Did you ever screw up your life and not realize at the time that you were screwed up?

Did you ever realize that at one time you were screwing up your life and while oblivious to the fact that you were totally screwing things up, someone was in your life loving you [...]]]> Did you ever screw up?

Did you ever screw up your life and not realize at the time that you were screwed up?

Did you ever realize that at one time you were screwing up your life and while oblivious to the fact that you were totally screwing things up, someone was in your life loving you and standing by you and willing to take you back?

That is what this song is about.  Sometimes that forgiveness and love comes from a strong person in your life, sometimes it comes from yourself and it always comes from God who loves you unconditionally.

This is the third official song release in my Podcast series for my new album, “Lost In Your Arms of Love” and this song will be the title track and believe it or not is called, “Lost In Your Arms of Love.”

But, whoa….I looked at the calendar since my last post in this series and it looks like I got distracted by life again from my release schedule.  Part of the distraction is that we became doggie daddy and mommy again.  Here is Kaleigh and Dylan. Dylan came from the Shetland Sheepdog rescue when he found himself suddenly in need of a new loving home.  Kaleigh is always wondering where her next meal is coming from.

Anyway, the good news is I have gotten a lot of studio work done and I now have a few songs re-done and ready to post.  So, for this week I decided to grab out of my finished music bucket Lost In Your Arms of Love.  This tune did not require too much work in order to re-release it for this CD as my original recording was pretty solid.  I did pull this song over off my PC onto the Mac and remixed it using Logic Pro and readjusted the mix levels.  Since there is no direct export-import from Sonar to Logic, redoing this song was really quite a bit of work.  Anway, a few lessons with Michael Powers on mixing really opened my eyes to how bad my old mixes were!

Now, here is a better mix of the song.

I’m sure all dads of [...]]]> This is the second release in the podcast series for my new album, “Lost In Your Arms of Love” and this song is called, “Michelle, When I Hear Your Name.”  I wrote this song for my daughter and yes her name is Michelle.

I’m sure all dads of daughters have a special bond with their child, but it is even more special when you have a special child on the autism spectrum.  There are so many things I am sure that she thinks and wants to tell me but can’t because the autism and her body get in the way and there are so many things I feel that I wish I knew she understood, but when words get in the way we just look in each others eyes and I know we both know that we have communicated the unspeakable.  In the end the lack of perfect speaking and hearing abilities doesn’t really matter because the love that binds us is a real, living force and it goes much deeper that speech ever could.  It is God who brought us together and that’s all that matters.

And likewise, it is hard for me to begin to describe to you what a unique, spiritual, blessing filled, faith inspiring, special journey it has been ever since the day she was born.

Here is the song:  Michelle, When I Hear Your Name

I reached a new milestone recently.  I have produced my first ever CD!  All of my work on the Musing Mana Song Project has been compiled onto CD format and is now available to order directly from my web site.    Instant Downloads!  Take It!   Share It!    Remix It!

Dedication:

As I have talked about [...]]]> Hi friends,

I reached a new milestone recently.  I have produced my first ever CD!  All of my work on the Musing Mana Song Project has been compiled onto CD format and is now available to order directly from my web site.    Instant Downloads!  Take It!   Share It!    Remix It!

Dedication:

As I have talked about in my blog postings from time to time on my web site, my music and work I put into it is especially dedicated to the most vulnerable and often the least remembered in our world:  Those living with disabilities, especially autism, and to our seniors in nursing homes.  And certainly just as importantly, the caregivers who love and support all of these special people.

As I mentioned, these songs are from my very first songwriting and recording project, “The Musing Mana Songwriting Project” that was published on the Internet on this web site, between March 2008 and September 2009. In this project I produced a new song as often as possible and released it for free as a Podcast.  These songs are available here in their raw form, exactly as they were podcasted including some with my “Hey, this is Chris from Chris Hartzog.com……” introduction.

It’s got fourteen songs, you can either purchase the whole CD, buy one song at a time or buy the whole group as a zip file. There’s no DRM and it’s Creative Commons licensed. CD purchases get a real CD signed personally by me mailed directly to you.

Even though it would be really nice, cool and thoughtful of you to actually buy from me, I am equally thrilled if you take the free download and take it upon yourselves to share my music with your friends. You can remix it, use it in your videos, play it on your podcasts, heck, go ahead and include it in software and games and it give it a life of its own.

Oh, I should mention that if you choose to purchase you can rest assured that your purchase is safe and secure since it is handled through PayPal the worlds largest online payment processing company.  You can also use most major credit cards.  Just go to my Download Music page.  It’s that easy. If that doesn’t work for you, you can mail me a check or money order.

Thanks,

Chris

Click here [...]]]> In my infinite desire to play around with new technology I ended up creating a MPEG4 video -  The Movie – Vaccai Meets Trip Hop (Take 2) of Vaccai Meets Trip Hop (Take 2).  So, now here you go.  This has to be one of my shortest blog posts ever.  BTW, happy Labor Day.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This version has more of a tribal feel and some minor key overtones.  I even had to haul out my synthesizer to [...]]]> Here is a new edition of Vaccai meets Trip Hop.  I am now up to the 14th release in my Musing Mana song project:  Musing Mana 14 – Vaccai Meets Trip Hop (Take 2)

This version has more of a tribal feel and some minor key overtones.  I even had to haul out my synthesizer to play the bass line and my Irish penny-whistle for the celestial background sounds.  I bet Nicola Vaccai never dreamed his music would be mixed with Trip Hop.  That is what the Creative Commons movement is all about though – extending and enhancing creativity through the sharing across generations and societies of our common culture.   Isn’t it fascinating that Vaccai’s parents wanted him to become a lawyer, they even sent him to Rome to study law, but just like kids today once he left home he decided he had his own ideas and turned to music.  In a way, I think Lawrence Lessig would be proud.

Here is a new edition of Vaccai Meets Trip Hop.  This version has more of a tribal feel and some minor key overtones.  I even had to haul out my synthesizer to play the bass line and my Irish penny-whistle for the celestial background sounds.  I bet Nicola Vaccai never dreamed his music would be mixed with Trip Hop.  Neither did I actually….not until I accidentally discovered the Trip Hop beat and saw that I kind of liked it, then after I looked into it I found out that those darn British had created this vibe, appropriated our Hip Hop, made it more musical and created their own thing.  Perfect!  It has creative commons written all over it.

