For the post above, it would be great to get some feedback/critiquing from you all. I'm not the best at recording music in general and would really appreciate the advice. I'm using Ableton Live 9.

I liked Daydream and Last the most. The songwriting seems solid to me, and your singing is pretty good, too. The use of interesting background parts is cool and gives a neat atmosphere to things, but I feel that the lack of percussion really sticks out in a lot of places.

Some of the tracks have a bit more of a percussive rhythm to them, but even adding something simple from household items can help bring depth to your recordings. For example, one friend of mine has a song he recorded years ago where it was just acoustic guitar, vocals, and I think a spray bottle or something that he tapped to make a "drum" part. Other options include stealing drum loops/samples (which you can manipulate and/or layer to customize into new parts) or using "found audio" (think music concrete). I don't think you need to go crazy and change up your approach entirely, but I would definitely enjoy the songs more if at least some of them had a bit more layering, particularly percussion.

Keep writing, keep recording - recording is a tricky skill and is in my opinion way harder than doing music itself.

[quote="Marekenshin"]Some of the tracks have a bit more of a percussive rhythm to them, but even adding something simple from household items can help bring depth to your recordings. For example, one friend of mine has a song he recorded years ago where it was just acoustic guitar, vocals, and I think a spray bottle or something that he tapped to make a "drum" part. Other options include stealing drum loops/samples (which you can manipulate and/or layer to customize into new parts) or using "found audio" (think music concrete). I don't think you need to go crazy and change up your approach entirely, but I would definitely enjoy the songs more if at least some of them had a bit more layering, particularly percussion.[/quote]

Absolutely. I got a nano pad when i was finishing up this demo album; consequently, I only added custom drums to a few tracks (Depersonalization, CBB, Felo De Se, and Coin). A lot of those tracks I wrote without any percussion. However, you're right. I should get a little more creative with the items around me. Now that I have this little NanoPad, I am able to incorporate a little more. All this is new to me, recording software that is. The new set of songs I've been working on touch a little more on what you were talking about. As for the layering, that is something I am still playing around with; I am only allowed to have up to 8 different tracks on a single song (lite version of the software )
I don't plan on changing much of my approach, but I am going away from the acoustic bit a little more.

I REALLY appreciate the feedback, so much. Thank you!!

A workaround for layering - mix and export a track and then use that file as one of your 8 layers. Sawao used to do this when he first started out with a 2-deck tape player. He would record a part, play it back in deck 1 while recording a second instrument/part using deck 2, and slowly layer up the song one piece at a time. It took a lot of trial and error and was hard to balance levels/get decent sound quality, but it's a good example of how to work around the limitations a little bit.

One musician I've found particularly inspiring recently in terms of interesting songwriting and layering is Craig Minowa, of the band Cloud Cult. In the first four albums especially, he does a lot of really really creative approaches and the albums have a really unique character as a result. Listening to your recordings actually brought some of his early work to mind, so it might be worth giving some of that a listen to see if it sparks any ideas.

[quote="Marekenshin"]A workaround for layering - mix and export a track and then use that file as one of your 8 layers.

One musician I've found particularly inspiring recently in terms of interesting songwriting and layering is Craig Minowa, of the band Cloud Cult.[/quote]

Interesting...Such an easy idea. Thank you!

As for Cloud Cult, is there any specific album that you would recommend? I'll probably end up listening to his first four, like you shared, anyways.

Go with Aurora Borealis or Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus (third and fourth albums) to start off - prior to that gets more dark/experimenty and afterwards he stops utilizing found audio as often (but he makes up for it by becoming the goddamn master of epic layering and beautiful sound textures). Definitely, definitely dive into the whole catalog if you find yourself enjoying their work. One of the best bands I've ever run across, in so many ways. Like, all the awesomeness with Craig's creativity in recording and production aside, the message and purpose of his music is overwhelmingly positive and beautiful.

Really digging Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus so far. I see (hear, duh) what you mean about the layering now. It's very mesmerizing, this is album.

I'll be checking out Aurora Borealis soon. I feel as though Advice from the.... needs a few rounds of listening.

SUCCESS!

They have a huge catalog and those early ones aren't even their very best, just the best examples of non-traditional approaches to interesting layering. The Meaning of 8 or Light Chasers may be my favorite one overall.

