Though the enormity of the project would ultimately overwhelm an increasingly fragile Wilson, the arrival of the bountiful SMiLE Sessions multimedia box last November — featuring no less than five CDs of the masterpiece in the making — reveals that Wilson was indeed operating on a creative level well above his most celebrated peers (the Beatles included). For us studio mortals lucky enough to own the kind of basic sound-manipulation tools that would have made Wilson’s job so much easier back then, SMiLE demonstrates the infinite possibilities of crafting whole songs using musical modules, rather than in a single gulp.

Musical Recycling

For those who lack the time or discipline to sit down and write a fully formed song in the traditional sense, modular recording represents the perfect opportunity to recycle discarded bits of ideas that have fallen by the wayside. Hence the importance of saving all of your musical fragments in a dedicated folder on your hard drive; even things that may sound trivial today could play an important role when attempting to assemble a song from spare parts later on.

There are a number of easy-to-use (and even free-of-charge) utilities that allow you to weave together your various components without making the stitch marks obvious to the listener. One popular program is Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net), which includes a full complement of editing features like copy and paste, clip trimming, pitch and tempo adjustment, peak leveling and equalization. Because Audacity allows you to work with multiple waveforms on a single template, you can mix and match fragments at will — extracting a portion of the bridge for use as an intro, swapping the intro for the outro, shuffling the order of the various pieces, and so forth. Rather than repeating a verse or chorus multiple times, using your editing tools you can simply copy and paste the initial take throughout the song (as Wilson himself did to perfection in “Good Vibrations” and throughout the SMiLE tracking sessions).

You can utilize the modular approach during a live tracking-session as well. Even in the good old days of analog, bands would often come up with a framework for a song by recording long jams in the studio and then cobbling together any “keeper” fragments after the fact. Digital is tailor-made for such work — just hit record and start playing; with a little judicious editing, you can isolate, cut, paste and loop any promising ideas into the makings of an actual song.

Modular Mixing

You can also use the same methodology to construct a finished master by choosing from select portions of various “trial” mixes. Let’s say you’ve made four or five different mix attempts of your multitracked song, and while listening back you realize that you like the way the guitar jumps out in the second mix, but you think the vocal sounds better on the third mix, while the drums are less intrusive on the fourth, etc. Assuming all the mixes are relatively uniform (i.e., levels and tempos are consistent throughout), import the different mix files into your project using Audacity or other editing utility. With each waveform on the screen, locate the beginning and end of each designated passage, highlight the various sections and then copy each onto a new “master” waveform. Carefully merge the various pieces one by one, previewing each edit along the way; if any of the welds are obvious (i.e., you cut a section a bit too long), just hit “undo” and try again until you get it right. Once complete, save the “master” mix to your hard drive and then burn to CD.

Songwriter101 exclusive by Dave Simons

1. Write down a song title every day. If you take a minute or two every morning to wake up your inner songwriter, you’ll be amazed at the cumulative results by year’s end. Keep a small notebook by your bed and write down a song title first thing every day. Don’t spend a ton of time on these; just write down the first thing that comes to mind. Some of your titles will be uninspired but others will be genuinely unique and song-ready. This notebook is a great way of not having to start from scratch when it’s time to sit down and write. Sometimes a title that seemed dull when you were writing it down will inspire a great song when you see it again later. It’s a small thing but it’s a reminder that inspiration is an active pursuit.

2. Find a new (or your first) co-writer. Carrying the weight of creating a song by yourself is both a worthwhile challenge and a discouraging burden, depending on the day. Sharing the load with a co-writer is a great way to stay motivated and explore different approaches to songwriting. If you’ve already got an established group of co-writers, go find someone new to get you out of your regular routine. If you’ve never co-written, now’s the time. Finding a co-writer who has strengths where you have weaknesses and vice versa will simply make for better songs. It takes courage and a bit of a thick skin to open up your creative process to another writer, but if you’re both respectful and have a great song as the ultimate goal, you’ll almost certainly be glad you did it.

3. Write a song in a genre that’s new to you. As a country songwriting friend said to me once, “there are lots of countries.” In other words, try to write a song this year in a musical style that’s unfamiliar to you. If you write country, try to write a jazz piece. If you write rock, try country. By expanding your repertoire, you’ll force yourself to study different styles of music. This, at the very least, will give you a better understanding of what goes into creating your preferred musical genre. By filtering a different musical style through the prism of your experience, you’ll undoubtedly come up with something unique.

4. Don’t give up. Songwriting is not a profession for the faint-hearted or the easily discouraged. It can be both exhilarating and demoralizing. All this to say, no matter how bleak things may appear currently or how far away success may seem, the only trait all successful songwriters share is that they haven’t given up. A songwriting career is a marathon not a sprint. If things are tough, it’s okay to slow down, give yourself a break and go on “input” for a while. Sometimes just living your life instead of trying to document it is the best way to regain your motivation. Resolve to find the strength to keep at it this year. There’s a great song out there just waiting for you to write it.

Happy New Year!

Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, session musician, engineer, author and owner of recording studios in Nashville, TN and Sonoma, CA. Cliff’s site, http://www.EducatedSongwriter.com, is full of resources for the aspiring songwriter and his company, http://www.NashvilleStudioLive.com, provides songwriters outside of Nashville with virtual access to Nashville’s best session musicians and singers for their songwriting demos.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/EducatedSongwriter
Twitter: @edusongwriter

1. You’ve got a way to express yourself. In the course of living our day-to-day lives, we are subjected to an unpredictable mixture of elation and sadness. No matter what, this is a lot to handle, but having the ability to write about it is a huge advantage. Putting your thoughts in a song that will not only help you but also those who hear it is a wonderful, constructive way of processing life.  Without the ability to write songs, you might never have the luxury of this kind of perspective.

2. You’ve got something you’re passionate about. Many people go through their entire lives without finding something that truly moves them. You’ve got a passion. While your passion for songwriting will make you crazy and plunge you into the depths of despair, it will also bring you great joy and drive you to efforts that you never imagined yourself capable of. This kind of growth can only come from true, heartfelt dedication. Never take this for granted.  Being passionate about your songwriting is its own reward. This is not to say that you shouldn’t strive for any and all successes that are out there. However, it’s important to remember every once in a while that you’re lucky to have found something in this world that is so important to you.

3. You’re on a journey. Whether it’s the first time you write a whole song or winning a Grammy, every step of your journey as a songwriter should be appreciated. You will only have one first time to see someone listen to something you’ve written and cry. Don’t forget to stop and enjoy each event no matter how small. The danger in putting too much significance on the end game of financial success is that you’ll miss all the incredible moments along the way.

We all know how difficult, frustrating and even scary songwriting can be. Being thankful for all of the good it brings us can help keep things in perspective.  Personally, I’m thankful for my high-school piano teacher who nonchalantly asked for the impossible at the end of one of our lessons: “For next week, I’d like you to write a song.”

Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, session musician, engineer, author and owner of recording studios in Nashville, TN and Sonoma, CA. Cliff’s site, http://www.EducatedSongwriter.com, is full of resources for the aspiring songwriter and his company, http://www.NashvilleStudioLive.com, provides songwriters outside of Nashville with virtual access to Nashville’s best session musicians and singers for their songwriting demos. 

You can download a FREE sample of Cliff’s eBook “The Songwriter’s Guide To Recording Professional Demos” by going to http://www.EducatedSongwriter.com/ebook.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EducatedSongwriter
Twitter: edusongwriter

1. Make sure your song is professionally recorded and performed

This may sound obvious but there is absolutely no wiggle room for a poorly sung, performed or recorded version of your song when you’re pitching to film and TV. You’ve only got one chance to make a first impression. Put yourself in the position of the music supervisor or studio executive who is listening to hundreds of songs for a project.  If the recording — no matter how well written the song may be — sounds like it was done by amateurs, you’re biasing the listener against you before they’ve even given your melody and lyric consideration.  It’s one thing to write a great song but if you’d like someone to give you money for it, then you have to invest the money necessary to present your song in the best possible light.

2. Do your homework

It doesn’t make sense to randomly send out songs in the hope that one will get placed. Find out which music supervisors are looking for which shows or films. There are industry pitch sheets and magazines with all kinds of information about who is looking for what; get familiar with them and mark yourself as a professional by making targeted pitches. Unfortunately, no one’s going to do this work for you.

3. Make sure you have complete ownership of the recording

In order to give permission to a film or TV show to use your music, you’ll need to own your recording. This means filling out the necessary releases with any session musicians/singers involved in the project and being sure that the studio where you have recorded has given you full ownership of the master recording. Make absolutely certain your pitch plans aren’t derailed by finding out (after the fact) that the singer or players aren’t willing to give you permission to use their recorded performances in this manner. Music supervisors often have very little time to get songs cleared for use in a film or TV show and it will mark you as a pro if you can let them know at the outset that everything is “free and clear” for their use.

4. Get Known for a Style

It’s a good thing to be able to write in a variety of styles but you (and your music) will be easier to remember if you become known for providing one particular style and doing it well. Music supervisors are often asked to gather songs in a specific style of music so if you’ve established yourself as a “go-to person” for that style, you’ve got a greater chance of being remembered when the time comes.

When it comes to getting songs in film and TV, there is absolutely no substitute for doing the work. By “the work,” I mean all of the things I’ve mentioned above.  Unfortunately, it’s not enough to simply be a great songwriter; you need to be a savvy businessperson who is willing to take care of the unromantic, day-in and day-out details of having a career in order to succeed.  That being said, there is no greater thrill than turning on your TV or going to a theater and hearing one of your songs playing.  It somehow makes all your effort worthwhile.

Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, session musician, engineer, author and owner of recording studios in Nashville, TN and Sonoma, CA. Cliff’s site, http://www.EducatedSongwriter.com, is full of resources for the aspiring songwriter and his company, http://www.NashvilleStudioLive.com, provides songwriters outside of Nashville with virtual access to Nashville’s best session musicians and singers for their songwriting demos.