That is what the Creative Commons movement is all about though – extending and enhancing creativity through the sharing across generations and societies of our common culture.   With Vaccai, to me it is equally fascinating that Vaccai’s parents wanted him to become a lawyer, they even sent him to Rome to study law, but just like kids today once he left home he decided he had his own ideas and turned to music.  In a way, I think Lawrence Lessig would be proud.

Anyway, in case you missed the first release of Vaccai Meets Trip Hop, which I erroneously titled “hip hop” in the blog post, this song was a result of a quick creative burst one day when I wondered what happens if Vaccai meets trip hop meets a wah-wah meets a Leslie?  I put the original song together in one short recording session…..it probably only took me about an hour.  I labored over this one a little bit longer, but not too long as I wanted to keep the same level of spontaneity.

Most guitar players know what a wah-wah pedal is and what a leslie is.  But, for those not familiar with Vaccai, he is best known for his teaching of bel canto, or beautiful singing technique, popular in 19th century Italian opera.  Per the Internet, “Vaccai is now chiefly remembered as a voice teacher. Nicola Vaccai wrote many books one of which is called Metodo pratico de canto (Practical Vocal Method). This book has been transposed for different types of voice (i.e high or low), to teach singing in the Italian legato style. The Metodo pratico was written in 1832 and is still in print, from Edition Peters and Ricordi, and used as a teaching tool. Vaccai notes in his introduction that only the voice of a master demonstrating accurately his exercises can really teach the student the correct techniques of true legato. The book is also an important source of information about the performance of early 19th-century opera.”

Therefore, I give you Vaccai meets Trip Hop Take 2.

Lyrics (Italian)

Lascia il lido, e il mare infido
a solcar torna il nochiero, 
e pur sa che menzognero
altre volte l’inganò,
altre volte l’inganò,
altre volte l’inganò,
altre volte l’inganò.

Lyrics (English)

Far from home and shore and safety
Must the pilot steer his vessel
Tho’ he know the traitorous waters
Have deceived him oft before,
Have deceived him oft before,
Have deceived him oft before,
Have deceived him oft before.

That version was, believe it or not, and I suspect that you probably will believe it, recorded [...]]]> On Mothers Day 2008 I released Musing Mana 5, Always There for my mom. It’s one of the first songs I wrote, and arguably fairly cheesy, but hey, it was “for mom” so she had to like it.

That version was, believe it or not, and I suspect that you probably will believe it, recorded on a 1980’s era Sharp Ghettoblaster boombox tape recorder out on the workbench in my garage! Since the recording is all on one track…voice and guitar mixed together, there is not a lot one can do to improve the basic performance, and compounding that I recall that the cassette recorder in that boombox had a bit of wobble.  Anyway, I decided to try anyway to stretch my home recording engineer muscles a little bit. In this iteration of Always There we have some wonderful string players helping out that I am certain would make old Blue Eyes proud along with a bit of autotuning to correct the tape wobble and some added EQ to the original recording to try to balance the “boominess” of the guitar with my challenged vocals. By the way, during the guitar intro, the little bang sound you hear in the background is my wedding ring bumping against the guitar neck and I decided to leave that part in because there was no way to remove it and keep things seamless…let’s call it a bit of live ambience.  So, without further adieu I give you Always There – Remix.

They are not mastered so you will probably have to adjust the EQ on your [...]]]> I am working on recording a new song I wrote called “Saving Grace” that has a blues/rock feel with Gospel lyrics.  Two demo versions of it are available for listening below.  Let me know if the links don’t work for you.

They are not mastered so you will probably have to adjust the EQ on your stereo system.  Some day I will probably learn about mastering too.

• Here is Saving Grace version 1
• Here is Saving Grace version 2

Which do you like better?

Any suggestions for improvement?

Some day I might put up a few of the song shark, “just send us $200″ and you might get published record offers I have received.  If this stuff was as good as they make it sound I wouldn’t need to work any more or try to sell any songs because I would be filthy [...]]]>

Some day I might put up a few of the song shark, “just send us $200″ and you might get published record offers I have received.  If this stuff was as good as they make it sound I wouldn’t need to work any more or try to sell any songs because I would be filthy rich and out cruising on my yacht.  Of course I could have the ship outfitted the the latest recording gear to capture any new inspiration that comes from a life without worries or financial pressure.  I wonder how many anxious artists actually send the money before they ask themselves if it really is too good to be true?  You wouldn’t do that would you?  I think I’ll just stay Indie and Free…..

I realized there are some of my posts from the past year that seem to attract a lot more interest than others, yet they are buried pretty deeply in the mineshafts of my blog and unless you happen to type in the right combination of keywords in a search engine, you might never know they [...]]]>

I realized there are some of my posts from the past year that seem to attract a lot more interest than others, yet they are buried pretty deeply in the mineshafts of my blog and unless you happen to type in the right combination of keywords in a search engine, you might never know they exist.  To right this wrong, Sir Don Quixote knight errant that I am, I went searching for the Lady Dulcinea of WordPress popular post plugins.  And, alas!  I have located my lady, WordPress Popular Posts by Hector Cabrera.  The little gem is now appearing in my sibebar column.  As of today, it is showing in third place, what I believe is actually the number 1 post:  10 Tips or More on How to Write a Demo Cover Letter.  It probably just needs a few more days to monitor clicks before things right themselves.  Well, happy reading.

I can hardly believe it has been a whole year since I became an on-line Troubadour  and launched www.chris-hartzog.com and the Kilika Music songwriting project, Musing Mana.  Happy Birthday!

I have learned a lot and done a lot these past twelve months, which some of you have followed along via my blog posts, [...]]]> Hi everyone and Aloha!

I can hardly believe it has been a whole year since I became an on-line Troubadour  and launched www.chris-hartzog.com and the Kilika Music songwriting project, Musing Mana.  Happy Birthday!

I have learned a lot and done a lot these past twelve months, which some of you have followed along via my blog posts, my Twitter tweets or on ReverbNation, FaceBook or sadly on MySpace.  In January, I even attended my first JoCo and Paul and Storm concert!

Yes, believe it or not, I am still anxiously awaiting the papers to sign that big recording contract with Capitol Records!

Stat-wise, I think this has been a good start at my very first attempt at hosting a web site, becoming a blogger and an indie, self-publishing singer-songwriter and musician, and Creative Commons evangelist.  So far I have published nearly 200 blog posts, added 35 permanent pages to my web site and had over 6,200 visitors to my site.  My Musing Mana Song Project got off to an encouraging start as well.  I have written and recorded 10 songs, 5  of which are my own composition that I have launched into cyberspace beginning with Irish Rockerwoman.  During these song-o-nauts’ cyber journey you have given them over 2000 plays/downloads.  Thank you very, very much!  Or, as they say in Hawaii – Mahalo nui loa!

