Capturing Your Song Ideas Pt. 3 or Songwriting while traveling

In addition to the other suggestions that I mentioned about capturing your song ideas while you're out and about, I found another device that some producers and musicians use to get their ideas down while away from their stationary recording devices. Because I have not personally bought this particular product, I cannot tell you if this device is the best one to use or not. I'd suggest googling this product and reading reviews of it to see which one is best for you.



Meet the ultimate palmtop guitar companion and recording studio. Only slightly larger than an iPod, the tiny-yet-powerful Micro BR is a dream for musicians on the go. The Micro BR offers four simultaneous playback tracks (plus 32 V-Tracks), MP3 compatibility, onboard multi-effects, built-in rhythm patterns, a tuner, USB, an SD Card slot, and more. No guitar case or gig bag should be without one!

Features:
Ultra portable, only slightly larger than an iPod

4-track playback, 32 V-Tracks

Loads and plays MP3 files

Multi-effects onboard; dedicated guitar input

Time-Stretch and Center Cancel features (including MP3 files)

293 rhythm patterns

Built-in tuner and microphone

USB port for data transfer

SD Card slot for recording media, 128MB card included

BR in Your Pocket or Guitar Case
The Micro BR is so small you can put it in your pocket! It measures just 136.0 mm x 81.0 mm x 21.4 mm (5-3/8" x 3-3/16" x 7/8"). But even though it's tiny, the Micro BR packs an entire studio's worth of features into its tiny case. There are a dozen buttons on its front panel, nine knobs, and even a built-in microphone for quick capture.

4 Tracks & More
At its core, the Micro BR is a four-track studio with four simultaneous playback tracks and two simultaneous record / input tracks.However, there's more to this recorder than meets the eye. Each of the four main playback tracks also has eight companion V-Tracks (for a total of 32), so you can record take after take after take, then pick your best material for final mixdown.

Drum Machine & Effects Onboard
Given the Micro BR's small size and low price, you might be surprised to find the next two features onboard: (1) Almost 300 drum patterns are included. Use them for play-along inspiration or even as song foundations. The rhythms don't consume any of the four playback tracks -- they play back independently. (2) A quality multi-effects processor is onboard, including a time-stretch algorithm for changing the tempo of your audio tracks without changing pitch -- a great tool for both audio editing and phrase training. The Time Stretch feature can also be used with MP3 data; the Micro BR's Center Cancel feature can be applied to MP3 data as well.

MP3 Compatibility
The Micro BR is capable of loading and playing MP3 files. Load up your favorite guitar hero song via USB, slow down the tempo with no pitch change, and learn all of your favorite licks. You can even use the Micro BR as a standard MP3 player. All of your data is stored on convenient SD (Secure Digital) media found in common electronics shops. The included 128MB card, for example, can record approximately 65 minutes of audio when one mono track is selected.
Technical Info
Power Supply (Optional): PSA-120S

Creative Ideas for Songs- Part 2

In my previous blog, I mentioned that to come up with creative song ideas, you have to have an ear to hear. Now let's talk about capturing your creative song ideas on paper.


If you don't have access to your music studio, and you think of a idea for a song, such as a creative title, melody, hook, counter-hook, riff, etc. , here's some ways to get those ideas down on paper:

1. Yes, I'll state the obvious: carry a pen or pencil, and a notebook, a calendar, planner, etc everywhere you go.
2. Use a PDA;
3. Use tape recorders (preferably digital). Advantages of this technique:

• You can put multiple tape recorders around the house, in the car, bathroom, etc. to help you capture melody ideas.
• Having multiple recorders helps you find a recorder when and where you need it.
• If you lose one recorder, then you at least have another recorder with music on it so all is not lost.
• A digital recorder will allow you to dump songs onto your computer so now you don't have to concern yourself with losing valuable, creative song ideas to warped tapes.
• Because you can upload the files into your computer, you also don't have to worry about losing your digital tape recorder!
• A digitial recorder also allows you to organize your audio files so that you can go to the specific part without having to listen to the whole tape to find just one part.

4. Use the memo button on your cell phone if your phone has that option. My Sprint phone allows me to record a short memo to myself. But the time allowed to record the message is too short for me so I rarely use it.


5. Call your home phone and record your ideas on your answering machine. If, however, your answering machine only keeps messages for so many days, then you again may lose a valuable idea if you forget to re-record your idea on a more permanent medium.

6. Use Braincast. BrainCast is a free message and memo service that allows you to record reminders for yourself on the go, and automatically delivers them to your PC at home for later use. There is also an online organizational system for storing your messages so you can access them from anywhere. Simply add the BrainCast toll free number to your cell phone and you can use it from anywhere free of charge! Currently, Braincast is in Beta but it's still a worthwhile service to use. For more information on that service, you can go to braincast.viatalk.com

7. Use jott.com. This site is also in Beta. Similar to braincast, jott.com

• Send Jotts as e-mails and text messages to your friends and business contacts
• Send Jotts to specified groups that you set up
• Jott To-do lists and reminders to your e-mail while away from the office
• Stay safe using Jott hands-free while driving

Thedy B, Attorney/Songwriter

Hits A Million, LLC

myspace.com/hitsamillionllc

hitsamillion.ning.com

hitsamillionmusic.com

hitsamillionllc.com

Song Selection for Recording Artists - Tip #3

So in the last two tips on song selection for recording artists, I noted the significance of content and vocal range. Those two tips are good starting points to proper song selection. However, to be a hit recording artist, you must also have the next ingredient as noted below.