You can download a FREE sample of Cliff’s eBook “The Songwriter’s Guide To Recording Professional Demos” by going to http://www.EducatedSongwriter.com/ebook.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EducatedSongwriter
Twitter: edusongwriter

Not surprisingly, Neill has served as mentor for many an analog fanatic, among them U.K. engineer and longtime confidant Liam Watson, whose ToeRag Studios (birthplace for the White Stripes’ 2003 breakout effort Elephant) was created in conjunction with Neill. It was Watson who would later recommend Neill’s services to another old-school junky, guitarist Dan Auerbach of the Akron, Ohio-based blues-rock duo the Black Keys. With Neill’s assistance, Auerbach erected his own analog home studio in Akron (later named Easy Eye Sound System), and in late 2007, the two convened in La Mesa for the making of Auerbach’s first solo effort, 2009’s Keep it Hid, with Neill serving as engineer and mixer.

Soon, Auerbach was back at the Neill household, this time with partner/drummer Pat Carney in tow, then in the throes of a nasty divorce and ripe for a creative distraction. The two immediately set to work recording “These Days,” an ethereal ballad awash in reverb provided by Neill’s old EMT 140 echoplate. The track would ultimately become the closing song on the Black Keys’ very next album, Brothers. It marked the beginning of a yearlong journey that included a few interesting twists, yet in the end gave the Black Keys their most successful work to date — and made an unlikely Grammy winner out of home-studio producer Neill.

Muscle Shoals Revisited
While working on several more tracks at Neill’s place through the early part of 2009, Auerbach and Carney began inquiring about Neill’s original studio in Valdosta, Georgia. “From there the conversation sort of morphed into this idea of going to the South and doing the rest of the album in one of the region’s historic old studios,” recalls Neill. Eventually, Auerbach suggested Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, the former casket-warehouse-turned-recording-facility located in rural Sheffield, Alabama and birthplace to hits like R.B. Greaves “Take a Letter Maria” as well as the Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar” and “Wild Horses.” “We both knew that Muscle Shoals had been turned into a museum and hadn’t been a fully functioning studio for over 30 years,” says Neill. “It was basically a place to walk through and say, ‘Wow, this is where it all happened.’” That didn’t deter Auerbach, however, who suggested that they simply bring in their own gear and use the room as-is. “I mean, I love the sound of those old Muscle Shoals records,” says Neill, “but I can’t say that it was actually my idea to go there. But hey, as long as there was air conditioning and reliable electricity, I was willing.”

The prospect of hauling a full compliment of recording equipment 2,000 miles to a studio that hadn’t seen full-time action in over three decades was daunting, to say the least. “If we’d gotten out of there with nothing more than five finished backing tracks without vocals,” says Neill, “that would have been considered an accomplishment.”

That August, Neill, Auerbach and Carney arrived at Muscle Shoals, along with a truckload of period gear culled from Neill’s personnel collection, including portions of a Universal Audio 610 console (the same model used during the early days of MSS), as well as a 10-channel Studer monitoring mixer. “Thanks to the Studer, we seldom went beyond 10 tracks,” says Neill. Before leaving home, Neill, a stickler for efficiency, did a rehearsal set up of the entire arsenal. “I had everything — mixers, connectors, snakes, headphones, mics — all functioning in just under two hours. Given the tight schedule, I didn’t want to leave anything to chance.”

Still, Neill had no idea if the old Muscle Shoals magic would reveal itself until everything was unpacked and the band started cutting tracks. “We already had the material from my studio, so if worse came to worse, we could have always just headed back there and finished the record, or gone up to Dan’s place in Akron. At the very least, anything we did in Alabama could have been used as demos — albeit expensive ones.”

Bass Built
In fact, the trip to the Shoals turned out to be inspirational right from the start. “Things were happening that were very, very transcendent, as soon as they began playing,” says Neill with a grin. “First few takes, we literally couldn’t believe what we were hearing. Dan and Pat were kind of looking at each other saying, ‘that doesn’t even sound like us.’ Seriously.”

Auerbach and Carney had arrived at MSS with an assortment of “idea fragments,” which would evolve into fully formed songs as the sessions progressed. “Some of the stuff was based on demos that had been cut beforehand either at my studio or up at Dan’s,” says Neill. “But even those ended up sounding completely different by the time we were finished at Muscle Shoals.”

At Neill’s suggestion, Auerbach and Carney went to work laying the foundation for “Next Girl,” the first song cut at MSS, by tracking drums with bass — rather than guitar — without the use of guide vocals. The strategy, which the duo would use throughout the sessions, resulted in the distinctive bass-driven thud that formed the core of other standout tracks including “Everlasting Light,” “Howlin’ for You” and “Sinister Kid.” “Each song began with just a basic head arrangement,” continues Neill. “Dan had my Rickenbacker bass, which he really liked playing, and he and Pat would just go at it, and Dan would nod to Pat whenever they’d get to a bridge or chorus and Pat would pick up the tempo, and that was basically it. Later they’d add some guitar and keyboard, then Dan would put his vocals over the top, we overdubbed some percussion, and the next thing you know, it’s a song. It was really the first time they’d tried recording like that, though I’m pretty sure Dan was thinking of taking that route coming into the project. As a result, they wound up with something that was quite unlike any other Black Keys record.”

