Recent advances in recording technology make it possible to make a first-class recording in your own home for next to nothing. For example, this great little $29 USB microphone plugs right into a Mac or PC ; it’s “class compliant” so there’s no software to install, and it sounds very good (it sounds GREAT by the time I’m finished with the sound!). And you can download this excellent, simple digital recording software for FREE:
You’ll get a complete video tutorial on how to install and set all this up (it’s remarkably easy these days), and if you REALLY get stuck, we’ll do a Skype session so I can help you get everything running right.
So how do we do this?
- You send me whatever you’d like to turn into a polished, final, CD-ready performance. Send lyrics, a poem, a verse from scripture, a passage from a book, a melody idea, or any kind of start to a song, or let me know what existing song you’d like to do. We’ll have a conversation about how you’d like it done; in most cases if you have a track or two in mind whose feel and texture you’d like, that can help point me in a good direction. Note that you get to specify ANYTHING you’d like your track to have; full orchestra? No problem. Jug band? You got it. Full, lush R & B ballad, James Taylor-esque ensemble, or Sam Smith production? You specify it however you’d like it.
- If you need your song put to a melody, I will write a couple examples and sing you a demo so you can get a feel for what the song would be like. Then, whether I’m writing the melody or using one you provide, I will work up a simple version of the song, probably piano, bass, a reference melody and some simple drums, to establish what’s REALLY the right key for you (I might send you 6 different keys to try out at home) and let you get a feel for the TEMPO of the song, and an idea of how it feels to sing over it.
- Once those are established, I’ll work up a fairly complete version of the track. If you’d like, you can watch some of the work happen via Skype’s screenshare function; for particular elements it can be a fun collaboration for you to “back-seat produce” elements of the track as it goes.
- THIS is where the rubber meets the road: When we’re liking the arrangement, I will send you a file that opens right up into the Presonus Studio One software, on either a Macintosh or PC computer (or in Garage Band on a Mac). This file will be pre-set to play the track in all its glory AND have a great setup for your USB microphone, pre-set with eq for your mic, reverb (a kind of echo, as if you’re singing in a great chapel), delay, everything you’d have to record with in a world-class studio (which now exists in your humble laptop!). I send a link to a video tutorial on exactly how to set things up on your end and how to use the very simple software, but you’ll be surprised at how quickly it comes together, and how great it sounds to be recording yourself in this environment.
- HAVE FUN! I mean it, and I bet you do! Take your time, move on it at your own pace, go until you feel like you’ve captured the feeling you want and have put together your best performance. It’s incredibly simple to “punch in” and fix things you’re not loving until you love them. And it’s simple to “bounce” the track with your vocal on it and send it to me for advice; I can “produce” your track remotely! The Presonus file I send will also come with pre-set tracks for you to record some background vocals to if you’d like to do that, as well. DON’T WORRY if your pitch isn’t perfect, or if there are little timing errors or the like; I am a wizened old Yoda figure at the vocal fix! Get a great FEELING performance, and know that nothing ever leaves my studio sounding less than great (I’ve tuned tens of thousands of notes over 20 years since the technology came online, some on CDs you’ve surely heard, but I’ll never tell!)
- When you’ve got things rocking, simply save your track to your hard drive and follow my instructions on how to get it to me, and then I’ll do any touch-ups on your performance that we feel to be necessary and MIX the track. I’ll send you references as I go, and you can feel free to send along any comments you’d like.
- When the project is finished, I master it to match what you (or your recipient) has in their music library, and you can give the song in any format you’d like (I have found that a thumb drive in a gift box makes a provocative little idea).