Tip #3 - the songs you choose should be heart-felt. Heart-felt songs are timeless. They touch us at the most sensitive times. They are universal in that they transcend gender, race, religion, genre, ethnicity, etc. They simply tell the story that we have all had to deal with at some point in our lives. When people hear a heart-felt song, they tend to react. Somehow that song becomes their favorite song and they want to hear it over and over again. Why? The song touched them.

To determine if a song that you are considering is heart-felt, ask yourselves some questions: Does the song move you? Does it make you laugh? Or cry? Does it make you think? Or does it make you remember, feel, hurt, reminisce, regret, or love? Does it help you express your anger? In other words, do you have an emotion after hearing the song? If so, then the song may be heart-felt.

If the song causes you to have an emotion, next ask yourself whether you can convey that feeling when you sing it? How do you know for sure if you can convey that emotion? Before you record the song, sing it for others and see if the song moves them when you sing it. Usually when a song moves the audience, they will come up to you and say, I like most of your songs but I really like that one song (unstated: the heart-felt one). The audience may not be able to fully explain why they like that song but they know that that song really said something to them. So if you get positive feedback, then there's a good chance that the song you selected was a hit song.

But if you get no response and no feedback, there is a possibility that the song was not right for you or right for your targeted audience. Ask yourself: Did your listeners really not "get" the meaning behind the song? Are there blank stares when you perform the song? Do people tend to listen to the song or treat your performance like it's background, i.e. elevator, music? If any of those latter things occur, the song may be good but it's probably not a hit song, not right for you, or not right for your targeted audience. Choose a different song to record.

Finally, if you are the songwriter, does your song really convey what you were feeling at the time you wrote the song? Did you as the songwriter really tell the story so that others can feel the way you felt when you wrote the song? If so, that's great! You have properly wrote and selected the right song(s) to record! But, if you really can't put into words what you were feeling , then consider using a hit songwriter to help you write the song. You can always come up with the concept for the song by telling the ghost writer what you want to sing about. Remember, concept is just as important. The ghost writer can then in turn, help you find the right words to convey the right emotion so that you can sing your song. But not just sing the right notes, but sing an original heart-felt, heart-inspired song with passion and conviction!

Thedy B, Esq., Hit Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
Hitsamillionmusic.com - for more information about Thedy B & Hits A Million, LLC
myspace.com/hitsamillionmusic.com - to hear, buy, and download current hits of Thedy B
hitsamillion.ning.com - to meet, find, locate, and network with other hit songwriters

Song Selection for Recording Artists - Tip #2

Again, I can't stress enough that song selection for recording artists is extremely important! Picking the perfect songs is half the battle in becoming and remaining a top-selling hit-recording artist. So how do you choose which song to record? Remember in tip #1, content is key: Pick a song with great lyrics! Second, in trying to decide which songs to record for your upcoming CD release:

Tip #2 - Make sure the hit song you choose to record suits your vocal range. In fact, you want a song that shows off your vocal range. This tip is true even if you are a soprano and have a very high singing voice or you're in a rock band or gospel group that does a lot of belting: you don't want a song that starts at a high pitch or at a high point because then you have no where to "take" your voice or the song itself. Mariah Carey and her very first single, Vision of Love, is a perfect example of a top-selling artist, who knowing her range and voice, recorded a song that beautifully showcased her range and introduced us to notes we never knew we wanted to hear, or could hear before. Mariah Carey's success is built on picking the right songs for her amazing voice. The same is true for you: every song you record should build and be perfect for you.

Note that you also don't want to have a "flat" sounding song either: one that starts low and simply stays low with no peaks and flows in the melody and background vocal arrangement. The song should challenge you vocally, and the listener, audibly. There are certain notes that our ears just naturally want to hear.

On the other hand, this tip also means that you don't want a song that is too high for you that you sing a lot of falsetto notes at the very peak of the song or is too low for you that you sing inaudible notes or words. There are some exceptions to every rule (e.g. some R & B male artists such as Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake to name two, sing most of their songs in falsetto). However, in general, hit songs that MAKE an artist and hit songs that are recorded over and over are songs that have range, color, build, and resolve (terms which will be discussed in another blog). It's these songs, the right songs, i.e. hit songs, which show off an artist's vocal abilities, that will be chosen not only by you but by many other artists as cover tunes. These are the types of hit songs that songwriters strive to write and artists should strive to find and record.

Stay tuned for my next tip on song selection!

Thedy B, Hit Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
Hitsamillionmusic.com

Song selection for recording artists - Tip #1

As I mentioned in my previous post, song selection for recording artists is extremely important! As I mentioned in that blog, choosing the right songs is half the battle in becoming and remaining a top-selling hit-recording artist. In order for the recording artist to be a hit recording artist, one of the first tips is to realize content is key! As a renown author named Jawar, author of the Music Industry Connection book series, told me, content is key. In other words, pick a song with great lyrics!

That tip applies to all pieces of written work, such as books, poems, and spoken word, but it is ESPECIALLY true for songs! Too many recording artists forget to seriously consider the content of their songs, specifically their lyrics. Lazy lyrics and song titles have a much harder time becoming a hit. Hit songs that make millions of dollars are usually originals. Hit songs that span decades and genres are songs that touch the heart in some way. Artists looking for longevity in the music business - ones who don't want to be one-hit wonders - should carefully evaluate the content of the songs they sing before spending all their time and money in recording, mixing, mastering, distributing, marketing, advertising, and touring and then having their CD or single flop because they forgot: content is key.

ThedyB, Hit Songwriter
Hits A Million, LLC
Hitsamillionmusic.com - for more information about Thedy B & Hits A Million, LLC
myspace.com/hitsamillionmusic.com - to hear, buy, and download current hits of Thedy B
hitsamillion.ning.com - to meet, find, locate, and network with other hit songwriters