Neill recorded Carney’s drums using a simple three-mic pattern, including a Shure KSM141 out front, a Shure SM56 in the vicinity of the floor tom, and a Shure 556S or AKG D12 in front of the bass drum, angled slightly downward. “It’s very similar to the arrangement Glyn Johns uses,” says Neill, “and of course we know how well that’s worked for him.” In the interest of saving time and track space, Neill sub-mixed the drums to mono on the spot, though he left the kick drum on a separate track so he could boost it if need be later on. The majority of Auerbach’s bass parts were recorded straight in using a direct-input box; on occasion, Neill patched the bass into a tube amp or stompbox in order to provide the scrambled sounds heard on the likes of “Next Girl” and “Everlasting Light.” For Auerbach’s vocals, Neill relied on his customary technique of suspending a condenser mic (in this case, a Neumann KM184) on a boom stand, pointed directly down towards Auerbach’s head. “We briefly considered having Dan do his vocals live, which he was certainly capable of, except that he was using that long-scale bass and he was really trying to nail the parts the first time.”

Though the tracks would undergo considerable processing during the mix phase, while at MSS Neill maintained a remarkably clutter-free signal path, including almost no compression.  “There was nothing at all on Dan’s vocal mic; I just manually controlled the peaks by riding the fader while he was singing, that’s all.” A few of those peaks occasionally went unchecked — on purpose, says Neill. “A lot of the old MSS vocals have this cool natural distortion that was the result of the UA console being overdriven, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not! In this case, we were going for a fuzzed sound when it felt right.”

Despite having blocked off two full weeks to complete the job, after just 10 days the group already had 10 full songs in the can. By that time restlessness had begun to set in; with basically nothing but a Wal-Mart and a Cracker Barrel for excitement, Neill knew that the end was near. “Sure enough, once we’d nailed down the final track, that was it; a day later, they were gone.” Final touches were later applied by producer-engineer Tchad Blake, whose mix sported an array of plug-ins, including Blake’s flavor of the moment, the fuzz-inducing “Decapitator.” While the heavy processing may have seemed at odds with the band’s initial intent, the public had the final say: In the year since its May 2010 release, Brothers went gold, and, last February, secured three Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Music Album as well as Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group (for the Danger Mouse-produced single “Tighten Up”).

“I know there are some people who think the studio had nothing to do with it,” says Neill, whose current clients include Boston-based rockers TAB the Band, featuring Joe Perry offspring Adrian and Tony Perry. “And to some degree, they’re right — the songs on Brothers are incredible, and yeah, maybe they would have come out just as well under different circumstances. Still, having the opportunity to cut that music in that studio was something I’ll never forget. I got to witness firsthand that it really isn’t folklore; that those guys back then knew exactly what they were doing when they built that place, it was a room that was really intelligently designed, and nothing in there happened by accident. And that even after all this time, there still can be a Muscle Shoals sound.”

2. Join/Start A Songwriting Group. Getting yourself to write on a consistent basis can be a real struggle. Writing is emotionally draining and tough for most of us to do in a vacuum. Ironically, I’ve found that even we creative types like assignments when it comes to our writing. By joining a songwriting group where you’re required to bring in a new song or a rewrite of an old song every week, you’ll have the additional motivation of being held accountable by more than just yourself. It really does work. If you’re not aware of any existing songwriting groups in your area, make it a point to get to local writer’s nights and reach out to other writers about starting a group. By simply showing up every week and doing the work, you’ll find your songwriting muscles getting stronger no matter whether you agree with all the group’s suggestions or not.

3. Don’t Wait For A Publishing Deal To Act Like You Have One. If you find yourself thinking that if only you had a publishing deal then you could write every day, get great demos and have your songs pitched, then I’d humbly suggest that you’ve got it backwards. In order to get a publisher interested in what you’re doing, you need to behave like you’ve already got a publishing deal. This means you’ll be infinitely more attractive to a publisher if you can show them a body of work that’s well written, well recorded and maybe even includes a cut or two. Don’t wait around for the affirmation of a publisher to get up every day and do the work. In fact, if you get to the point where you can do all of the above on your own, you might look up to find you don’t need a publisher after all.

4. Make One Song Pitch Every Week. Having exceptional songs and beautiful recordings of those songs is a great start but in terms of getting them recorded by other artists or placed in a film or TV show, they might as well not exist if you haven’t shown them to anyone. I know this sounds obvious, but, as songwriters, we get so wrapped up in the creative process that we somehow, amazingly, seem to forget that until someone in the industry has heard our songs, they can’t do anything with them. This means you need to begin your search for outlets for your music. There are industry pitch sheets and organizations out there that can help put songwriters together with industry folks looking for songs. Make it your business (see #1 above) to find out about these pitch sheets and begin the process of submitting your songs when you see an appropriate opportunity. If you do this once a week, you’ll have pitched to 52 separate opportunities by the end of a year. That’s a significant number.

