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Thursday, June 30, 2011

Touring Musician Pay Rates

Most young musicians would love to tour with a major artist and my book The Touring Musician's Handbook describes how to get that gig. That being said, there's always a major question about how much a touring musician is paid. Here's an excerpt that sheds a little light on the subject.
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"One of the first questions that you’ll have either before or right after the audition is, “How much will I get paid?” If it’s your first touring gig, you probably don’t care so much about the income as long as you get the job, but a few months down the road it will start to bother you if you settled for a lot less than everyone else in the band. That’s why it’s a good idea to know what the expected pay range might be and when, where, and how you’ll receive it.

Touring musicians are usually paid by a weekly salary or a flat fee for the tour. You’re a hired gun, so you’ll be paid the same whether you play 2 shows or 7 shows in a week. If the tour does well and makes some extra money, you may be paid a bonus at the end, but it’s never safe to count on that happening given the touring economics that we currently live in. The Musician’s Union is usually not involved, except in the case of some orchestral player. Most of the time, you’re strictly an independent contractor doing a work for hire.

Most pay rates are normally negotiated in $250 increments. An entry level artist might only offer about $750 a week, but it could easily be as low as $500, plus per diem (which we’ll cover later in the chapter). You might decide to take a gig like this just to get your foot in the door, or the money might be immaterial because you might want to build a long term relationship with the artist.

A mid-level artist may pay between $2,000 and $2,500 a week, again negotiated in increments of $250. If you’re good enough to play with a superstar act, you can expect a weekly salary between $10,000 and $20,000. Some superstars may even pay their sidemen with a piece of each gig, which could mean a substantial financial upgrade. This usually applies only to longtime support band members though.

There’s more to what you’re getting paid than your weekly salary. You will be compensated for rehearsals, but they’re paid at a lower rate than the tour, usually half or even 1/3rd of the tour rate. An artist might say, “We need you from February 1st to Feb 14th. The tour starts on the 7th and there’ll be 3 rehearsals somewhere between the 1st and the 5th. We’re going to pay you $4,000 for the 2 weeks.” You can break that down a lot of ways, but one way to interpret it is that you’re making $1,000 for the rehearsal week and $3,000 for the tour week.

Other things that you want to know is if you’ll be paid extra for doing radio promos or clinics while on the road, and if so, how much per performance? These may be duties that fall under the category of what you’re being paid a salary for, but maybe not. And although this is almost never an issue on any legitimate tour, you’ll also want to confirm that any transportation and hotel expenses that you incur are covered if you have the slightest inkling that something doesn’t feel right in your discussions with management.

You”ll also want to know if you’ll get extra compensation if you do extra band duties. Can you act as the artist’s keyboard tech as well as play in the band in order to make some extra dough? If it saves the tour a body to house and feed, management might consider the extra compensation well worth it. As you move up the the touring food chain, this is less of an issue since you’re compensated much better and there are dedicated people for each position.

Remember that everything is open to negotiation, but some managers may say, “This is all we have. Take it or leave it.” If that’s the case, then other factors go into making your decision. You’ll have to ask yourself questions like; how much do you like the music? Will doing the gig help your career? Do you like the people involved? and is the travel easy?"

Go to the excerpt page of bobbyowsinski.com to read additional excerpts from this book and others.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Next Step In Music Creation?

Here's a very interesting user interface for making electronic music that provides a modular way of connecting software synthesizer and sequencing components together. It's called AudioGL, and even though it's in a "pre-beta" form, it provides some insight into where music creation and audio mixing might be heading.

You'll find a full 3D interface here, and while it may be a bit too cutting edge for some old school players, it holds a wealth of intriguing possibilities. I've included a couple of videos here. The first one is an overview of the app, and the second shows the actual operation of AudioGL in creating a song. Unfortunately, there is no website and only an email address, if you're interesting in learning more.






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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Behind The Scenes At EDC

The Electronic Daisy Carnival moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas this year and by all accounts was a huge success. Electronic music is huge these days but still flies under the radar to most of the media and music fans, but the following video gives you a look at just a bit of the scope of the event.

If you were ever curious how a big stage production for a concert goes together, this short video will show you. It's extremely well done but gives you a look at all of the behind the scenes work that it takes to construct something that we so often take for granted.

EDC producers plan to re-broadcast the event in movie theaters nationwide on August 4th, where the Electric Daisy Carnival Experience will be shown in 520 theaters. More details can be found at FathomEvents.com.


