am now over half the way there having just recorded song number 6.

When you think of all the professionals who contribute towards the production of a CD – songwriter, lyricist, musicians, producer, sound engineer, mastering engineer...it is astounding to think that the home studio musician can now do all of this alone.

This would never have been possible a few years ago but is now thanks to the various technologies which have emerged in recent years.

Indeed, there is a risk that the home studio musician spends more time tinkering around with the hardware and software tools than actually making music. There comes a point where you have to say to yourself “this is the gear I’ve got. I’m going to learn how to get the best sound I can from it, although I know that some of it is pretty obsolete and all of it could be upgraded”.

Fortunately, help is at hand. I have found that fellow home studio musicians are, almost without exception, generous, supportive and kind spirited. At any rate, the ones I have met through the PG Music (1) and Audacity (2) member forums fit this description. There is a strong norm that if you have any useful knowledge or experience, you share it with others.

Of the various aspects listed above, I find that the most critical is song writing. The hardest part is to find the key idea, whether musical or lyrical, that you want the song to focus on. From that point on, it’s ‘just’ a matter of giving concrete form to that original idea. It may take time and effort, but I find that most things kind of fall into place once the song has its direction.

There have been 2 particular moments of euphoria to date. The first, obviously, was when, in 2007, I completed work on my first ever composition. The second was the overwhelmingly positive reaction I got to a “Power Ballad” I wrote in the first months of 2008. Since that time I have been trying – so far, unsuccessfully – to sell this song to a music publisher.

I should also mention how much fun it was recording my daughter on backing vocals on one of my compositions.

My dream is still to make music my livelihood, but I know that this is not likely to happen any time soon. But I can still dream!

In the meantime my musical output can be found here


(1) PG Music is a company which makes and distributes music software

(2) Audacity is a digital audio editor application