Songwriter Advisor Blog

Before using a song demo service to record your original songs, be absolutely certain they are ready to be recorded by making sure you polish them with a rewrite. Also, test your songs out by singing them either  acapella or with an accompanying instrument by yourself and in front of friends, family members, etc.  Taking your gut feeling and your listener’s reactions into account, it’ll be easier to decide if and which of your songs are ready to be recorded.

A song demo is exactly that – a demo!  This is why they are and SHOULD BE far less expensive than a recording for a CD release.  Therefore, what you want to look for instead of a company promising you a “radio-ready” recording with all the bells and whistles, is a company that’ll be able to provide a clean, pro-
sounding recording to give your song the best possible chance.
 
To find a great song demo service you’ll need to start right in your own hometown!  Take the time to contact and visit studios performing these services in your area, ask to hear examples of their work, and try to establish some type of rapport or relationship with them so they can take you more seriously and
not see you as JUST ANOTHER CUSTOMER.  

There are many studios offering excellent demo services but you have to do much initial legwork to find one that works for your songwriting goals.  This involves comparing several companies before making a decision. If you don’t have any companies offering these services in your vicinity, then as a last resort
you may have to consider an online demo service, but you should proceed with caution.

Demo services are very competitively priced these days and many offer flat rates with optional costs such as background singers, extra instruments, etc.  Starting rates vary from as low as approximately $100.00 to $800.00 per song, and you generally get what you pay for!  Recording is not cheap, and if you’re not a music producer or an arranger, remember, these companies try to provide all of these services as inexpensively as possible in one package! 

Beware, there are companies out there that give legitimate ones a bad name by drawing you in and charging you extra with each visit to cover what they say are their increasing recording costs.  Songwriters and other musicians have found themselves in a bad situation where they’ve literally spent hundreds with no decent product to show for it.  Negotiate a flat fee with a demo service, get it in writing, and stick to it!

Also, when you do find a demo service you want to try,it’s wise to commit to only ONE RECORDING AT A TIME.  Remember, this is a business, and demo companies need your business, so some will try to make you commit to more than one recording because it benefits them! 

Keep total control by recording only one song at a time until its completion-this way, if for any reason you are dissatisfied with your first recording, you can pick up and go elsewhere and you will not have needlessly wasted money on other songs.

Of course, the best possible scenario when recording your songs would be to do it yourself in your own home studio.  Recording setups have become increasingly more inexpensive and if you’re planning on chasing a professional songwriting career, it would be wise to try your hand at production even if it means being able to record only a piano or guitar/vocal of your songs.  By choosing this route you can actually save yourself the $1500 or so you would have spent on a three song demo, and instead use that to build your own songwriting studio in your own home!

Many amateur and pro songwriters have their own little home studio setup with some of the equipment or similar items shown on this page:
http://www.songwriteradvisor.com/build-your-studio.html

The only drawback to having your own studio is it takes few months to really learn your equipment and make effective recordings.  But in the end, it can be the best investment you’ll ever make in your songwriting career-you’ll never have to pay for a song demo service ever again!

In this installment of advanced songwriting tips, I’ll show you how some songs can sound absolutely phenomenal with just a voice and an accompanying instrumentsuch as guitar or piano.  Some songs can come through perfectly with merely arpeggiated chords played straightforward with a simple vocal arrangement, but these are rare, and most songs end up needing that extra special ingredient to make them stand out as worthy songs.

There are many flavorful ingredients you can add to your songs once you have the basic chords and melody in place.  So dust off your songwriting spice rack, add the following flavors, and watch your listeners start to drool with hungry anticipation and delight during your next open mike night as you cook up the place with these tips:

1.  Start your song with a “hooky” melodic intro for a few bars before you get to the first verse.  This will make people grip the underside of their chairs as they smell the unmistakable aroma of an interesting song and hold on for what they believe will be a magical ride! 

You can use the same underlying instrumental part you use in the verse, chorus, any other section, or you can pick out a totally different chord-structured prelude that takes the audience on a musical journey before arriving at the first verse. 

To illustrate one step further, if you play the guitar, hold chord shapes while you fingerpick or flatpick a distinctive melody, or with piano, let your left hand hold chord shapes while you play motifs with your right hand.  Try to make chord transitions as smoothly as possible.  This can take lots of practice and rehearsal but it’s well worth the payoff when you see the crowd appreciate your one man band that sounds like there are two players.

2.  You’ve got to strike people in the chest with the first line of your verse or they’ll turn away, make an excuse to go potty, or worse yet, shout from the top of the bar, “That’s brutal.”  Man, what a tough crowd!

If you’re singing a ballad, play the intro with much feeling and when you hit the first verse, let the song breathe by varying the vocal and instrument dynamics.  Then intensify your song as it reaches the first chorus and seal the deal by almost letting it all hang out when the chorus appears.  Try not to go totally overboard during your first chorus.

You want to save even a little more intensity for the second and third chorus, so you can take your listeners on a mountain climbing journey where they can dream about what awaits them on the other side when you reach the top!  Also note that using intensity doesn’t have to mean you have to sing at the top of your lungs.  It can come in the form of vocal inflection, the meaning of  lyrics in certain parts, or the instruments to name a few.

If the song is midtempo or uptempo, play and sing the verses softer than the chorus if your song calls for it so you can take advantage of contrast, which will help hold the listeners attention. 

3.  During the verses, try using an interesting melodic line with your instrument underneath the vocal instead of merely arpeggiating your chord shapes.  By repeating a certain motif while you sing, you can add a wonderful liqueur flavor to your song that’ll have them begging to taste more of your songs and the bar owner will be jumping for joy in his office behind the one-way mirror!

When you get to the chorus, change up the motif by playing a different line, perhaps in quicker fashion.

4.  If you’re using a prechorus in your song, make sure you arrange your song so that everyone feels the prechorus’s intensity rising.

You can achieve this by adding more chords, by varying the percussive feel, by singing  quicker phrases, etc.

5.  Your chorus can shine if you make use of repetition in certain parts, through louder dynamics, a different harmony and/or rhythm, and by different chord structure.  The chorus must stand out like a big T-bone steak sizzling to perfection in the chef’s kitchen, and you’ve got one chance to really spice it up with your favorite condiments, so don’t waste that chance!

Finally, take the time to work out an arrangement for every one of your songs.  This is the mark of a true professional, or, if you’re an amateur or hobbyist, it’s the mark of a dedicated one.

There’s nothing that impresses most record label executives than a singer-songwriter who can dazzle an audience with nothing but an instrument such as a guitar or piano, and an expressive voice!

Stay tuned for more advanced songwriting tips!