3-hour Song: Update

So, the 3-hour song hasn't happened, yet. Blame it on attending Grandpa's funeral last weekend and on the constant care required by a brand-new baby, along with the normal work and commuting responsibilities. Welcome to life, right?

I'm not giving up, though. I did have at least one good idea, and the next step is just writing up the lyrics and getting it arranged. Hopefully this week will go a little more smoothly (fingers crossed).

3 Hour Song?

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

Looking at that, that’ll cut things pretty close, but it might actually be doable. I’ll start the process this week, and let you know next week if I actually succeeded, or if I was completely overwhelmed.

Basic Recording Studio

My theory is that these days, the average consumer has access to equipment that is perfectly capable of producing CD-quality recordings. What is often lacking (in my music, for example) is the requisite knowledge and experience. If a professional recording engineer was stuck on an island with the most basic of setups, he or she could still produce a fantastic recording.

So what does it take to set up a decent workable recording studio? Here’s a list of what I think is the foundation for a perfectly good studio:

Mic (MCA SP-1)	$40
Mic Stand	$20
Mic Cord	$10
Pop Filter	Free	I used an old pair of pantyhose stretched (clean, of course) over a wire hanger.
Mixer (Soundcraft Compact 4)	$100
E-MU0404 SoundCard	$100
Misc. Cables	$100	Just a guess… I’ve built up quite the collection over the years.
Altec-Lansing Speakers	$70
SHS6XL	$210	Or $80 for the upgrade from earlier versions...
Computer	$700	Rough price for a fairly basic Dell desktop.

So let’s see… That’s a grand total of $1350, but over half of that is for a computer. If you already have a half decent computer, you’re already halfway there!

Of course, I'm also a big fan of using what you have, and slowly building up. For example, I've been using the Altec-Lansing speakers for a while now, but an upgrade to higher-quality monitors will probably be my next purchase.

For me, Sonar Home Studio provides a big part of the studio. Along with providing a sequencer and MIDI editing capabilities, many, if not all, of the necessary effects and processors are included. With SHS, I have access to reverb, eq, compressor, etc. And because it supports VST effects and instruments, I can also find a huge number of effects free on the web, some of which are quite good.

Feel free to drop me a note and let me know what you think. Am I totally wrong? Do we really need mics that cost thousands of dollars, tube compressors, etc? Or can a high-quality recording be produced on a setup as basic as that described above?