5. Reply Promptly To Any Opportunity, No Matter How Small. The likelihood of Faith Hill calling you to ask if you’ve got a song for her is small but you should treat every email or voicemail from someone regarding your music as that kind of top priority. If another songwriter reaches out to say they liked one of your songs they heard you perform at a writer’s night, reply quickly, even if it’s just to say thanks. You never know when a causal contact could turn into something more significant. Our industry is full of stories of songwriters getting their material cut in the least likely of circumstances. All this is to say, there’s no percentage in ignoring or putting off any opportunity no matter how small it may seem at the time. By acting professionally and responding promptly to anyone and everyone who reaches out about your music, you’ll be sure not to miss something huge that might appear insignificant at first glance.

As I’m sure you know, there’s no one way to have success as a songwriter. That being said, you can certainly improve your odds by staying patient, working consistently and treating your career with the respect it deserves.

Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, session musician, engineer, author and owner of recording studios in Nashville, TN and Sonoma, CA. Cliff’s site, http://www.EducatedSongwriter.com, is full of resources for the aspiring songwriter and his company, http://www.NashvilleStudioLive.com, provides songwriters outside of Nashville with virtual access to Nashville’s best session musicians and singers for their songwriting demos.

You can download a FREE sample of Cliff’s eBook “The Songwriter’s Guide To Recording Professional Demos” by going to http://www.EducatedSongwriter.com/ebook.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EducatedSongwriter
Twitter: edusongwriter

In this article, we’ll look at all three of these scenarios and see how they play out daily in the music industry.

Good & Fast (Not Cheap)
“Good, fast and not cheap” is best illustrated in the approach taken by the big record labels and publishing companies. When making albums for their artists, labels use the best studios, the most talented session musicians and employ whole marketing and promotion departments to spread the word about their artists. This has the effect of bringing their music to the eyes and ears of the public in relatively short order but it comes at a huge price — a price that the artists, themselves, often spend years paying back before they see any real financial success of their own.

When it comes to the major publishers, they invest significant capital in high-quality demos for their writers and hire song-pluggers whose sole purpose is to get the songs in their catalog recorded. The end result is that these companies get their songs recorded much more often than the independent writers out there trying to go it alone. But, again, songwriters who are signed to these companies — like the artists above — have to wait until many of these expenses are recouped before they see any income from their songwriting successes.

Good & Cheap (Not Fast)
Fortunately, for the majority of us, there is a more accessible option. While “good, cheap but not fast” requires patience (an asset in short supply for most of us eager to have musical success), the dividends can be rewarding on both a spiritual and financial level. Independent artists who finance their projects themselves, call in favors, wait for off-hours in studios or even take the significant time necessary to learn to the art of recording often end up with beautiful sounding projects at a fraction of the cost of their major label counterparts. The trade-off is the time (lots of it) it takes to put a project like this together and the additional hours of work (more than you can imagine) required to get the news out about their release. The rewards are great, however. Ownership of the master recording and creative freedom are just two of the many rewards waiting for those who are willing to make the effort. Go to http://www.HeatherRigdon.com to hear what some friends and I were able to do on a shoestring budget over a period of about five years.

As songwriters, we face a similar struggle. Without the budgets for full-band recordings of every song we write, we’re forced to be creative in order to put together a catalog of high-quality demos of our songs that we can then pitch ourselves. Whether we have to barter for studio time and session musicians, learn to become experienced engineers/producers/session musicians in our own right or simply create great-sounding guitar/vocals or piano/vocals instead of going the full-band route, the goal is the same. That goal — quality recordings for less money — can lead to a catalog of songs where significant upside awaits. For example, by acting as your own publisher and owning your own master recordings, you’ll be free to pitch your songs for placement in film and TV and receive double the income when you eventually do have success. And, speaking of pitching your songs, there are countless resources to help get our songs out there for those of us willing to look. One that comes to mind right away is www.SongQuarters.com. The thing to remember, however, is that all of this takes time and that’s the tradeoff that most of us have to make.

Fast & Cheap (Not Good)
“Fast, cheap and not good” is where things can get a bit ugly. As long as there have been established methods of how to get ahead in the music business, there have been people willing to cut corners in an attempt to get ahead more quickly. Buying a bunch of recording equipment before you know how to use it in an attempt to save money on your album project generally results in a sub-par recording that will do much more harm than good to your sound and reputation as an artist.

Similarly, choosing the lowest bidder who advertises full-band demos for songwriters often leaves you with a demo that is not only low quality but also instantly brands you as an amateur in the eyes of the industry professionals you play it for, an impression, by the way, that is very difficult to reverse once it’s been made. Also, spending less money on a demo that is unusable is the same thing as throwing that money away. All this to say, when in doubt, take your time and do things correctly even if it means more time, money or both. As I’ve said before, as long as you’re not planning on having a career in music for this week only, it pays to take your time. Fast and cheap is, without a doubt, the combination that has the most potential for disappointment or worse. And, often, doing things this way actually leads to more money being spent, which leads me to another one of my favorite expressions, “Cheap can be expensive.”

