The One That Got Away - PG Music Forums

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One last sample of the demos. The players should have had time to learn these well enough to record in maybe 2 weeks and I'll keep everybody posted after we record.

The One That Got Away

There is no guitar solo because I just didn't bother since I am not going to be playing it, but there will be one after the second chorus. Maybe 6 string, maybe pedal. Depends on which guy wants it.

Hey Eddie,

I have listened to a few of your demos and except for one (?), your intros are way too long for the genre you are writing for. Plus I think at least two of them were well over 5 minutes -- that is just too long to hold folks' attention. The demo quality is good enough for your band to figure out what you want, but it seems like you are playing the backing tracks out to speakers and you are singing along and recording all that. Is that how you are recording?

One other thing, I would write 5 uptempo tunes for every slow ballad. I don't know your ratio, but 2 of the 4 that I have listened to are super slow. If your audience loves it, then continue on -- but contemporary country demands up-tempo (or mid-tempo) tunes.

It looks like you have figured out this BIAB stuff!

Thanks for the input. When I record it is all line level, no speakers. I dump the BIAB to an 8 track TEAC on 2 tracks. Then I start layering in vocal, additional keys, additional guitar, etc.....

I could probably cut the intros in half. No big thing there.

As it sits now, the 10 tracks come to 54 minutes. Some I actually struggled to make LONGER so I didn't put out a 34 minute CD. I will reconsider that line of thinking, as you are not the first to mention length.

Of the 10, the 2 on the Sound Cloud pager are the only 2, outside of one country waltz. The rest are uptempo.

Private message coming at you here as well.

Quote:

As it sits now, the 10 tracks come to 54 minutes. Some I actually struggled to make LONGER so I didn't put out a 34 minute CD. I will reconsider that line of thinking, as you are not the first to mention length.

Well, 10 songs at 54 minutes is OK for a jazz instrumental CD -- but for a country type disc? Way, way too long. 12 songs/40 minutes is the target. Anything longer than that and you will lose your intended audience -- unless it is so great and dynamic that the genius of it all can not be denied. 10 songs at 34 minutes is quite alright -- just because you CAN put 60+ minutes on a CD doesn't make it a good idea.

I responded to your PM and I hope your CD turns out great. If you work on that length thing, your chances of success go up.

Kevin

Good advice that I will consider. Thanks.

Hi Eddie

Since you sounded open as to information, country music is weird in the format changes it goes through.
Here is a link to Nashville's Ralph Murphy - he does an assessment of 2010 hits.
Ralph Murphy

As to country rules - I once heard, no longer than 25 sec for an intro, and you'd better be starting the chorus in 45 sec. That's when it was Verse Chorus Verse Chorus Verse Chorus. Now Country has switched to VVC and then whatever.

Thought it might be an interesting FYI.

Cheers Mate - Ian

Good reading and I will refer back to it.

I think my problem with this is that at 60 years of age, everything to me should be a Pink Floyd "opus" kind of work. Drawn out, elaborate, lots of slow tension before the release. I have never tried to write "for radio" and that's what I need to learn. I have this old school "formula" in my head of long intro, verse, verse, bridge, chorus, half verse... etc.... like the old school songs were. A few of mine hit SIX minutes.

Thanks for the link and the input.

Added in edit:

One other thing I see is how formulaic I am as far as how I word things. My hook is always the last line of my chorus, which makes the listeners wait a LONG time to see why "The One That Got Away" IS The One That Got Away. However, since songs are stories set to music, I don't know how else to tell the story about being born in different worlds, paths crossing, things going well for a while, etc.... to word it any other way would feel like doing the punch line of a joke before the setup. That is what I need to work on.

The "win" side of this is that none of these songs were ever meant to go anywhere but on my CD. Not going to be shopping them, so no rejection letters.....

Dump to tape?!?! Really when Rb will open your Biab files and allow up to 48 tracks. Really that is the way to go, since you can then burn a copy for everyone, and even convert to MP3 and send a file over E-mail.

Yer a computer tech, step it up boy!

;-)

Not to tape. To an 8 track direct to disc recorder. From which I send mics and keyboards and such through the Mackie into the Tascam.

All in the exploration of BIAB and RB. I don't know how to input into BIAB or RB yet. So I can feed back through my M-Audio MIDI interface and record into BIAB?

Never tried, never thought TO try, never looked at if it was possible. Old school guy I though BIAB was only output.

Real Band is a 48 track recording studio. You can use any USB or PCI or Firewire interface and record just like in the Tascam, but you have far more options.

Add solos, add instruments, add vocals, use the extra tracks to add background vocals, mix, pan, add effects, and ultimately burn to Disk.

BiaB has limited recording one track really, RB has as i said above.

What M-Audio interface do you have?

Never mind you have a Fast track Pro.

Dude are you pullin my leg? Seriously Plug that thing in and configure it to work with RealBand.

Close BiaB abd open Rb, then open the Biab song in RB, and start adding to it.

Hi Eddie

FYI - my interface is a Tascam Portastudio 488. I run the Line out into the Sound Card Line in.
Mics in the Tascam Mixer, out the line out.
Back into the Tascam via the Sound Card output, then out of the Tascam monitor in to the poweramp. Works like a charm.

You got better pieces than I do.

Ian

Quote:

You got better pieces than I do.

That may be, Ian, but yours work.....

Another well written song. Thanks for sharing!

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