Hey guys!
So I know I haven't written in awhile; I've been going through a whole lot and want to make this a really short post, because I'm long-winded enough!
Anyway, these days there's such a blur between the lines of recording artist and audio engineer, that it's really hard to not get confused about which aspects you really want to focus on. It was only recently that I realized that my musical journey had taken a backseat to my engineering journey. Funny enough, the entire reason I started the latter was to able to better communicate and enhance the former! Has that ever happened to you? Have you pursued one set of skills to help with your passion, only to lose yourself in the process?
Well, today I wanted to share a resource with you that has helped me TREMENDOUSLY in my journey, and has recently helped give me the perspective I needed: The Recording Revolution.
If you're an artist and you want to engineer your own tunes: that's awesome, more power to you. But, don't fall into the trap I did and forget to practice your instrument and your art. You'll hear the founder, Graham Cochrane, tell you all the time that your mixes are only as good as your music.
That couldn't be more true.
I haven't posted any new music in a LONG time because I've suffered from perfectionism (my worst enemy). It wasn't until recently, when I was doing some mixing for one of my oldest and best of friends: We were sitting in front of my rig and we set a DEADLINE that he would leave that day with the mixes done. NOT FINISHED, DONE. Suddenly, it all clicked: that the music is the most important. That mixing is just a way to understand it, and that your job as a mix engineer is done when you can hear and enjoy every aspect of the song. I didn't have time or energy to tinker with compression settings: I did what I knew I wanted to get the sound I wanted, and that's it. What would've taken me MONTHS to do previously took me only a day. ONE DAY. Such is the power of perspective.
There are a ton of resources that will give you multi-tracks like David Glenn Recording, Pro Mix Academy, and others, to practice on; and don't get me wrong, those are AMAZING resources. I know because I've used them all. BUT....
...those are geared only towards MIXING, not SONGWRITING, at least not as much. Sure, you can learn about songwriting because those multi-tracks are great songs, and you learn cool things about arranging from incredibly talented artists and engineers; but, if you want to learn to record, produce, and engineer your own music, than your best bet is to keep writing and recording your own music. It's as simple as that.
Too often we (or maybe just me) get sucked into these tutorials without giving them their due context. If you want to be a full-time engineer, then this doesn't really apply to you. But if you want to do it all, then honestly stop worrying about the gear, about which plugin to get, and just record AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Get it out there. Put yourself out there. Only then will you see improvement on all fronts.
I guess this wasn't so short was it? ;-)
It may seem obvious, and you may know it superficially, but you have feel it and apply it in order to get anything out of it. And all of this wouldn't be possible without the guidance from Graham at The Recording Revolution and others like him who share their art and passion with us. Hope this helps you on your journey.
As Graham likes to say: "Here's to making better music NOW!"
Avi