In the January 2008 issue of Computer Music, there was an article about how to record a track in an hour. I thought that sounded fantastic, but then I realized that the really hard part – actually writing a song – wasn’t included in that hour. Granted, getting a song recorded in an hour is already quite a feat, but that’s really more about the technical side of the process.
What I’d like to do is try writing a song in a short amount of time. Like most people I know, I’m pretty busy most of the time. I’ve got a seven-year-old and a brand new baby, which both take up a fair amount of my time. And of course, it’s a priority to spend at least a few minutes with my wife every day. And then there’s work, studying for the CPA exam, and hanging out with friends… That doesn’t leave a lot of time for making music.
But the article made me think. What if I said that of the 168 hours in a week, I’d give three of those to making music? Surely that’s doable. Granted, I won’t have the next “Thriller” done in 3 hours, but at the very least I’d start building a library of complete ideas that I could later develop or rework, if I decided they were worth it. And that would be 52 songs in a year, which, for someone that’s on pace for about one song annually, is quite an increase in productivity.
So, here’s the challenge: Starting this week, I’ll set aside 3 hours to write and record a complete song. I figure there’s not really any chance that it’ll turn out a top 40 hit, but it will be a good exercise and improve my songwriting and recording skills.
The Computer Music article broke down the recording process by time: 20 minutes for rhythm guitar, 15 minutes for bass and drums, etc. Here’s my breakdown:
- Write lyrics – 45 minutes
- Write the melody & chords – 30 minutes
- Arrangement – 15 minutes
- Record rhythm guitar(s) – 20 minutes
- Record bass & drums – 15 minutes
- Record vocals – 20 minutes
- Record any solos – 20 minutes
- Final mix and tweaks – 15 minutes
No comments:
Post a Comment