After publishing my post a couple weeks ago, Record-Making Purgatory, I got to thinking about some examples of overdubbing ideas that may help spark creativity. If you’re currently stuck in a “purgatory predicament,” perhaps these suggestions will snap you out of it.

1) Overdub a second snare
Try putting an additional snare track over or under the original snare. Use a different snare/tuning/timber, and have the drummer (or anyone, really) perform this the entire length of the track. You may need to slightly edit the timing of the track later to line it up closer to the original. In the mix there are a lot of different options-wild EQ and compression settings, huge reverb, small reverb, gated, expanded, wild delay settings, or leave it totally natural. Do whatever you feel, but get creative.

2) Overdub a floor tom
Try this in sections of the song. Maybe there is a breakdown that it would fit nicely into. Maybe you simply reinforce the drum fills. If you go with the latter choice, and you know you are going to do this on the tracking day, you can plan ahead by yanking some direct mics off the drum kit to use elsewhere. Again, in the mixing phase your options are wide open to your complete creativity.

3) Overdub another part on bass
Usually when people think up parts to add to an arrangement, they never think to see what this may sound like on bass guitar. Don’t overlook this option. We did this on a project I was involved in a while back, and it was a brilliant idea.

4) Double the bass guitar with a synth bass
This can add a sub-harmonic, distorted texture under the bass. In the mix tuck it just under the original bass to make it all blend in, sounding as one part. The combined tracks can sound like the most unique bass guitar anyone has ever heard.

5) Reamp vocals
Kind of like using a synth to add a sub-harmonic texture to the bass, try adding a somewhat subliminal timber to the vocal. It will require you to obtain possession of a reamp box of some sort. I’m pleased with this one: www.reamp.com. In the mix, blend this new track under the original vocal, add a little EQ magic to the top end, and you will get a nice touch of added presence to the lead vocal (or backgrounds if you’d rather).

Hope these five ideas inspire your creative vision to help you escape the dreaded record-making purgatory. I may actually take my own advice, and try some of these ideas out on a project I’m currently working on.

I would love to know how this turns out for you. If you end up trying some of these ideas out, post links to your recordings in the comments for all of us to hear. And if you have any other creative overdub ideas that you would like share, please leave those in the comments as well.

They’re not going to steal your idea. Because it’s impossible to steal mastery of a trade.

You can’t out out “George Martin” George Martin. Or out “Prince” Prince

YOU are the magic puzzle piece that makes it all work. Don’t worry about giving away the secret to the sauce. No one can make it all work like you, because you are the magician. You are the integral piece that connects all the dots.

What you need to do is engage with your audience. Show them how it works. Expand the enthusiasm of your fans by discussing the build of whatever it is that drew them in in the first place.

“Want to know how we got the guitar to solo to sound like the end of the world? Modulated octave fuzz split through two amps. Check out my new video where I show you how.”

“Want to know we got the background vocals to sound so huge? MS and Blumlein stereo mic’ing. Head over to my blog where I explain that, along with many other recording and mixing techniques.”

They will go from enthusiastic to completely addicted, spreading your ideas, your name, and your mastery around in the process.

No one can out “You” You.

Photo by brokinhrt2. Licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Tracking day is the big day. You just committed a lot of money to the studio to make a record, and there’s no turning back now. It’s possibly the most exciting part of a project, because you’re still anticipating everything-imagining how glorious the end result will sound-yet simultaneously the project has come to fruition, because the basic tracks are being recorded right now.

Your overdubs are different. Now you’re off the big studio’s clock. The excitement from the tracking day has had time to settle, and now you’re simply putting in “another day at the office.”

This middle phase of has the potential to become record-making purgatory, where everyone is stuck with their own form of writer’s block. The artist can become unsure of themselves, bouncing from one extreme idea to another looking for direction. The A&R guy can become nervous, wondering if his project is losing competence. This can end up putting immense pressure on you to save the project.

So use the overdubs for what they are: a place take liberties. Do things that stretch the limits. Use unfamiliar gear and techniques. Employ methods that promote creative thinking; techniques that challenge writer’s block.

