REALITY CHECK #5: You Suck, part II

ATTENTION: Read these first:
- REALITY CHECK series Introduction
- REALITY CHECK #1: You Suck
- REALITY CHECK #2: Your Room Sucks
- REALITY CHECK #3: Your Monitors Suck
- REALITY CHECK # 4: Your Gear Sucks


Have you ever heard a fantastic recording of a horrible performance? The gut reaction is that the entire thing sucks, recording and all. Some amateur vocalists will pay big money to have a studio record their song(s) using professional musicians. Everything sounds amazing until the American Idol wannabe comes in with their sub-par droning. At that very moment the listener stops hearing a solid recording and starts hearing amateurish crap. Am I not right? Many song samples from local recording studios will sound that way, not because the recordists suck, but because something is lacking in the song that keeps you from appreciating the quality of the recording.

Here is a list of ways to make people assume your recordings suck, even if they're quality:

-Average/horrible sounding instruments
-Average/horrible sounding instrumental performance
-Average/horrible sounding vocalist
-Average/horrible lyrics and/or songwriting
-Average/horrible arrangement
-Average/horrible production values

Seriously, you could be the best recordist ever, but if one of those aspects is lacking in the song, no one's gonna notice how awesome your recording is (except for us audio nerds). Do you think anyone would admire the powerful simplicity of Audioslave's "Like a Stone" if the drum kit sucked, the bass player couldn't groove, and the vocalist wasn't amazing? Nope.

So, what's my point?

Even if you have the recording thing down, your song is not going to sound radio-quality unless you also shine as a performer, songwriter, and producer.

This post is really aimed at the "Renaissance Man" home recordist. In social circles the Renaissance musician is greatly admired for single-handedly using their multiple talents to create musical "masterpieces" from the humble location of his/her bedroom. That's an awesome ability. But in the professional world, rarely does anyone make anything great without the input, advice, help, assistance, or collaboration of several equally talented people.

Let's look at all the elements that go into a great song from start to finish:

-lyrics
-music
-arrangement
-performance
-production
-recording/editing
-mixing
-mastering

For every one of those stages, there is someone who specializes into doing just that:

-lyricist
-composer/songwriter
-arranger
-performer (studio musician)
-producer
-recordist
-mixing engineer
-mastering engineer

Record labels will introduce any of the above into the creative equation to insure that their product will be marketable. Can we compete with multiple specialists?

While I do think it's possible to be great at a few of those categories, I believe that none of us can truly master them all. People who become masters at something usually specialize in only doing that one thing. You know the saying, "Jack of all trades, master of none"? Yes, we might do it all fairly competently, but not at the level where we can actually compete with several experts doing what they do best at each stage of the song process. It's a sobering fact that we all painfully recognize, but don't have the time, connections, or money to do anything about.

I'm not trying to rub it in, but if you've got mad recording skills, have a great room to work in, listen through a decent monitoring situation, and have a fair selection of cool gear, you still need something worthwhile to record! If you can't get that radio-worthy vibe out of your tracks because the song or production is average, I don't think you can blame the recording. Maybe you're just a crappy songwriter/performer/producer? Or rather, maybe you're not an amazing songwriter/performer/producer who's surrounded by lot's of specialist collaborators?

What do we do with this self-deflating information? Like in the first four installments of the REALITY CHECK series, I recommend a mixture of acceptance and baby steps toward progress.

Acceptance

So you can't be an expert at every stage of your project, who cares? Stop pouting and just accept that you're gonna have to involve other people in your creative process. Once I tried to lay down a rip-roaring guitar solo in a song I was writing. FAIL. I swallowed my pride and called a guitarist friend who came over and laid down 3 usable takes in under 10 minutes. To him, the expert, it was no big thing. Even though I had to inconveniently schedule a time for us to track, I probably ended up saving time in the long run. Plus, my song now has a legit solo. Winning! Identify your weakest abilities and stop convincing yourself that you're "good enough." It's that kind of hopeful self-deception that leads to crappy tracks and -more importantly- keeps you from involving the people who can help you. Which leads me to my next point...