As I mentioned earlier, being one who never can sit still and just watch trees grow, I have more things planned for the future.  As the initial Musing Mana songs were rough demo cuts, I am planning to re-record most or all of the MM songs at a studio quality level and re-release them….under Creative Commons licensing, of course.  Eventually, as I find my way along, both sets of music will also get mastered and published on CD and they will be available for sale at various outlets, such as CD Baby and Amazon and iTunes.  While everything I do is done for free and out of love for the causes I believe in, I do need to find creative ways to actually make money!  Of course any money I make will help fund not only our lifelong responsibilities of care as special needs parents, but also help me get the word out about autism, Alzheimer’s/Dementia and promotion of respect for life.

Beyond that or actually in parallel with that, I have new song ideas that I am also working on and I may post excerpts on my blog as I go along to let anyone who wants peek into and participate a bit in my creation process.

-Chris (Kilika)

What have I been doing with all of my time?!  It has been months since I posted last on our Lance Armstrong book study. I hope you haven’t given up either and have been reading along. In case [...]]]> This episode is on Chapter 4 – Success Factor 1: Positive Attitude.

What have I been doing with all of my time?!  It has been months since I posted last on our Lance Armstrong book study. I hope you haven’t given up either and have been reading along. In case you missed the previous episode, we are reading from the book, “How Lance Does It” by Brad Kearns“.

The concept of a positive attitude has been such an important concept for me during my life.  I understood the impact a negative attitude could have from a young age.  During 5th grade math class I had to solve a dreaded word problem at the blackboard in front of the class.  Well, little Christopher came up with the wrong answer.  That was bad enough, but instead of turning the event into a positive learning experience the teacher criticized me and made fun of me in front of the class and told me she wouldn’t want to shop in my grocery store “because you would probably rip me off!”  I still remember the class laughing at me.  I was kind of amazed that a nun even knew the phrase “rip me off”……

Have you ever embarrassed yourself or been embarrassed Royally?  Have you carried around a memory that still makes you cringe when you think about it?  Have you had songs rejected, perhaps laughed at?  Did you ever sing off key?  Forget your lyrics?  Loose the groove?

Well, the good news is that bad stuff happens to everybody, you and me included.  How do you take the bad and use it for good?  For one thing – Try to remember what people say or do to you is all about them.  It is not about you.

Anyway, lucky for you, that is exactly what this chapter is all about.

Lance Armstrong has been criticized mercilessly during his cycling career.  Especially intense were the allegations, probably from jealous competitors and their sponsors that he used steroids or other performance enhancing drugs.  “Doper!”  How has he managed to survive the criticism and seemingly thrive during all of it and go on to blow our minds?  Since the book study’s focus is to consider what we might learn from Lance’s life and apply it to our music, we must ask ourselves:  If I have been, or will be, criticized mercilessly during my music career, how can I survive and more importantly thrive in spite of it?

The key, the first piece of body armor that we need is a POSITIVE ATTITUDE.  Okay then, how do we get one?

Page 63 of the book gives an excellent example of how pervasive negativity can be in our society in general and in all of us.  The Brad Kearns tells a story of a muggy day at the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s Ride for the Roses weekend to celebrate and support cancer survivors.  Lance had just arrived and had fallen victim to an allergy attack and a series of sneezing.  Brad wrote, “The air seemed visibly heavy and dirty, and my runs along the beautiful Lake Austin trail downtown felt sluggish and hindered by constricted lungs.  I remarked to Lance, ‘I can’t believe how bad the allergies are here!  I don’t see how you can even train, I mean…..’  At which point Lance paused his pen, looked at me right in the eye and said, ‘Quit bitching.’    I was a little taken aback…….Upon further reflection, I realized that I had learned a valuable lesson.  How dare I complain about e weather, to a cancer survivor, at a gathering of cancer survivor, in a beautiful town like Austin! …..Even a seemingly inconsequential subject like your attitude about the weather deserves to be challenged and reframed into something positive.”

“Everyone wants to know what I’m on.  I’m on my bike six hours a day.  What are you on?”

The following is a summary of the major points in Chapter 4.  Steps to Develop Success Factor 1:  POSITIVE ATTITUDE:

1. Make attitude a choice. Regardless of external circumstances, attitude remains the most powerful and empowering choice you can make.  Make the choice to be honest, correct, and real in dealings with yourself and others, especially in the face of difficult circumstances.  Cultivate a healthy, balanced lifestyle to support your positive attitude.
2. Avoid “bad air”. You can achieve this by calling it out and breaking the cycle of emotional power struggles between loved ones and close associates.  Even an innocent comment about the weather contributes to negativity and must be challenged and reframed.  Take the high road and remain positive in the face of conflict and challenge.  A traffic jam provides an opportunity to learn more about yourself and become a better corporate or athletic performer in the future and so on.
3. Develop your air filter. In a physical, practical sense, you must prioritize your time and energy and eliminate the distractions that hamper your pursuit of goals and happiness.  In an emotional sense, you must move on from difficult experiences, criticism, and other setbacks.  Focus on the positive elements of the challenges that you experience and eliminate the negatives.  This is especially relevant because we are not perfect.  If you enjoy a decadent slice of cheesecake for dessert in conflict with your diet, instead of feeling negative about it, just enjoy it as an element of a happy, balanced life.  Then strengthen your commitment to emphasize a diet of healthy, natural foods.
4. Practice. Developing the ability to remain positive requires repletion and reinforcement.  Realize that an excessively stressful daily life brings great risk of burnout, exhaustion and consequent negativity.   When you encounter bad air, don’t take things personally.  Instead, draw strength from negative experiences by letting them go and choosing a positive attitude in the present.

I have begun to think about this issue of the fact that first impressions count and wondering how to capture that magic [...]]]> John Braheny is sure a helpful guy. John is the author of the book, The Craft And Business Of Songwriting John is also a major force behind and contributor to the helpful site TAXI.

I have begun to think about this issue of the fact that first impressions count and wondering how to capture that magic combination of words in the opening lines of a song.  Fortunately, John published an article on just those questions.  And with Taxi’s permission, I reprint the following article.

