It’s so easy to get caught up in the next big thing, the latest piece of gear or software that’ll transform your music production fortunes. But the answer to my latest bout of songwriting/music production paralysis has always been right under my nose.
In the Beginning.
Even with today’s mind-blowing technology, my music production gear of the 90s still, to this day, produced the fastest, most organic, and most fun workflow I’ve ever had. An old Yamaha digital workstation carried much of the heavy lifting when it came to arrangments, including drums, basslines, and even string/keyboard/synth backing courtesy of the 1-3 finger chording. It sounded epic, and songs could be easily broken into sections e.g. verse 1, verse 2, chorus, etc, even middle eights, intros, and endings, all at the touch of a dedicated button, with all the varying complexity and fills linking together in a very tactile and musical fashion.
Once I had a song, adding a bit of guitar accompaniment, solos, vocals, backing vox, etc was easy. And for that, I simply plugged into my Tascam 424 mkII, and later a BOSS BR8, which had the added advantage of vocal and guitar fx.
The drawback to all this was, of course, if you made a mistake, you recorded it again, ad nauseam. But back then it didn’t seem a huge problem, until the advent of the DAW, when things should have gotten better. To be honest, I’ve never reached the creative heights of those simpler days, just laying down tracks. In fact, as technology has progressed I’ve got less productive.
Enter Garageband.
After years of using a PC-Based DAW setup consisting of Ableton Live and a BOSS BR-800, the audio quality of my recordings improved, but it got less fun, too technical and I always yearned for a more stripped-down, plug-and-play, and above all, musical workflow. The iPad with Garageband was the perfect solution, although there’s nothing currently available that’s going to replicate the joy of putting together your song arrangements on a keyboard workstation. Garageband has the drums covered, just not the full arrangement.
Still, when I was using a pre-recorded backing, although it’s fun and quick, it isn’t really cricket, is it? It’s not technically your own music, so to speak. So I’ve persevered with Garageband, despite its flaws.
Logic Pro for iPad – The next big shiny thing.
Then, like a bolt from the blue comes Logic Pro for iPad. A master track! busses!!, track grouping!!! In other words, all of Garageband’s flaws were corrected. I eagerly set about the next stage of my music production and songwriting journey, I spent an evening updating iOS, downloaded the Logic Pro trail…. and… BAM! My 7th Gen iPad is not compatible with it.
The grass isn’t always greener.
Now I’m back to Garageband, something dawned on me. It was never about the technology. Garageband can and will do the job, perfectly. Just about anything will, because the most, the ONLY important thing you need to do is hit record. That’s why it was so much fun and productive back in the day, there was nothing to mess with, no distractions, no complications, no drivers or compatibility woes, and you just went for it.
But do you know what? Those keyboard arrangements sound cheesy now, and the sound quality is abysmal. Definitely not as professional or rewarding as putting something together from scratch. Do I want a just-add-water Pot Noodle, or do I want to craft something using all the right ingredients? We all know what tastes better. That might not be the end of the story, my curiosity might one day get me a Yamaha Tyros or whatever, but the point is I wasn’t giving Garageband a chance, I’m not just getting on with it and seeing what comes out of the other side, I’m not just hitting record.
Just hit the Record button!
I’ve got so wrapped up with the limitations and possibilities of DAWs, and forever advancing tech, I’ve forgotten what’s right in front of me, that music production and songwriting aren’t really technical at all, or at least they aren’t ruled by technology. Creativity, songcraft, lyrics, vocal tone/performance, guitar tone/performance, I could go on, they are all more important to the finished article than which DAW you happen to be using, or if you’re using a DAW at all.
So the next time you have a song idea, riff, beat, whatever. No matter how interesting it is or what stage it’s at, get yourself set up and just hit record. You just might get inspired by the results.
And I should really follow my own advice.
What’s your take on music production technology? Drop me a comment below.
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