Bits and Pieces I Use

A good workman never blames his tools.

Most people think of musicians and other music industry members as being airy-fairy, absent minded, irresponsible, lazy and a general waste of space.
But most people like music.
So......they like the product but have no respect for the people who craft it?

Now, I am NOT referring to The Beatles, Lady Gaga and the like.  They don't participate in over 80% of the work that goes into creating radio fodder.
How many of you can list the various roles involved in the creation of modern music?

With most of my musical offerings I must assume all of these roles.
Therefore I must utilise all the various tools required.
But, which tool is the most important??
Me, silly!

Anyway................
To begin with I need a medium to record onto.
This being the digital age I hardly find it necessary any more to slave a cassette player to another cassette player and using a pile of tapes and use an extremely confusing and time consuming method just to record my musical creations over many tracks using many instruments (yes, like many people this is how I learnt to multi-track record.  Trial and error and many curse words were my syllabus).

My DAW experience started with Cakewalk version 'something-old' (my first experience with midi editing and sequencing), rolled onto ProTools (live multi track recording is an interesting challenge) but I did away with that stuff which cost as much as the computer running it (almost) to purchase and I still enjoy all their benefits!

http://www.reaper.fm/ 
I currently find this piece of software is fulfilling all my needs.  It is a simple user interface that uses a layout familiar to all sound recording enthusiasts.  It is fast, simple and dosn't come burdened with hundreds of 'free extra's and 'loops' which are no good to anyone with half an inch of musical talent/taste.  It's functionality and after sales support is 2nd to 0.  I also have not any troubles with hardware compatibility, yay!   I have to thanks Steve for pointing this beauty out to me (even though he is now a GarageBand fanboy.... well nobody is perfect I guess, hey Steve? haha ).

I find many times when people are approaching specialists pieces of equipment or software that they never read the manual??
Why do Australians have such an aversion to reading a manual??
So much can be gleamed from spending the relatively small amount of time with these volumes of text and oh so many tricks can be devised for future reference.   Terminology, history of the subject, manufacturers recommendations and the like. Who doesn't want these things???  

Which brings me to another point.

Pre-sets.  Pre-sets.  Pre-sets.

How did I learn to set an EQ to mix a backing vocalist into the background of a mix or depth and clarity to the jumble of noise that emanates from a Jazz Bigband's brass section??
I studied pre-set EQ patterns in DAW plugins.
I studied with my eyes and my ears.
I studied with my I-M-A-G-I-N-A-T-I-O-N.
I studied with my hands.  I grabbed those dials (and with my speakers or headphones turned down slightly) I  turned things up, I turned things down, I shifted frequencies and I stood on my head while doing starjumps in time to the music I was mixing.

So don't palm off presets and don't think that just because you went and paid top dollar for a DAW that came with all the trimmings that it is the best thing for the job.
Train your ears, open your mind and be creatively constructive (not arty-farty) and then anything, including your slightly below average Nokia phone, is the best thing for the job!

Making Plans

Today was about thinking.

I had a lot of activities to do today and this allowed me to spend more time with my brain.  So I spent that time wisely.  Taking time out to be with just your brain, alone, is a fantastic experience.

I faced a dilema.
Obstacles are breeders of creativity and it was breeding time in my brain today but I will keep some of those ideas for a different day.

What did I decide?
It had to do with equipment.
It bred a new attitude to a project.
It was a great idea.
It will have to wait until next time to be revealed.

2012, A Year of Motivation and Communication

I am sure we have all heard the expression "1% inspiration 99% perspiration"
yes??
no??

Most people live this everyday.  I'm going to write about it.

Tomorrow will be the first day of 2012 and a time when many people are throwing around all kinds of resolutions, some sealed in blood, others with a drunken hand shake with a partner or friend and still yet more whispered to ourselves in the dwindling hours of the morning as a groggy heads searchers desperately for a pillow and not-too-dirty place to rest.

My resolutions are these-
1. Release recordings of my original musical compositions and instrumental covers once a week

2. Complete all the short and medium length films that my self and fellow cohorts at WTHIS Productions have planned.

3. To boldly go where no m........... no wait....... To get off my buttocks and greet the wondrous outdoors every week armed with a camera and few good ideas.


There was a 4th resolution but I have already taken steps to achieving that and seeing as it is still 2011 at the time of writing this, said resolution has no relation to a NYE Resolution for 2012.

I plan to document the achieving of these resolutions.
All of them.
Everyday.
Here in this blog.
That was resolution #4.

So here we are.

In my first week of 2011 I hope to accomplish these things-

1. Complete a guitar instrumental version of the South Korean pop group T'ara's single 'Like the First Time'
처음처럼 (I arranged a version of this following the songs release and I simply have not had the motivation to record it).

2. Film a short film on my Samsung Galaxy S2.  (I have the screen play here somewhere..... I just have to find it).

3.  Take copious amounts of pictures in the picturesque Valla Beach area of NSW.  (Most likely many of these will feature my beautiful Girfriend but I don't hear anyone complaining, least of all me)  

Guess what????

You will get to bear witness to all of this.

Lucky you.

Every day.

Step by step.

Failure by failure.

Triumph by........ ok ok you get the picture.

Wish me luck!!!  

First Short from WHTIS Productions

This little feature will be reflected on in the past as a corner stone of some great careers.  That at least is our hope........

There are so many ideas we want to bring to life and in reality the only thing stopping us from making them all is TIME.

This little gem was shot in one afternoon with no sceenplay, storyboarding or any form of organisation but we had an absolutely great time coming up with ideas together and acting on them right-there-and-then!

My Photos from the Past

Often a great picture will have a message to tell or a story to recite.

Sometimes a great picture is only great when it has a memory attached to it.

Other great pictures present a feat of technological superiority.  

........Some times a great picture just can't be explained.

 I'm not proposing my pictures are by any means 'great pictures' but in each one of these pictures there is a memory embedded or a skill that played a part in it's creation.

I am Maty and I like to create things.