Overdubs are the pivital moment. They can make or break a record. It can be that one stroke of red amongst a canvas of gray. Don’t miss the opportunity to make a statement by introducing the sonic character which becomes the standard for the genre, or the hook that takes the song from average to platinum-selling hit.

Worst case scenario is that you end up with a track or two that don’t get used. You can always trim the fat, but you can’t add what’s not there.

The studio is the recordist’s instrument. It’s your moment to really dive into your creative outlet. You got into this line of work because it’s supposed to be fun. This is definitely one of your chances to make good on that.

Mondays are a crunch day. People don’t have time to read blogs for all the work that piled up over the weekend. There is too much stress over getting through another week. Monday is just flat out the wrong day to publish new blog posts.

This is why Wednesdays exist. The dust from the uproar of Monday has settled, and everyone is looking for a bit of a “time out” from work by procrastinating in a distraction of some sort.

When I go up against the stress of Monday, I’m always going to lose that competition. So I’d like to increase my chances of getting my blog read by showing up right at the moment people are looking to take their “time out.” Perhaps I’m being naive since record making is off the charts in terms of normal working hours and days.

In any case, I’m going to be switching my posting day from Mondays to Wednesdays. This is an experiment. If it works I will have increased my readers/subscribers/visitors, and I’ll stick with Wednesdays. If not, I’ll be testing out some other days.

As always, I’d love some feedback on this. So please comment away if you have a suggestion. Thanks for being loyal readers, hope your Monday is not too stressful, and I’ll see you Wednesday.

Photo by Greg Westfall. Licensed under a Creative Commons License.

I’ve got some friends who are a little bit older than me, and have been making records longer than me. It’s great to have these friends, as they are my mentors. They teach me things on a near daily basis. They challenge me to keep my production skills sharp.

I also have a group of friends who are a little bit younger than me for whom I act as the mentor. The (maybe not so) ironic thing is that they teach me just as much-and sometimes more-than I teach them.

This happens in three main ways:

1. They ask me questions, and I have my knowledge and skills tested because I have to come up with the “correct” answer and/or good advice.
2. They ask me questions, and I don’t know the answer. I research it, I teach it to them, I learn something new.
3. They flat out teach me something I knew nothing about.

I not only keep my skills sharp by keeping in touch with my mentors, I also constantly have my skills sharpened by the people whom I teach. It’s great to focus on networking with people who have been making records longer than you, and picking their brains for knowledge. But what action are you taking to put yourself in a position in which you can learn by teaching someone who has less experience than you?

Photo by foxypar4. Licensed under a Creative Commons license.

I’ve been drafting this post since mid March. The first two drafts I ended up with a 1000+ word review. I scrapped them both because they were way too long, and full of way too much detail. I decided I’d attempt once more, and if it didn’t work out this last time I’d totally bail on the post. So I stripped everything down to the bare essentials:

The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

Why is this applicable to producers
I am not suggesting that you should make records in four hour increments. Although it would make for a cool experimental project, you’re not going to make a business out of this practice. What I am suggesting is that you need to expand your skill set-wear more hats. My reasoning for recommending this book is to point you to a resource which will get you thinking about how to accomplish more.

The highlights
The part of the book that most resonated with me was Step II (chapters 5, 6, and 7), which was all about accomplishing more by doing less, eliminating useless information consumption, and deleting interruption.

The point
As a music business professional you need to expand your skill set in order to stay relevant. The 4-Hour Work Week serves as a powerful resource to help you manage this diversification. It’s worth the weekend it takes to read it.

Timothy Ferriss, the author, also has a blog which is a great resource. [www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog]

Can people identify your work by listening to the records you produce, record, or mix? With every project you are a part of, you should be working with this in mind. Work to establish your identity so that when people think of a certain style of music, or a certain kind of instrument, you’re the person whose name comes up in the conversation.

You should become so familiar with a certain style of music, or a particular kind of instrument, that you understand the most accurate approach to best capture and represent that music or instrument within a recording. At that point, not only will you become known for your ability to produce, capture, and mix these recordings, but your name will become synonymous with that musical style or instrument. The production will superimpose perfectly over top of the artist’s music and sound, and in turn appear completely invisible in the recording. Moreover, once you understand the rules of capturing these recordings better than anyone else, you will also know how to creatively break the rules, making for a much more interesting and rich recording.

