30 Apr 2008
by madeleinein bread crumbs, In the Studio, ramblings Tags: brass, lyrics, mix, mp3, music, recording studio, strings
OK, so I’ve been absent for quite some time. Unfortunately I had a relapse and spent my days feverishly in bed. I don’t know what my body has against me or if it was just sheer bad luck. And remarkably bad timing since my voice is sufficiently messed up.
While I was sick and bored on my couch I listened closely to all my songs and took notes of things missing or not sounding good enough. And in the last week I slowly went through all of them. I spent some time working on a song called ‘Paperheart’. This song is a bit older already and for a while I didn’t feel that excited about it anymore and so didn’t know what it still needed. The beats are all made of paper apart from a little bell I recorded. I had the idea to make this sound into an ‘instrument’ that I could then play on the keyboard. I added some nice little melodic fills with it and it sounds really good. I also completed the string arrangement, adjusted the overall sound and finished the rough mix.
The next on the list was ‘Breathing underwater’. Another song that’s been around for a bit. For this one I again finally completed the string arrangement, also fixed some sound issues and mixed it. Most of the other songs just needed some tiny tweakings in the mix. Just ‘Chaos & Order’ needed more work done. Before I couldn’t figure out a fitting brass arrangement for the refrain, but I’m happy to report I cracked the puzzle now. Boy, that was a tough one – especially since the song has so many separate tracks it’s given my computer massive CPU troubles – but so worth the effort. And again I made the sounds sparkle and sit nicely in the mix.
Now I have 8 songs only waiting for my voice to be fit so I can record loads of warblings and do the final mixes. Then there’s this one still untitled song I admittedly have been avoiding because it’s such a pain in the bum and ‘Hearts first’.Worked on the latter today. Perfected the string arrangement, some beat refinements…I still have the nagging feeling that something’s missing though. Maybe it’s just the fact that I’ve been trapped in my place for too long and crave for being out in the world, meeting people and listening to new exciting music. Anyway… When I got a bit frustrated with my progress today I ended up recording and extending a new idea that I had about a month ago. I’m gonna call it ‘Celeste’ for now for lack of lyrics. It might even stay an instrumental. Speaking of lyrics, I seriously have to go the park equipped with notebook and pen the next day it’s warm and sunny. Spring really put a spring in my step yesterday. Seems so much more inspiring than being shut in a room. Been there, done that for months now. It’s time to go outside again, experience things to have something to write about. And soak up some sun and see the trees in bloom.
So for anyone who wants to know what beats made of paper and a bell ‘instrument’ can sound like. Here’s a little preview of ‘Paperheart’:
[audio http://boxstr.com/files/1926012_6udsh/paperheartbit.mp3]
18 Mar 2008
by madeleinein bread crumbs, In the Studio Tags: lyrics, mp3, music, piano, recording studio, strings
Sorry for staying away without any further notice… I had a horrible experience last friday and it took me a while to regain my footing. Hence no music making and no blogging. It wasn’t my intention to vanish like that, but I needed the time.
I’m happy to say though that I’m back making music. Still working on ‘Hearts first’. Things are starting to fall into place. I always had the feeling that something was not quite right and whenever I played the final part I did it faster than the rest. Slowing it down seemed wrong somehow so I tried adjusting everything else. And voilà, much better. So the song is a bit faster now. Also I finally have the string arrangement for the beginning and the end. There are still a few kinks to be straightened out, but I’m getting there. Once I’ve recorded the piano the mixing and checking if anything else is missing will be much easier. A real piano sounds way better and I reckon the sound can carry a lot more than the fake one now which sounds a bit thin.
I also rehearsed playing the piano part to a click track with headphones on today. I arranged to record the piano on thursday at a friend’s and till then I have to be used to it. It’s probably gonna take enough time to set up the mics already. I’m not used to playing various pianos and they can feel quite different from each other. Also starting writing lyrics for a new song. Just fragments so far, but no pressure yet.
Last, but not least another long awaited sound snippet of said ‘Hearts first’. It’s the very beginning of the song and just a teensy appetiser:
[audio http://boxstr.com/files/1396342_v2l8z/heartsfirststart.mp3]
29 Feb 2008
by madeleinein In the Studio Tags: field recording, guitar, lyrics, music, recording studio, vocals
In the last two days I’ve continued working on ‘Webs’ although it might end up with a different title. I thought I had a refrain already, but it turned out to be much better suited as a bridge. So today I wrote lyrics and music for the chorus and recorded it. I also laid down some vocals. The rough structure of the song is all there and in the next days I will work on the refinements.
Yesterday I rummaged through my sound library of all the field recordings I made and was amazed to actually find a folder labelled ‘clocks’. So now I not only have a great sounding grandfather clock ticking away underneath but also a frantic little alarm clock that ticks twice as fast for bridge and refrain. I had to readjust the grandfather clock rhythm a bit. It was creating an odd limping rhythm that didn’t work. Did some EQing to get rid of some backgroud noise that I found distracting in the more quiet parts. The clock ticking is just perfect for this song. I absolutely love it. In the sound library I found sounds of toast popping and coffee brewing to be included as sounds for beats, too. It’s so good to actually realise that I didn’t spend a whole month for nothing when I recorded everything onto my computer, edited and filed it. Because quite often I end up recording sounds specifically for the song at hand.
Two nights ago I had the idea that some flageolet tones and other guitar bits could be fitting which were originally intended for ‘Chaos & Order’ but simply didn’t sound right and were therefore discarded. And they are. Gonna record some more though on my old battered classical guitar (the one I started with at the age of six, so we’ve got quite a history).
I really can’t complain at the moment. Things are going so well, I’m just sailing through the writing and recording of ‘Webs’. So much so that I haven’t started rehearsing for the little gig on Saturday. Definitely tomorrow however!
x
23 Feb 2008
by madeleinein In the Studio Tags: guitar, lyrics, music, recording studio
This song is really throwing me for a loop. I can’t figure out the lyrics for the chorus and that’s actually stalling the writing process for the chorus, too. I tend to have the lyrics more or less finished before I start with the music. Maybe that’s the whole problem here. I’ve got about a dozen variations on the lyrics for the refrain, but I can’t decide for one. Quite frustrating.
I’ve recorded tons of guitar parts today, begun the sifting through and editing. Going through approximately 40 minutes of guitar has made me tired. So I’m gonna call it a day. I’ll give it another go tomorrow, but if I don’t make any real progress I’m gonna move on to the next song. Maybe later it’ll all fall into place. And I’ll take my macbook to a little cosy café and try my luck with the lyrics there on monday. Perhaps the change of scenery will help?
Nighty night
19 Feb 2008
by madeleinein In the Studio Tags: beats, lyrics, string arrangement, studio recording
Back in the studio after taking the weekend off. I can’t say that it was all that relaxing, but that’s my own fault… got hammered with my best friend. The more disciplined I am most of the time, the more excessive I become when I eventually go out. Work hard, party hard… or something like that (and then pay with a mean hangover).
Therefore not much lyric-writing got done. I made up for it today though. At first no words came and then all of a sudden they came flooding out of me. The first verse seems quite solid. The rest is too extensive so far. I need to distil the jumble of words to the very essential. Haven’t found a title yet either. It’s been a while for me writing any substantial lyrics and it’s with it just as with everything else. You have to practise and get the hang of it again.
I also did some further tweakings of the beats and refined the string arrangement for ‘Unspoken’. Pretty happy with the way this song is going. The next time I’ll get back to it I will record the vocals and see if anything else seems wrong or insufficient, but it might actually be finished apart from vocals and the mix.
x
mads
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