Willy Minnix: how to arrange a song

Showing posts with label how to arrange a song. Show all posts

Thursday, June 27, 2019

5 More Tips for Recording Vocals

Last time we talked about some tips that you can try when recording your vocals. This article I have a few more ideas for you.

1. Try a variety of microphones - When I was first starting out I was enamored with the idea of using a certain microphone for the vocals I needed. But after years of recording people, what I have learned is that each situation is unique, and certain situations call for different microphones to capture the situation the best. Sometimes that one special mic that you think is so amazing, just doesn't capture the sound for this particular performance like you think it should. So don't be afraid to try out different mics to see what they do for your recording.

2. Harmonies - When you are writing your harmonies, try using varying numbers of vocals. Maybe the harmony section only needs one voice. Maybe it needs 200. Who knows, and you won't until you try out a few different approaches.

3. Compression - Compression can do a lot for your vocal, but it can also be an interesting effect in and of itself. So experiment with varying levels of compression to see what works the best for the vocal you are recording.

4. Reverb - Almost everyone uses a little reverb on a vocal, but there are so many different styles and types of reverb, it would be beneficial to any budding artist to try out various types of reverb to see which one you like the best, and which works the best on the vocal you are recording.

5. Effects - Compression and Reverb aren't the only effects. Try out various effects on the vocals to see what makes them pop or what makes them blend in the way you want. They can all bring a different sound to the table and make your song unique.

So there are a few more ideas to try out when recording your vocals. If you found these tips helpful, you can find out more about songwriting tips and tricks in my new book: "Lyrics and Music: Music Theory for Aspiring Songwriters" available now at Amazon.com, or with several additional Appendices at Barnes and Noble.

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Tuesday, June 25, 2019

5 Tips for Recording Vocals

Now that you have your song written and a good start on figuring out how you want to arrange it, you need to figure out how to how you are going to record your vocals. Here are five tips that will help you with your vocals.

1. Vocal Doubling - This technique has been used on thousands of recordings. This is one of the easiest technique to add some depth to your vocal lines. A cool trick is to use slightly different adjustments for each vocal. Perhaps make one version with the lows a little higher and the other with the highs bumped up just a bit. If you want you can also slightly panned left and right.

2. EQ - Speaking of EQ settings, don't be afraid to mess around with the EQ settings on your vocals. Adjusting the Highs all the way and everything else down will make it sound like an old transistor radio. Whereas, if you do the opposite and turn the lows up but the other settings down, it'll sound like you're in a very dead room or a hole in the ground.

3. Mic Placement - Feel free to experiment with mic placement. Sometimes putting your mic in a different place, or using more than one mic can give you an interesting sound.

4. Larger than Life Vocal - Double or Triple your vocal, then trim off a bit from one, and then increase the length of the other, just a tiny little bit, then pan one Left and the other Right, and leave one center. The resulting effect gives you a larger than life vocal, and if you add effects to each track, you can get some really interesting effects.

5. Accent - Try a different accent. You might move your voice closer to the front of your face, or back further into your chest. Using a slightly different accent can make your vocal pop when you need it to. Also, thinning out a vocal can help blend harmonies and other vocals that seem to stick out too much in a mix. By thinning out the vocal, I mean holding back on vibrato or other resonating techniques.

So there are a few more ideas to try out when recording your vocals. If you found these tips helpful, you can find out more about songwriting tips and tricks in my new book: "Lyrics and Music: Music Theory for Aspiring Songwriters" available now at Amazon.com, or with several additional Appendices at Barnes and Noble..

Monday, June 24, 2019

5 More Tips for Arranging Your Songs

In the last article we discussed the important process of arrangement of your songs as a way of finishing them for the recording process. In this article there are five more tips for arranging your songs.

1. DAW Set up - Some songwriters like to use their recording software to pre-plan each part of the song prior to recording. Using a DAW you can layout how many bars you want your into, verse adn chorus to be, and can even be used to give you a metronome or a basic drum beat.

2. Rhythm - While you are arranging your DAW for recording, you can spend a great deal of time creating and arranging different rhythms for various parts of the song. With just a click of a button, you can combine complex rhythms and make your song take on new heights.

3. Time Periods - Understand various time periods and styles of music to give your piece a certain bygone flare. A good exercise is to try to write and arrange songs from a wide variety of time periods. Make a version of a 20's jazz classic, or try a 60's psychedelic song. Maybe you might find that the 1950's is the time period for you and you will have a knack at that type of song.

4. Mix and Match - Once you get a good feel for a variety of time periods and styles, don't be afraid to mix and match various styles to see what you come up with. One of the fun things about writing songs is the experimental process that songwriters go through while creating and arranging them. Don't forget that playful experimentation can lead to greatness.

5. Effects - Experiment with arrangement effects like vocal doubling, lush string arrangements and other techniques to make your song sound over the top.

So there are a few more ideas to help improve your songs at the arrangement stage. If you found these tips helpful, you can find out more about songwriting tips and tricks in my new book: "Lyrics and Music: Music Theory for Aspiring Songwriters" available now at Amazon.com, or with several additional Appendices at Barnes and Noble..

5 Tips for Arranging Your Songs

So you've written a few songs and you want to record some demos. What do you do next. The important job of learning to arrange your song is the next part of the song creating process. So here are several important things you can do to help you get started arranging your song.

1. Intro - Create an amazing intro. A really catchy, interesting into will be very useful for you when you are beginning to arrange your song. If your song starts with the perfect into then it will grab the listener's attention and propel them to listen to the next section of the song. It doesn't have to have relation to other parts of the song, and can stand on it's own. Elton John's song "Your Song," is a great example of this. The intro stands alone, apart from the song, and was added in the arrangement process in the recording studio. However, it establishes the greatness of the song to follow, and is hard to imagine "Your Song" without the intro.

2. Sonic Treats - Plan for Sonic Treats throughout the song. The idea is that certain sounds will be used as ear candy just to grab the listener's attention for just a moment and also propel them to listen to the rest of the song.

3. Try various types of song forms - When you are finished writing your song, you might feel that you are finished and your song is in it's final form. But you might find that when you are recording it that you might want to rearrange the form of your song. Maybe it is better to start with the chorus, or to move the bridge to another part of the song. Keep an open mind and see what pops up in the arrangement process.

4. Song Parts - This brings up another topic, song parts. When you are working on your song, determine which parts of the song are really needed. Maybe you don't need a bridge, maybe you should add a pre-chorus. You won't know until you experiment a little.

5. Buildups and Dropouts - Plan buildups and dropouts for various parts of the song in order to give the song more dynamic range. By building up more and more instruments to a song, you create a larger sonic pallet, but when you drop out to just a couple instruments or voices, you change dynamics greatly and give something exciting for the listener to experience.

Arrangement is an important part of finishing a song, and a good arrangement can really help improve your songs. If you found these tips helpful, you can find out more about songwriting tips and tricks in my new book: "Lyrics and Music: Music Theory for Aspiring Songwriters" available now at Amazon.com, or with several additional Appendices at Barnes and Noble..