Today's video is another sit-down and do it style practice. I didn't really have much of a plan going in - its nice to have a structure - so it ended up being a bit of Melodic Development over one of my favorite chord structures. - Daily Gratitude - When your reality isn’t what you imagined: In fact its so much better. Be open to the possibilities and receive your blessings of unlimited potential.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Music is an artform, Audio is a science. The two joined together create the magic that is a great record. Certain things are subjective, others are concrete. There are principles behind audio production that can help you to get a better sound on your recording, but the application of these principles will almost never be a 'one size fits all' approach.

So your song is structured out. You've got your go-to tone. that's great. You've imagined your ideal sound and that's probably the hardest part. Now we get into the tricky bit... Laying it down in such a way that the end product matches your initial vision.

I remember my first dozens of songs. I would set out with the intention to make a Punk song or a Dub song, but somehow it didn't turn out the way I planned it to. Why? was it lack of experience? Was it lack of the correct tools or my inability to use them? I may never know. Sometimes the unexpected can be a real treat, sometimes it's just a disappointment. 

In our modern digital age, we've got a nearly unlimited variety of tools to choose from. For example, what kind of microphone is best for a male vocal? answer, It depends on the singer, his pitch, his Timbre (the tone of voice,) the positioning, and the room. 

how do I get a thick-heavy tone from my guitar? it depends on a lot of things, what kind of pickups are in your guitar? what amplifier are you using? settings on a pedal-board? are you using a DI (direct signal?) are you prepared to re-amp your guitar later? do you have the ability to add thickening in the mix?

The same applies to EQ settings. A lot of time, there will be a range that you can approximate where an instrument falls, assuming you're mixing a rock band. Is it the same for classical music? jazz? the answer is it depends. 

Starting with the easy thing or the hard thing? that's up to you to decide. I'd recommend knocking back the easiest tasks first, the ones that would take the least time to accomplish. The more difficult tasks might require some incubation time, new skillsets, or a network of friends to help you out.

avoiding  procrastination

Something is better than nothing
It doesn't have to be perfect
You'll get better with time

See a door, open a door, you don't have to step through it right away. Check to see what's on the other side. If you see potential there, then start moving.

the decision to take action - It starts with a choice. Remember the words we use in our own minds carry weight.

The language we use in our internal dialoge affects our reality. No seriously. No more of this Someday i hope to ____. A better line of conversation is I am ____. These are called affirmations, and next time you catch yourself using language like hope, want, trying to, etc. Catch yourself and think about it for a moment. Are you trying to do something? or are you Doing it?  

​going through the motions - Consistency of effort

once you understand what you want, the next step is to follow through. How many artists I know don't do this. I was guilty of it myself. It's called Failure to launch syndrome. I get it, it's easier to just push your ambition aside and play some video games. Next thing you know it's 10 years later, and have to bust-ass to make up for lost time. If you're not doing something every day, start with 1 thing. If you're already doing something every-day, then start doing 3 things every day. It'll take dedication and preparation, but you can do it. Start Now.

If you have creative ideas but never actually pursue them, Can you ease the burden by capturing the ideas for later? This is the way I approach blogging and songwriting. When I have an idea, I'll add it to the list (i keep a notebook nearby so i can quickly captue the idea.) Productivity expert David Allen says "the head is for having ideas, not for holding them, so if the muse strikes you, but you don't have time to do it right now, save the idea for later by capturing it.

through a different lens (camera lens example (wide angle vs reg))
​through the lens of 6 thinking hats
through the lens of an outside perspective (ask someone)

With your list of ideas, you can sit down when it's your creative time, draw from the list, and begin to flesh them out. I do this with Blogging, social media, and songwriting. It works equally as well in all these areas. My sunday for example, is blog day. I make a point that no "real work" is done on sundays. They're for me to rest and re-charge. So I kick back with a cup of coffee, open my inbox, pick something and start writing. I'll get two or three articles done in short order because the ideas have been percolating for a while already, and before I know it, I'm already ahead of the game. No more stress thinking "oh shit, I still have to write my blog for the week, but i didn't have enough time."

All those mundane repeating tasks...

Some projects are too big to do all at once, some are slow burners that are going to take time to build momentum. So how do you handle projects like these. Don't panic. I have to constantly remind myself that It's okay, even if it feels like things are moving slowly and as long as I haven't lost hope or given up, I'm putting in the effert that further the project so as long as I continue to put the effort, it'll happen. There's no point rushing and getting stressed about it.

The ability to dentify the challenges is an important skill for the career musician. In order to this, you'll need to use your imagination. First, I'd like to invite you to accept everything as possible. anything otherwise would just be making excuses.

​Imagine a single path before you. The road ahead branches and each one of those branches represents your decisions. Imagine at the end of these paths, your goals. It's not about wandering aimlessly down a path that's already laid out for you. Nope, we're making our own path, our own way. So what's it gonna take to blaze a trail, a road, a highway. what does the landscape look like? are we going to need bridges and tunnels?

So in anticipation of challenges as a part of goal-setting. I'd recommend putting pen to paper. list everything you've got, from things you're already doing, to ideas that might seem like a pipe dream, unreachable, impossible.

As you begin to understand more about what your options are, you can start to understand what's attainable, and what it might take to make it happen. This Link, gives an animated breakdown that goes into more detail. 

​Basically, this part is going back through what you thought about during this mental excersise. say x ammount of time later and asking questions like:

​I guess the first question would be how do you want to capture your ideas? 

If you have a decent laptop or computer you can use a DAW with an audio interface. *Cubase/nuendo, protools, logic, studio one, reaper, are a few examples. For basic tracking they all do pretty much the same thing. The workflow and the price-point is the main consideration while you're just starting out.

For Audio interfaces, there are quite a few out there. It depends on your budget. like, the Behringer U-phoria series is probably the cheapest, and the Apollo ones are on the top-end. I'd recommend going onto amazon to browse and read reviews if that's the way you want to go. Just remember, you usually get what you pay for, so if you can afford to spend the $$$, then get the best you can.

Or you could use a built-in recorder that captures to SD card (like someone mentioned the zoom R16) I had one of those for years, they're mobile and useful, but the preamps aren't the greatest. but it gets the job done.

other considerations, will be how many channels you need. will you want to use mics (if so do you have a nice quiet room?), or a direct-in signal? I'm guessing you could probably get by with a 2 channel (for most purposes) or an 8 channel if you need to track drums, or want to go all out with lots of mics.

Gain staging - once you're setting up to record, set your input gain to the highest you can get without clipping. I'd recommend doing a google search for 'signal to noise ratios audio' or 'gain staging audio' to figure that part out. basically, you want the 'hottest signal you can get without clipping or introducing too much noise' 

As far as sending your tracks off for mixing. Your engineer will probably ask you to consolidate your tracks. which basically means you export your tracks individually, each beginning at 0:00. This allows for the engineer to easily align them in the new mix session. ​