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Monday, June 27, 2011

Metallica "Enter Sandman" Backing Track

I haven't posted a backing or isolated track for a while so now is a good time. It's the backing track from Metallica's huge hit "Enter Sandman" which has only the bass, drums, vocals and an occasional guitar. The song is from the band's 1991 breakthrough album entitled "Metallica"

According to engineer Randy Staub, the drum track was composed of nearly 50 takes because drummer Lars Ulrich recorded each section of the song separately in order to maintain the intensity. Supposedly a combination of 40 to 50 microphones were used in recording the drums and guitars to simulate the sound of a live concert (that's a bit over the top if you ask me). Producer Bob Rock and Staub then took 10 days to mix the song, which isn't that unusual in that they were trying to create the sonic template for the album.

Here are some things to make note of as you listen:
  • Check out how dynamic the builds are between sections. It's really difficult to do this and maintain a powerful sound, but this song illustrates how it's done.
  • The snare reverb is on the long side but it's timed to the track. Notice how it fades out just about the time of the next snare hit.
  • There's a lot of verb on the vocal but it's somewhat short so it never gets in the way of the cadence of the lyrics.
  • Listen to how perfectly in the pocket the lead vocal is. It fits exactly with the bass and drums so the track sounds extremely tight.
  • The guitars that do creep into the mix are used to augment the power of the other existing guitars. Note where they are and then go listen to the full mix and see how much they enhance the song where they enter.

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Sunday, June 26, 2011

15 Steps To A Better Mix

Mixing is a nebulous art in that most musicians and engineers today learn more by feel than being taught. As a result, a number of important items are easily overlooked, and these can mean the difference between a mix that sounds polished and professional and one that sounds amateurish. Here's a checklist of items taken from The Mixing Engineer's Handbook that can help you think in a little more detail about you mixes, and tighten up as a result.

1. Does your mix have contrast? Does it build as the song goes along? Are different instruments, sounds or lines added in different sections?

2. Does your mix have a focal point? Is the mix built around the instrument or vocal that’s the most important?

3. Does your mix sound noisy? Have you gotten rid of any count-offs, guitar amps noises, bad edits, and breaths that stand out?

4. Does your mix lack clarity or punch? Can you distinguish every instrument? Does the rhythm section sound great by itself?

5. Does your mix sound distant? Try using less reverb and effects.

6.  Can your hear ever lyric? Every word must be heard.

7. Can your hear every note being played? Automate to hear every note.

8. Are the sounds dull or uninteresting? Are you using generic synth patches or predictable guitar or keyboard sounds?

9. Does the song groove? Does it feel as good as your favorite song? Is the instrument that supplies the groove loud enough?

10. What’s the direction of the song?
Should it be close and intimate or big and loud?

11. Are you compressing too much? Does the mix feel squashed? Is it fatiguing to listen to? Is all the life gone?

12. Are you EQing too much? Is it too bright or too big?

13. Are your fades too tight? Does the beginning or ending of the song sound clipped?

14. Did you do alternate mixes? Did you do at least in instrumental-only mix (TV mix)?

15. Did you document the keeper mixes? Are all files properly named? Are you sure which file is the master?
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Thursday, June 23, 2011

George Massenburg On The History Of GML

George Massenburg doesn't need much of an introduction to any audio professional. His work as both an engineer and an equipment designer speaks for itself. From his early successes with Little Feat, Earth Wind & Fire, Linda Rondstadt and later with Lyle Lovett, James Taylor and the Dixie Chicks among others, to inventing the modern parametric equalizer and later the GML product line, George has always been state-of-the-art in everything he touches.

This is a great video that not only describes the history of GML, but some of the early history of recording as well. Even if you don't use GML gear, it's worth a watch.


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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Savage Garden "To The Moon And Back" Song Analysis

Reader Emanuel Alexandru requested a song analysis of the big 1997 hit "To The Moon And Back" by Australian duo Savage Garden. The song was from their Savage Garden album, which went on to sell over 18 million world-wide thanks to a number of top 10 hits. As with all song analysis, we'll look at the song form, the arrangement, the sound and the production.

The Song
"To The Moon And Back" is a very straight-forward pop song form-wise. It's well written and to the point with few surprises, but it doesn't really need any either. The form looks like this:

Intro, Verse, Chorus, Interlude, Verse, Chorus, Bridge/Solo, 1/2 Verse, Chorus, Interlude, Outro

For me, the best part about the form of the song is the 2 bars at the end of the verse where it breaks down and sets up the chorus. Just this one little twist takes the song to a different level.

The Arrangement
The arrangement is also fairly standard in that it employs 5 arrangement elements.

  * The Foundation: The bass and drums

  * The Pad: A lush synthesizer that plays throughout the song, along some big electric guitar power chords in the solo and outro.

  * The Rhythm: In the first verse it's an arpeggiated 16th note synth and a shaker, which switches to a 16th note picked electric guitar for most of the rest of the song.