Baby Steps: Get Help!

If you want to take your music projects to the next level, you need to make some friends who are experts. Easier said than done, right? Okay, maybe you can't make friends with experts, but you can collaborate with people who are better than you at the things you suck at. In this internet age, friend making is easier than it's ever been. Start a recording meet-up group through Craigslist. Join Music Connection's AMP Network and find like minded folks in your area. Attend your local songwriting group's critique nights. Many of them (in the LA area at least) have industry experts who do the critiquing. Many online groups exist for the same purpose. Check out the Songwriting Lab, where you can get your work critiqued by a host of folks in the songwriting community. You may not get expert advice, but any advice is better than no external input at all. To overcome your blind spots, it's essential to examine a wide variety of perspectives other than yours.

If you want to stop carving the same rut that you've been carving, you're gonna need to get out of your comfort zone. I can't even begin to list all the forums and social networks you can use to meet people who have the skills you need. Don't just post and then retreat back into your cave. Make connections, establish relationships. Turn those virtual relationships into working relationships. Stop staring at your computer and start shaking hands.

Why would anyone want to help you? Because you probably have a skill they need. If you rock at lyrics and music, then hook up with someone who's good at production. You need their production skills and they need your songwriting skills. It's a symbiotic relationship. Beatmakers need rappers just like rappers need beatmakers. Songwriters need performers. Lyricists need composers. Producers need songs to produce. Vocalists need something to sing just like songwriters need vocalists to sing their songs.

The best part of today's virtual environment is that all this mutually beneficial back scratching doesn't have to take place in "real life." If you read recording-type magazines you've undoubtedly come across multiple articles about cross-continental virtual collaborations. Get a free Dropbox account and start sending your tracks back and forth with your Twitter friend in Norway. Why not? Have a New York rapper spit over the beats you made in Nebraska. There's this marvelous thing called the internet. Use it!

If you happen to have a small project budget, places like eSession have been hooking up amateur musicians with industry pros for years. Forget that stupid synth bass patch! Hire a legit bass player to perform and record that slap-pop line that you just can't play...for under $100! Some songwriting veterans like Jason Blume will critique your song for $20-$30. Once you're a member, TAXI gives you a free critique with every submission you make. Go to a Karaoke bar and find a singer who's willing to sing on your track in exchange for $20 and/or a copy of the recording. You'd be amazed how many vocalists want samples to use as resume builders or vanity tracks for their myspace page.

I can't list every resource available, but the 21st-century fact is that we're bursting at the seems with opportunities. Carpe diem!

Remember, this post is not about your recording ability. I addressed that issue in the first post "REALITY CHECK #1: You Suck." However, the music industry also relies on the "many experts" model to insure maximal product value. In other words, there's an expert at every stage of the recording process, too. In the big leagues, the recording engineer is usually different from the mixing engineer, who is different from the mastering engineer (exceptions abound, of course). Each expert works their magic to the synergistic benefit of the whole. Plus you have several other folks checking "quality control"at each stage, typically the producer(s) and record execs.

Soooooo, this means that you should also take advantage of all the real and virtual opportunities to get recording/mixing/mastering critiques, advice, and perspectives other than your own. The first thing that comes to mind is Ian Shepherd's Production Advice service, but many others exist as well. A free option is Recording Review's "Bash This Recording" Forum, where your peers rake you over the coals in the name of improvement.

In summary: you can't do it all expertly and you need help. It doesn't make you less of a person. I bet you can do some things expertly, so now you just need to collaborate with others who can expertly do the things you suck at. Or, just come to terms with where you're at. Many of us don't have the time, energy, desire, or people skills to involve others. That's okay. Just realize that the definition of 'insanity' is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. As long as you're aware that your solo efforts probably won't produce a Billboard chart topper, you're all good. Maybe with a little acceptance, the joy of making music will creep back into your sessions. That would be a good thing.

Enjoy the Ride!

REALITY CHECK #6: Your Gear Sucks, part II

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