My Next Step

2008-05-06T15:24:00.000-07:00

In the process of recording my first CD I knew that I knew nothing specific about recording. So where should I start?

I decided to make a list of what I thought I was going to need to get this project finished.

1. Play List
2. Instruments
3. Computer
4. Software
5. Studio time
6. Mastering
7. Advice

This was the first list that I made and it was not the last. I knew that anybody that had any level of experience could add many more items, but I didn't have anybody to talk with yet so the list was what it was. This was going to change over time as I began to meet folks on-line and when I started the mastering I spent quite a bit of time speaking with those guys. I should have picked out a mastering studio before I started. By not doing so I spent quite a bit of time at the end of the project fixing some mistakes that I could have known about in the begenning. It cost me time and money.

The play list was pretty simple...at first. Then I read the law.

I had a choice to use real people or midi instruments. Then I looked at my budget.

I had a Dell PC that would be just fine. Until I read the requirement for the recording software.

I didn't have any "real" software yet but in my research I new that I was going need some real help in deciding what to use.

After checking for the cost of all the above I concluded pretty rapidly that studio time might not happen.

I didn't have a clue about mastering. It looked as if I was going to have about 5 different ways to take care of that including not having the music mastered.

And finally....someone to give me some advice.

It really did not take me long to decide that getting someone to help me lay out this CD was really important. So the "list" pretty much went to the side until I did some serious research and some serious discussion with somebody I could trust.

In my next post I'll share the advice that I received from one of the big shots in the recording industry that I accidentally met.

New Blog

2008-03-27T23:16:00.000-07:00

This is the first post that I have made to our new site. We are pretty excited to get this thing started.

This site is the result of the total frustration that I experienced while recording my first CD.

The idea of the CD came to us this past year. I have been encouraged for quite some time to record but never really had the time or desire. But as my life took an unexpected turn I found that I had a lot of time on my hands and decided to go ahead with the project. The result is the CD "It's About Time". The title is rather obvious. Then we formed our little company Sonoma Sounds LLC.

What followed was a pure exercise in frustration. I knew nothing about copyright law. I knew nothing about recording software or the type of computer that I should use. I was lost.

So I started looking on the internet for help. And it was soon apparent that the learning curve on this project was going to be rather steep.

What I was actually looking for was some kind of site that could be used as a "do-all" site. In other words, a place that one could go to find all the information that was needed for this type of project.

The other part of this was that I was not sure what questions I should be asking or what information that I was going to need in order to have a nice recording.

So it seemed that I would make a little progress one day then find that I had waisted my time or that what I had researched really was not important to me. That is when I decided that when this CD was finished I would look into creating a site on the internet where a "newbie" could find all the information needed to make that first CD and take it to market. This was no small thing either!

This site is far, far from being what I want it to be in the future but I needed to get it launched, get some feedback and start providing the content that would help people with their project.

So here is my first post on my first blog. I do want feedback and want to know what you are looking for in the way of content. Any suggestion would be welcomed.

RW

Music Information Station

My Next Step

New Blog