Incidentally, if you enjoy this article, you might also enjoy this other article served up a la TAXI:

10 Tips or More on How to Write a Demo Cover Letter

Anyway, on to your first line:

Lyric Writing: First Lines

By John Braheny

The first words from a singer’s mouth are critical, particularly if they’re the first words you’ve ever heard from that artist. It all goes into that evaluation you make as a listener about whether or not you I like the record. So with your writer’s hat on, you need to think about how strongly you can interest the listener with that first line or lines. When a publisher or producer hears that first line, he’s deciding whether to keep listening or turn it off, too. If it doesn’t sell him, he’s not optimistic about selling it to an artist.

Don’t fall prey to the temptation to start with “I’m just sittin’ here (a) writing this song (b) thinking about you, or (c) looking at the . . .” or “Woke up this mornin’. . .” (didn’t we all?) or other equally uninteresting clichés. Though these might be penciled in to get your motor running, when you get down to a rewrite they should be the first things that get penciled out.

Your first line should set the tone for the whole song and make us want to hear what comes next.

You can set your first scene by asking several questions. The answers will contribute to what you want your lyric to accomplish.

Where is it taking place?

Is it important to the song?

What kind of a place is it?

Are there evocative features? If you allude to a particular country or city, the mountains, beach, etc., be careful of passive “picture postcard” openers that don’t carry with them action, flavor, attitude, or emotional charge. “Ten miles west of Houston,” “In a dirty downtown doorway,” “At home in your love,” “Halfway into Heaven” are all about places, either geographical or emotional.

• Can the hour, day, season, or year offer a flavor that enhances the emotional impact of your song? Think of the number of songs that use “morning” or “night” to evoke a mood.

• If the song is addressed to someone, is there something arresting you can say? If the song is about someone, can you say something that immediately gives a picture or a quick personality sketch.

Is there an active image you can use? If you’re expressing an emotion, can you do it in a poetic or dramatic way? “I feel so out of place,” for instance, just kind of lays there. Contrast that with George Gobel’s old line, “The world’s a tuxedo and I’m just a pair of brown shoes.” Of course, that type of cleverness isn’t always the answer—it depends on the tone you want to establish.

A listener should have the answers to the “who, what, when, and where” by the end of the first verse, as well as know the song’s attitude and mood. But most importantly, the listener should be persuaded to keep listening, no matter how you accomplish it, with your lyric, your music, or better, by both.

Here are some examples of good opening lines:

My stupid mouth has got me in trouble
I said too much again to a date over dinner yesterday.
John Mayer – “My Stupid Mouth”

It’s sitting by the overcoat
the second shelf, the note she wrote
that I can’t bring myself to throw away
Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20) – “Long Day”

You said I’m gonna buy this place and burn it down
Coldplay – “A Rush of Blood To The Head”

I was standing in the grocery store line
The one they marked express
When this woman came though with about 25 things
And I said don’t you know that more is less
Tom Douglas & Buzz Cason for Martina McBride – “Love’s the Only House”

This excerpt is from John Braheny’s book, The Craft and Business of Songwriting, 2nd Edition). It’s available at Amazon .com and bookstores everywhere. For info about John’s critiquing and consulting services, go to www.johnbraheny.com.

By [...]]]> I am republishing the following article courtesy of Taxi.com “The World’s Leading Independent A&R Agency” because I have been slacking off on my own songwriting focus in recent months and I need my own pseudo kick in the butt.  So, to begin the kicking, I present this timely article by Michael Anderson.

The 5-Minute Songwriting Class

Songwriting

By Michael Anderson

If you have been reading this series of articles you know that I have been referencing film and screenwriting as another paradigm for creative use of technique in your songwriting.

I have lately found a source of inspiration that has been quite a revelation to me in that I found someone preaching the same guerrilla techniques for film that I have been preaching for songwriting.

His name is Robert Rodriquez, and you may know his work from films such as El Mariachi and Sin City

Anyway, he also has a book about his experience in making his first feature length film, El Mariachi. The book is called Rebel Without a Crew, and the narrative has similarities with my experience in the music business—a good read if you are into seeing how other people have pulled it off.

Part of his book is the “10 Minute Film School”—I thought I might vamp on that concept for songwriters:

“The 5-Minute Songwriting Class”

Part I: The first thing is you need a good idea—I have lectured on that over and over here. Creativity is about process—the old “success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration” routine—but without that 10% inspiration the other 90% of your work is a waste of time. In fact, you can hire the “perspiration” part if you have the money—somebody will take your money and do all the necessary work for you if you know how to delegate and focus in that way.

But if you are a struggling artist chances are you will end up doing most of the work yourself too because you can’t afford to hire somebody to be your “go fer.” That is OK, as Robert Rodriquez repeatedly points out, the only way to really be sure you are getting what you need is to do it yourself. That means learning all the little “processes” in the overall big picture process—learning your instrument, learning your tools for recording, learning your business procedure.

But the initial spark is where it starts. Eddie DeGarmo told me that genius is defined by limitations—in other words, making what you have to work with work in your favor—do something on a low budget someone with all the resources in the world can’t do because they don’t have the focus for that. Find a creative way to solve a problem that no one could have come up with in any other way.

To find that magic “idea” I recommend a few exercises that again, I am sure you have heard before.

A: “Morning Pages”—direct from “The Artist Way” formula—you can do them in any way that works for you but the point is to get writing immediately in the morning while your brain is still connected to your creative subconscious and start flowing.

Working without interruption starting first thing in the morning gets more creative work done than anything else I have ever found—a close second is late at night when it is quiet and you are tired—the same process—connecting to that part of your creative self that is a bit left of your reasonable, rational normal thought process.

B: A similar process—the “Artist Date”—again, straight from “The Artist Way.” Set aside time to goof off. Do nothing. Do what you want. Relax.

I know, you don’t have time. Well, you can’t force creativity any more than you can make time go backwards—it is a flow and you need to find the rhythm of it—it is in another dimension, a parallel universe—and you need to find it — sync to it—it will not find you through your will. It may smack you upside the head at any moment, but you can’t control that. You have to be ready for it.

Part II: Do it. Write it down and record it. Use what you have, when you have it. Don’t wait for the ideal guitar, perfect piano, latest software, newest recorder, machine, time, professional studio, whatever. Again, do it with what you have, when you have it. And do the very best you can do with what you have available. But also:

A: Lower your expectations. Some people never do anything because they have such egotistic perfectionist tendencies that they can’t allow themselves to make a mistake. Get over that. Make mistakes. Fail. Learn. Do. Get better. Do it all again.