  * The Lead: Vocal and nylon string guitar solo


  * The Fills: Electric guitar

Just like all hits, "To The Moon And Back" is well arranged so everything fits together well, instruments enter at different places to keep the interest from lagging, and there's always a couple of twists like the nylon string guitar solo.

The Sound
I like the sound of this record in that it's pretty in your face without sounding squashed, and it's layered really well. The snare is especially punchy and forward in the mix, which is the result of it being slightly compressed, but this makes it propel the song. The lead guitar in the intro and interludes is pushed back a bit thanks to a timed delay, and the synth pad has a longer reverb that adds a nice layer. The bass is really big sounding, but the kick seems a little on the floppy side and gets in the way of it a bit, although I'm being really geeky here.

The vocal is doubled in during the last 2 bars of the verse before the chorus as well as slightly flanged and band-limited, but the effect really works in the song. The aforementioned nylon string guitar solo is recorded really well in that it needs a good amount of compression to sit in the front of the mix as it does, yet it sounds very natural.

The Production
With production, sometimes it's the little things that count. The just mentioned vocal sound changes before the last chorus, the contrast between the clean, distorted and nylon string guitar solo, the slight change in the melody during the last chorus, the interesting little fills that happen during the 2nd verse and outro chorus; these are the things that ultimately take a record to the next level. Add to this the piano and strings that enter at the very end of the song off of a set of different changes and you've got a very well produced hit.

Send me your song requests for analysis.


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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

A Voice Lesson From Bobby McFerrin

This is pretty cool. Jazz vocalist Bobby McFerrin gives a lesson in how to do what he does. Of course, not many singers can do that (he's certainly one of a kind), but he gives a few exercises on how to get started. Plus, he's really entertaining during the process.



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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

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Monday, June 20, 2011

8 Steps To A Great Vocal Performance

Here's another excerpt from The Music Producer's Handbook, this time outlining the 8 steps that a producer can use to get a great vocal performance from a singer.
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"The easiest way to get a the best performance out of a singer is to make the environment comfortable. Sometimes even a seasoned pro sometimes can’t do her best unless the conditions are just right, so consider some of the following suggestions before and during a vocal session.

1. Ask the vocalist what kind of lighting they prefer.
Most singers prefer the lights lower in the studio and control room when performing, but ask them first.

2. Adding a touch of reverb or delay can help the singer feel more comfortable with the headphones mix.

3. If you need to have the singer sing harder, louder or more aggressively, turn down the vocal track in the phones or turn the backing tracks up.

4. If you need to have the singer sing softer or more intimately, turn the singer's track up in the phones or turn down the backing tracks.

5. Keep talking with the artist between takes. Leave the talkback on if possible. Long periods of silence from the control room are a mood killer.

6. Try lowering the lights in the control room so they can't see you. Some people think that you're in there judging them when you might be talking about something completely different.

7. If the take wasn’t good for whatever reason, explain what was wrong in a kind and gentle way. Something like "That was really good, but I think you can do it even better. The pitch was a little sharp." This goes for just about any overdub since players generally like to know what was wrong with the take rather than be given a “Do it again” blanket statement.

8. Keep smiling. Want to put your vocalist at ease? Keep your attitude helpful and positive no matter how badly things might be going."

To read more excerpts from The Music Producer's Handbook and other books, go to bobbyowsinski.com
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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

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Sunday, June 19, 2011

The Strokes "Under The Cover Of Darkness" Song Analysis

Reader Carlos Ponce de León recently requested a song analysis of The Strokes "Under Cover Of Darkness." This was the first single from the band's fourth album entitled Angles, which was a big hit in many parts of the world, reaching #1 in Australia and #6 in China, among other countries. Like with all song analysis, we'll look at the song form, the arrangement, the sound and the production.

The Song
"Under Cover Of Darkness" appears to have a rather simple form on the surface, but it's a bit more complex than it seems. The form looks like this:

Intro, Verse, B Section, Chorus, Intro, Verse, B Section, Chorus, Bridge/Solo, B Section, Chorus, Intro

What's makes this song interesting is that the second time all the sections are played they're a lot shorter than the first, and the last time they're even shorter still, with the final Intro line played only once. This works great because the song would've been way long otherwise, and the way each section changes keeps things interesting.

The Arrangement
The arrangement on the song is pretty straight ahead. You just hear the band with very little embellishment or extra parts. It's actually very refreshing to hear a song that doesn't suffer from tons of sweetening for change. The arrangement form only uses three elements instead of the typical four.

  * The Foundation: Bass and drums

  * The Pad: None

  * The Rhythm: The strumming rhythm guitar on the right channel pushes the song along.

  * The Lead: The vocal

  * The Fills: None

Except for some backing vocals in the B sections and choruses, the song gets its development and movement strictly from the playing and not from additional instruments entering the mix. One guitar plays the rhythm while the other plays rhythm and lead.

