The Songbird Project

Hitting "Pause"

2012-05-23T23:33:00.000-05:00

This is just a quick message to say thank you to all of you who keep up with The Songbird Project. I am also writing to let you all know that I will be taking a few months to focus on the arrival of our first kid (due in June).

This is officially the 400th post on this blog, and I've really enjoyed processing the journey with you guys.

In the meantime, please send any ideas for posts or interesting videos or thoughts on songwriting/art/creativity to TheSongbirdProject@gmail.com.

Keep writing!

Ben

Auralex to the Rescue!

2012-05-21T10:33:00.000-05:00

As some of you may know, my wife and I are expecting our first kid in June. It became clear pretty quickly that, as our second bedroom, my writing/recording room was to become the nursery. Thankfully, we had some space in our basement that showed potential for becoming a devoted space for creating music.

There was really only one main problem: with concrete/plaster walls, the room basically acted as a rectangular reverb chamber. It was obvious that something needed to be done to address the acoustic situation. This is where Auralex came in.

Here are some pictures of the basement room before I brought in my recording equipment:

We decided to start by repainting the walls a more vibey green color (these pics were taken while the paint was still drying):

Here's where the Auralex came in, along with my recording setup:

My new man cave!

My co-writer's seat

The vocal booth, enclosed by movable Auralex ProMAX panels

The Mopads were the perfect thing to separate the monitors from the stands, isolating the vibrations

I suspended the foam from the ceilings with these gold hooks

Eric Smith from Auralex

Not only does the new setup look cool, it actually encourages creativity. I've been told that it's easier to focus when there are less rogue sound waves bouncing around the room, and I've experienced that to be true. I've never heard the stereo image like I have in the past couple months. My mixes are improving, and I'm enjoying listening to music more now than I have in the past couple years.

The room's acoustics are so tight now that, one day, I noticed what sounded like a static problem in my left monitor only to discover that I was actually hearing a candle burning on my desk. That's a good sign of an accurate acoustic environment!

If you have a dedicated space for writing/recording, I highly encourage you to invest in the room's acoustic treatment. If you can't accurately hear what's coming out of the monitors, you'll have trouble competing with those who have a proper setup. Check out Auralex.com for ways that you can turn your room into a space that serves your creativity. Treat yourself to proper acoustic treatment!

Keep writing (a treating acoustics),

Ben

Airplane Music

2012-05-18T10:36:00.002-05:00

This is Rock and Roll

2012-05-16T21:17:00.001-05:00

Makey Makey

2012-05-15T16:15:00.000-05:00

Joy in the Congo

2012-05-14T08:16:00.002-05:00

Joshua Ledet - When a Man Loves a Woman

2012-05-11T09:43:00.000-05:00

Here is one of the standout performances from this year's American Idol competition. Hard not to get chills listening to this guy sing!

The King of Instruments

2012-05-09T03:30:00.000-05:00

Music for the Ride

2012-05-08T15:47:00.002-05:00

Spring Sunset

2012-05-04T04:30:00.000-05:00

On Avoiding Mistakes

2012-05-03T06:44:00.000-05:00

Don't be afraid to make mistakes. The fear of being imperfect or sounding silly will paralyze your creativity, not allowing you to find the needles of greatness in the haystack.

I think it's far better to just accept the fact that we will make mistakes. This way, when they happen, we can see it as a learning and growing opportunity. Over the long run, enough mistakes will result in a lot of successes.

Keep writing (and learning),

Ben

Leading or Following?

2012-05-02T06:49:00.000-05:00

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”

- Steve Jobs

Derek

2012-04-27T08:34:00.000-05:00

Walking on Air

2012-04-27T08:33:00.000-05:00

Alive Inside

2012-04-25T08:19:00.000-05:00

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

23 Hz

2012-04-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

Constructing Songs, by Neal Carpenter

2012-04-23T09:12:00.000-05:00

Here is a guest post written by my friend and co-writer, Neal Carpenter:

Lately, I've thought a lot about the idea of a songwriter essentially being a construction worker or architect. While not an exhaustive metaphor and not an ultimate answer, I still think it's helpful. Obviously, this is not a new idea. We call songwriting a "craft," and we refer to our "tools," etc., but lately I've thought about it in more physical, tangible terms.

I've imagined the song as a structure I'm building right in front of me, piece by piece. I see the phrasing of a verse like the perfectly spaced beams in a wall. I see the emotional momentum of the chorus and the placement of a hook (if we use that design) as a roof structure. I think maybe I'll add a back porch with this bridge I'm working on. Some songs are revolutionary in their design with many intricate parts and would look very fascinating if we could see them as buildings. Other songs are very simple using large beams and timbers, yet solid and inspiring all the same. So everyday we are showing up, handling the materials, shaping, cutting, fitting them into place. We use our mouths to try out the words, feel their shape. We see it all happening on the page (one reason I like to write on real paper, but that's another discussion.)

Some days we realize we spent all day building a flimsy structure with poor materials all thrown together. Some days something very solid and fresh happens with little effort and we feel as though the only labor needed is a little sanding and slight re-shaping. Some of us may be lucky enough to find an idea, a design, that we know will change the landscape if we do the work to build it. We are, in a sense, building cities and towns with our work each day.

Is the structure sound inside and out? Are you wasting all your time watching your neighbors build and simply copying them? Are you taking any risks or trying out new designs? Are throwing things together for some quick recognition or are you trying to build something that will stand the test of time?

Goodbye, Levon

2012-04-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

The drummer from The Band has sadly passed away. Here is one of many moments worth remembering from The Last Waltz:

The Reward of Overcoming Fear

2012-04-19T03:30:00.000-05:00

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

"Plasticities" by Andrew Bird

2012-04-18T05:00:00.000-05:00

Wonder Bubbles

2012-04-16T03:00:00.000-05:00

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Spring Sunsest

2012-04-13T03:30:00.000-05:00

Annie Dillard on the Daily Schedule

2012-04-12T03:30:00.000-05:00

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Penguin Cafe Orchestra

2012-04-11T03:30:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been enjoying the music of Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Very cool classical melodies and perfect background music. Here's an interesting quote on Wikipedia from Simon Jeffes about the forming of the group:

"In 1972 I was in the south of France. I had eaten some bad fish and was in consequence rather ill. As I lay in bed I had a strange recurring vision, there, before me, was a concrete building like a hotel or council block. I could see into the rooms, each of which was continually scanned by an electronic eye. In the rooms were people, everyone of them preoccupied. In one room a person was looking into a mirror and in another a couple were making love but love-lessly, in a third a composer was listening to music through earphones. Around him there were banks of electronic equipment. But all was silence. Like everyone in his place he had been neutralized, made grey and anonymous. The scene was for me one of ordered desolation. It was as if I were looking into a place which had no heart. Next day when I felt better, I was on the beach sunbathing and suddenly a poem popped into my head. It started out 'I am the proprietor of the Penguin Cafe, I will tell you things at random' and it went on about how the quality of randomness, spontaneity, surprise, unexpectedness and irrationality in our lives is a very precious thing. And if you suppress that to have a nice orderly life, you kill off what's most important. Whereas in the Penguin Cafe your unconscious can just be. It's acceptable there, and that's how everybody is. There is an acceptance there that has to do with living the present with no fear in ourselves."

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!

Quote of the Day - Disney

2012-04-10T04:00:00.000-05:00

"Don't insult a kid--don't write down to the kid; and don't write just for the adult."

- Walt Disney to the Sherman brothers, a songwriting duo who penned some of the best children's music of all time

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Would you or someone you know like to go on a songwriting retreat with industry professionals? Visit SongbirdCamp.com for more details!