I understand that it’s a constant struggle to do what’s best for your music while trying to manage your patience and your budget. That being said, simply paying attention to what you’re doing and keeping your eye on the big picture will serve you well as you continue to figure it all out.

Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, session musician, engineer, author and owner of recording studios in Nashville, TN and Sonoma, CA. Cliff’s site, Educated Songwriter, is full of resources for the aspiring songwriter and his company, http://www.NashvilleStudioLive.com, provides songwriters outside of Nashville with virtual access to Nashville’s best session musicians and singers for their songwriting demos.

You can download a FREE sample of Cliff’s eBook “The Songwriter’s Guide To Recording Professional Demos” by going to http://www.EducatedSongwriter.com/ebook.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/EducatedSongwriter
Twitter: edusongwriter

1. You’ll enjoy the process more. There is nothing more frustrating than waiting for something to happen that’s beyond your control. For example, you’ve read a listing on a pitch sheet looking for songs for a “last-minute” opportunity and they have to have them right away. The reality is that nothing actually happens “right away” and everything is “last minute.” So, after submitting your song, instead of constantly scanning your emails and sleeping with your phone, simply put a note in your calendar to follow up with an email in a week or two (not before) and forget about it. I know this is easier said than done but it will keep you sane. By the way, the easiest way to forget about one thing is to be working on something else.

In other words, you should have as many irons in the fire as possible so that you’re not waiting on any one thing to happen. By “irons in the fire,” I mean looking for other pitch opportunities, new co-writers and any one of a million things that you can be doing to have success in the music business. If you’re patient, your day-to-day will be a series of small steps and tasks that will keep you focused and productive without allowing you to linger on any one thing for too long. Also, that way, when something does come through you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

2. You’ll keep your perspective. Given that there is absolutely no such thing as a “quick buck” in the music industry, your best bet is to think about why you’re writing songs in the first place. If it’s only for the money, you’re in for a rough road. Even the most successful songwriters have put in years of unpaid work before the money began to flow. If, on the other hand, you write because you can’t help it and you love the feeling of putting something uniquely your own into the world and you also hope to be financially successful, then your day-to-day will be the pursuit of something meaningful to you that also has the potential to generate income. If you’re patient, you have a much better chance of keeping that perspective while you’re pursuing your dream of success.

3. You’ll build better industry relationships. We all know that relationships with industry insiders (publishers, managers, record label execs, etc.) are highly prized for the connections and potential opportunities they bring. However, just like any relationship, it’s extremely difficult to build something of substance quickly. If you’re patient and don’t try to force-feed your music to every person in the industry at every opportunity, you stand a much better chance of developing the kinds of contacts that move you ahead in your career. These relationships take years to develop (not five minutes at the bar of the hotel at an industry conference). What if instead of launching into a ten-minute, spoken-word bio the next time you meet someone in the music industry, you tried asking them what they’re working on? Learn a little more about them and, in time, if you’re doing great work, they’ll get to know about you, too.

By not treating every interaction with someone in the industry as a do-or-die situation, you’ll feel less pressure to make something happen immediately and enjoy getting to know them. Then, in time, you’ll have someone receptive to your music when there’s an opportunity. Here’s a small tip: It’s the administrative assistants and receptionists of today that will be the heads of film/TV departments tomorrow. Don’t ignore these folks in your search for someone more powerful who can help you. Take your time, build your industry relationships slowly and organically and watch what happens.

4. It’s out of your hands anyway. While there is a lot you can (and should) do on your own behalf every day, the music business goes at its own speed no matter what you do. Songs, even “undeniable” hits, routinely take years to find a home after they’ve been written. The journey from the creation of a song to a royalty-generating copyright is as mysterious to me now as it was when I wrote my first song. So, given that it’s out of your hands once you’ve written, demoed and pitched your song, why not be patient and keep filling the pipeline with new songs and pitches? Develop your craft, write as much as you can and one day you’ll look back to see you’ve got a catalog of great songs where some of the older ones are actually generating income.

I once heard a hit songwriter say that he wrote one of his hits in “three hours and 25 years.” In other words, while the song took three hours to write, it was his 25 years of patiently refining his craft and developing his career that made it happen.

As long as you’re not planning on being a songwriter for this week only, take a deep breath, work on your songs and your career a little every day and enjoy the ride. You’ll be amazed in a few years when you look back and see how far you’ve come. Good luck!

Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, session musician, engineer, author and owner of recording studios in Nashville, TN and Sonoma, CA. Cliff’s site, http://www.EducatedSongwriter.com, is full of resources for the aspiring songwriter and his company, http://www.NashvilleStudioLive.com, provides songwriters outside of Nashville with virtual access to Nashville’s best session musicians and singers for their songwriting demos.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EducatedSongwriter
Twitter: edusongwriter

1. Insist on preparedness. To avoid needless delays, start by ensuring that all band members arrive on time for the session (several studio owners I know begin charging once the first car arrives in the driveway). While some re-tooling of material is to be expected on the job, try to discourage major structural revamps (such as writing an entirely new set of lyrics from scratch) during session time. Remind them, the clock’s ticking — get it done now and save the money for the warm beer at the lousy bar up the street.