I'll have to listen to those albums as well. Thanks for the suggestion; very unique band!

[quote="Dewith"]For the post above, it would be great to get some feedback/critiquing from you all. I'm not the best at recording music in general and would really appreciate the advice. I'm using Ableton Live 9.[/quote]


I thought the album was okay overall. Not my cup of my of tea but they are some songs I quite liked from Coned. I liked how most of these songs don't contain a chorus, which is definitely refreshing in today's music. I also liked how they had an ending instead of a fade-out. I also liked how most of them weren't in-key, which is good it gives the song some color. I liked Daydream, CBB, and Fela De Sole.
I liked Daydream because one of the most interesting songs with more of melodic material in it. CBB is a very short song, and I think you did well for it under it's time limit. And this is a good thing, because it takes talent to pack so much material in a very short song. Fela De Sole reminds me of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Not sure if it was just a coincidence but if it was, I wish you would've done a little more with it, but for what it is is still solid.

I didn't liked how a couple of songs had very long intros. Especially for Daydream, even though I liked the song, I just wish it had a shorter intro, because it almost made me want to skip the song. And this is a very important factor to your songs. Your listeners will get bored and they will skip your songs if you don't shorten your intros. I advise to you have a listen to Matt Blick's [url=http://mattblick.com/podcast]Beatles Songwriting Academy Podcast[/url] for it's current episode which talks about intros and why bands don't take opportunity to do anything with them. Even if you don't like The Beatles, it is still an important lesson for songwriters to learn about that! I also didn't like how a couple of songs had excessive repeats at the end of a song which gotten me actually skip one of your songs (Plank)! So, to quote Matt Blick, "Looking for things you can remove is definitely one helpful approach." You should do that, you should look for any parts in a song that should be taken out.

As a complement to CARNVAL's advice, you can also consider thinking about "variations on a theme." When you repeat a section, how are you making it fresh and new to the listener? Obviously the lyrics change from verse to verse and sometimes from chorus to chorus, but changing rhythmic emphasis and layering can really help keep a section from feeling over-repeated. You'll frequently see many pop-rock songs employ this on the second verse, in particular - you drop down to just vocals and some drums plus bass, or whatever.

I think that if you're looking to write songs for other people to enjoy, it is very important to think about the listener's attention span. If your goal is more to do the art for its own sake, stick to just making what you like and refining it even further to your liking. As you have surely noticed, everyone likes different aspects of music or even a particular song. Long intros are fine for some and uninteresting for others, so it may not actually be that you need to change that aspect so much as improve how you execute it.

[quote="CARNVAL372"][quote="Dewith"]For the post above, it would be great to get some feedback/critiquing from you all. I'm not the best at recording music in general and would really appreciate the advice. I'm using Ableton Live 9.[/quote]


I thought the album was okay overall. Not my cup of my of tea but they are some songs I quite liked from Coned. I liked how most of these songs don't contain a chorus, which is definitely refreshing in today's music. I also liked how they had an ending instead of a fade-out. I also liked how most of them weren't in-key, which is good it gives the song some color. I liked Daydream, CBB, and Fela De Sole.
I liked Daydream because one of the most interesting songs with more of melodic material in it. CBB is a very short song, and I think you did well for it under it's time limit. And this is a good thing, because it takes talent to pack so much material in a very short song. Fela De Sole reminds me of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Not sure if it was just a coincidence but if it was, I wish you would've done a little more with it, but for what it is is still solid.

I didn't liked how a couple of songs had very long intros. Especially for Daydream, even though I liked the song, I just wish it had a shorter intro, because it almost made me want to skip the song. And this is a very important factor to your songs. Your listeners will get bored and they will skip your songs if you don't shorten your intros. I advise to you have a listen to Matt Blick's [url=http://mattblick.com/podcast]Beatles Songwriting Academy Podcast[/url] for it's current episode which talks about intros and why bands don't take opportunity to do anything with them. Even if you don't like The Beatles, it is still an important lesson for songwriters to learn about that! I also didn't like how a couple of songs had excessive repeats at the end of a song which gotten me actually skip one of your songs (Plank)! So, to quote Matt Blick, "Looking for things you can remove is definitely one helpful approach." You should do that, you should look for any parts in a song that should be taken out.[/quote]

First off, thank you very much for your listening and great feedback. Daydream does have a long intro; unfortunately, I had to piece the song together (note wise) to make it work and not make the intro rushed. I wasn't thinking of Zelda when I wrote Felo De Se, but I can totally hear what your saying.