B: Have a goal—what are you going to do with the demo? What are you going to do with the finished product? What do you need to do to get it to that point and how can you do that now?

Part III: Mainly, enjoy the process of your work—enjoy the rush of the new idea. Enjoy the satisfaction of actually hearing a new part, a new line, a new creative way of doing something no one else has done—say the same thing in a fresh new way. Entertain yourself—make your melody, your lyric, your demo something you want to experience over and over again and show to people you trust who appreciate you.

When you get there the other people will find you.

Class dismissed. Go write a song.

You can contact Michael Anderson or purchase his Little Black Book of Songwriting at michaelanderson.com

Some highlights from this chapter:

Lance Armstrong announced this week that after competing in a 100 mile, lung-searing race through the Rocky Mountains, that he is [...]]]> Here is proof that I chose the right topic and book, “How Lance Does It” by Brad Kearns for our virtual book club study series on how to supercharge your songwriting and musical goal pursuits:

Lance Armstrong announced this week that after competing in a 100 mile, lung-searing race through the Rocky Mountains, that he is coming out of retirement to compete in next summer’s Tour de France.

So, if you haven’t bought yourself the book yet, now is the time.  I should have a something to post on the next chapter in the not too distant future.  If you start reading now, you still have time to catch up….just like Lance.

This is the third installment in the read-along-with-me series on how Lance Armstrong’s philosophy might apply to songwriting and music. We are only on chapter two even though this is the 3rd installment because the first covered the introduction.

I hope you have all been reading [...]]]> It is now time to move on to chapter 2.

This is the third installment in the read-along-with-me series on how Lance Armstrong’s philosophy might apply to songwriting and music. We are only on chapter two even though this is the 3rd installment because the first covered the introduction.

I hope you have all been reading along.  In case you missed the previous episode, we are reading the book, “How Lance Does It” by Brad Kearns

For me, this chapter boils down to a fairly compact summary: Get over yourself and the negative energy that you create by obsessing over results. Instead, just go out there and kick some ass today!

And don’t forget that the Eagles wrote a song called Get Over It

We have to understand first of all that not all of us are Olympic athlete material….or Mozarts. The book succinctly points out that the people you see in these settings have a couple of unique characteristics that many people don’t have:

1. They are Freaks of Nature. They possess unique 1 in a million physical characteristics.
2. They have the X Factor. They’ve got it. Many want to win; Lance HAS to win.

Nevertheless, if you are not a freak of nature or a natural born X factor baby, what can you and I learn from these super-performers, especially in application to music, whether you are a composer, song writer, or performer? The top things that I took away in this regard are:

1. Avoid negative self talk.

Have you ever dissed yourself?  Do you unleash a stream of negativity after or while you struggle hitting that high note or find your fingers turning to mush every time “that passage” of notes comes by?  Page 32 of the book provides some excellent examples of this kind of negativity:

Athletes today are conditioned strongly to appreciate victory but not the enjoyment of the experience and striving to get better. With the young athletes I work with it is surprising to observe the barrage of self-limiting statements and beliefs that they harbor about competition.  At a recent practice session for high school high jumpers, one of the athletes announced to his peers, “I’m like the worst high jumper ever, ” just before launching himself at the bar.  Second grade children assembled for the distance race will whine, “Do I have to do it?  I stink at running.”  The passenger next to me on a recent airplane flight told me she worked in a dental office but was “just an assistant,” implying that this was not as valuable or impressive as being a dentist or certified hygienist.  These self-deprecating comments that are ubiquitous today are simply a protection mechanism against the way we measure and judge everyone by their accomplishments.  We worship money, victory, and prestige, while ignoring the subtler traits of exhibiting good sportsmanship, contributing goodwill to the community, or being a good listener, a mentor to youth or workplace associates, or generally a kind , decent and fair person.

2. Life is like a high jump bar.  See page 33.

In a high jump competition, the bar is set individually for each jumper, providing a completely personal challenge with unlimited potential for success. ….. The metaphor of the high jump bar applies to whatever challenges and goals you have in your life.  If your bar is set at becoming the best dental assistant you can be, there is great honor in that pursuit — far more honor than with a dentist who is more interested in deep-sea fishing than dentistry and just goes through the motions with the patients in his chair.  As I explained to the young jumper after his statement, the “worst high jumper ever” is someone whose feet never leave the ground.

3. Learn to think more efficiently.

Do you get distracted when you play, or sing or try to compose a new song?  Do you waste time on things that are unimportant to achieving your goal at hand?  As described on page 35:

Knaggs explains that the speed of Lance’s brain is right up there with his pedaling speed as a key component of his winning formula.

“Like the flickering images that make up the display on a computer screen, our brains have a cognitive refresh rate,” said Knaggs…..Lance’s refresh rate is three times as fast as the average person’s.  he never zones out at any time; he’s always hypervigilent, during the Tour and during his busy, multifaceted life.  he’s a good fully step ahead of everybody, always thinking toward something, moving at a faster speed and never resting.  he gets three hours out of the day that no one else does.”

4. Strive for Ideal Performance State (IPS)

IPS is not to be confused with IBS!  I think IPS is that state where you lose track of time.  You are totally into what you are doing purely for the enjoyment of it.  You are relaxed and loving it….you are in touch with the music itself.  Interestingly, this ties in in a timely manner with yet another book that I am currently reading called The Inner Game of Music, which just so happens to be modeled and inspired from the sports realm…after, “The Inner Game of Golf”….more about that though on another day.  Anyway, from page 37 of the book:

My favorite line to describe this optimal approach is “Results happen naturally when motivation is pure.”  With a pure motivation, I would experience a higher level of performance without having to struggle or force anything.  At those times, I was experiencing what James Loehr calls the “Ideal Performance State” (IPS) affectionately known as the zone…….described as”physically relaxed, mentally calm, fearless, energized, positive, happy, effortless, automatic, confident,” and so on.

The one story from this chapter that best crystallizes what all of this is about is the “bagel shop” story on page 38:

Lance and I had … made plans to bicycle to the starting line on race morning….he was running well behind schedule…..Pedaling toward the waterfront race venue, we approached a bustling coffee and bagle shop, causing Lance to proclaim, “Man, I’m hungry.  Let’s stop for a bagel, B.K.”  While eating a bagel as the last thing on my mind (most athletes set their alarms for two or three hours before an event, consume some high-tech nutritional supplement … and then go back to sleep), I indulged him in another detour.  Circular snack in hand, Lance and I pedaled on toward the race venue, now dangerously close to the start time.  While my nervousness and anxiety were building inside, I could not help but laugh at the sight of my riding partner rolling into the transition area with a bagel stuffed in his mouth.