2. Plan ahead. Since you expect your guests to be prepared, make sure you follow the same rules of readiness. The night before a session, wire up all microphones, headphones and other recording apparatus, using the configuration of the visiting group as a blueprint. Set preliminary levels on your recorder, which you can fine-tune once the group is warming up. Most of all, be sure that everything is in proper working order — check all cables, mics and instruments for buzzes and other extraneous noises that can create unwanted interruptions in the middle of a session.

3. State your terms. Whether you charge by the hour or by the session, clearly state your terms ahead of time so the artist is able to budget accordingly (and therefore knows when to call it quits). While it’s true that the longer they take the more you’ll make, your reputation will be enhanced if they can walk out of there with a decent product at a good price.

4. Make use of native equipment. Many studios keep an inventory of “in-house” gear such as drums, piano, guitars and instrument amplifiers, which serves two purposes: The engineer knows the equipment and can prepare everything in advance; and it allows the visiting act to spend less time unloading and more time recording. It can be exceedingly difficult to get a productive vibe going when the drummer is taking over an hour to set up (plus you’ll have to wait until everything is arranged and in tune before you can start hanging mics and getting levels). If you already have a kit on the premises, why not just use it? If the band insists on bringing along some of their own equipment out of preference, that’s fine, so long as you refer them to the “clock’s ticking” rule above.

5. Make it comfortable. To most people, a “professional” studio conjures images of big sterile rooms with players sequestered behind sound-isolating baffles. In fact, a studio room that looks more like a living room is often much more conducive to recording. To that end, try setting up the group as if they were rehearsing or performing on stage, even using live vocal mics when possible. Many engineers prefer to arrange the players in a tight semi-circle, which allows them to make eye contact while tracking (and also eliminates the need for headphones).

6. Don’t tell them when the red light’s on. As the best engineers know, recording is often more about psychology than technology. Musicians tend to tense up when they know they’re being recorded, so don’t tell them! For instance, when you’re just getting started, hit the record button while telling the band to “just try a few rehearsal takes.” Or, later on, go out into the room while they’re playing so they think you’re not actually in record mode (when in fact you are). A little sleight of hand can go a long way.

7. Record everything. Back in the days when you had 30 minutes of record time per roll of tape, hitting “pause” was understandable, but not any longer. Having virtually unlimited storage space and editing tools at your disposal means you should keep everything — false starts, partial takes, rhythm mistakes, portions of which could be used as part of the finished master. As veteran producer/engineer Niko Bolas once noted, “you never know when you might accidentally capture some vague sound of a genius idea that might turn out to be a hook for the future. If a trashcan falls over in the right key, it could be amazing.”

8. Take control. Perfectionism can easily derail an otherwise smooth and spontaneous recorded performance, so be prepared to deal with overly obsessive types who continually call out for “just one more try” a half-hour into a 30-second guitar fill. Using a combination of editing (see above) and cajoling (“you nailed it on Take Two, dude”), you can prevent these recording nuts from gumming up the works. Or as one veteran mixer put it, “It’s better to punch in a solo then punch out the artist.”

9. Mix emotions. If there’s a perfectionist in the room, there’s a good chance you’ll be subjected to even more nitpicking once it comes time to mix. To avoid potential control-room conflict, insist on performing the final mixes once everyone has left the building. Make several different mixes per song, using various shades of EQ and processing, altering the tone and attack of the guitar on some versions, boosting the lead vocal on others, etc. You could even cut a finished master using sections of the different mixes as a way of keeping all the customers satisfied.

10. Save, save, save. In the analog era, studios would typically run a “safety” machine in the event the main tape recorder ran amuck. While it is no longer necessary to keep an auxiliary recorder on the premises, you do need to ensure that everything is properly preserved and subsequently backed-up to a dedicated storage unit. Unlike tape machines that printed everything on the spot, with digital you’re just a lightning strike away from losing everything unless you’ve hit “save” beforehand. Or if your hard drive suddenly decides to crash in the middle of a project, having a back-up drive will at least allow you to return to the foundation tracks, rather than painstakingly re-record everything you cut the week before.

Songwriter101 exclusive by Dave Simons

Dos
Discuss percentages in advance. After writing close to a thousand songs, my assumption is that all my “from-scratch” collaborations are even splits. This means 50/50 if there are two of us, 33/33/33 if there are three of us, etc. I consider it bad karma (and, frankly, exhausting) to count words or try and figure out who created what when the song is done and then try to adjust percentages. Just know that some days you’ll contribute more and some days your co-writer(s) will and that it all evens out in the end. If the song is brought to you mostly (or even partially) finished, then be clear on what the split will be in advance so there isn’t a misunderstanding later on. It’s simply better to deal with this stuff up front and then get on to the process of making music. Also, it’s considered bad form when discussing your collaborations later to state that you “really wrote most of it” or any variation thereof. The bottom line is that without your collaborator the song wouldn’t be the song that it is, no matter what was directly or indirectly contributed.

