I took a week to develop some piano chops, and Apple software makes me want to shoot myself.
There was a whole paragraph that followed that but I just deleted it because the first sentence pretty much says it all.
Anyway, this song is early Beatles, so I'm sure my mom likes it, so this
one is dedicated to her - Marianna. At all my gigs I always dedicate
songs to my friends who make up the majority of my audiences, so I
figured I should do it online here as well.
I was wondering if people understand what I'm doing with this blog
because it makes sense to me but maybe it just seems like an amateur
just having fun from the outside. Basically, I try to choose songs that
target specific difficulties. This one was pop keyboard, which I've
never done before, but because the original has a harmony and guitar
part as well, I threw that in too - so in the end this is a high
yielding assignment. I also wanted to figure out how to merge two
videos together and it was a total bastard just trying to find those
instructions online - but I do know how to do it now. Examples of past
targets are: Classical guitar, Classical piano, vocal harmony, electric
guitar, guitar solo, chord melody, percussion, and drum automation. So I
do have a roadmap, and original work is on the horizon.
I also bought some used effects online because usually I'm just tired of
playing the damn song and want to post it online asap so the mixing /
editing part I usually just can't be bothered to put much effort into
it. Theres a Line 6 guitar pedal, a Yamaha mixer w/ a built in compressor
and EQ and a Roland Digital Effects unit. This way I can train /
develop my ear to the engineering and mixing sides of things whilst I'm
rehearsing instead of just getting it over with once the recording is
finished and fiddling with the silly sliders and ultimately just
choosing a preset that came with the software. Hardly anyone uses
hardware now adays I figure because software sounds so close to the real
stuff, but I just want to kill people if I can't find the answers I
need quickly online on how to use them. Plus 1980's Japanese music
hardware is super cheap, so its a good way to accustom my ears I reckon.
Take aways
- Jo's Mixing pro tip: Things usually sound awesome on headphones, but then sound crappy on an iPhone or computer speakers (which I think is how most people listen to stuff today). So double check how it sounds on the little speakers too and even pull the headphones away and turn up the volume to hear how it sounds coming out of your headphones at a distance. If it still sounds bad or "apart" or "thin" then keep fooling around with it.
- There is a specific point of legitimate "mixed feelings" where you're recording and finally get over the part of the song that has been screwing you up over and over, but then you finally get it under control and then immediately screw up soon after because you're so ecstatic that you nailed it - so you're pissed you screwed up the take but elated because you know it'll be down hill from here.
- I hit a point where I just can't look at all the keys my fingers are hitting at the same time and actually had more success when I wasn't looking at my hands. I wondered if being a blind piano player could have actually been advantageous...
Ishida