A SONG A DAY

Going STRONG! Finally made time for a long overdue BLOG!  As I've been working on making this "song a day" a habit; I must admit that it can be challenging. Besides the obvious, the songs need to be produced, mixed and mastered which sometimes can take longer than expected. (lyric/vocal tracks)

Here are a few things  I've discovered on my journey so far that I'd like to share. ( and really, it applies to anything you do) 

#1 CONSISTENCY

-Do it everyday! Just do it. 

-Give yourself a specific time and time frame. (2pm-4pm) If it's on your to do list, there's no panic or the "I don't have time" excuse. NO interruptions. 

#2 PURPOSE

Why am I doing this? Speaking for myself I do it to:

-Get better and faster at my craft

-Treat it as a job 

-Structure, discipline and self-motivation

-Up my production and writing skills

-Build my catalog

-Train myself to write wherever, whatever, without having to wait on inspiration. 

Inspiration is everywhere. Once you start, once in the zone and amazed what comes out.

#3 CONCEPT

-Think albums

-Specific genres

During my 31 Songs in 31 Days challenge, I was writing full songs with lyrics and vocals. I gave myself two hours. The goal was to write a complete song, start to finish. I didn't think too much about a specific genre, I let myself write whatever I wanted which was very liberating and fun. Now that I have the 31 songs, as I finish them one by one (production) I'll find them a home, some will be on my album, while others will go straight to a library. 

For Instrumentals. I think of it as making compilation CD's for music libraries. Specific themes and genres. Either Holiday (Halloween, Christmas) or Drama, or EDM tracks. This way, the end of the month I have 30 tracks to submit. It just makes sense and it helps to focus.

#4 EXPAND

-learn and experiment

It's easy to go to the same Virtual Instruments, (I do it all the time) while it is extremely helpful to have a go to Instrument if you need to write fast for a specific  request, force yourself to use just one instrument for example, write the entire piece in Massive, next day just use FM8 or Omnisphere and so on. The point is, we do want to expand and learn our instruments. Most of us have a ton of toys we hardly ever use or don't even know how to use.

#5 LISTEN

-Educate yourself

-Learn the genre you're in (or a new genre you're interested in)

-Stick out while still fitting in, be different from the rest

If you do library tracks, go to the high end libraries sites and listen to the genres you do, compare where you stand out yet still fit in. Same goes for songwriting, listen to the new releases on Itunes, 

As an Artists we do want to sound unique, different and fresh but we still want to know what's going on out there and stay current. Obviously, if you do vocal tracks for libraries, you do want to be able to make sound-alike tracks, you need to know what that artist sounds like. And it can inspire you to make it your own.

#6 KEEP ORGANIZED

-Find a system that works for you

-METADATA

-Register your songs with PRO

-Create Song Inventory to keep track

As you keep writing more and more music, it can get pretty overwhelming. I make folders for each month. (Sept. 2014) Inside that folder each song gets their own folder , I name the songs "Sept.1st, Sept. 2nd and so on" I also have a MIXES folder inside main folder where all the mixes go from all 30 songs; this way I don't have to go to each individual song folder if I need a track. Make wav and mp3 files. Vocal and Instrumental tracks.

Metadata, so important to have all the info about the song, like bpm, name, genre, artist info, description etc. It will make submissions way easier if you have it all in one place rather than having to listen to each track way after you worked on them.

Have a track inventory of all tracks, where the tracks are, (what libraries) non-exclusive or exclusive. (That just seems a blog all by itself) It can get overwhelming quickly.

#6 HAVE FUN & STAY FLEXIBLE

While it seems like a lot of work and  requires lot's discipline, we are doing it because we love it. We do it because we want to work our creative muscle. Not every song has to be the most amazing thing you've ever written. It's not about that, it's about putting it out to the universe that you are living your purpose, so your subconscious mind knows that this is what you are meant to do. It's so that your catalog grows, as well as you as an artist, composer. singer/songwriter. We only get better by doing.

There might be a day or two where you don't write, it happened to me a few times, I wanted to beat myself up but decided to just acknowledge that life happens, things come up and throw you off balance a bit. You go off track, you get back on. Write two the next day, make up for it. Laugh it off.

#7 READ

Read reviews, interviews, articles that catch your interest, use it as inspiration for lyrics and themes.

#8 COLLABORATE

While I personally love writing alone, especially instrumentals, I LOVE collaborating, it's expanding, fun and magical with the right person.  Together you'll come up with things you would've never done alone. It's easy to get stuck doing what you always do. Collaborators are great teachers and often become great friends and inspiration. Find collaborators that will care about the song as much as you do and help shop the song as well. There's power in a TEAM! No one succeeds doing everything alone.

