Recording like a Purple Germs Musician
Posted on 10/01/2017 04:25AM
Hi folks, freaks, and fans!
This RockBlog series is about guiding a musical vision through $3000 worth of equipment, and emerging with a commercially viable recording. Please add your ideas and opinions to the blog. I'd love to learn from YOU! -Harold Stevens
I had realized during the Purple Germs 2 recording sessions that there is a lot of good and bad, outdated information and technique on the internet....and some of it very closed minded. Thankfully, there were little voices out there that did have the correct information in some cases. Here's a concentrated How-To for the hard working rocker needing those answers in one place!
Start with a clear vision - Your 1st success!
You know that you want to have a completed recording to be proud of...but how do you harness and tackle all of those details, some of which you don't even know exist? Hold up! You're already working too hard. The technical details and specifics have nothing, at all, to do with your vision. Your artistic vision has no bounds. everything thing is possible....even the impossible. This is how you create a vision. In some circles it's called "brain-storming".
Write down the description of the song or album you are writing. (example: dark, heavy, sarcastic, with a funny ending) Is that really what you want? Think again and try to challenge the description. Can you think of something better? Substitute one of the description words and re-envision the album in your head. Better or worse? For whom? Make sure you are using your head to listen with your intended audience's ears and not your own...a common mistake. They didn't like it as much? Ok...substitute one of the other description words for something else and try again. This process can be as long as you want it to be, but within the first 10 minutes, you really are focused on your potential fans and have put your own closed mind behind you.
Congratulations! You have the vision that will make this all happen! Write those 4 words down and drink a beer! You have succeeded tonight! Nothing else matters now that you have the recipe for your success! Never doubt it. Never leave it's path through the project.
Mass Writing
The goal is not to come up with the "one perfect idea, but rather, come up with 30 imperfect ideas. Sound impossible? Sound time consuming? It's not, especially when you get good at it. I once asked a musician, "How did you come up with such a brilliant album worth of songs"? They replied, "I wrote 100 songs and cherry picked the best out of them". THAT'S quite a the secret!
Let's try it! Sit down and attempt to write 3 songs within a one hour span. No, you don't need lyrics, solos, or any detail. You need a tempo, the rhythm (guitar or piano), and 4 sections (Vers, Chorus, Bridge, and Break). That's it! Nothing else is important at this stage. Don't try to fine tune anything or get stuck "jamming" on something you like...Just write. You'll be surprised that you can do it! Record the ideas however you like. Open air, singing, playing, multitracking, it all is OK.
Next: Do it again a few times. By the end of the week, you will have 21 songs written. Can you believe it! Even if you hate all of the songs, which you won't, YOU WROTE 21 SONGS IN ONE WEEK!
Even a god needs a break. On the 8th day the musical god (you) rested and reveled in his/her accomplishments! Take a day off and listen to none of it. Play a video game, go out to dinner, and get some sleep. Clear your mind of it all.
Once you have had a break, listen to the ideas ONCE with a pencil in hand and write down the thoughts going through your head. Feel free to write down anything that comes to mind. Think of it as a musical Rorschach test. Only you are allowed to read it, so be as twisted, poignant, informal, blatant, honest, personal, crude, and insulting as you see fit. Remember to do this only once. Take only ONE pass through the material, even if you love something.
Week 2
Rinse and repeat! Do the above mass-writing exercise again, but this time either extend the sessions to 2 hours and do fewer days, or adjust appropriately with the goal of writing 30 songs. Sounds like a lot huh? You'll be surprised that it isn't at all. Spoiler alert!: You will end up writing songs that are very similar to others that you've written in some cases. Don't let this delay you. harness it and finish that similar song even faster and move on!
Take your deserved break (at least a day) and then listen through them as you did in week 1 with a pad and pencil handy. Only listen oncet through them as before.
Week 3
Time to finish off the writing! 40 songs to go! By now you have the idea of what you're doing. Pour on the heat and blast out 40 songs this week. Be creative with how you reach the 40 song target this time. This is the writing session week you will remember. Try 2 hour long sessions. Try a morning session and an evening session. Change your surroundings. Are you an energy drink lover? ...a coffee person?...Pizza?...Beer?...do it up but don't lose focus or momentum. Let these distractions move your ideas. Leave the pressure outside the door and realize that it's OK to take an extra day if you miss the 40 mark. No big deal.
YOU DID IT!
