Tag: tipps

English · Tips

5 Things You Should Avoid When Making Music

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1.      Working on songs you don’t like

If you want your songs to be really good, you should have FUN working on them. You can work on a song for hours but if you don’t put your heart into it, it will never have that certain “Je ne sais quoi” – and people will hear that.

2.      Not coming to an end

A typical phenomenon in the music industry is the constant urge to edit a song over and over again. Many people find it hard to come to an end and to finish a project, so they keep rearranging the audio track and rewriting the lyrics. Congratulations, you will be getting nowhere if you are caught up in this loop of indecision! Remember: You can only make progress and improve yourself if you finish something and start with a new project, a new idea!

3.      Working together with annoying people

If you are not working on a commercial song, you can pick the people you want to work with by yourself. Nothing will stress you more out than a studio partner who is always late, who has nerve-racking habits or useless ideas. So make a wise decision concerning your co-workers!

4.      Wearing blinders

Maybe you are used to a certain way of producing your songs. This way might not be bad but you should prevent yourself from wearing blinders all the time. If you try out new things, like a new technique or a different musical genre, your music will take a big step forward. Not only you, but also your listeners will benefit from this development for sure.

5.      Being distracted

If you let yourself distract from other people, the phone, the TV, the radio … you can sure as hell not work on your song in a concentrated way. Being focused is the key to success. That doesn’t mean that you can’t have a break while producing. Going for a short walk or for dinner with friends can be fun and refreshing – and you will have the energy to carry on with your work afterwards. Focused and productive!

by Sara Shirazi

English · Tips

How To Book Your First Show – 5 Quick Tipps

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1.      Pick the right venue

The venue should be a little bit smaller than what you actually need. It looks much better to bring 200 people to a place that is made for 150 people, than to bring 500 people to a place that fits 2.000. Make also sure to pick the right venue by scene and appropriate to your musical genre.

2.      Book the venue in time

When you picked the right venue, make sure to book it at least 2 months in advance. Your chance that the right date will be available is much better, if you send them your booking request as early as you can (up to 6 months in advance).

3.      Check the booking policies

Don’t forget to check out the venue’s booking policies before you contact them. They will tell you the name of the right contact person and what they need from you. The booking polies will also tell you if you need to fill in a booking form, send an email or just call the contact person.

4.      Give options

To speed up proceedings you can mention a few different dates that you are interested in. Many venues will save the “good dates” (especially the weekends) for bands and artists that are already known, so don’t be sad if you are not able to get a weekend that the first time around.

5.      Promote yourself

The venue is interested in making money, so tell them how you will promote the show. You can also ask other artists in the area to be your opening act. Make sure to submit the contact person a link where he/she can listen to your songs to see what you sound like. Don’t send MP3 files or band pictures because nobody wants attachments filling up their inbox.

by Sara Shirazi

English · Tips

Tips and Tricks: How To Make A Music Video

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Many people are really hooked on visual content, so it can be a great idea to make a music video for your song. This is something that most people can do, even though it is quite challenging. But the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

  1. The first thing you have to do is to record the track. Make sure to record it as professional as you can.
  2. Use the best camera you can find. If you don’t want to buy one, you can also ask someone to borrow you his/her camera.
  3. Create a storyboard. This is very helpful to plan your video. It can be simple (like the positions of things in certain scenes) or detailed (face expressions, angles, cutaways).
  4. Find a location. Look for scenes that match your vision and the theme of your song. Make sure to ask the owners of the place you want to use for the video shoot ;)
  5. You will need a good crew for the video shoot: If you only want to direct the video, you will need a videographer and a sound man. Depending on how much money or effort you want to spend on the shoot, you can also hire a makeup artist and someone who is responsible for the wardrobe.
  6. Shoot plenty of angles and try to cover the entire song with most of them. It gives the video some variety when it is finished.
  7. Keep it simple. Don’t shoot (too many) setups that only cover a small part of your song. This is very time consuming and not very effective.
  8. As a little extra, you can add a dance routine part to your video to make it rich in variety.
  9. Another effect that works nicely in music videos is the cutaway. This can be some kind of random shot in which the singer is not singing or a beautiful landscape for example. Just make sure that the cutaway is relevant to the theme of the song.
  10. Review all your takes and choose your favorite ones. You can add your cutaways between two clips from different takes. Good editors are Final Cut Pro or iMovie.

by Sara Shirazi