As I completed my hurried prerae preparations and hustled off anxiously toward the start of the swim, I heard Lance yell, “Hey, B.K.!”  As I turned to face him, he flashed the thumbs-0up sign and said, “Let’s kick some ass today!”  Instantly, my nervousness and tension melted away yinto a big smile, thanks to a fellow competitor no less.

Alright – Do you feel lucky?

Now, just go out there and kick some ass today!

ROFLMAO!! OH, I CAN BARELY BREATHE NOW!!

++++++++++++++++++++ This is from newshound Dave Barry’s colonoscopy journal:

…….I called my friend Andy [...]]]> A friend sent me this today in an attempt to cheer me up and break my nervousness over my impending colonoscopy.  BUT, I almost don’t need a colonoscopy NOW…..I think I just had one reading this.

ROFLMAO!! OH, I CAN BARELY BREATHE NOW!!

++++++++++++++++++++
This is from newshound Dave Barry’s colonoscopy journal:

…….I called my friend Andy Sable, a gastroenteritis, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy. A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis .

Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring and patient manner. I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn’t really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, quote, ‘HE’S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!’

I left Andy’s office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a product called ‘MoviPrep,’ which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America ’s enemies.

I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous. Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation. In accordance with my instructions, I didn’t eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor. Then, in the evening, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons.) Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes – and here I am being kind – like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon.

The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, ‘a loose watery bowel movement may result.’ This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground.

MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don’t want to be too graphic, here, but: Have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and star t eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.

After an action -packed evening, I finally got to sleep. The next morning my wife drove me to the clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I was thinking, ‘What if I spurt on Andy?’ How do you apologize to a friend for something like that? Flowers would not be enough.

At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked.

Then a nurse named Eddie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already lying down. Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep. At first I was ticked off that I hadn’t thought of this, but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose Mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.

W hen everything was ready, Eddie wheeled me into the procedure room, where Andy was waiting with a nurse and an anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000-foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere. I was seriously nervous at this point. Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand. There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was ‘Dancing Queen’ by ABBA I remarked to Andy that, of a ll the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, ‘Dancing Queen’ has to be the least appropriate.

‘You want me to turn it up?’ said Andy, from somewhere behind me. ‘Ha ha, ‘ I said. And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like.

I have no idea. Really. I slept through it. One moment, ABBA was yelling ‘Dancing Queen, Feel the beat of the tambourine,’ and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood.

Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt. I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that It was all over, and that my colon had passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ.

ABOUT THE WRITER
Dave Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist for the Miami Herald.

++++++++++++++++++++

As was mentioned in the introduction, Lance does not get bogged down in psychoanalyzing his past.  (BTW, [...]]]> This is the second installment in the read-along-with-me series on how Lance Armstrong’s philosophy might apply to songwriting and music.  In case you missed the previous episode, we are reading the book, “How Lance Does It” by Brad Kearns

As was mentioned in the introduction, Lance does not get bogged down in psychoanalyzing his past.  (BTW, I love the Eagles “Get Over It” from their Hell Freezes Over CD.)

None of us go through life without any struggles, with a perfect childhood, and Lance certainly didn’t either.  He had his own share of difficulties as a kid:  A broken home, disappointing father figures, no money, a snobby school, etc.  But one of the key differences for Lance is that he simply chooses to not waste time dwelling on the negative.  Process it and don’t carry it around for 6 months.  The bible has a quote that deals with this kind of thing: “…do not let the sun go down on your anger…” (Ephesians 4:26)

Lance praises his mom, Linda Armstrong Kelly, for her influence on him.  Linda, pregnant at 16 years old, was kicked out of the house.  But she too chose (note the active, act of the will again) to survive and succeed.  Linda’s answer to every setback was to push back, to try harder, to try a different way, to try smarter.  Her attitude was, “It’s okay to lose, but never quit!”

Lance would get the opportunity to put these lessons to the test many times, but perhaps the biggest test would be enduring and overcoming cancer and this was before he ever won a Tour de France.  Per Wikipedia,  “Prior to this, he also survived testicular cancer, a germ cell tumor that metastasized to his brain and lungs, in 1996. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive chemotherapy, and his prognosis was not originally considered to be great.”

What did Lance have to say about his cancer?  “It was the best thing that ever happened to me.”  (pg. 6) I see Linda reflected in Lance’s reaction to his cancer.  He made a conscious choice to make the best of it and process the event in a positive way instead of wallowing in self-pity.  He never dwells on defeats – always thinks of the next race and how training needs to change to improve.

The last thing that stood out to me in this chapter, that can definitely apply to us as songwriter and musicians. That was the idea that you should not spend your time and energy either trying to emulate some celebrity who is your hero, or spend your time trying and hoping that you will get to meet them in the hope that this experience will somehow change or transform you.  1)  You will probably never get the opportunity to meet this person, and 2) Even if you did, it might not make that much difference anyway.

The last page of chapter 1 has a great some great advice:

If a book is as close as you will ever get to Lance, maybe that should suffice.  Take inspiration from Lance’s words and example of how to live life to the fullest.  Then go out and make a difference in the world and inspire others to do the same.  In doing so, you will honor yourself and also Lance as an inspirational component to your success.  With this arrangement, you are connected in a far more meaningful way than having an autographed photo hanging on your wall.” (pg. 21)

• Have you ever failed as a musician?
• How did you deal with it?
• Did you run and hide and pout and refuse to sing or play in public again?  Or refuse to ever show anyone one of your songs again?
• Or did you get back up, dust yourself off and ask yourself what you need to change to do better next time?

So, there you go.  Be yourself.  Don’t pout.  Get over it.  Get going and get working.

See you next time.

There are some things that you can do besides just wishing for things that will expedite your journey towards your goals as a songwriter and musician:

1. Think Positive

Believe in yourself, even when you think no one else does…especially when you think no one else believes.  Believe that metamorphosis [...]]]>

Staff Paper – Blank

Staff Paper – with Guitar Tab

Staff Paper [...]]]> Just a quick note that the Free Stuff page has been remodeled and its inventory expanded. I have added many of my favorite songwriting and music links. In addition I have added more things to download, including but not limited to things such as:

Staff Paper – Blank

Staff Paper – with Guitar Tab

Staff Paper – 9 staves

Lyric Generating Worksheet – Microsoft Excel

Lyric Generating Worksheet – Acrobat PDF

Among other things, the site includes interviews of successful songwriters. One of the more interesting interviews is with Holland-Dozier-Holland.