I do agree that Plank had excessive repeats and I had planned to play harmonica in the ending but didn't get around to it; this leads me to my next statement. I should have labeled this as a DEMO album as opposed to an album. To be completely honest, I rushed majority of the songs and was just very excited to hear it as a whole. I do, however, believe that some intros are needed to be a little longer than the standard in order to paint the mood or suspense. Obviously the people who listen to my material aren't expecting groundbreaking hits, due to the fact that I'm a "nobody," after patiently listening to a longer intro and that's okay.

I actually love the Beatles; my favorite album is Rubber Soul. I'll have to give that Matt Blinks podcast a go for sure, thank you.

I made a little demo EP about a month ago that i put on my page. I feel as though I did the same thing and sort of rushed a couple songs. I believe that the more I record and re-listen, the better I will become at song writing and improving in general. I'm currently working on an album that I am taking much more time recording, editing, etc. My problem is that I like to rush a lot of my work and not reconsider editing on "finished" songs.

Again, I really enjoyed your feedback, honesty, and opinion; Thank you!

[quote="Marekenshin"]As a complement to CARNVAL's advice, you can also consider thinking about "variations on a theme." When you repeat a section, how are you making it fresh and new to the listener? Obviously the lyrics change from verse to verse and sometimes from chorus to chorus, but changing rhythmic emphasis and layering can really help keep a section from feeling over-repeated. You'll frequently see many pop-rock songs employ this on the second verse, in particular - you drop down to just vocals and some drums plus bass, or whatever.

I think that if you're looking to write songs for other people to enjoy, it is very important to think about the listener's attention span. If your goal is more to do the art for its own sake, stick to just making what you like and refining it even further to your liking. As you have surely noticed, everyone likes different aspects of music or even a particular song. Long intros are fine for some and uninteresting for others, so it may not actually be that you need to change that aspect so much as improve how you execute it.[/quote]

Yes. I'm still learning, really, how to make music as a whole. I know how to make a song, but I just need to take a little bit of the repetitiveness in the verse, chorus, ect. It's all a work in progress and I'll be more conditioned the more I apply the advice I'm getting from here and close friends.

I'm definitely writing music just to write music; it is my emotional outlet. To say the least, it's to my own benefit. I really do enjoy hearing whether people enjoy it or not; as in, what specifics they disliked or enjoyed. If someone doesn't like a particular song or part, it gives me a chance to re-look at what I feel as though i'm missing or lack rather. "Improve how you execute it," I like that; thanks!

Glad that I have something useful to say about this for you! Please keep posting your music here, I'd definitely love to listen to what you write next. Feel free to hit me up for feedback on any work in progress or in general to talk about songwriting in the meantime!

[quote="Marekenshin"]Glad that I have something useful to say about this for you! Please keep posting your music here, I'd definitely love to listen to what you write next. Feel free to hit me up for feedback on any work in progress or in general to talk about songwriting in the meantime![/quote]


I put out a little demo ep last month. It veers away from the acoustic style I'm used to and is a little more experimental.

https://augustlives.bandcamp.com/album/tendencies

When it comes to soloing, I considering myself rather poor in that field. I usually, honestly, just play notes that sound like they would be right, and that usually works to my benefit and creates something unique in some circumstances, but I do believe that's something I need to work on.

I couldn't say that this little ep is any different, recording wise, from that demo album you listened to, but I will say it was a fun experiment. Like the last thing I shared, it was a little rushed; however, on the new album i'm working on, I am taking much time in listening, editing, and adding layers as well as diversity throughout the song. It really is working to my benefit.

Despite ep being so closely done to my demo album, I sure would appreciate the feedback and always enjoy conversation on what to look to improve on.

On a different note, I listened to that song (to the moon?) you posted a page back. You have a great vocal throughout the song. Not my style of song, but the slowing down and speeding up went well with your vocals. I can actually hear when your string snaps; haha.