Posted by TimBehrens | 0 Comments
First Steps Toward A Career In Production Music – Week One
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but the first mile may not be that inspiring...
One week into my five year plan, and I’ve learned so much… not all of it good. First, there’s nothing like a major head cold to kill momentum. Second, deciding to be more serious about pursuing a career in production music does not mean that suddenly everything will change and you’ll have all the tools and knowledge you need at your disposal. It doesn’t mean that there will be more time every evening to work on things. In fact, the only thing that has changed has been an increased awareness of how little time there is for this new goal. I’ve essentially appointed myself a second job (albeit one that revolves around something I love) with no pay, no upper management, and no discernable roadmap for how to navigate the coming months.
There is a certain psychology behind what I’m experiencing right now. I’ve been playing music for years. This path is not truly a new one for me. The only thing is new is that I have declared my intention to find discipline and direction. That, in itself, is an inspiring thing to do. What follows is the realization that those are things I have been lacking, and that they won’t find themselves. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single footstep, but the first mile that follows may not be all that inspiring.
Ok. With that out of the way, on to some of the things I’ve learned this week, in no particular order.
I am capable of writing, recording, and finishing a piece. Over the course of three nights, I wrote a piece titled ‘Cruise the City Lights’.
Hear it at SoundCloud.
For me, it’s been a model of everything I need to keep in mind moving forward. First, it’s easy to get a general idea about something and lay down a few tracks to express that idea. Second, the initial excitement that comes with that fades as you get lost in the details of cleaning up the parts, mixing them down, editing, embellishing, etc. Third, the details may be hard work and a bit tedious, but you need to plow through them before immersing yourself in new ideas and new songs, or all you’ll have is a pile of half finished tunes. Part of the discipline must be that you commit to sitting down to work, to meet the goals you set, before setting new ones.
In my mind, no song is ever done, because I’ll always hear something that needs fixing. At some point, you just have to say “I’ll keep that in mind for the next one.” When it was all said and done, though, I mixed it down, listened to it three or four times, and felt good. It has a beginning, a middle, an end, and I’m one tune into my thirty tune goal for year one.
There are major differences between singer/songwriter tunes and production music. Songs you hear on the radio can have a lot of changes in tone and mood. They follow a predictable structure (ie verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus) and can encompass a lot of different sounds in a small space. Music for film/television has a more focused goal of presenting a single tone, setting a mood, and then trying to keep things interesting with slight variations. A lot of what you hear in the background in TV shows is simple, consistent, and focused. There also tends to be a lot more space, because the music serves as a backdrop for what is happening in the show. Tunes with a single instrument or just a few sounds may not be as interesting to someone by themselves, but can do a lot for setting a mood. I heard a lot of floaty piano tunes and simple, spacious guitar licks as I listened this week. I heard a lot of ads with arpegiatted synth sounds and simple pads.
On a side note, I keep seeing references to Robin Frederick’s book “Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV: 114 Tips for Writing, Recording, & Pitching in Today’s Hottest Market
I have to work with what I have and not what I want. I love acoustic guitar, I love singing, I love natural sounds. I record in an untreated basement with noisey air vents, humming computers, one of those electronic rodent repellers that puts out high frequencies that we supposedly can’t hear (I hear them). My setup is anything but conducive to recording live sounds. It’s a goal of mine to figure out how to make the best of that, but for now I need to take the room out of the equation. This means electric guitar, midi keyboard, sound libraries, synths. I think a big part of starting out is looking at the tools you have at your disposal, and finding projects that take advantage of them. It’s easy to get lost in the list of things you’d like or have, and to say “I need to get this first.”
There is no magic ticket to creating a good mix… but there is a wealth of information out there for anyone who does some looking. I bought myself a one month membership to AudioTuts+ ($9 well spent) and have been browsing through some of the premium articles there. There’s a lot of information to go through, but I’ve already picked up a few great pointers. There are also some great articles and posts at:
Home Studio Corner.com Mixing Resources
Audio-Issues.com
There is a lot to learn about the business end of music. Stating the obvious, I’m sure. There’s too much to write about today, but I started to immerse myself in the mysteries of copyright, exclusive vs non-exclusive libraries, different PRO organizations (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC). I did find a few good sites for my first steps into this world.
A few articles talking about exclusive vs nonexclusive libraries, retitling, etc:
An article at Film Music Magazine in favor of non-exclusive
‘A Voice From the “Dark Side”: Confessions of a Retitler’
One at Production Music Association that talks about the dangers and disadvantages
‘Should You Sign With A Non-Exclusive Retitled Library?’
And here’s an all-around good site with lots of business related articles – MusicBizAcademy.com
I can’t do this alone. Networking is not just about making business connections. It’s about finding others who have similar shared experiences, who know your struggles and can truly appreciate your successes. I’ve met some great people online this week, and am also realizing that I need to find some collaborators here in Kansas City who can keep me motivated. I know a lot of good musicians, and need to be reaching out to them as I move forward. For me, a huge part of why music is enjoyable is that it’s an interaction, either because you are sharing it with an audience, or because you are communicating through music.
A lot of music has a call and answer type of theme to it, where melodies are repeated by different instruments, or conversations are had between different sections. It’s a good thing to involve other musicians so that you are not always ‘talking to yourself.’
There are productive ways to use Social Networking. I’ve been a Facebooker for a while now, but never really understood the value of Twitter. On a whim, I started playing around with it this week. Low and behold, a lot of the taxi folks and music folks I have been interested in knowing more about are on there! And they’re posting helpful links, nice little tidbits of information about their process, and inspiring bits of news. Who knew… it’s not just about someone you don’t know posting that they are standing in line at Starbucks.
Anyways, that’s my week one roundup. Here’s hoping that week two will see an end to my head cold, another tune under my belt, a few good realizations, a few contacts.
Photo: nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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