#9 MOMENTUM

The more you write, the more creative you'll get. The more you hit the gym , the firmer your body gets, the stronger you become. And your CONFIDENT grows.  Confidence is very attractive! Successful people love confident people. Do not confuse that with arrogance or cockiness. Stay humble and keep living your purpose!!!

Songs All Around You

So many ways to write. So many ideas all around. Day 28. Still on  fire. A little resistance creeped in around the 18th, which is interesting, cause it was my Birthday and I thought for sure I'm gonna kick ass. I guess I made it my priority to thank everyone on Facebook instead for the many Birthday wishes. I ended up singing my idea on my phone on my way to dinner.

My major breakthough has been lyrics. I decided that every song has to have lyrics. I usually take a pretty long time to write lyrics, especially if it's for my personal project. Yet, under pressure, knowing I only have a certain amount of time, and I need to complete them, I do. While the first draft is most likely not the final, what matters is to get creative, keep "throwing up" what comes out, brainstorm, let your train of though run it's route. Make up or enhance a story and run with it. To just let it flow and not over think or over analyze.

Getting up, taking a break is most definitely working for me. I purposely don't  try to find the right words while on break time. Instead, I make calls, play with the dog, completely switch off. I than return to the track with a fresh mind, and usually everything falls into place. (for the first draft at least)

Not only does it become easier, it's fun and exciting each and every day to just explore without the pressure of having to sound like something or someone or fit into a genre. Of course I want the songs to be great, find a home for them, ideally in film/tv or on someones album but writing just for the sake of perfecting the craft and fun takes the pressure away and get's you in the place you want to be. The "zone".  One of my favorite quotes "Nothing Happens Till Something Moves". [Einstein] Let your guard down stuff starts to move. And let's be honest, a song is hardly ever done in one sitting. It's all in the re-write.

I've collaborated with a few people for far, not as many as I had hoped but the ones involved  are super talented and fun. One person gave me a metal track and my first thought was "so not inspired, so not what I do" than I just muted everything except the drum and bass and did my thing (apologizing in advance to my collaborator, lol ) Thankfully he was open minded enough and took the leash off.

I started out as a solo writer and still love writing on my own, however, collaboration takes a project to another level. It's a challenge and a test. Do you listen to your ego or what's best for the song?  Obviously, the song always wins.

You're so much more vulnerable when collaborating. Sharing a half finished track or a raw,  out of tune vocal idea with someone can be uncomfortable for many of us, it's like showing up naked to their party. Trust is essential.

Although I did consider sharing some of the songs, I just listened to a bunch of them and they do sound kinda shitty for the most part, as the focus was not to fully produce but write fully structured song a day instead of just a hook or a few lines.

Plus, I don't want to spoil the fun that's coming in August, so bare with me until I reveal the next step!

Stay tuned for August mission!
xoxo
JVB

Fuel for Creativity!

The Music Industry has changed drastically and it keeps on changing. Get over it! If you are in the industry and you resist change, you'll have a hard time moving forward, adapting to the "new way". Most of us haven't even quite figured out the "new way"...we're all kinda in limbo. The great news is, here's our chance to come up with something new and groundbreaking. We can try new things, they may fail, I'm sure many ideas will but so what...you keep on trying.

The worst thing you can do is bitch and complain. What exactly does that accomplish? You hate the budget cuts, the shitty music out these days...REALLY? There's always been shitty music. Music doesn't need to be meaningful and deep at all times. When I'm on the dancefloor, I want to dance, laugh, flirt....have fun! Just because it doesn't speak to you doesn't mean it's bad.

How about all those hating on Skrillex, Rhianna or Lady GaGa, how they don't deserve to be as big as they are. IF you think they suck, DO BETTER! Bring something to the table that tops their production, their mass appeal! Yes, they all have big machines behind them but you can create something out of nothing if you have the drive and the believe that you are great! Saying you don't have the big label behind you is just another excuse to NOT get to work. Let your frustration be your inspiration. Instead of getting bitter, get busy, get creative!

We're all guilty of it, but it doesn't serve us! So now go write a song about it! ;P

Where does time go?

I'm always amazed how quickly time passes when I'm busy and often I feel like I haven't accomplished all that much, which really isn't true.

When you're self-employed, it takes a lot of discipline and focus to stay on track and not get distracted by things (which happens to me quite often). I'm still working on making myself a steady work schedule and stick with the plan. I'll get it right eventually! lol

besides writing a ton of music for music libraries, I'm very excited about the new Otto's Daughter album. I'm digging the new songs and slightly new sound.

Next step is picking the first single and finding a team to do a music video. Can't wait to share it all!

xoxo
JVB