“The songs they wrote for Diana Ross & The Supremes, the Four Tops, Martha & The Vandellas, [...]]]> I stumbled on another great songwriting site that should be a good resource for ideas: Songwriter Universe

Among other things, the site includes interviews of successful songwriters. One of the more interesting interviews is with Holland-Dozier-Holland.

“The songs they wrote for Diana Ross & The Supremes, the Four Tops, Martha & The Vandellas, Marvin Gaye and other artists, were not only hits back in the day, but they have become pop standards for the new millennium. Collectively, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland have written over 50 Top 10 pop or R&B hits, many which have reached #1 on the charts.”

I like this interview because these guys were staff writers, and they had to work to deadlines and not just wait around for “inspiration” to strike. They were under a lot of pressure to consistently crank out big hits. Since I am attempting to impose some deadlines upon myself in my own songwriting, I need to go read this interview again!

We live in a wonderful age. There is a huge amount of valuable information for songwriters and struggling artists available to anyone with an internet connection. Gee, I am even offering you free stuff for songwriters and musicians not to mention free downloads of all of my music.

I figure we all should help [...]]]>

We live in a wonderful age. There is a huge amount of valuable information for songwriters and struggling artists available to anyone with an internet connection. Gee, I am even offering you free stuff for songwriters and musicians not to mention free downloads of all of my music.

I figure we all should help each other and because I think it goes with the spirit of aloha and mana from Hawaii.

Besides my free stuff, here are some other examples to whet your appetite:

1. If you haven’t visited John Braheny’s website or read any of the material there, you are missing a lot. Go there. John is also the author of the book, The Craft And Business Of Songwriting
2. A second site with helpful info is TAXI. And with their permission, I reprint the following article on what you should and can say about yourself in just one page.

Your Story On One Page

By Meg Hansen

As someone who has looked through countless press packages and listened to hundreds of demos, my focus is very specific — I’m listening for great songs and I want to know a little bit about the artist and the songwriter(s). Unfortunately, I don’t have time to read a 20 page book of miscellaneous press clippings and scattered information, and that’s often what unsigned artists send in. I listen to four songs on the demo, and look through the first few pages of info/clips in each press kit. That’s it.

It seems amazing how many people put insignificant material in the front of the press kit, but if you page through to the end, you find out that this unsigned band opened for a major act last year for two legs of their tour, they pre-sell 200 tickets a show in their local area, their songs have been in five TV shows, their music is being played on 15 CMJ stations and two commercial alternative stations, they have press from local papers and music magazines, their e-mail database of fans is 5,000 and they’ve sold over 2,000 CDs on CDBaby.com, Amazon.com and more on the road. Don’t hide this info at the back of your press kit!!!

Present yourself on ONE PAGE that you put in the front of your press kit — and just send your one sheet with your demo. What info do you want to include on this one sheet? Give me every reason I should sign you at a major label, or use your song in a film/tv show, or ask a major artist to cut your song, or whatever your goal is. Keep your marketing pitch targeted to the person you are trying to impress (Music Supervisor, A&R Exec, Artist, etc.) and get it all on one page. Let’s get specific.

For artists:

*Band name

*Band photo

*Names of band members, instruments, and ages

*If you are a solo artist without a band, list the musicians on your demo

*Where do you live? Where are you from?

*Style of Music

*Album cover

*Track Listing w/timing

*Songwriters

*How many songs do you have written and how many recorded?

*Band’s bio (under 200 words)

*Upcoming Tour Dates

*Well-known artists that you’ve opened for or toured with

*Press quotes

*CD Sales —how many have you sold and where are you selling them?

*Airplay — any college or commercial airplay? If so, what stations? How many times did they play your songs? Could you get a quote from the Program Director or a DJ?

*Local Gigs — Where do you play? How many tickets do you sell/pre-sell?

*Film/TV uses; Advertising spots/jingles

*Website URL

*Online marketing — Hundreds of downloads at MP3.com? Been on the charts? Include a screen shot. Also, include information on other sites where you’ve successfully created a buzz

*Number of fans in your database (e-mail and/or snail mail)

*Contests/awards you’ve won

*Sponsorships/endorsements

*Video available?

*Contact information / Management / Publishing

*Other information — can be anything of interest. Are you related to a famous producer or artist? Is your neighbor the President of Clear Channel? Was your guitarist in a major band before?

For songwriters:

*Name

*Track listing on song demo w/ artist info & song timing

*Names of collaborators

*Photo

*Bio – short, about 200 words. Where are you from? What instruments you play? Who have you collaborated with? What kind of music do you write? Influences?

*Are you also a producer? Or an artist?

*Cuts you’ve had with any major or local artists

*Film/TV uses; Advertising spots/jingles

*Press quotes

*Quotes from artists/songwriters who have written with you

*Website URL

*Contests/awards you’ve won

*Do you have your own studio?

*Contact info

*Publishing info

If you have amazing songs (most important) and a story developing too, present yourself as the professional that you are so that A&R Executives and Music Supervisors will find you, at a glance. You’ve worked hard — you deserve to stand out from the rest of the pile!

And it’s fine if you don’t have a lot to put on your one sheet right now. Keep playing, keep writing and collaborating; and treat your career like it’s a top priority. There’s a certain energy that surrounds artists and songwriters who are inspired to be successful and work very hard at creating opportunities and making things happen for themselves. Become one of these people. These are the artists and songwriters everyone wants to work with. And as you create your success story, add the highlights to your one sheet.

Click Here to view a One Sheet example

Contact: Meg Hansen, Purple Dolphin Music, PO Box 2414, Malibu, CA 90265. 310-562-3563 or www.purpledolphinmusic.com

Here is how I built my own home studio little by little over time and cut as many corners as possible to keep costs low, since my budget is tight. This was and is [...]]]> Aloha everyone. This is a long post, but I intended it that way since it is a “how to” article.

