Creating MP3 Demos

The purpose of a demo is to showcase your song but, more importantly, your song's potential. According to one songplugger (from a major production & publishing organisation in NSW) the most important thing is to provide a simple but clear presentation of your song/music.

Not everyone has the necessary skills to create a good production nor do they have access to (or can afford) a professional producer who does have these skills. So, to avoid the risk of your song (and its potential) being lost or buried in a poorly produced demo, it is best to focus on a few simple things as follows:

• vocals - are the best asset and 'key' to your song and it's potential being heard (so if your voice does not suit the song or you aren't the best singer then better to find someone who is and get them to sing it for you)
• a simple musical accompanyment - either guitar or keyboards should be fine to accompany vocals
• if you are unable to play an instrument (nor find someone who can) then at the very least, the right voice singing your song should be adequate to provide enough of a showcase for your song - so its potential can be heard

Remember, Song Central is not about 'performance' it is about songs. Whilst a good performance and recording of the song certainly helps, it is not absolutely necessary to show your song's potential.

Song Central's online notice board (coming soon) will be a useful tool to help you find people and skills who might be able to help you and your demos.

The next important part to producing a good demo is the recording process. Adrian from Turramurra Music provides some valuable 'tips and tricks' below:

The creative process in recording mp3 demo

Finding the right balance between creativity and technology is a very challenging aspect of the songwriting process which is why this topic is a good starting point for budding acoustic musicians who are wishing to record demos.  Learning to use technology to record your song or piece of music is a very involved process and employs both the creative mind as well as the technical side. 

The left side of the brain is often referred to as the creative side and the right for logical process.  A trick is that there needs to be a good balance from both sides of the brain at different times during the process. Depending on the person, it is somewhat difficult to jump from one mental state straight into the other which is why I recommend that you are aware of this problem, and avoid it where possible as you may lose your creative ideas if you try and jump into the technical side too quickly.

An exception to this rule is where a musician is familiar and capable enough to use computer software as the instrument and this is often the case particularly with dance musicians and there are obviously many people who are in between, but for many acoustic musicians who have not experienced the music software world, the software is often a tool used to simply record the musical ideas they have written on their instrument/s. For these people, the computer is not necessarily an integrated instrument which is where the problem arises.

Tips on how to get the most out of your creative process

I always recommend people to first capture their creative work in a simple analogue recording – just singing into a simple tape recorder mobile phone or whatever you can get your hands on at the time.  It is often the case that ideas come to you at the most inopportune times so it is an idea to keep a recording device of some kind nearby where possible.  This provides a constant reference point for the remainder of the process as ideas can often be forgotten or adapted.  Once this is complete, the focus can be on either developing the idea or using the technology and mastering the skill required to execute the recording of the piece of music.

The best way to manage this is to approach things in stages.  Let the left side of the brain focus on the creative aspect of your song writing. Don’t be afraid to spend as long as you need to develop the idea as it is not a race, then the right side of the brain to focus on using the technology to deliver the desirable outcome. As you use your recording medium more and more, you will find that this process becomes easier and more integrated as a part of the songwriting process. Most importantly, there are not cut and dry rules about creative process in general and this is no exception, just do what works for you. This problem is something which I have personally experienced and have found that other musicians I have talked to have experienced, particularly in the early stages of their demo recording but this does not mean that you necessarily do.

What products are out there?

Computer based recording provides songwriters and composers with an ideal platform to create their MP3 demos.  The computer is a digital device that manages digital sound files as well as being a blank template for whatever direction you wish to take your music in. The process of getting actual sounds into the computer is however, where some further investment of time and effort is required.  There are various products that do this and they range in price from freeware to thousands of dollars.  But, for a few hundred dollars you can purchase an audio interface that will convert analog sounds into digital files.  This enables you to record from a microphone and/or guitar/keyboards at high quality, straight into the computer.  Some of these products also come with multi track recording software which is capable of editing, effecting, equalizing and generally manipulating the sound.   Pretty much all the capability, quality and facility needed to create a good demo MP3 file.  Certainly good enough quality for Song Central who stream 128bps MP3 files on demand.

Footnote

I cannot stress enough to focus on the music as through my own experiences I have found it easy to lose your creativity by focusing too much, too early on the many functions and features of recording software.  Until you become very familiar enough with the technology - let the left brain do its bit first and then let the right brain figure out how to deliver the outcome.

For more information contact adrian@turramurramusic.com.au or visit the www.turramurramusic.com.au website.