Mistake 1: Spending Good Money Demo-ing Bad Or Average Songs.
This recurring event might be due to hungry recording studios wanting new business, or, it might be over-anxious, newbie songwriters not knowing any better, but here’s the deal on this one: If you can’t play the song on a piano or a guitar—all by your little songwriter self—and make it sound good, it ain’t that good. Hits are hard to destroy. They just have a certain something, a momentum, and they keep flowing. Miss a chord? No problem. Sing a note out of tune—so what? Hit songs just sail like a boat on smooth waters. And it’s better to take your time and keep rewriting until the magic
This recurring event might be due to hungry recording studios wanting new business, or, it might be over-anxious, newbie songwriters not knowing any better, but here’s the deal on this one: If you can’t play the song on a piano or a guitar—all by your little songwriter self—and make it sound good, it ain’t that good. Hits are hard to destroy. They just have a certain something, a momentum, and they keep flowing. Miss a chord? No problem. Sing a note out of tune—so what? Hit songs just sail like a boat on smooth waters. And it’s better to take your time and keep rewriting until the magic
comes. Reschedule that recording session into next month. Really, if the song doesn’t move you in its rawest, stripped-down form, don’t expect it to move you after you get past the initial rush of having good musicians playing it. I know you’re anxious to hear how beautiful it’s going to sound, but don’t fool yourself into thinking something will magically take place in the studio. It
won’t.
In fact, I’ve found that the more time I spend thinking about musical hooks, lead lines, interludes, intros and outros, the better. Depending on the studio musicians for a miracle is a risky proposition. If you can’t at least sing them some ideas, you’re inviting failure in the studio. The song will probably go to tape (or hard disc) and do very little for your sensibilities in the long run. And you’ll regret it until you can scratch up enough cash to re-record your song again
properly. So take your time. And every day that goes by, you’ll have another chance to listen again and reevaluate. A little more time and thought never hurt a song.
Author: David Harper
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