Think about how Chris Lord-Alge is known for his ability to mix power-pop and mainstream rock, Brian Eno as the guy who produces ambient music, Joe Barresi and his ability to record rock guitars, or Stephen Street for his work in the British alternative music scene.

Just like these guys, work to become the go-to person for a certain style of music, or for recording a particular instrument.

Popping in this afternoon to let you know about a couple quick news items. Radical Notion (independent media), the new media, artist development, and artist management company I’m a partner in, has rolled out two newsletters:

1) The Mother/Father email newsletter. If you’re interested you can find the signup form here: www.thisismotherfather.com

2) The Radical Notion (independent media) email newsletter. If you’re interested in signing up for this one, you can find the signup form here: www.radicalnotion.net.

We’re still brainstorming to come up with some catchy names for these newsletters, so if you got any ideas I’d love it if you would shoot them to me. You can leave them in the comments, or you can email them to me at stinson [at] producernotes [dot] com.

Thanks, and I’ll see you tomorrow…

What if you simply organized a few people? What if you took the remarkable idea you have, and instead of going out with intentions of marketing to the masses, you focused on the extremists-your biggest fans? What if you simply empowered these people to do your marketing for you? If instead of putting all your focus on ways to get new fans, deciding how your fans will be fans, and how to convince more people to buy your music instead of trading it for free, you focused only on the fans who care about you the most? The fans who will buy your music no matter what. The fans whose lifestyle is built around your music-empowering them-giving them control. Giving them everything they need to promote you. What if you gave your biggest fans the privilege to be a leader who organizes others around your music, converting them to the lifestyle?

Why would anyone do this? Why would anyone put forth the effort organize a group of people around your music without getting paid, or necessarily getting any recognition? Because to them it is a privilege. Just like it’s a privilege for Mac geeks to build a website all about Mac rumors, NIN fans to participate in the band’s online remix community, or for German car enthusiasts to create a message board where they can meet and talk about their cars. You and I do this everyday within the communities we’re privileged to be a part of.

One of the communities I’m privileged to be a part of is one that organizes itself around the ideas Seth Godin shares, and as usual Seth himself articulates this idea of “empowering others to spread your message” best. [Seth Godin on the tribes we lead.]

What action can you take in your career in music to position yourself so that your biggest fans are empowered with the privilege of organizing others? What do you think would happen if you gave them this privilege?

When everything is perfectly in tune in a recording you end up with a boring recording. It’s as if the music was created in a laboratory by machines mixing chemicals together.

Consider the best, most timeless works of literature. They are often crafted with themes of imperfection, struggle, and the reformation of someone or something. Likewise, the best songs are often written using similar lyrical content. The advantage a songwriter has is that they are able to more powerfully evoke the desired emotional experience with musical accompaniment.

The producer has the opportunity (perhaps the responsibility?) to augment the emotional evocation, by utilizing production techniques which subconsciously provide context. One of the best ways to communicate the emotional imperfections and moral complications of human beings, is by using slightly out of tune instruments.

For examples of what I’m talking about, dig up your old Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground, or Pixies records. There are no shortage of fans who will regard each one of these record catalogues as timeless masterpieces, despite the fact that you can find many instances where the instrumentation is blatantly out of tune (I don’t even need to bring up Kurt Cobain, who quite possibly may be the poster child for out of tune rock guitars). And you know what? They’re right it sounds great!

Spin The Wink by The Velvet Teen is an example of a fairly recent song which has always stuck out in my mind because of the out of tune piano, which is very prominent in the intro. I don’t know if the piano is deliberately out of tune, but it certainly inspired me as a record maker. I love how the piano being out of tune adds depth, tension, and complexity to the recording.

In each one of these examples, the “tastefully out of tune” instrumentation worked. It sets up the context for the lyric. It augments the emotions in the story with human imperfections. Work to provide context for the emotions that the artist is evoking, by experimenting with the textures of slightly out of tune instrumentation.