The Sound
All the elements of the song are very much in your face. The song is wonderfully absent of any effects except during the guitar solo, which has a short reverb with its tail only on the left side to balance the panning. The vocals are somewhat buried in the mix, but what that does is bring out the power of the band. This is a very old-school approach and quite the opposite of what a pop song would require, but it works very well here. The song seems to get a bit bigger in the chorus, so it might be that the guitars are gently doubled, although it's hard to tell for sure, which is what's supposed to happen.

The Production
Produced by my buddy Joe Chiccarelli (who's also an excellent engineer), this song is what you'd expect from a production in 2011. The players aren't virtuosos, but they play well together and are very disciplined in their playing on the record. This could have gotten sloppy but the attacks and releases are performed well so the band sounds extremely tight, the vocal is passionate and real, and even though some of the guitar parts are a bit outside the norm, all fit together well.

Don't be afraid to send me your song analysis requests!


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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

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How Your Father's Music Influences What You Listen To

Here's a Father's Day special post and it's a fun infographic on how your father's favorite music influences the music you listen to today. Have a happy day, all you fathers!
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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.


Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

5 Steps For Getting The Best Out Of Musicians

We musicians are a strange bunch. We're brimming with confidence on the outside but trembling with insecurity on the inside. In the studio when everything is under a microscope, it doesn't take much to bring that insecurity to the surface. A wrong look, an innocent comment, the producer or engineer taking too long to speak to you on the talkback; any of these things can send a wave of dread through most musicians minds.

That's why it's important for a producer or engineer to be hyper-aware of just that kind of situation in the studio. Here's an excerpt from The Music Producer's Handbook called "The 5 Steps For Getting The Most Out Of Musicians" that can help that session go smoother, and get the player or singer to give a better performance that even he thinks he's capable of.
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"Even if a musician is completely comfortable about his environment and headphones, there are things you can do to help him take his performance to another level. Unless  you’re a studio pro, most musicians can be very self-conscious about what they’re playing, especially after hearing a playback that uncovers some flaws they were unaware of until that moment. It’s important that their confidence doesn’t flag and it’s directly up to you to keep that from happening. Here are a few tricks that will help.

1. Stay positive. Regardless of how badly things might be going, how off-key someone is singing, or how out-of-the-pocket someone is playing, never be negative in your body language or your comments. Remarks like, “You suck,” or “That really sounds bad,” don’t ever help the situation and can even completely undermine a performance. If something isn’t going as well as you think it should, give the player a reasonable chance, sit him down for a listen in the control room, then firmly but respectfully describe why the part isn’t working.

2. Explain what’s wrong. Players hate it when they’re just told to, “Do it again,” without any explanation as to why you think what they just played wasn’t good enough. If the take wasn’t a keeper for any reason, explain what was wrong in a kind and gentle way. Statements like "I think you have a better one in you," or “I’ve heard you play it with more excitement before,” might work if you can’t put your finger on the problem, but players appreciate it if you can be specific so they can concentrate on that part the next time they play it through. “You’re falling behind the beat every time we come out of the chorus,” is an example of a specific statement. If the player continues to get it wrong, make sure you play the part for him so he can hear it clearly and understand what you’re going for.

3. Keep the studio talkback mic on. Communication is one of the most important, yet sometimes overlooked parts of a successful session. Players hate it when they’re speaking to you from the studio and either you’re not aware that they’re trying to get your attention, or you simply can’t hear them. Make sure that the engineer puts up a dedicated talkback mic in the studio and that it’s turned on immediately after every take. It’s important that you don’t miss a single word.

4. Keep the control room talkback mic on. Players also hate when there’s long periods of silence from the control room after a take. They might see a conversation going on, but if they can’t hear it, many players get insecure and feel isolated. You may be having a conversation about what kind of take-out food to order, but as far as the player can tell, you’re talking about how bad his performance was and how you’d like to replace him. Get rid of the insecurity by latching the control room talkback so he can hear you all the time between takes. Once again, communication is the key to a successful session.
 
5. If a player asks to play it again, let him. You may think that the player just nailed the ultimate take, but if he feels he can play it better, he usually can. Players inherently know when they’ve messed something up, were late on a chord, mis-fingered or ghosted a note, or slowed down during a roll. Maybe you didn’t hear it, but the player knew it. Let him go again. This is a lot easer decision to make nowadays than it was back in the analog tape days, thanks to digital recording. Back then, you might only have space on tape for a single take and you might loose a take that was great if the next take didn’t work. That kind of pressure on the producer has now been lifted, thanks to your favorite DAW."

You can read more excerpts from this and my other books at bobbyowsinski.com.
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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Don't forget to check out my Music 3.0 blog for tips and tricks on navigating social media and the new music business.

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