Tag: Tips

English · Tips

5 Things You Should Avoid When Making Music

Music2Deal1 Comment

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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 Find The Right Producer For Your Songs

Music2Deal33 Comments

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Trying to find the right producer for your songs may not be as easy as it actually sounds. As an artist, you have great visions and you will need somebody who helps you to translate these visions to the rest of the world. A good producer should bring out the best in you, even if this means hard work, sweat and tears. So one important thing your producer should definitely have is experience. It has to be somebody you can put your trust in and somebody who has the right connections in the music industry to help you achieving your goals.

Finding a match with good chemistry will give your songs more energy and will bring out the best in you as an artist. Most producers are looking for something unique in an artist, so try to keep that in mind. They are going to invest a lot of time and effort in you, so first of all you should believe in yourself and your talent.

As a first step you will need to know how much money you will be able to pay for the services of a producer and if you are willing to travel if he doesn’t live nearby. Then you can start your search and contact the producers you like. Don’t hesitate to approach a big name producer because you never know who is going to like your music. Set up a meeting with the candidates and invite each one to come and see you live. It is important that you find someone you feel comfortable being around.

When you have the first meeting with a producer you like, make sure to have many songs to choose from. Bring your lyrics sheets and your tapes with you and let him listen to a variety of songs. It may be hard for an artist to be objective about his own songs, but it’s possible that the producer likes a song you are unsure about. This is a great opportunity to work on this song together to make it better!

Keep communicating with the producer after showing him some of your songs. You can ask him anything that comes to your mind and a good producer will also be interested in knowing some things about you and your songs, too. It’s a matter of chemistry and you should be sure that HE is the right one to translate your visions into music.

If you found your perfect match it’s time for the contract. This should at least include the duration of the project, the scale per song or per hour, the budget and when the payments should be made.

Many producers from all around the world can be found on Music2Deal, so don’t hesitate to get in contact with them!

For example:

Harald Schabbach (Music Producer from Germany) http://bit.ly/12YAVqk

Ken Will (Music Producer from the USA) http://bit.ly/11rHC68

Charles Foskett (Music Producer from the UK) http://bit.ly/Zabb9P

by Sara Shirazi

English · Tips

Tips and Tricks: How To Make A Music Video

Music2Deal1 Comment

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