Decide in advance if you’re going to bring ideas or start “cold.” There are advantages to both approaches. If you’re new to the co-writing process or possibly a little nervous about how your upcoming session will go, preparing in advance with anything from a list of song titles to lyrical and/or musical hooks can go a long way towards a smooth-running session. However, as a more experienced writer, I go into sessions with younger artists without preparing ideas because I anticipate that our initial discussions and time spent getting to know each other will provide the material for our collaboration. All this is to say, there is no “right” way to do this.

Show up on time and ready to work. I know we’re all artists and we’re all supposed to be flaky, creative types but you’re now writing in the hopes of generating income from your music, so it’s also a business. Treat it that way. You wouldn’t show up late for work or cancel because you didn’t feel like going, so don’t do it with your co-writing sessions, either. Showing respect for the process and your collaborator goes a long way towards setting the tone for a productive co-write.

Make a plan on how you’ll both promote the song. The reality of the music business is that collaboration doesn’t end with the finished song. There will be subsequent discussions about demo costs, pitch opportunities and any one of a number of other details. What this really means is that in order to make yourself an “attractive” co-writer, you should remember to bring as much to the table as possible. This could mean bringing an industry connection or pitch opportunity or even having a recording studio where you and your co-writer can do the demo for free. It’s helpful to remember that the actual co-write is easy/fun part and it’s all the other parts of the process that ultimately make for a successful collaboration. Truly successful collaborations often extend beyond just writing the song.

Don’ts
Putting the business aside for a moment, the collaborative process, at its root, is about trust and chemistry. The following “don’ts” are suggestions about how to avoid damaging or compromising that trust.

Don’t criticize a co-writer’s suggestion. This is the ultimate vibe killer. There is vulnerability in trusting someone with your ideas and it only takes one “that sounds stupid” or “that’s a bad idea” to kill the goodwill that should be part of the process. This is not to say that you won’t hear (and suggest) dumb things in the process of a co-write. It happens all the time, but it’s enough for you to simply say you’d rather keep looking for another idea or try something else at that point in the song. There’s no percentage in saying someone’s idea is “bad” or “wrong.” First of all, this is art and it’s subjective, but more importantly (and I’ve seen this more times than I can count), you could crush an admittedly weak idea that was only going to be a stepping stone towards a truly great one. Be patient with your collaborator and yourself and you’ll be amazed at the results.

Don’t insist on one of your ideas if your co-writer doesn’t seem interested in it. You may be in the middle of a co-write and come up with a snippet of lyric or melody that you absolutely love but for some reason your co-writer just doesn’t get it. My suggestion is to make your best case for it and if your co-writer doesn’t like it, let it go. It’s that simple. There are too many ways to write a song to derail the process over a simple disagreement. The key to collaboration is making sure you’re both on board with an idea before moving forward. That being said, if you feel your collaborator consistently doesn’t like ideas that you feel are strong, there’s no rule that says you have to keep writing with this person.

Don’t edit too harshly early on in the session. There’s real value in keeping a co-write moving along. Squeezing too hard on a single line or section of the song too early in the process can take all the creative energy out of a session. Better to either keep in a “good enough” line with the understanding you’ll come back to it when you begin to review what you’ve written or take a break if the line just isn’t coming. There will always be time for editing but I’d suggest not going too deep on that front at the expense of getting the shape and form of the song together first.

Don’t push too hard to collaborate with a more established/successful songwriter. As songwriters, we all know who the hot writers are. We hear their songs on the radio, meet them at music conferences and, in some cases, came up with them from when they were “nobody.” The unwritten rule I’ve observed is that it’s better to be asked to co-write by a more established/successful writer than it is to ask them to co-write yourself. If your personality is such that you just can’t wait for that to happen, my recommendation is that you should ask once, politely and don’t take it personally if the writer isn’t interested or doesn’t have time. It’s abundantly clear what you, as the less experienced/successful writer, stand to gain from the collaboration but it’s up to the more successful writer to decide if your talent, motivation and, yes, connections warrant them taking the time to collaborate with you. It’s simply the law of the jungle. Hopefully, you’ll be in a position to write with a less experienced/successful writer yourself one day and you’ll treat that writer exactly as you’d hope to be treated yourself.

This is, of course, not an exhaustive list of co-writing rules but simply a few guidelines to help those new to the game to understand it a bit better. The best kinds of co-writes are the ones where both collaborators feel like they’ve written something better than either could have written alone.

Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, session musician, engineer, author and owner of recording studios in Nashville, TN and Sonoma, CA. Cliff’s site, http://www.EducatedSongwriter.com, is full of resources for the aspiring songwriter, and his company, http://www.NashvilleStudioLive.com, provides songwriters outside of Nashville with virtual access to Nashville’s best session musicians and singers for their songwriting demos.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EducatedSongwriter
Twitter: @edusongwriter