Here is how I built my own home studio little by little over time and cut as many corners as possible to keep costs low, since my budget is tight. This was and is a very organic process:

1. I started with a guitar and an amp on my workbench in the garage.

a. Why the garage, Tim? Well, Al, because I tend to work when the family is sleeping, in the morning or at night, and this was the one place that had some natural sound isolation.

b. This is where I started, you might have more or less gear to begin with. I was just restarting a hobby after having the guitar in the closet for 20 years. So, since I didn’t know at the time how deep I would get into this, I naturally didn’t want to invest too much upfront.

2. Then…I built on what I had:

a. Soon, I decided I really needed some way to listen to my favorite songs and play along. So, I came across a cheap boom-box/tape recorder….I mean real cheap…$4.99 at a thrift store. This thing had line-in, line-out, condenser mic plus remote mic input, headphone, etc. It was great: For 5 bucks I could hook it up to my guitar amp, add headphones and practice along.

3. Next I added computing power:

a. I then saw the potential hidden in my PC for my music hobbies and promptly moved my computer to the workbench. Here’s where the real fun began.

b. With my UNIVAC in place I was really cooking on gas. Now I could rip all of my favorite CD’s to MP3 onto the computer and have them ready and waiting to practice along with at any time.

c. I added WinAmp, a great, free music (multimedia really) player and added the “Pacemaker” plugin, which allowed me to change pitch and tempo on the fly.

d. Later, as my musical skills improved and I began trying to transcribe recordings (i.e. Determine and write down the actual notes and chords being played) I found some songs ripped by way too fast for my ears to keep up. That is when I found another cool program called “Transcribe!“. This software includes a spectrum analyzer to take a slice or selection of an audio file and determine what notes are sounding and even what chord was used. It as well has tempo and pitch manipulation. It is free to try, but costs $50 (US) to buy….definitely worth the money!

e. I could go on and on about additional computer program additions in my virtual recording studio, but they tended to intertwine along with my hardware upgrades over time so it is not necessarily a linear path. More of a “long and winding road”!

4. After that, I added more hardware:

a. Korg PX4 guitar effects processor. This is about the size of a pack of cigarettes and it is simply amazing. The PX4 includes a “Phrase Trainer” that will let you record up to 32 seconds of audio from any audio source that you can play back at full speed or slow down. So with this it was like having the PC in my shirt pocket. It has 124 different guitar effects and amp models…a drum machine and bass loops. Mind boggling! But fun!

b. Yamaha PSR Series Keyboards: A present from my wife, which came in handy during the year I took some piano lessons. Besides being able to play basic piano, this baby came packed with some of the same features as the PX4, such as the metronome/drum machine, but also it has GM MIDI I/O with tons of voices and styles to choose from.

c. M-Audio Midiman MidiSport 2×2: I quickly discovered the world of MIDI and saw that with this I could have my own backing band for any of the millions of MIDI arrangements there are out there. Only I need to connect the PC to the keyboard. That’s where the MIDI-Sport comes in.

5. Ooops, add more software – Sonar Home StudioXL:

a. I needed a way to play these MIDI files and Cakewalk does a fine job of it, plus gives you the tools to change the MIDI arrangement in any way you can imagine to suit your needs. My first version of Cakewalk was version x in 1999 and I forget what I paid, but I know the price was right. Today, you can get the vastly advanced Sonar Home Studio 6 for $139.

6. More hardware – Amp and speakers:

a. By “amp” this time I don’t mean a guitar amp, but an amp for the studio sound. There are a variety of very expensive solutions out there from buying a self contained mixer/power amp, such as this Yamaha model, which is really for live performances, to rack mounted power amps and separate mixer boards. What I chose for my “amp” was another bargain: A friend from work had a garage sale and I bought his home stereo JC Penney 50W amp/receiver/tuner for $10! I am still using this thing. It has tons of I/O (connections) on the back panel and a variety of audio inputs to choose from. I simply route the line-level audio out from my PC sound card to the aux input on the amp. From there I can route it to headphones, to my guitar amp, to my guitar effects processor, etc. It is very flexible.

b. My studio monitors, initially before I upgraded, were RCA bookshelf speakers from Radio Shack. Just hook up the speakers to the stereo. (By now, I have coughed up the dough to purchase near-field studio monitors. The Behringer Truth Series Monitors are a great value.)

c. Digitech RPx400: At this point I was playing in a band and I needed someway to control my sound. I discovered that as nice as it is, the Korg PX4 required the use of one’s hands to manipulate and that is really hard to do while you are playing guitar, unless you are very double jointed and/or have extremely long toes! So, after a lot of research I settled upon the Digitech RPx400 (which I always confuse with Korg “PX4″…Why do they do that??). The RPx400 has lots of modeling, effects and presets. Plus direct XLR speaker compensated outs to run to your PA, and a USB recording interface with all of the ins and outs you’ll ever need. It also works real well with Sonar as a control surface, and includes an XLR mic input and preamp including phantom power. It is very flexible and powerful.

Unfortunately, DigiTech discontinued the RPx400. It appears to obtain the same capabilities as the RPx400, you need to purchase the much larger DigiTech GNX3™ GENETX™ Guitar Processor.

In summary….

At this stage I (and you if you emulate this approach) had everything in place to both listen to and play along with audio recordings with the family friendly headphones or via speakers. In addition, with the keyboard, Cakewalk and MIDI files, you can play along with MIDI versions of songs and slow them down to what ever tempo suits you and even solo or mute particular instruments in a song if that is what you need. And, with Cakewalk and your guitar, or microphone if you are a singer, you can record your own songs or tracks to a song…such as if you want to add a solo to an existing recording.

At this point you can take things in any direction you want…you can leave it as status quo, or you could move your setup into a dedicated room or area of your home. Some people practice in basements, some in a spare bedroom, others I have heard, even use closets, though I can’t picture myself doing that. For me, I decided to dedicate part of my garage permanently to my studio. This was easy since I was already accustomed to hanging out in the garage. So I built a room in the garage for my studio….a “room in a room” really. This gave it even more sound insulation capability. It is not 100% sound proof as that is very difficult and expensive to achieve for the home hobbyist. My quarters are still tight, but after sitting at a workbench for so long, it seemed like a palace to me. A Visio drawing of my layout is available for anyone who is interested.

Since my start, I have added additional electronic gadgetry, bought new guitar amps, added/changed guitars, microphones, etc. Good luck in your journey and feel free to comment or email me if you have questions or comments.

You also might enjoy and get some ideas from the home studio photo tour on YouTube. I have inserted the video here for your viewing convenience.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Mahalo!

Chris